Reconstruction
by pokeman1280
Summary: The Traitor and his Forsworn dead, but the strongest Shade ever recorded is alive on Remnant. The new leader of the Dragon Riders, Ruby "Shadeslayer" Rose, must focus on freeing her home from the fear that perpetuates Remnant, all the while rebuilding the Riders, and not losing who she is.
1. Homeward Bound

**Hello everyone! Nevermore is over and now it's time for Reconstruction! For once, I am perfectly happy with the title of this fic… Now I just need to figure out a name for the series… My beta reader fearnodark17 may also contribute a chapter here and there to this whole thing.**

 **Anyway, if you've come to this and haven't read A Rose's Scales and Reversal, you'll be completely lost after five seconds of reading this. If you have questions along the lines of 'Who the heck is Aaron?' 'What's up with Yang's hair?' 'Where's our corgi overlord?' 'Do we need to put the author into an insane asylum?' or many others, go and read the other two first. It's a slog, but this is Act III. Also, to long time readers, I'm sure some references to Nevermore will be filtered throughout. Mainly jokes, but it's not like the plot of Nevermore is the most complex thing out there.**

 **Also, I've been reacting to Volume 5 episodes as they come out. Based on my and Rooster Teeth's upload schedule, all episodes are out on youtube before I upload. At that point, spoilers are free game. So essentially, here's what you missed: Raven was overhyped and is a coward, why is turning into a bird so bad and not cool, we need more cute sister moments between Ruby and Yang, f*** Adam, protect the Belladonnas, and Changing Colors is more believable than Bumblebee… And yes, I realize what I've done/doing with Red Sky is as bad if not worse than the hinting RT is doing with Bumblebee.**

 **But you didn't come to hear me rant. Let the Reconstruction project begin...**

* * *

Aaron leaned against Nalia's side as he waited for Ruby to exit Tialdarí Hall. She'd been in there for quite some time now. Queen Islanzadí must be skeptical of the direction Ruby was taking the Riders. Aaron wasn't completely happy with the situation either, but it's the hand they were given.

Nalia dipped her emerald snout down and nudged Aaron's right shoulder. _You aren't one to get impatient,_ she reminded. _What's bothering you?_

 _Ruby's trying to play politics. You know how she feels about all that on Remnant's side. Here, she has no idea what's going on._ Aaron shook his head. _But it's not like we could have offered support, even…thirteen years ago. That's still hard to wrap my head around._

 _Anyway, it's not like I'm the only one who's ready to get going._ Aaron nodded at Yang, who stood by the one remaining Bullhead brought over from Remnant. It had been about a month since Halcyon was killed, and she still hadn't gotten much better. Since then, she'd been flipping between rage and severe depression. When she got low, Aaron swore he saw a look in Yang's eyes that he didn't like. Each time that happened, Ruby and Cerise were on top of her in a second.

 _She **is** getting better._ Nalia hummed with happiness for more than one reason.

 _You're just happy Irolon's back._

Nalia snorted. _Having him as an Eldunarí is better than not having him at all. And… I think it's really cute that he's helping Yang like that._

Aaron's jaw dropped as he stared at his dragon. _Did you just call Irolon cute?_ Nalia froze, then she bobbed her head. _You've been around Ruby too much._

 _ **I've**_ _spent too much time around her? I'm not the one courting her._

Aaron gave a sideways nod. _Fair point._ A strong wind blew into the clearing. Aaron looked up and saw Saphira's and Vert's bellies descending toward him. The two dragons landed in the clearing. But Vert's right wing didn't have its brace. Either he felt comfortable enough to use his formerly shattered wing, he found an Eldunarí he was comfortable with, or this was Glaedr's last test for him while he was in Ellesméra.

Weiss and Velvet dismounted their respective dragons and walked toward the Bullhead, where the remainder of team RWBAY, JNPR, and Viki stood. Aaron walked to join the others. Velvet looked in his direction. "I take it Ruby is still in there?" She asked.

"Yeah. I wouldn't think for much longer. It's been a while."

"There's probably other discussion going on in there anyway." Weiss sighed. "I swear, asking Ruby to work in politics is like asking me to cook. It'll happen, you just won't like the result."

"Don't sell yourself short." Blake elbowed her teammate. "That cake you helped bake second year wasn't terrible."

"Ruby did most of the work." Weiss shrugged. "I think she's got more of her mom in her than she's letting on."

 _Her mom is entirely in her head,_ Vert chipped in. _I'm not sure that the two are that much different._

"Ruby always did want to be like her," Yang added from the side. Everyone looked at her, but she kept staring at the ground. "Dad still doesn't like talking about Summer, but from what he has said, Ruby is essentially a young version of Summer." The corners of Yang's lips slowly curved up. "From what I've seen in her head, I'd say that's accurate."

Aaron nodded. He'd seen much of the same thing the one time he was that deep in Ruby's head. He looked between Vert and Saphira. "Are you two ready to fly when Ruby joins us?"

 _I am, but my engines are running low on Dust._ Vert flapped his wings, the membranes touching the jets strapped to his side.

"We should be able to make it to Ilirea." Velvet took Vert's wing brace off where it hung on his side. "Maybe a little farther. But after that, we're grounded without help."

"My Bullhead's in a similar position." She rapped her knuckles against her transport. "The tanks have a full case apiece, but if we run into wind, I don't think we'd make it to Aberon."

 _I am used to having sore wings._ Saphira fluttered said wings. _I could make that flight with Weiss on my back without stopping._

Weiss put a hand on her dragon's neck. "There is no need for that. We are going to take it easy, and we're only going to Ilirea, not Aberon."

Saphira snorted. _That doesn't mean I couldn't do it._

Nalia growled. _Arrogance kills more dragons than anything else. You may be able to fly there, but what condition would you be in? Would you be able to move? Fight? You'd be in a position similar to what you were when you first flew to Urû'baen._ Saphira hung her head, sufficiently chagrined.

"Don't worry, Saphira." Aaron smirked. "She's speaking from experience." He heard a door close behind him. He turned toward it and saw Ruby and Cerise walking down the steps of Tialdarí hall.

Ruby was back in the red dress and cloak she was given to her on the Rider's first trip to Ellesméra. A living white rose with a ruby in the center held her cloak in place. As she walked, her hair swayed, making her pointed ears stick out even more. All of Cerise' scales were polished to a shine. The only scales missing in her coat were from the injury on her front right leg when a Beowolf attacked her way back when she was two weeks old. Both Rider and dragon had smiles on their faces, or at least as best as they could physically manage.

"We have the Queen's blessing to leave," Ruby announced as she approached the Remmartians. "She's not the happiest about our arrangements, but she sees the necessity."

"What about the other things?" Aaron asked.

He saw Ruby try to hold back a smile. "She was quite surprised, to say the least."

 _We will tell you in the air,_ Cerise said. _We should not speak of it on the ground._

Ruby faced Blake and most of her good cheer disappeared. "Is the cargo secured?"

Blake grimaced and stared at the back of her Bullhead. "Pruma's in there, with a Dust charge on her chest." She shook her head. "The sooner we can remove that curse, the better."

Aaron looked toward Viki. Both Morzan and Pruma were frozen alive, and if one of them died, half the former slave population of Dras-Leona would too… But she didn't need to know that. Hopefully Atlas would take Pruma and house her somewhere until the elves found a way to lift the curse. "I couldn't agree more."

"We should get moving," Ruby said. "The sooner we meet with Deynor, the sooner we can get home."

"All aboard," Blake climbed into her Bullhead, and all of JNPR followed her in.

Viki looked between the Bullhead and Nalia. Any step she took toward one, she took one in the other direction. The fact she was even considering the Bullhead was a good sign. Aaron walked to his sister's side and put a hand on her shoulder. "Viki, it's okay to ride with me on Nalia, or with everyone else in the Bullhead. I can't make this choice for you."

"I…uh…" Viki's head dropped. "I don't know how."

Aaron's shoulders dropped. Viki had come a long way from being a slave in Dras-Leona, but she had even longer to go. "Okay then. Who makes you feel safe, or who do you want to talk to."

Viki blinked. "You and Nalia."

Nalia hummed and laid on the ground. _You are always welcome to fly with me._ She stretched out a leg to make a ramp up to her back. Viki slowly climbed up Nalia's leg and to the saddle. She didn't even need to be told. Even if this was just around Aaron and Nalia, it was a good thing.

Aaron climbed up Nalia's side and Viki wrapped her arms around him. He looked around the clearing. At that point, the only ones still on the ground were Velvet and Ruby, and they were working on fitting the brace over Vert's right wing. Both Riders backed away and Vert flexed the wing. He snorted his approval and the women grabbed the other brace from where it hung on his side.

Motion on the far side of the clearing caught Aaron's eye. A familiar elf walked out of the trees, but not the one he expected. Then again, Yaela was riding back to Dras-Leona. "Ruby? Rhunön is heading this way." Aaron gestured in the general direction.

Ruby turned her head in that direction, then walked toward the elf. Those two had a short but intense history. Ruby had admired Rhunön since Aaron revealed that the elf had forged all the Rider's swords, and very few had even been nicked, much less destroyed. From what Aaron could tell, Ruby pretty much met her idol.

A few minutes into their conversation, Ruby stiffened up and her movements became jerky. For a second, Aaron thought something bad happened. Ruby bowed the Rhunön and walked back to Cerise. There was a slight bounce to her step, but only people who knew her would be able to see it. When she reached her dragon, she turned her head to Aaron. Her eyes shone brighter than the sun and her lips curled inward. Something happened, but it couldn't have been bad.

Ruby climbed up Cerise' side and seated herself in front of Yang. She drew her solar powered Scroll from a pocket. "Okay teams, we all ready?" In response, all dragons flared their wings and the engines on the Bullhead spun to life. Aaron pulled his helmet over his head and handed Viki a makeshift motorcycle helmet. It didn't have all the Scroll integration that his had, but it had the Scroll wired right in. "Right then. We have business in Ilirea. If all goes well, we can be back on Remnant tomorrow morning. Follow us." Ruby and Yang pulled their own helmets over their heads. Cerise pushed off the ground and rose above the trees. Nalia, Saphira, Vert, and the Bullhead followed in that order.

After a few minutes of flying, Ruby's mind pressed against Aaron's, and probably everyone else's. Her excitement and happiness rolled off her like a tsunami. Also, the Scroll line clicked. _"Oh my gosh! Rhunön asked me to take over sword forging for the Riders!"_ She bounced in Cerise' saddle.

"Really?" Aaron smirked at the back of Ruby's helmet. "That sounds like your dream job."

 _"That's being a Huntress, actually."_ Ruby turned her head back. Even though there was quite the distance between the two, and both of them were wearing helmets, Aaron could see the smile bursting off Ruby's face. _"But this is a very close second. Forging weapons for the next generation of Riders? This is going to be great!"_

 _Are you going to hold yourself to just swords?_ Nalia asked.

Saphira snorted. _I don't think Ruby can hold herself back when it comes to anything weapon related._

 _"You're learning. Good._ " Weiss patted Saphira's neck. _"You'll need to do that a lot more in the future."_

 _"How about this: whatever weapon works for the Rider, I'll forge it."_ Ruby sounded extremely confident in herself. " _I don't care if it's as small as a knife, or a sword twice the size of Yatsuhashi's. If it's also a gun, all the better!"_ She paused in her excitement. _"I might be able to improve our current weapons too. Give them a Brightsteel coating and all that. It wouldn't be as strong as something made from solid Brightsteel, but it's better than what we've got now."_

 _"Does that extend to all of us, or just you Riders?"_ Blake asked over the Scroll link. She didn't sound too enthused about it.

Ruby hesitated. _"Maybe. Trust me, I want to help in any way I can. But… I don't know if this is something that should stay with the Riders. I swore to Rhunön I'd go by her rules. Only Riders ever used her swords. The coating might be different enough. I just don't know right now."_

Blake sighed. _"Okay. If that's how it's done, okay."_

 _Ruby,_ Nalia interrupted anything else Blake would say, _how are my eggs._

 _"Oh. Right. Well, they'll be well taken care of. They're the first eggs the elves have seen in years. They won't let anything happen to them. If none have hatched by the time you come back, you are free to take them."_ Nalia hummed and curved her neck back. She nuzzled her one wild egg through a saddlebag.

 _"As for the politics side of things, I think I did a decent job. We're free to come and go whenever we want, and Queen Islanzadí agreed to house some of the eggs. The relations between Remnant and here I'll leave to the actual politicians for multiple reasons. But the split force idea is completely okay."_

"Now we just need to figure out the time dilation." Aaron sighed. "That could be a problem."

 _"I might be able to help with that,_ " Weiss said. _"I'm not sure if my time dilation glyph works the same way, but it's better than nothing."_

Aaron looked back at Weiss and Saphira. "That might actually work."

 _If we can close the gap,_ Nalia started, _who knows what opportunities will arise._

 _"Well, Riders, why don't we talk about that?"_ Ruby suggested. Aaron took the hint and ended the call with Blake, JNPR, and Viki. Ruby sighed. _Umaroth, are you sure we can't let them know you're here?_

Another mind entered Aaron's. _I am certain,_ Umaroth said. _It is not a matter of trust, but a matter of necessity. Your team has your trust in this matter, and by extension mine, but they are not Riders. As such, they cannot defend their minds as well as any of you. If anyone who seeks knowledge of your power and can see into minds, they will find us._

 _But aren't we doing that with Ozpin?_ Weiss asked.

 _Human and elf regents are among the few outside the Riders that are aware of our existence. This Ozpin appears to be the equivalent to Vale._

 _Not quite, but he does have a big influence._ Ruby faced back toward here the pocket space flew behind Cerise. _How do we get the rest of the team into this. I really think they could help us out. And Pyrrha's a Maiden. She already carries one of Remnant's biggest secrets. If we can't trust her, we can't trust anyone._

Umaroth stayed silent for a while before answering. _All who know about the Eldunarí must show that they can defend their minds well. If they prove that, and their knowing furthers the protection of the Eldunarí, they may know._

Ruby sighed again. _Thank you._

Aaron narrowed his mind so only Ruby could hear. _Why so adamant about getting the others in on this?_

 _I've had enough of keeping secrets from friends._ Ruby looked at Aaron, and even through the helmets and distance, locked eyes with him. _We both know what that can do to us._

Aaron winced and looked down. _Yeah. Something this big… with our luck, that's a bad idea._

Ruby nodded. _As long as we agree no secrets to each other, or the team. Like I told Umaroth, if we can't trust each other, we can't trust anyone._

* * *

Cerise curved around the mountain that guarded the back of Ilirea. Yang's arms tightened around Ruby. The younger sister squeezed one of her sister's arms and turned her head back. Yang stared at the mountain and the city, and her whole body shook. She was in pain, returning to the place here her dragon was killed. "Yang?" Ruby whispered.

Yang shook her head. "I don't want to be here."

"Don't worry. We're going to the citadel, and not staying anywhere in the city itself. You won't see that place again."

"Does that matter with you?" Yang's helmet turned to Ruby. Even through the helmet, the younger sister felt the glare. Yang dipped her head. "I'm sorry. It's just…"

"North Sanus Mountains." Ruby nodded. She faced the city again and subconsciously rubbed her bionic right arm. "I'm sorry, Yang. We won't be here long. When we get back, you can take me to-"

"No." Yang shook her head again. "I won't take you there. I don't care what's going on." She looked at the bag on her back where she carried Irolon's Eldunarí. Her whole body relaxed and her grip on Ruby loosened.

"I once said the same thing about going into your head way back when. I really won't mind." Cerise flew toward the wall and slowed down as she approached. For the first time that Ruby approached the city, no cries of fear or alarm went up. Ruby looked off Cerise' side and down at the wall. The soldiers on the defenses shook their weapons at the dragons, but it was more like they were cheering for them. Ruby waved at them as Cerise passed.

The gates of the citadel loomed before them. They were closed, but it looked like a couple new doors were carved near the base. Probably so people who could come and go without going through some convoluted tunnels or wait for the huge doors to open. A few people waited into the courtyard in front of the citadel. One of them wore purple robes and a golden crown. It looked like Deynor was checking all the boxes of how royalty looked. Hopefully he was more like King Ozlan, not the King of Mantle.

Cerise touched down in the courtyard, and the other dragons and Bullhead followed suit. Ruby dismounted Cerise and took her helmet off. Hopefully her helmet hair wasn't too bad. When everyone had their feet on the ground and helmets off, Ruby approached the King of Alagaësia. She gave King Deynor a polite bow. "Thank you for receiving us on such short notice."

King Deynor returned the bow. "You are the Riders who freed Alagaësia from Galbatorix' grasp. I would be remiss if I ignored your call." He gestured at the smaller doors. On this closer view, it looked like the doors could fit a dragon similar in size to Glaedr.

The doors opened as the entire procession approached. At the far end of the large tunnel stood the golden doors to the… at least former throne room. Whether Deynor used it as such, Ruby didn't know. But the black dragon that was forced to work for Galbatorix surely still lived back there. "Has Shruikan given anyone here any trouble?"

Deynor grimaced. "He has not attacked anyone, but no one is willing to enter the throne room, or even venture near it. I fear the day someone walks in there while he is sleeping or when he is hungry."

"I may be able to help with that. We found something on Vroengard that could calm a dragon like him."

"How is it possible to sooth that anger?"

"There's one thing that ties Shruikan to sanity. If not…" Ruby shivered. "We may have to kill him. I don't see a way around it right now.."

Deynor raised an eyebrow. "After all you said you went to save his life?"

"I don't like it either." Ruby shook her head. "But this is the one thing that makes Shruikan sane. If he breaks here, he may be beyond saving."

"I see." Deynor nodded. He turned away from the doors at the end of the hall. "My throne room has moved because Shruikan occupies the old one." Ruby followed, and judging by the footsteps behind her, everyone else did too.

Deynor led the way down a side hallway. If Ruby remembered right, this was extremely close to where Weiss was held captive. She looked back to her partner. Weiss had an arm draped over Saphira's neck. It looked like she was trying to put up a brave face, but Ruby noticed how stiff her motions were. If Saphira wasn't with her, Weiss probably wouldn't come anywhere near here. Thankfully, Deynor pushed into a room before they passed the point of no return.

Unlike the room Shruikan occupied, this place wasn't spacious, or extravagant. If it wasn't for the torches and the Varden banners, this place would have felt like a dank dungeon more than a place of power. But it did have enough room for all the dragons, and the old throne. It had a few alterations to the gold detailing, but was otherwise the same one that Galbatorix used.

Deynor turned around in front of the throne. "Remmartians, I welcome you back to Ilirea. I cannot thank you enough for your help in defeating Galbatorix and the Forsworn." His eyes stopped and focused on something. "I do not believe we have met." Ruby traced Deynor's line of sight to Viki. She tensed. What would Viki do here?

Aaron placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "King Deynor, this is my sister, Viki Sarasdaughter. She was being held as a slave in Dras-Leona."

Viki dipped her head and her eyes flicked to Nalia. After a few seconds, she grabbed the hem of her dress and curtsied. "It is an honor to meet you, your Majesty." Nalia slowly blinked at Viki.

"The honor is mine." Deynor returned the bow. "What was done to you is inexcusable. I will endeavor to ensure that such an atrocity is never committed again in my lands."

Deynor took a seat in his throne. "Now, Riders, I am assuming you aren't here to visit."

Ruby shook her head. "We are going to be leaving Alagaësia. Now that Galbatorix and the Forsworn are dead, our homeland is in more danger than here."

The King of Alagaësia sighed. "I had expected as much. If the horrors of your land are half as extreme as your allies explained, you will need all the help you can get." He paused. "May I assume you will be rebuilding the Riders in your homeland?"

"To an extent, yes. Right now, Remnant is in more danger than here, so all of us will need to be there. As time goes on, new Riders will serve in their homelands. Their training, well, that depends on what they want. I am sure the Huntsman academies on Remnant will accept those who are willing and able to train there. We can train them in magic and all other matters related to the Riders as well. Any Riders from here, well…" Ruby looked to Aaron. He would be better to explain this next part.

Aaron stepped forward. "Nalia and I were not the only ones to escape the Forsworn. My old masters survived and were rebuilding their strength to fight the Traitor."

Deynor leaned forward in his throne. "More Riders?"

"They have the knowledge, but right now, they cannot fight. They were injured before the Forsworn attacked Vroengard, and they still have not recovered. Honestly, I don't know if they ever will."

Deynor settled again. "I suppose that will take years to come to pass. There are too few eggs for the Riders to come back."

Ruby smiled, and everyone else probably did the same. "Actually, that's no longer true. We flew to Vroengard after we left Dras-Leona. We found hundreds of eggs in a vault buried beneath the mountain."

Once again, Deynor relaxed in his throne. "It appears the Riders aren't doomed as we once believed."

"It will still take decades, even centuries, to build up to our former strength," Aaron started, "but yes, our future does not look as bleak."

"It appears so." Deynor paused. "However, before you leave, I have one request to make."

"Name it," Ruby said.

"Surda is laying claim to the city of Feinster, and so am I. The people of the city cannot decide which they would prefer. I must ask you to assist in the negotiations."

Ruby hoped she hid her disappointment. There went getting back to Remnant the next morning. She once again faced her partner. Since last time, Weiss had released her grip on her dragon and stood much more composed. "Weiss? You up for this."

Weiss nodded. "I am. But I will need to know how far you want to go to keep the city under your flag."

Deynor nodded, then sighed. "Despite this revelry, there is one thing I must address." He stood from his throne. "Rider Yang Xiao Long, step forward." Ruby felt her heart speed up with those words. She thought she knew that this was about.

Yang stepped up to the front of the pack and held her arms at her sides. Her hands weren't balled into fists, but she was tense. "What's this about?" Yang's tone of voice suggested she knew exactly what was going on.

"All of us here know of your contributions to this effort, and what you lost, but not very many see it our way. Despite what we know, your actions after the loss of your dragon are inexcusable. You killed dozens of defenseless soldiers trying to surrender in your rage. This crime cannot go unpunished." Ruby reached for Máni Bláto, but didn't grab her weapon. She would _not_ support an execution order on her sister, and she would ensure that _never_ happened.

Deynor gestured at Yang. "Once you leave Alagaësia, as long as I am alive, you may never return." Ruby let her arms relax. Considering how long Yang was going to live, that 'punishment' was the equivalent of Yang getting a slap on the wrist.

Yang shrugged. "Okay then. I guess I deserve that."

"Indeed, you do." Deynor sat back in his throne. "Now, Shadeslayer, what is it you plan to do with Shruikan?" Ruby straightened and held her hands behind her back. She calmly explained her plan, and her own reservations behind it. Deynor's face grew darker as Ruby continued. When she finished, King Deynor stayed silent. He shifted in his throne. "This is a great risk to be taking. Are you sure this is the best path?"

"There is no such thing as the 'best path.' This is just the one that could have the most positive results."

Deynor relaxed in his throne. "I have no say in how you lead the Riders. If you choose to take this risk, I cannot stop you, and I will not fight you."

Ruby bowed to the King. "Thank you. Now if you'll excuse us, we need to put this plan in motion."

"We are agreed. But I implore you, do not leave tonight. There are rooms set aside for you all in the city." Deynor smiled. "The people want to celebrate those who overthrew their oppressor. There will be a feast in the courtyard tonight. The entire city has been invited."

"I look forward to it," Ruby forced out through a fake smile. She turned around and walked toward the exit. She stopped by Weiss' side and put a hand on her partner's shoulder. _I need to take Saphira with me. You going to be okay alone in here?_

Weiss blinked. _As long as Deynor doesn't take me to that place, I should be okay._

Ruby nodded. _The walls here are thick, and there's a lot of rock around here. But I'm sure if you need her, Saphira will hear._ Ruby looked up to said dragon for confirmation.

Saphira snorted. _If you get into trouble, I will not be happy, and will not allow you to leave my side for the foreseeable future._

Weiss smiled up at her dragon. _Oddly, I'm okay with that._

 _Good luck._ Ruby patted Weiss' back and left the throne room. Everyone but Weiss and Deynor followed her out. When the doors to the room closed, Ruby faced everyone. "Okay, so it sounds like we have until the feast to do whatever we want."

"I think we're going to check out these 'rooms' that Deynor talked about." Jaune said. "Something tells they they're a bit more than that."

"And then possibly tour the city," Pyrrha added. "It would be nice to finally see one of the cities here without having to worry about looking over our shoulders."

"Ren and I might be taking it easy." Nora rubbed the back of her neck. "I know the elves strengthened what they did to heal my scar, but I'd rather not risk it. I'm definitely getting this checked out when we get back to Vale."

"Do you need us to come with you?" Velvet asked the head Rider.

Ruby was about to speak, but Aaron beat her to it. "No, but I'd like someone to look after Viki. She doesn't need to meet Shruikan."

Viki's head dipped. "Is he really that bad?"

"It's not his fault, but yes." Aaron squeezed Viki's shoulder. "He would not like you, and I doubt you'd like him."

"Okay." Viki walked to Velvet's side, and from there to Vert's. She always was more comfortable around the dragons.

Ruby faced her sister. "And you?"

Yang hesitated. "Well, I don't think I'm exactly welcome in the city, and I won't be able to do anything with Shruikan, so I think I'll wait for Weiss."

Ruby nodded. "I understand." She looked to those who weren't going to Shruikan's room. "Well, see you all later." She turned down the main hall and walked toward the massive golden doors at the end. From her spot it looked like the decoration had changed in the Urgal section, but she was too far away to be sure.

 _So,_ Cerise began, _you're looking forward to the feast?_

"The food yes, the rest…not so much." Ruby let her shoulders slump. "I mean, I get that people are happy that we helped them, but it's not like we were the only ones to do anything. That…and I'm tired of all this attention. I can't wait to get back to Patch and be just like everyone else again."

"You'll be able to sound like yourself too." Aaron smirked. "No such thing as the best path? That sounds more like something Oromis would say."

"My mom, actually." Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. "Best, perfect, any of those types of things don't exist. You can have records, but those are made to be broken."

Aaron cocked his head. "That sounds about right from the little bit we've talked."

Another mind pressed into Ruby's. _If Shruikan becomes a problem,_ Umaroth started, _we will assist you in whatever way is necessary._

 _Can he know of your existence?_ Nalia asked.

 _I would be surprised if he does not already. We are too strong to not be noticed by a dragon of his size._

 _Well, might as well get this over with._ By that point, the Riders and dragons made it to the golden doors. It looked like Ruby was right. Instead of the Urgal decoration showing them attacking humans, it showed what looked like a normal hunting party. Nothing sinister about that. "Well, hopefully he's not asleep."

Ruby put a hand on the door and it swung open without any other force. There were even less torches around than the last time. The black mass of a dragon that was Shruikan lay on the far side of the room. He lay curled up, and it looked like he may indeed be sleeping. Then his head burst out from under his wing, ice blue eyes glaring at the newcomers. This time, Ruby rested a hand on her folded-up weapon.

Shruikan raised his head and stared at Ruby. _Kingkiller, you have returned._ He looked past Ruby and Cerise. _You have brought more Eldunarí as well. Where did you find them?_

"In a vault under Vroengard." Ruby released Máni Bláto, but kept her hand nearby. "A few hundred of them, including Umaroth."

Shruikan's eyes narrowed and his lips curled back. He growled, but he didn't make any move forward. Ruby thought she felt the two dragons, and possibly more, speaking with each other. Judging by Shruikan's stance, he wasn't exactly happy to be in the same room as Umaroth. That hate had to come from being with Galbatorix for so long, but it couldn't just be turned off.

After a while, Shruikan closed his lips and returned his gaze to Ruby. _Is this why you are here? To threaten me if I step out of line?_

"Quite the opposite actually. I came to offer you a job." Shruikan continued to stare at Ruby, only now confusion filled his narrow eyes. "I have seen that you still care for the young, so for the time being, I am going to ask you to protect the eggs that we have."

Shruikan's head lowered and his eyes widened a fraction. _I don't believe Nalia nor Cerise will let me near their eggs._

"It's not their eggs you'd be guarding. We found over two hundred more on Vroengard."

Shruikan's eyes widened to their normal level and his head rested only feet off the floor. _But, that's impossible. I searched that island for weeks. There were only three left unbroken._

"They were buried a mile underground. I don't think you could have hoped to find the eggs through all that rock." Ruby focused on the spot behind Cerise where all the eggs and Eldunarí hid. She modified the spell as she walked over to the spot. When she was done, a pure white egg appeared out of nowhere and fell into her hands. She cradled the egg and the hatchling inside as she walked back to Cerise' head. "Believe me now?" she asked as she caressed the egg.

Shruikan's head raised. His ears and wings stood up, and his pupils filled his entire eyes. Any malice in them from earlier disappeared. _I thought the others destroyed them all. I am glad that is not the case._ He paused. _You would trust me with this duty?_

Aaron stepped forward. "That's just it. We don't know if we can." Shruikan's ears and wings drooped. "Your reactions to seeing us and learning about Umaroth are proof that you're not stable. I'm sure you can see why we're skeptical."

 _What would you have me do?_ Shruikan's eyes were wide and begging. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

Ruby shifted the white egg to her natural left arm. "If you want to oversee the eggs, you follow my rules, understand?" She tried to keep her voice calm to not disturb the hatchling she was holding. Shruikan nodded rapidly. "In addition to taking orders from me, you will have three direct superiors. Nalia, Saphira," Ruby gestured to both dragons in turn, and both of them stepped forward, "and Weiss. Nalia is in charge of wild dragon relocation and training for both the wild and bonded dragons. As such, she'll need to have access to the eggs at all times. Weiss and Saphira will be searching for new Riders in Remnant and potentially Alagaësia. They will let you know if that number needs to increase. Do I make myself clear?"

Shruikan nodded. _**I understand you perfectly. No harm will come to any eggs under my protection, nor shall I harm any egg, nor any hatchling, dragon, or two-leg that approaches them with good intent.**_

Ruby let her shoulders fall. "Good. In that case, we will leave most of them here. When the Riders are set up again, we may separate the eggs for more protection."

 _That sounds reasonable._ Shruikan's ears perked up again. He looked around his room. _There is space for them back here. That way, they won't have to leave my sight._ He shuffled away from his spot, revealing even more of the throne room behind him.

Ruby exchanged looks with Nalia and Saphira. They both nodded. Ruby walked forward with the white egg in hand. She continued to pet the egg as she approached Shruikan. When she was practically standing beneath him, she met Shruikan's eyes. Again, there was no hostility at all. His mind pressed against hers, and probably only hers. _**Thank you, Ruby Shadeslayer. No one else would even think about giving me this chance.**_

 _ **You're welcome. Just don't give me cause to doubt this.**_

 _ **As long as you allow me to guard these eggs, I won't.**_

* * *

 **A few real life things, while I was uploading Nevermore, I was told by silverhawk88 that he commissioned a piece of art for A Rose's Scales. On deviantart, type 'Ruby and Cerise' into the search bar, or the author, 'manu-chan.' This was completely out of the blue and I'm still blown away by it.**

 **Also, not related in any way to RWBY of this fic, my college's football team is going to the semifinal game for the seventh year in a row. (GO BIZON!)**


	2. New Mission

**Okay, I feel like I need to address something that's come up in the past few weeks here and on Spacebattles (where I'm currently uploading Reversal). Please know that this is NOT a dig at anyone who has said something. Far from it. It's a thank you more than anything.**

 **When I first started uploading A Rose's Scales two years ago, I did it with the intent of getting better at writing before going onto an actual novel. Really, it's still there, but it's taken a bit of a backseat to writing this series. However, the way it's evolved is different than what I expected. Since I upload and get feedback every week, I can improve every week. If you've been around since the beginning, I think you can see the difference between then and now. Unfortunately, this also means there are some big things that I missed earlier on that come in later. At the same time, getting these in later is still an improvements for me. I take any and all criticism and suggestions seriously and none are cast out without some thought. Those of you who do so, thank you.**

 **Here's how that relates to this. I've done terribly with Red Sky. I've done terribly with adding small details to my OCs. If you let me, I'll try to make these things and many more better going forward.**

 **Okay, now the reaction to last week's episode: What are you up to Raven? Also, PROTECT THE BELLADONNAS AT ALL COSTS! BEST LIVING MOM MUST NOT DIE!**

* * *

Ruby leaned against the wall of the Bullhead and stared at the gifts the Riders and Remmartians had been given. Even though she appreciated the thought and effort put in by everyone who pitched in, she had to admit she liked the gifts from the elves better. They were mostly practical, and gave some advantage in combat, or general life. From the humans, and apparently the dwarves, it was all decoration or flat out gold or Alagaësian currency. Well, King Hrothgar _did_ send dragon armor left over from the old order, but all the pieces were too small for most dragons, or in Saphira's case, way too big.

"What are we going to do with all this?" Yang asked from behind Ruby.

"I've got no clue." Ruby shook her head and faced her sister. "I think Doctor Oobleck would like to take a look at a lot of this."

"That, or he'll know who does." Yang paused. "Is this all of it? I want to get out of here."

"Weiss and Saphira are on their way back with what Deynor gave them. We'll be out of the city in five minutes." Ruby focused on the one spot in Yang's hair that wasn't completely golden. "Did you ever figure out how to fix your hair?" She gestured at the silver streak.

Yang grabbed the streak and jerked it away. "I did enough. Halcyon gave me this hair…and he's the reason it wants to turn silver. This streak is all I'm going to allow to change."

Ruby pulled her hand back and nodded. "I'll leave you to that." The smaller gates in the Shruikan sized ones opened and Saphira and Weiss stepped out, the latter carrying a lot of old fashioned scrolls. Ruby faced her sister again. "You riding with us or in the Bullhead?"

"With you. I'm not that far gone." Yang smirked. _But I think Irolon would like it better if I flew with Aaron and Nalia._ She jerked a thumb at the bag on her back.

 _Hey!_ Irolon interjected. _That's…not entirely false._ He paused. _But I have thought about Cerise' offer. If it's not too much to ask…_

 _It is not,_ Cerise chipped in as she approached the Bullhead. _Though I will have to ask you not to interfere with my flying. I need to be able to move my wings as I see fit._

 _I would not dream of that._

"Now that that's out of the way…" Ruby walked around the Bullhead and faced the center of the courtyard, where everyone else was standing. She took a deep breath. "Mount up! I want to be in Feinster before dinner!" The other Remmartians looked to Ruby, then made their way to their rides.

Cerise knelt down beside Ruby, her lips forming the best smirk a dragon could manage. _Food? After last night?_

"Yeah, food." Ruby climbed Cerise' side. "I meant it more like the time of day, but you never know what could be there."

 _You have a point._ Cerise chuckled and faced forward again.

Yang climbed up onto Cerise' back. "You're one to talk, Cerise. How much did you eat last night with you still being hungry afterward?

 _I didn't say I disagreed._ Cerise flared her wings as the Bullhead's engines spun up. She looked around the courtyard along with her Rider. No one that was traveling stood outside the Bullhead or off a dragon. _Hang on back there._ Cerise jumped into the air and spread her wings. Everyone else followed soon after. People on the ground waved at the dragons, and Ruby waved back. Before long, all fliers were out of the city.

Ruby sighed and grabbed her helmet. She fit it over her head and activated the Scroll integration. It was going to be another long flight. Without having to worry about fighting anybody, she and Yang had nothing to do. "You want to pick the movie this time?" she asked as she took her scroll from a pocket.

Yang shrugged. "Might as well." She took the Scroll from Ruby. Soon after, the Scroll's screen turned up on Ruby's helmet. Surprisingly, Yang didn't pick an action movie like she always did. It was a sappy, feel good, animated Hisney movie. While everyone on the team liked those, they were never Yang's first choice. Then again, they all just did finish fighting a war, and Yang lost Halcyon.

As expected, it took almost two full length movies for Feinster to come into view. Ruby took her Scroll from Yang and put it away. _Nalia?_ She turned her head back to where Nalia flew in the formation. _You were here back when the Riders were here in force. Where do we land?_

 _We used to be able to land in any courtyard in the city._ Nalia hummed happily. _There's one near a tavern Aaron's family went to when they visited the city. I can imagine there are some people there who remember the Riders of old. They will not let us be attacked._

 _Got it. Lead the way._ Nalia and Cerise switched places in the formation. Ruby turned her head in the other direction to Weiss and Saphira. _I take it you two are heading for the keep?_

 _Yes, we are._ Weiss said in her normal business 'voice.' _The sooner this negotiation is over, the sooner we can all go home. Still, I doubt the negotiations will be over today. I'll need to check in with King Deynor before the final decision is made._

 _I'll leave you to it._ Ruby took off her helmet and clipped it to Cerise' saddle. As they approached, Ruby scanned the wall for any archers taking aim at Cerise. While neither Surda or the resurrected Broddring Kingdom wanted to kill the dragons, there was still the chance that some people down there could be spooked by a red dragon flying at them. When they got closer, it looked like some of the defenders still wore the red of Galbatorix' army.

Something about seeing those soldiers jogged something in Ruby's head. There could very well be soldiers that were present in Urû'baen. Even if not, news about what Yang did had to have made it this far. It had been weeks. Soldiers might not take too kindly to Yang being in the city. Ruby patted Cerise' neck. _If something happens, be ready to get Yang out of here._

Cerise nodded. _Talons crossed I won't need to._ She flew over the walls of Feinster and no arrows flew up to meet her. Saphira peeled off from the formation and flew toward the keep. Everyone else followed Nalia toward the center of the city. Nalia stopped over a courtyard and hovered above it. Despite being near the center of the city, it was fairly empty. The people that were there all moved to the edges of the clearing. All of them stared up at the dragons, and the flying metal thing that they never saw before.

The three remaining dragons waited for the Bullhead to land in the clearing before doing so themselves. Ruby dismounted and looked to the emptying Bullhead. She bit her lip. After all this time in Alagaësia, she still forgot that someone needed to watch the transport at all times. Any leftover technology could be a very bad thing, even when there was no Dust in Alagaësia. "Hey guys, who's watching that?"

Nora sat down on the lip of the crew compartment. "That'll be me and Ren. After what happened last night…" She brought a hand to where Durza cut her months ago. "I'd rather not move around a lot."

Ruby grimaced. "Yeah. That's probably for the best." She shook her head and looked for Aaron in the courtyard. She found him staring at a bulletin board on the other side. Ruby walked over and took a look herself. "Anything interesting going on here?"

"I'm really just looking at the wanted posters." He gestured to a line of pictures along the right side. "When the city team was here, Brom was the number one most wanted with an Earldom for whoever killed him or turned him in. Now it's looking like it's filled with actual criminals."

"Things are looking up, then." Ruby inspected those posters as well. The crimes ranged from petty theft to murder. She extended her mind to cover the entire city, but it was light enough so only experienced magicians would notice… hopefully. She didn't feel any of the emotions related to killing someone, or the primal fear of one being on the receiving end, so she let it go. "You said someone in this city led us to the Varden?"

Aaron smiled and nodded. "A family friend. And if you're as hungry as Cerise made it sound, you'll be happy to know he's the one who runs the tavern Nalia mentioned."

"She said what?" Ruby put her hands on her hips as she 'glared' at Cerise.

Cerise shrugged. _Don't blame me. You're the one who said it earlier._

"Don't go spreading rumors about me." Ruby shook her head then faced Aaron again. "So, where is this place?"

"It's a few blocks over." Aaron stuck a thumb over a shoulder. He paused and turned his head to Nalia. "Viki was there once or twice. Maybe going there again will jog her memory."

"Maybe." Ruby faced where Aaron was staring. Viki stood in the curve of Nalia's neck, her head pointing down. This was her first time actually in a human city since being freed. Staying in a building close to the citadel in Ilirea didn't count. What was she feeling? Was she ever here when those monsters… owned her?

Ruby's gaze drifted to Yang. Her sister was speaking with Blake and Pyrrha. She wasn't smiling like the other two, but she wasn't curled up in a ball either. Jaune and Velvet joined the three, then they all walked off together, with Jaune and Pyrrha holding hands.

"Well, it looks like we've been abandoned." Aaron rubbed the back of his neck.

"Something tells me that was intentional." Ruby stared at Cerise, but her dragon refused to meet her eyes. "Yep. Intentional." An awkward silence stood between them.

"They didn't do the best job. We're still taking Viki with us." Aaron's head dipped. "I trust her with Nalia, and so does she, but I'd rather keep an eye on her. She needs to be around other people."

"Yeah. Hopefully she doesn't freak out here."

Aaron nodded then walked toward his sister. "Viki," he placed a hand on her shoulder, "we're going deeper into the city. You're welcome to join us if you want."

Viki slowly raised her head and nodded. "I will." She said it in the most unconvincing way.

Ruby and Aaron exchanged a glance. "If you want," the former started, "you can stay with Nalia. We don't want to force you to do something you don't want."

"I…" Viki's head dipped again. Her eyes shifted all over the place. Ruby didn't need to be in her head to know that she was thinking as hard as a student who didn't study for a final. "I…want…to go with you."

"You got it." Aaron squeezed Viki's shoulder. "Stick with us, and we'll keep you safe."

Nalia hummed and nuzzled Viki's face. _Take care. I will see you soon._ Viki smiled and rubbed Nalia's snout. Every dragon managed to get a smile out of Viki with no effort. How did they do it?

The three humans walked away from the dragons. Ruby scanned the faces of the people in the area. For the most part, people looked confused. Without going into their heads, Ruby thought it was because they had only seen the Forsworn in so many years and expected any Riders in the city to be like them. Others had wide smiles on their faces, but didn't approach. Very few stared at the Riders or dragons with any hostility.

They left the courtyard and walked down one of the side streets. "So, is Cerise feeling alright?" Aaron asked out of nowhere.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. Why'd you ask?"

"I haven't seen her act like that in a long time."

"Well, we haven't been at war or planning for a war for a long time. I guess she's winding down." Ruby sighed. "When we get back home, I'm going to binge watch some happy feel good show on Scrollflix and each as many cookies and strawberries I can get my hands on."

"Oh yeah. I think taking a month off would be good to recharge, if we can spare it. We all need to recover."

"Agreed." Ruby hung her head. "I just hope Yang and Weiss can get back to her normal selves."

"W…what's wrong with them?" Viki asked.

Ruby almost tripped at the unexpected question. As far as Ruby knew, Viki never spoke unless spoken to. If she asked about anything else, Ruby would be bouncing off the walls. As it was, sadness balanced out the excitement. "With Weiss, you're going to have to wait for her to tell you herself. That's something only she can say. Yang…" Ruby bit her lip. This never got easier to say. "Yang is a Dragon Rider too, but her dragon was killed in the war."

"Oh…" Viki hung her head. "I guess that's why she's so angry?"

"Yeah. If you knew her two months ago, or if Halcyon was still alive, you wouldn't recognize her. She's so nice. A gentle giant, the mama bear of the team, always the joker, and someone you can talk to if you need support." Ruby allowed herself a small smile. "Yang helped me through so much…Oh, and in case you haven't heard, she's my sister."

Viki blinked, then looked to Aaron, then Ruby, and back again. "Does this mean I could get a dragon too?" Viki actually sounded excited, another first. But Ruby couldn't help thinking Viki only wanted a dragon to hug them. That sounded more like a job for Zwei, and Zwei would eat up that opportunity.

Aaron shrugged. "It's possible. Dragons judge people on their personality and other things. Existing relationships don't really matter."

"Besides," Ruby placed a hand on Viki's back, "you already have a bunch of dragons and people already willing to help you out."

"You're not alone," Aaron assured. " Feel free to use any of us." He raised his head. "And here we are, the Greased Pig."

Ruby looked forward and saw a building with that sign under its roof. She sniffed and was greeted with the glorious scent of grilled and smoked meat. "Oh, yeah. This'll work." She smirked at Aaron. "You took Weiss here? This doesn't look like her kind of place."

"Oh, it wasn't. They had something considerably less greasy for her, but it still wasn't a salad."

"So far, this sounds and smells like my kind of place." Ruby fell a step or two behind Aaron as he approached the building. They walked through the front door. The inside of the place didn't look to different from any big restaurant back in Vale, just without the hanging lights, the huge bar, and the screens hanging from the ceiling. Well, there was still a bar at the back, but it wasn't anywhere near as flashy.

The one man behind the bar turned to the newcomers. "Welcome to the…" his eyes widened and he threw his arms up. "Aaron Benson! Welcome back!"

"It's good to be back, Arlan." Aaron walked up to the bar and took a seat. Ruby and Viki sat on either side of him. "It's been too long."

"Indeed, it has." Arlan laughed. "I suppose Nalia will want some of my livestock, eh?"

"Maybe, but then the other three will want something too."

"Ah, yes! I saw the dragons fly over the walls." He paused. "But what was that grey creature? I have not seen something like that in all my years."

Aaron looked to Ruby, then back to Arlan. "We call it a Bullhead. I don't know why. It looks nothing like a bull. To simplify what it is, it transports people and supplies across great distances."

"I see." Arlan's smile returned in full force. "No matter, the True Dragon Riders are back!" He looked between Ruby and Viki. "Where are my manners? Who are these two beautiful young women with you?"

Aaron flicked his eyes to Ruby. _Introduce you as Shadeslayer, or Rose?_

 _This is Alagaësia,_ Ruby said. _I'm Shadeslayer here. Frankly, that just sounds cool. Might have to officially change my call sign when we get back to Remnant._

"Arlan," Aaron gestured toward Ruby, "this is Ruby Shadeslayer, the Hero of Fort Castle, and current leader of the Dragon Riders."

Arlan's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped. "Is that so?"

Ruby smiled, for more than one reason. She didn't flinch or anything when Aaron said Fort Castle. "Every word. But he forgot to mention that I'm also his girlfriend." She elbowed Aaron's side.

"I…don't understand. 'Girlfriend?'" Arlan looked between Ruby and Aaron.

Aaron shook his head. "I don't believe there's any equivalent word here. The best thing I can say is that we're courting each other."

"Well then!" Arlan threw his hands up again. "This changes things! The son of an old friend and the new leader of the Dragon Riders."

"Son, and daughter." Aaron placed a hand on Viki's shoulder. "This is Viki Sarasdaughter, my sister."

Viki's head dipped. "It is an honor to meet you…Arlan."

"…Viki?" Arlan breathed. "I thought you were dead."

"It was worse than that." Ruby scowled. "Ever since the Traitor took over, she's been a slave in Dras-Leona. The place I found her in was not suitable for human life, or any for that matter."

"She was a…" Arlan reached out and gently grabbed one of Viki's hands. "I apologize, Viki. I have been in Dras-Leona several times since the Riders fell. If I had known you were there, I would have done everything possible to bring you here, and away from those monsters. You have my deepest apologies for not doing anything for you while you were there."

Viki froze and turned to Aaron, then back to Arlan. "Thank…you?" Aaron patted his sister on the back.

"You are very welcome, Viki." Arlan drew his hand back and looked between Aaron and Ruby. "So, since the Forsworn are dead, may I assume those black creatures are too?"

Ruby stiffed. "What do you mean by black creatures? We've met and fought several."

Arlan scowled this time. "A golden dragon flew over the city several weeks past. Even more black beasts flew alongside it."

Ruby and Aaron locked eyes. "Hold on a second." Ruby fished her Scroll out of a pocket and navigated to a picture of a Ptero, er, Lethrblaka, that was killed before the Riders entered Du Weldenvarden the first time. "Did some of them look like this?" Ruby turned the Scroll so Arlan could see.

Arlan stared at the screen. "Yes…exactly like this…how is this possible?"

"The simplest answer is magic." Ruby put the Scroll away. "Those creatures are native to the land I'm from, but the types we've seen here are more dangerous."

"What direction did they come from?" Aaron asked.

"From the southeast, from the island of Nía. But I do not know if that's actually where they came from." Arlan shook his head. "I saw one of the beasts fly down and pick a guard off the wall. The poor soul didn't stand a chance."

"Aaron," Ruby faced her second in command, "besides Nía, what's in that direction?"

"Various islands, all of them are controlled by Surda." Aaron crossed his arms. "None of them have any Grimm on them, or they shouldn't at least. Not with what we know now."

Ruby turned her head away further. At least some of the Eldunarí were listening to the conversation. _Umaroth? Do you know of anything in that direction?_

 _Besides the islands Aaron mentioned,_ Umaroth started, _there is where we believe the humans migrated from. There is a reason the humans left. The land itself has turned evil. The ground has grown black and brittle and the air smells of brimstone._

 _That sounds like two things: an active volcano,_ Ruby locked eyes with Aaron, _or the Grimmlands of the Lost Kingdom._

Aaron nodded. _Looks like we have one more thing to check._

Ruby looked away again. _How far away is this place?_

 _It is unknown,_ Umaroth started, _no dragon has visited that land since before my time, if ever._

 _Can the Eldunarí help Nalia and Cerise fly faster?_

Umaroth paused. _It is possible, and could let the recipients fly across Alagaësia in less than a day. Why do you ask?_

 _If the Grimm are there, we may need to get in and get out fast. Nalia might as well be Grimm repellent back on Remnant, but that wasn't the case when we fought the Lethrblaka and Ra'zac. That, and we don't know what kind of Grimm are out there. There may be something larger than the dragon Nalia fought at the Battle of Beacon. It won't be good if we show up exhausted._

 _Nalia, Cerise,_ Aaron called, _you two listening?_

 _We are,_ Cerise said. _If we can get a basic understanding of how many Grimm are there, we can see if there's any threat to Alagaësia._

 _The others won't be happy,_ Nalia started, _but we need to do this._

"Did I say something wrong?" Arlan asked, breaking Ruby out of her trance.

Ruby shook her head. "No. You just gave us another mission. But in the meantime, we're hungry. Aaron says you have some good stuff here, so what do you have?"

* * *

Aaron rested a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Viki, you'll be safe here. Stay with Velvet and Vert. If all goes well, we should not be gone more than a few days."

One of Ruby's hands occupied Viki's other shoulder. "Everyone here is willing to help you. Stay close to them, and you won't have a problem."

Viki looked between Aaron and Ruby. "Just hurry back." Aaron couldn't help but notice that Viki said that to Ruby as well as him.

"We will." Aaron squeezed Viki's shoulder, then backed away.

Nalia hummed and leaned her head in. _I'll see you soon._ Viki shot her arms up and latched onto Nalia's snout. Nalia flicked her tongue out and licked Viki's cheek.

"We should get going." Ruby backed up toward Cerise. "If we want to get home as soon as possible, we shouldn't waste time." Viki released Nalia and walked to the edge of the clearing. Velvet and Vert met her there and led her away.

 _Climb on._ Nalia settled on the ground. _I don't want to be in Grimmlands when the sun goes down._

"No one does." Aaron pulled himself onto Nalia's back. He checked the ammo for his V4 in Nalia's saddlebags. He had ten full magazines left in reserve and twenty-one rounds left in the one in his gun. Not much for any prolonged engagements, but if this was a quick in and out like planned, it should be more than enough.

 _I'm not sure about Nalia._ Cerise stood up with Ruby on her back. _I doubt she'd notice the difference._

 _Maybe._ Nalia shrugged. _But with these new Grimm, I don't want to risk it._

"We can talk on the flight there," Ruby said. "We've got some Grimm to take care of." Cerise snorted and jumped into the predawn air. Nalia flew right on her tail. The moon still hung high in the sky, and the only sign of the sun was the light on the eastern horizon. The ocean in front of them was lit by only the moon and stars. Despite seeing cities in both Alagaësia and Remnant, the view over the ocean at night was Aaron's favorite sight.

The night sky didn't stay around long. The sun rose behind the dragons, casting their shadows on the ocean below. Over the hours it rose over their heads. A while in, both Ruby and Aaron ate some of the last granola bars they took from Remnant. It wasn't the best meal, but considering they were on dragonback, it was better than nothing.

Thankfully, the weather cooperated with the flight. No breeze blew in any direction. There wasn't a cloud in the sky either. They flew far enough south to not be affected by the Jetstream. According to Umaroth, Nalia and Cerise were making good time. It probably helped that a good chunk of the Eldunarí were lending Nalia and Cerise their strength, allowing them to fly faster than ever before, without jet assistance anyway.

A little past midday, something stuck out of the water. A little while later, the dragons could pick out details of a mountain. The mountain grew, and a continent grew around it. Even from this distance, Aaron could tell there was something wrong about this place. In the midday sun, the mountain stood black. No snow blanketed the top of the mountain, nor was there any vegetation. This place could very well be Grimmlands.

Aaron searched the skies for anything that rose to meet them. For now at least, the skies were clear. Even so, he extended his V4 to rifle form and held it to his side. If any Nevermores and Griffons flew at them, they'd be shot down in seconds.

A city on the coast slowly gained definition. It was small, even by Alagaësian standards. But the wall around it could have put Armen to shame. It wasn't just one wall either. There was the one surrounding the city, and at least one more a few miles away. The one on the outside had to be a few hundred feet tall. The top was filled with catapults, ballistae, and even a few trebuchets. By Remnant's standards of technological progression, those shouldn't be around yet.

But those things weren't what made Aaron uneasy. No smoke coming from any of the chimneys did. Damage to buildings became more and more common and obvious. It looked like this city had been sacked and pillaged. But if the mountain was anything to go by, it wasn't attacked by people.

Nalia and Cerise dove for the shattered keep of the city. They landed in the courtyard, but neither knelt down. _I smell nothing,_ Nalia said. _Not even rotting flesh. No Grimm either._

Aaron looked over at Ruby. "Take a quick look around or try to find Grimm?"

"This is more Dr. Oobleck's territory," Ruby dismounted Cerise, "but we still might be able to tell why this place fell." She drew Máni Bláto and shifted it to its sword form. "Who knows what we might find in here?"

"I've got your back." Aaron slid off Nalia's back He held his V4 in both hands and faced the dragons. "Circle this place. Tell us if anything's approaching. Watch each other's backs." Nalia and Cerise nodded and jumped into the air. Aaron followed Ruby into the keep.

Just like the outside, there was no movement. Aaron stretched his mind out and didn't feel anyone either. But they couldn't feel the Lethrblaka and the Ra'zac. There could very well be more of them nearby. Aaron looked for gouges in the floor or walls, but nothing looked fresh. Unless they were planning an ambush, there were no Grimm nearby.

"Well, this is a change in loadout," Ruby said.

Aaron spared Ruby a glance. "What do you mean?"

Ruby raised Máni Bláto. "I've got a sword," she gestured at Aaron's V4, "you've got a gun. A complete shift from when we met."

"I guess you're right." Aaron smirked. "Also, you're wearing mostly gifts given to you by the elves, and I have things from shops in Vale. Not to mention you look more like an elf than a human."

Ruby giggled. "Who's the Remmartian and who's the Alagaësian? I could have sworn it was the other way around."

"I thought so too. I guess it's been so long we've forgotten which is which." Aaron laughed as well. They entered the throne room and the light-hearted mood collapsed when they saw a skeleton on the throne. "How often do Grimm leave bones?"

"Not a lot, but it's not unheard of." Ruby walked to the throne, and Aaron covered the entrances with his V4. He wasn't taking any chances. "Aaron? You're going to want to see this."

Aaron jogged to Ruby's side. But halfway there, he noticed what caught Ruby's attention. "Is that a gun?"

"It is, but it's not from here." Ruby hefted the rifle and pointed to a spot near the trigger. "I doubt serial numbers have been invented here yet."

Aaron looked closer and saw that there was indeed a string of letters and numbers there. "How'd this get here from Atlas?"

"No clue." Ruby took out the magazine and looked inside. She ejected every single round. "Not a single bullet missing." She turned the weapon over in her hands and looked down the barrel. "Never even been fired, and there's no prints anywhere on here. It's like it was planted." Ruby faced the throne again. "There's a bunch of magazines here too. They're all Dust." She faced Aaron again. "This isn't making any sense."

"Salem? She's the only one that we know of that can travel from here to Remnant."

"That's what I'm thinking, but why? Unless this was planted for when Silia was here..." Ruby shook her head. "Ah well. If that's true, that plan didn't work. Looks like we've got another gun and more ammo." She picked quite a few magazines off the throne.

Aaron shook his head. "Well, that's one thing that we didn't expect. Do we keep looking, or do we head back to our dragons?"

"We need to judge the Grimm population here and get back." Ruby handed the rifle and extra mags to Aaron. "You'll need these more than I will." Aaron put the extra mags in an ammo pouch and slung the rifle over his back. They left the throne room and walked back to the courtyard.

When they left the keep, something on the mountain caught Aaron's eye. "Ruby, you see that tower?" He pointed toward the black spire on the mountain.

Ruby squinted. "That looks more like the towers we saw in Ilirea. But…didn't Yaela say those were built by the elves? I thought it was just humans that lived here."

 _Here, it was only humans,_ Umaroth chipped in. _The elves' homeland is said to be farther North, but none know for sure. Not even the oldest among them know where they came from. We only know of this land because of tales of how humans came to Alagaësia, and even more vauge rumors of why they left._

"That's reassuring." Aaron shook his head. "That still doesn't explain why that tower is there."

"We should check it out," Ruby said. "If nothing else, we could get a view of this place and see about the Grimm."

Nalia and Cerise flew back into the courtyard. _We've seen nothing so far,_ Nalia said. _It's like this place has been abandoned by all life. There isn't even anything growing in this city._

Ruby sighed. "According to Dr. Oobleck, that's a symptom of land being turned into Grimm land. But without Grimm, I don't see that's possible." She bit her lip. "Let's just get up to the tower and take the Grimm census. I've got a bad feeling about this place."

* * *

 ***sigh* I go from wanting to improve at the beginning of this chapter to the start the worst arc I've ever written… me and my one track mind…**

 **Oh, and… HOP UNTIL FRISCO! HOP UNTIL FRISCO!**


	3. The Tower

**Merry (late) Christmas everybody! Hope everyone who celebrates had a great time! I know I did. I got a bunch of cool stuff. Not garbage (cough) LEGO Millennium Falcon (cough) cool from last year, but cool just the same. I also put out a RWBY Christmas one-shot yesterday, so check that out if you want.  
**

 **Now, reaction to last week: Ruby, keep being the adorable cinnamon roll you are! Raven... *sigh* Oh, and go Kali!**

* * *

Ruby stared at the tower as it grew in front of her and Cerise. From the keep, it looked like the four towers in Ilirea, but as they got closer, the differences became more extreme. Normal flowing lines became straight as arrows. Spikes stuck out at regular intervals. _Umaroth, this wasn't built by elves, was it?_

 _No,_ came the immediate reply. _At least not the elves that we know of._ _No buildings of this kind lie in Alagaësia._

 _I don't know if I should be comforted or not,_ Aaron called from Nalia's back.

 _Well, I don't think it's Remmartian._ Ruby looked up and down the tower. _We never had anything this tall until cranes were invented._

Cerise turned her head back. _Why would it be Remmartian? The only way to travel here is with magic._

 _I'm running out of ideas here. Who else could this be?_

Nalia growled. _Hopefully we're not about to find out._

Cerise and Nalia rose over the lip of the tower. There was a small landing area, only enough for one dragon. _Do we check this place out?_ Aaron asked.

Ruby looked at the apparent lone entrance to the tower, an open doorway that would have allowed Cerise entry three years ago. She then searched the rest of the area for more Grimm. Beyond the tower, the land gradually turned black. She didn't see any Grimm, but that didn't mean there weren't any around. _Cerise, search the area and see if you can find any concentration of Grimm. Nalia, stick around here in case we need to get out quickly._

Cerise dove for the landing area. Ruby jumped off and her dragon flew away. Nalia landed soon after and Aaron dismounted. "Let's see what's in here." Aaron held his already extended V4 in his hands.

Ruby drew Máni Bláto in its sword form. She extended her mind into the tower in front of and below her. "No normal Grimm and no one waiting to ambush us. No news is good news." Despite her words, she walked toward the 'doorway' with her weapon at the ready.

She passed through the threshold and made a visual search of the room. A large pile of bones in one corner of the room caught her eye. That either meant no Grimm ever made it up here, or that was what was left of whoever lived here. Ruby didn't know which she preferred. A set of large black doors rested at the other end of the room. Those looked about as close to maximum security doors as Alagaësia could get.

"What's this made out of?" Aaron asked while looking at a wall. "It doesn't look like regular rock."

Ruby stared at a wall as well. Various lines of text filled the right side of her vision as her bionic eye scanned the rock. She didn't pay attention to the chemical formulas. If anything, she looked at the normal names of materials that the tower wasn't made from. Onyx, marble, obsidian, and…several other stones didn't fit the bill. The names stopped coming and Ruby blinked. That couldn't be right. She ran the test again but it came up with the same result. "Okaaay, apparently this is graphite concrete."

Aaron faced Ruby. "Uh, geology has never been my strong suit."

"Graphite's the stuff we have in our mechanical pencils. Well, not entirely, but it's the main thing. It's soft, and I'm no geology expert either, but this place should collapse under its own weight." Ruby slammed the pommel of Máni Bláto into the floor. That blow would have chipped concrete and dented steel back on Remnant. It would have destroyed normal graphite. But now, there was nothing. The pommel wasn't even dirty. "That's not normal."

"Something we can agree on." Aaron raised his V4 and aimed at the wall. He fired a single shot, and it ricocheted out the door. Nalia yelped, and growled, but otherwise nothing happened. "There has to be enchantments making this possible."

"When all else fails, it's probably ancient magic." Ruby walked over to a shelf built into the wall. A few books and scrolls laid on top, all of them were written in the Ancient Language. While she couldn't read it as well as Aaron, her bionic eye translated everything she couldn't understand. One of them looked like an Alagaësian history book, but it wasn't the _Domia abr Wyrda._ She didn't look much farther into it.

One of the scrolls did catch her attention. The title translated to 'Gap of Time.' That sounded like what was going on between Alagaësia and Remnant. Ruby read further. It appeared that this was an apprentice's note on a spell his or her master created, mainly of how he was confused as to why such a spell was needed. Ruby stopped when she saw one word: Remnant.

Ruby picked up the scroll and reread everything as closely as she could. At this point, no detail was too small. If whoever wrote this was involved in the time dilation between Alagaësia and Remnant…this scroll would have to be ancient, and it didn't look that old by a long shot. Probably magic. Ruby shook her head. She was getting off track.

The part about Remnant was dated to say the least. Only Mistral city was mentioned as civilization, and at the time that this was written, the Keep was still under construction. You can't go much farther back than that. But that still wasn't what Ruby was interested in.

Then she came to the parts about the time dilation itself. Ruby didn't understand most of the stuff that was being talked about. Some words didn't even translate, and none of the Eldunarí knew those words either. Ruby could put together that Alagaësia was sped up while Remnant was slowed down, the exact opposite of what was intended, and that the spell required remarkably little energy. Something about time, lines, and space between a bunch of words that might as well have been squiggly lines. Still, the amount of energy needed would kill several people.

Ruby turned the scroll over and her jaw dropped. Her eyes ran through the lines of text. This…this was either a blessing or a curse. "Aaron? You might want to see this."

"What'd you find?" Aaron walked over from the other side of the room.

"The likely answer to one of our problems." Ruby laid the scroll face down on the shelf and stepped to the side. "Look it over."

Aaron did as told. As the seconds passed, his eyes widened. "What?" He flipped the scroll over and quickly read over that side too. "Well, this is more than a little concerning."

"Well, yeah, but look at that spell!" Ruby faced the wall directly in front of her. _Umaroth, I know you were reading that too. Could that spell work?_

 _We need time to test this,_ Umaroth said with more than a little concern. _If this spell goes wrong, there is no telling what damage could be done. Yet…what damage has been done with the separation?_

 _Probably more than we can know._ _But could we do this? Do we have the strength?_

Umaroth paused. _With our combined strength, we can, but we would be weakened immensely._

 _Maybe, but with Weiss' time dilation glyphs…_ a broad smile broke out on Ruby's face. "We could stabilize the timestream." She blinked and sighed. "This is sounding like an episode of Doctor Time."

 _Umaroth,_ Aaron pointed to some of the unknown words. _These words are dead in the Ancient Language, aren't they?_

 _They are,_ Umaroth growled. _It appears we have come to the same conclusion._

"Am I missing something here?" Ruby asked.

Aaron sighed. "There's strange architecture in what used to be human land, the materials used to build this thing are unconventional, there's strong magic everywhere, and now there's these words." He shook his head. "This could be the first Grey Folk structure that we know of."

"Grey Folk?" Ruby looked around the room again, then back at the scroll. "Like, the ones you said bound magic to the Ancient Language?"

"The same ones. I guess that explains why this magic is so advanced." Aaron gestured at the scroll. "We don't know much about them, but before they bound magic to their language, they were the strongest spellcasters in history. They could probably cast this spell with minimum help from others." He reached for Redemption witch sat on his waist. "I don't know what they think about intruders."

 _Speaking of intruders,_ Cerise called, _we've got a horde of Grimm coming at us. Some are normal, some are all black. We need to move, now!_

 _We're coming out!_ Ruby grabbed the scroll, then sprinted for the landing area with Aaron right behind her. They jumped onto Nalia's back, with Ruby being the one in front. She shifted Máni Bláto to rifle form as Nalia jumped off the tower. A black mass flew off the mountain with specs of white scattered throughout, and a single dot of red flew in front of it. "That's a level ten attack."

"That low?" Aaron sat backward in the saddle with his back pressed against Ruby's. He aimed his V4 at the swarm. "I got Cerise covered."

 _Good,_ Cerise growled. _I've got some Pteros gaining ground on me._

Ruby turned around as best as she could in the saddle. Her bionic eye enhanced several Grimm closing in on her dragon. None of them were the kind seen on Remnant. She wanted to shoot the creatures chasing her dragon, but she couldn't get an angle from her position. Then a strange thought came to her mind. She looked to one of Nalia's back paws. "Think you can carry me on your legs?"

 _Be careful climbing down there,_ Nalia warned. _If I have to catch you, the Grimm may actually catch us._

"I will." Ruby hung off the saddle as Aaron started firing into the mass of Grimm. She swung over to Nalia's back right leg and grabbed on. Nalia curved off course, but corrected her flight soon after. Ruby brought Máni Bláto up and sighted the Grimm closest to her dragon. She pulled the trigger, and a second later, that Ptero lost its head. With one gone, she aimed at the next one in line and gave it a new chest cavity.

Ruby fell into a rhythm of shoot, aim, repeat, with the occasional reload in there as well. Each shot killed at least one Grimm, but there were so many. Atlas with its entire air fleet would have ran away from this swarm. There was no end to the mass. If there was a silver lining, the dragons were outpacing the Grimm. Once Cerise caught up with Nalia, both dragons put on the speed with the help of the Eldunarí. For a minute, Ruby thought that this mass would follow them all the way back to Feinster. Thankfully, most turned back a few miles away from shore.

 _That was a little too close._ Cerise flew underneath Nalia and Ruby dropped onto her dragon's back. _I've never seen so many Grimm._

 _None of us have._ Ruby glanced back at the swarm. All Grimm had turned back to the land. It didn't look any smaller than from before she and Aaron started firing. _Now we know never to go there again, or at least not until we have a lot more firepower._

 _It might be a long time before Remnant has that much firepower._ Aaron paused. _What's stopping them from attacking Alagaësia?_

 _Endurance probably,_ Nalia said. _It is quite the distance. I do not think normal Grimm would be able to make that flight. We wouldn't be able to make it there and back in a day without the assistance of the Eldunarí._

 _You saw that back room, right?_ Aaron asked. _What could have been in there?_

 _Something tells me we don't want to know._ Ruby locked eyes with Aaron when Cerise flew up to Nalia's level. _You take some Eldunarí and work out if the spell is safe. I'll take some and see if Weiss' glyphs can make this easier._

 _This might take a while. There's a lot there._

 _If we have to delay getting home for a few days, so be it. If we can get the times straightened out, that's a lot less headaches in the future._ Ruby paused. _Umaroth, that place is pretty close to Alagaësia. Why didn't you know about it before?_

Umaroth hesitated. _I do not know. We should have heard of it, if only because of young dragons and Riders who explore as much as possible._

 _Could this be another spell like the one shrouding the Vault of Souls?_

 _Possibly. If that tower was indeed built by the Grey Folk, it would not surprise me._

 _What was in that tower?_ Ruby faced backward again. The Grimm swarm was still in view. _Or is it the land itself that's protected?_

* * *

Having so many Eldunarí in your head felt weird. They might not have been speaking to Aaron directly, but there were so many conversations going on. Thankfully it was just the Eldunarí that had Riders at one point. If the wilds were also working on this, Aaron thought his head might explode. It didn't help that those helping Ruby came over when they realized they didn't know how Weiss' glyphs did what they do. That would be something to figure out when they made landfall.

But at least they were making progress. By the time the mainland came into view, they had most of the spell sorted out as safe. There was only one line left. They might actually have this figured out before midnight. They'd all be tired when they got back to Remnant, but there would be beds on the other side. As much as Aaron loved Ellesméra and other places in Alagaësia, he missed his bed in the 'guest bedroom' at Ruby's house… but maybe he'd shower first. He was starting to feel and smell how dirty he was getting.

A blue head stuck out of a cave on the shoreline. Aaron directed Nalia's attention to it. _I thought they said they'd wait near the city,_ he said.

 _They did._ Nalia turned toward the cave. _Something must have happened._

Aaron nodded then squinted. _Wait, isn't this the cave we first stayed in?_

 _It is. I'm guessing Vert led everyone here._ Nalia paused. _Or Blake. She has a good memory too._

 _That doesn't change why they're here._ Aaron looked back to Ruby and Cerise. _You're seeing this to, right?_

 _Bright blue against brown so dark it's almost black,_ Ruby said. _Saphira is kind of hard to miss._

Nalia and Cerise landed on the thin beach. Aaron and Ruby dismounted their dragons and walked toward the mouth of the cave. Weiss ran out to meet them. "How'd it go?" she asked.

"We got chased out by a horde of Grimm that makes the attack on Vale look like a Beowolf pack on Patch." Aaron crossed his arms. "We're not going back there anytime soon."

"We found a destroyed city too." Ruby shivered. "It wasn't the biggest, but there was evidence of Grimm attacks, just none recent." A small smile formed on her face. "Then we found this." She reached up and pulled the scroll out of one of Cerise' saddlebags. "I can't expect you to be able to read this right now, but trust me, this could stabilize the timestreams between here and Remnant."

Weiss blinked and looked at the scroll. "How?"

"Some people who once lived there came up with the time dilation in the first place. It went wrong at first…" Ruby continued to explain what she and Aaron discovered in the tower.

Aaron, meanwhile, had the Eldunarí talking in his head again. It sounded like they made an interesting discovery in the last line. Umaroth was trying to calm the rest of them down, but it was taking even him a long time to bring the others into check. Aaron brought a hand to the side of his head and turned away from his teammates. _One at a time please,_ he thought, not that many of the dragons would take note.

It took a while, but the crowd in Aaron's head quieted. _My apologies, Aaron,_ Umaroth said. _But I believe we have discovered that the spell will do as intended. Of course, there is the matter of the unknown words. They may very well have some unanticipated effect, but not to the point of compromising the spell._

 _Anything directed at the caster?_

 _Other than the energy drain, no. The roots of some words are known, and they will not harm you or whoever casts the spell._

 _That's the only thing regarding this whole thing that's a positive. Is there anything else?_

 _Only assorted drabbles that will take some time to sort out. I will let you and Ruby know if anything else is relevant._ Umaroth pulled out of Aaron's head.

Aaron sighed and faced the others again. Weiss' mouth hung open and Saphira's head was cocked to the left. Ruby was still explaining the scroll they found. "…and I thought we could use your glyphs to help with the process. If it helps at all with the energy need, we'll take it."

Weiss blinked. "When did you become an expert in quantum mechanics?"

"On the flight back. I had to be in order to know what this spell did."

 _Do we even know if this spell is safe?_ Saphira asked.

"The Eldunarí just confirmed that the spell will do what we expect," Aaron said. "They're thinking the unknown words are things that deal with time directly."

"Well, that's good to hear." Weiss sighed and straightened. "The negotiations also went well. It appears that the Surdans and the Lord of Feinster were willing to listen to a friendly Dragon Rider. A rather informal survey taken in the city showed that they would rather be with Surda. It sounds like they believe Surda is more stable than the Broddring Kingdom. Right now, it's too soon to tell if they're right. I contacted King Deynor and he has agreed to let Feinster join Surda. He didn't say why."

"The people here may not be wrong." Ruby paused. "We told Velvet and Yang to wait near the city for us and to pass that along. Why are you here?"

Weiss averted her gaze. "Yang was recognized. Some of the soldiers from Urû'baen are here. They were calling for her head. Since the city is outside of the Broddring Kingdom, Deynor's order has no authority here. But that doesn't mean Surda's king will see things the same way. Some of those soldiers have already joined up with the city guard, and Surda needs the loyalty of the army. I'm honestly expecting to hear that there's a bounty on Yang's head sometime soon."

Ruby's shoulders slumped. "How's she taking it?"

"Not good." Weiss shook her head. "After we got here, I think I heard her say that she agrees with the soldiers."

Aaron stiffened. In the past, Riders commonly harmed themselves when their dragon died. "What part?"

"She wouldn't tell me…" Weiss bit her lip. "I asked Irolon, and he told me Yang agrees that she doesn't deserve to live because of what she did."

Ruby's jaw dropped. "Not again…" she disappeared in a flash of rose petals. Cerise hummed sadly and followed her Rider.

Aaron watched the petals fall to the ground before facing Weiss. "How's Viki?"

Weiss hesitated. "I think confused would be the best way to describe her right now. She didn't leave Velvet's side in the city and she's been attached to Vert's snout since we got here. I'm not sure how she's going to take moving to Remnant."

"But Remnant is better than here." Aaron walked past Weiss and Saphira and entered the cave. Just like when they originally made it to Alagaësia, a Bullhead was tucked in as far as it could go in the cave. Team JNPR was gathered around the nose of the transport. Yang and Ruby stood nearby and in each other's arms, with Yang's face buried in Ruby's shoulder. Cerise walked over to them and covered them with a wing.

Vert lay closer to the cave entrance. Sure enough, Viki lay in the curve of Vert's neck with her arms around his snout. Velvet sat by Viki's side with a hand on her shoulder. Neither of them were talking. Aaron slowly approached Viki's side. He knelt down right beside her. "Hey, Viki." He put a hand on his sister's shoulder.

Viki raised her head and looked at Aaron. "You're back."

"Yeah, and I don't plan on leaving again anytime soon."

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Viki's question sounded robotic.

Aaron suppressed a grimace. That was about as normal of a question as you can get. One more thing about Viki's enslavement to get rid of. "We did, and more. We might be able to help the Riders even more than we thought." Viki opened her mouth, then fear flashed through her eyes. The emotion Aaron felt said much the same thing. Viki dipped her head. Aaron squeezed his sister's shoulder. "You don't need to be scared to say something around me, or any of us."

Viki's head dipped and her whole body stiffened. "How?"

"That's a perfectly valid question for pretty much everything." Aaron felt Viki loosen, but her head stayed down. "Without complicating things too much, there's a problem with how we travel between here and where Ruby and everyone else is from. We found a way to make the travel easier, so we can work in both places without a problem. We're going to try to figure this out tonight. Then we're going to go to Ruby's and Yang's house. It's a nice place, and their dad is a nice guy. You'll be much more comfortable there than anywhere here. Well, besides maybe how you were treated in Ellesméra."

Viki raised her head. "What will I have to do while there?"

"Only what you want to. No one here will force you to do anything against your will."

Vert pulled his head out of Viki's arms. Nalia's snout filled the gap seconds later. _But if you want to be under my wings, I will welcome you. All you need to do is ask._

Viki leaned to the side and into Nalia's neck. "I may very well accept your offer."

Aaron stood up and approached Weiss and Saphira. Weiss took her eyes off her dragon as he approached. "I take it you want to try to figure out how my glyphs work?"

"Yeah. With what's going with Yang, I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Okay." Weiss grabbed Myrtenaster and drew her weapon. "Just tell me what you want me to do."

Aaron looked at all non-Riders in the cave. As much as he trusted them, they didn't need to know about the Eldunarí. Mentioning them in here was a no-go. "Let's go outside for this. Frankly, I don't know what I need. This may take a while."

Weiss sighed. "Oh well. At least Saphira's here to give me strength." The two Riders left the cave with Saphira close behind. Saphira rested at the mouth of the cave. Weiss faced Aaron. "What do you need first?"

Aaron waited for instructions from Umaroth. The spell was long and complicated. Nalia was there to help Aaron remember, not that Umaroth or the other dragons would let him mess up a spell this important. It took so long to hear the whole thing, Weiss started tapping on Myrtenaster's hilt and glared at Aaron. Finally, Umaroth finished outlining the spell. Aaron shifted on his feet. "First, I'm going to need to know how your time dilation glyphs fit in with magic, if they do at all."

"What took you so long?" Weiss' impatience dripped from her voice.

"The Eldunarí needed to figure out a spell that could do what we need to do."

"Is this going to happen for every test?"

Umaroth's answer was one word. Aaron shrugged. "On the bright side, you'll be able to rest between each set." He paused. "Speaking of that, how are you compared to before…" He didn't need to finish his thought.

Weiss' shoulders slumped and she wrapped her free arm around herself. "I'm… not quite back to where I was before I was… taken, but I'm close to having the same Aura level." Saphira hummed sadly, but she didn't move from her spot. Weiss shook her head. "Just… tell me when you want the glyph."

"I'll give you a signal." Aaron started muttering in the Ancient Language. A few minutes later, he motioned to Weiss. A shining clock appeared on the darkening beach. Aaron felt his spell take effect. His own energy drained as he felt the energy from the glyph. When the spell ended, he and all the Eldunarí supplying energy for this spell would know how the glyph worked.

The clock disappeared and Aaron ended the spell. He staggered on his feet is he felt the information pour into his head. "Okay, now I know what it's like to be a computer."

"How long will I have to rest?" Weiss asked, not sounding tired in the least.

"A while. It'll take us a bit to sort all this out." Aaron leaned against the cliff and closed his eyes. He worked with the Eldunarí to go through every bit of information they just got. Most of the stuff went right over Aaron's head, but the dragons appeared to know what was going on.

After that, Umaroth instructed Aaron and Weiss to do another test, this time with Aaron standing in the glyph. The process repeated itself a few more times with various things in the glyph, and it being empty one more time. After the sixth overall test, Umaroth said they might have enough to know if the glyphs would make any difference at all.

While Weiss and Saphira returned to the cave, Aaron stayed leaning against the cliff face while the Eldunarí debated. Aaron just listened to what Umaroth told him. It took a long time just for the Eldunarí to decide that the glyphs wouldn't harm the spell. But not harming is a long way from helping. Aaron nearly fell asleep while the Eldunarí debated.

Finally, Umaroth spoke to Aaron. _We are finished, and have agreed that with the right effort on Weiss' part, her glyphs will drastically reduce the energy required to cast this spell._

Aaron nodded. _How much is drastically?_

 _The spell will no longer take the life forces of dozens of healthy humans to work. We will not know the exact extent until the spell is cast._

 _And you'll all help me keep this spell going?_

 _Of course. We will not abandon you._

 _That just leaves one thing._ Aaron fished his Scroll from a pocket and looked at the time. It was just before eleven Remnant time. It was amazing that the Remmartians arrived in Alagaësia at a time similar to that in Vale. Going back, they probably wouldn't be so lucky. At this time of night, Ruby, Ren, Pyrrha, and Velvet were probably forcing themselves to stay awake. They might want to wait until morning to move out, or to go through right away and sleep in their own beds. Might as well put it up to the whole group.

Aaron walked back into the cave. Weiss and Saphira rested near the mouth of the cave, both of them wide awake. Vert laid next to Cerise, with all their eyes half lidded. Velvet slept against her dragon's neck. On the other side of the cave, Viki still had her arms wrapped around Nalia's neck. It looked like they were asleep, but Nalia's active mind proved otherwise. Everyone else was still awake, and were sitting around the front of the Bullhead. Nora held her Scroll out in front of her, and from the sound of it, an action movie of some kind was playing. She looked up and waved Aaron over. "Come on over! We're watching Defenders!" The crowd around Nora raised their heads as well.

"I've seen that too many times." Aaron shook his head. "On the other hand, I've got some good news. How many people are awake?"

"There's us, obviously," Jaune started. "Ruby only went under Cerise' wing a few minutes ago."

To Aaron's right, Cerise lifted a wing, revealing her Rider. Ruby walked out rubbing a hand on her natural eye. She yawned. "What's going on?"

"I've figured it out," Aaron announced to the whole cave. "The spell is completely safe, and with Weiss help, it can be done without risking any of our lives."

"Oh." Ruby tiredly smiled. "That's good to hear."

"The question is, do we want to go back tonight, or do we wait for tomorrow morning?"

Ruby straightened and her eyes became more alert. "I'm good to go now." Her voice showed none of the tiredness from only a few seconds ago. She faced everyone in front of the Bullhead. "I'm not the only one making the decision here."

"I'm good for a few more hours," Blake said. "As long as we're near a city, we should be good. This thing's going to need to be refueled sooner rather than later." She smacked the nose of her Bullhead.

"I know you're good." Ruby pointed at Cerise. "What about the rest of you?"

Saphira snorted. _You are talking to a dragon who flew dozens of miles without stopping when she was a hatchling. I can fly now._

 _I can fly as well._ Vert stood up, shaking Velvet awake. _But I believe I have less flight time that the Bullhead._

 _I am able,_ Nalia started, _but someone is going to have to remove Viki from my neck, and I don't have the heart to wake her up._

Aaron sighed. "I'll do it." He walked to Viki's side and shook her shoulder. "Viki, wake up."

Viki raised her head and looked up at Aaron. "Have I forgotten something?"

"No." Aaron tried to keep his voice level. No matter how many times she said that while waking up, it drove a stake into Aaron's heart. "We're going to move. We're going to everyone else' home."

"Oh." Viki stood up and stiffly climbed Nalia's side and sat in the saddle.

Aaron stared at his sister before turning away. It was like she thought that was what was expected of her. How many normal things did she think she _had_ to do? When everything settled down, that _needed_ to change. "We're all set. Let's get this done."

He led the dragons and Riders outside while everyone else loaded into the Bullhead. They stopped at the edge of the water. "This is how this is going to work," Aaron pointed at Velvet. "Since all of us Riders, well, all but Weiss, know the spell to get back, you're casting the spell. I need my full concentration on the time."

Velvet nodded. "Got it."

"Weiss," Aaron turned to the heiress, "you're going to cast your glyph in the portal itself as soon as it opens." He pointed at both Velvet and Weiss. "No matter what happens, keep at your tasks. I don't want to know what could happen if either one of them cut off early.

"I'm going to cast the time spell. Ruby, Cerise, when Nalia gives you the signal, jump through and check if the times have normalized." Aaron took out his Scroll and flipped it to Yang. "Compare that with your own Scroll."

Ruby smirked in the moonlight and crossed her arms. "I thought I was the boss here?"

"My spell, my mission." Aaron returned the smirk.

"Fair point." Ruby pulled herself onto her dragon's saddle.

"Okay, let's get this started." Aaron gestured at Velvet. They both started chanting in the Ancient Language. Velvet would finish first, with Aaron following soon behind. There would be less energy drain on them and the Eldunarí that way. A few minutes later, the portal opened in the water. Weiss time dilation glyph appeared instantly. Seconds later, Aaron drew on the energy of Nalia and the Eldunarí as he finished the spell.

When the last syllable left his lips, Nalia and the Eldunarí cut off their support. The spell drained faster than Aaron expected. _A little help here?_ he asked.

 _Then let us help you,_ Nalia insisted. _Don't block us._

 _I'm not. You pulled away…_ Aaron tried to end the flow of energy, but it wouldn't stop. _What the hell's going on here?_

Nalia growled. _Umaroth! What did you miss?_

 _ **Nothing!**_ Umaroth also growled. _**This should not be happening!**_

 _Why can't I… end this?_ Aaron wobbled on his feet. His legs gave out from under him. His energy still fled his body.

Nalia yelped and jumped over him. _Aaron!_

 _This… shouldn't…_ Something clamped onto both sides of Aaron's head. He saw two beautiful silver oceans with deep black islands in the center, then the islands grew to cover everything.

* * *

Salem stopped mid step and looked up. She allowed herself a smirk. Her trap worked. That was one less Rider to deal with. If the stars aligned, it was Ruby her curse ensnared, but any of them dying would suit her needs.

* * *

 **Yeah... Like I said last week. Worst arc ever... My new bunker is being prepped, but I don't think I'll need it yet... but just in case.  
**

 **And... HOP UNTIL FRISCO! (KEEP! HOPPING! KEEP! HOPPING!) HOP UNTIL FRISCO!**


	4. While You Were Away

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope you all had fun and safe celebrations wherever you are.  
**

 **Also, last week... Wow. I didn't know how many people liked Aaron that much. I didn't think people cared about OCs as much. That doens't change what I've done though.**

* * *

"Aaron! Stay with me! Stay with me!" Ruby's yelling didn't work. Aaron's eyes rolled into the back of his head. The heart rate monitor appeared in the right side of Ruby's vision. She wished she could share hers with Aaron. It was high enough for both of them…wait, what _was_ Aaron's heart rate?

She backed off Aaron and grabbed one of his wrists. He had a pulse, but it was weak and getting worse. Ruby whipped her head toward the Bullhead. "Dust defib! Now!" She focused back on Aaron. She opened Aaron's jacket and ripped his shirt open. His chest would be burned, but it was better than being dead. Ruby put her hands on Aaron's chest and began compressions. "One. Two. Three. Four…" Hopefully someone had some Lightning Dust rounds left.

What was taking the others so long? Ruby had already gone through two full CPR cycles. "Ruby! Get out of the way!" Ren yelled. Ruby crawled to the side as Ren broke open two of Pyrrha's Lightning Dust rounds over Aaron's chest. Ruby looked around those gathered. Everyone was looking at Aaron, and Weiss still had her glyph open in the portal.

Ruby looked back at Aaron. His face was losing color, but his mind was still there. Barely. Ruby looked up at Nalia. The oldest dragon's eyes were wide and her wings were pressed flat against the ground. "Nalia!" The dragon's eye's shifted to Ruby. "Is the spell still draining him?"

 _No…there's nothing left to take…_ Nalia focused back on her Rider.

"Weiss!" Ruby whipped around to her partner. "Cut your glyph. Cerise! Figure out where we are on the other side."

The instant Weiss' glyph disappeared, Cerise dove into the portal. Ruby faced Aaron again. Ren had run wires from his Scroll through the Dust and back into his Scroll. He took a few steps away. "Clear!" He hit the power button on his Scroll. The Dust flashed, and Aaron's chest rose. Two black spots on his chests marked where the Dust discharged.

Ruby launched forward and grabbed one of Aaron's writs. His pulse was still weak, but it was stronger than before. "Clear a path to the Bullhead!" Ruby stood up and pointed both hands at Aaron. "Adur." Aaron's body floated off the ground. Ruby repositioned herself so she had a clear shot at the Bullhead. "Ganga." Aaron moved toward the Bullhead. Nalia padded along after Ruby.

Pyrrha pulled Aaron into the Bullhead and strapped him flat against the seats. Ruby stood by Aaron's side, holding one of his hands, half checking his pulse, half for her own comfort.

"Hang on back there!" Blake called from the cockpit. The Bullhead lifted off the ground and tilted forward. Ruby saw the Bullhead enter the portal and then they were over the ocean at dusk. She stretched out her mind to Cerise. _Where are we?_

 _Maybe ten miles southwest of Vale,_ Cerise answered. _You can see Beacon from here._

Ruby left Aaron's side and stuck her head out the side of the Bullhead. Sure enough, the antenna of the CCT stuck over the mountains. She pulled herself back in and stepped into the cockpit. "Get us clearance at Vale General."

"On it." Blake picked up the radio and tuned it to the right frequency. "Vale General, this is Bullhead BB-159. We have injured on board. We're requesting permission to land on your transport pad." Blake held the radio away from her face.

" _We hear you, BB-159,"_ came the reply. _"The pad is clear. You are green for landing."_

"Copy that. See you in a few." Blake hung up the radio. "It's on them now, Ruby... Why couldn't you do anything there."

Ruby hung her head. "I don't know." She walked back into the crew compartment. She somehow missed that all members of JNPR were on board, even Ren somehow made it on the Bullhead. Ruby once again grabbed Aaron's hand and took his pulse. Her bionic hand couldn't measure someone else' pulse automatically, so she had to do it the old-fashioned way. Less than thirty beats per minute. He wouldn't die, but it was still dangerously low.

 _How is he?_ Nalia asked.

Ruby looked out the side of the Bullhead. Nalia flew alongside the transport, keeping pace the way only she could. _Alive…_ Ruby faced Aaron again. _You can't get through to him, can you?_

Nalia whimpered. _No… I can tell he's alive, but that's it._

 _This is bad, Nalia… How close are we to the hospital?_

 _We're about a few minutes out._

 _Got it._ A thought burst through Ruby's head. A childish one, and shoo shook her head to clear it. This wasn't a Hisney movie. Magic doesn't work through true love's kiss... no matter how much Ruby wanted it to.

A few tense minutes later, she felt the Bullhead slow down. The view of the buildings outside said the Bullhead was descending too. Seconds later, the Bullhead stopped completely as it landed on the roof of the hospital. Several nurses and doctors rushed to the Bullhead with a gurney in between them. Jaune and Nora left the Bullhead, but Ruby stayed by Aaron's side and undid the straps around him.

"Over here." Ruby directed the doctors to Aaron, and only backed away when they entered the Bullhead. They slowly moved Aaron from the seats and onto the gurney. They started taking their readings as they rolled him away. Ruby moved to follow them, but firm hands clamped on both her shoulders. She turned back and saw it was Pyrrha and Ren holding her back. It was probably for the best. She already did all she could.

Ruby looked to where Cerise led the other dragons into Vale airspace. She clenched her fists and glared at the air behind Cerise. _Umaroth. What. The hell. Happened?_

 _ **Have care how you speak,**_ Umaroth defended. _**We did not know this would happen.**_ _**There was no indication that this would happen.**_

 _ **Yet you let Aaron go ahead with a spell that may very well still kill him!**_ Ruby's throat constricted on that last part. She probably couldn't have gotten it out if she was talking.

 _Ruby, not here,_ Cerise said. _We don't want to reveal the Eldunarí… or make you look crazy._

Ruby broke off her glare. _**Umaroth, I want an explanation as to why this happened by tomorrow.**_ She closed her contact with Umaroth and retreated to the side of the roof that was closest to Cerise.

When she turned around, Ruby saw Nora talking with one of the doctors on the roof. Some of her anger dissipated. Nora was in pretty bad shape too. Hopefully the doctors here would be able to do something about her scar. If not, it really was magic. The elves or Eldunarí would have to find a cure or counter curse or whatever the heck it was. Nora was escorted into the hospital with Ren right by her side.

The Bullhead rose off the pad and angled east. Pyrrha and Jaune still stood on the roof. Blake must be getting the transport refueled. Vert and Velvet followed Blake, and all other dragons landed on the pad. All Riders dismounted their dragons. Viki and Yang had doubled up on Nalia. Everyone on the roof gathered up just off the pad. Viki never took her eyes off the door the doctors took Aaron through. "Is Aaron okay?" she asked with her voice barely above a whisper.

Everyone else looked at Ruby. "I don't know." She shook her head. "We couldn't send him energy. There's no spell to do that… now we have to hope and pray." Ruby glared at the spot behind Cerise. At the moment, she didn't care if anyone asked why.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Jaune started, "but we should probably move. This isn't exactly a public area."

As if on cue, Ruby heard the sirens of an air ambulance. The dragons scattered, but Nalia kept her eyes glued to the hospital. More doctors and nurses ran onto the roof with another gurney. This _really_ wasn't the place to have this conversation, or any. "Let's get inside." She took a few steps toward the door to the rest of the hospital.

Before she made it halfway, someone's Scroll rang. Ruby face the source. Pyrrha fumbled around on her belt for the Scroll. They weren't back for ten minutes, and someone's already calling them? Telemarketer?

Pyrrha looked at the screen and blinked. "Ozpin? So soon?" She brought the Scroll to her ear. "Yes, professor?... Now? We have a situation here." Her eyes hardened. "Understood. We'll be there as soon as we can." She hung up her Scroll and locked eyes with Ruby. "Ozpin would like to speak with us."

"All of us or…" Ruby let the thought hang.

"Just us." Pyrrha shook her head. "I think something happened to someone else."

Ruby's heart sunk. Who'd they lose? She turned her head to the door into the hospital. So much was going on. She sighed. "Weiss, if anything happens here, take care of them. Wait until you hear about Aaron, then get back to Patch. Blake should have the Bullhead refueled by then." She walked to Viki's side and squeezed one of her shoulders. "Viki, I'm going to have to go talk with someone about what happened in Alagaësia. Stay with Yang. She'll look after you. She's taken care of me for years."

Cerise landed back on the transport pad. Ruby walked to her dragon's side with Pyrrha right behind her. She climbed up and helped her fellow Maiden up as well. _Hold on tight._ Cerise stood up and faced Beacon. She jumped into the air and flew toward the school.

While in the air, Ruby noticed a few things didn't look quite right. The city itself was fine, but there were a lot more gaps in the trees in the Emerald Forest, some of them were still smoking. One of Vale's Aerial Corvettes flew above the city. That hadn't happened since the Battle of Beacon. What happened while they were gone?

"Oh, Ruby," Pyrrha reached around Ruby with the scroll that held the time dilation spell. "I picked this up."

"Thanks." Ruby took the scroll and skimmed it over. As expected, she didn't see anything that could block Aaron from being leant energy. It had to do something with the forgotten words. She shook her head and stuffed the scroll into a saddlebag. She could look into it more later.

They made it to Beacon and Cerise landed at the docks. At least Beacon hadn't changed much. The biggest difference was some basic framing stood where the Dragonhouse used to… But that was some pretty big framing for the first floor. Was the new residence hall going to have garages?

Ruby and Pyrrha walked through campus in step with each other. There weren't too many students around, but then again, school was out in this part of fall. The only students around were likely those who either failed classes or were crazy enough to take off-semester classes. Still, there were enough people around to make Ruby wonder if any of them could see what she was feeling. She never had a poker face.

They entered the base of the CCT. As always, this was the busiest place at Beacon, as it was open to the general public. But the Maidens weren't there to make a call. Ruby held her Scroll in front of the elevator call panel. It took a few seconds before the elevator made it to their floor. When it did, they stepped in and Ruby leaned against the back wall.

"I am not ready for this," Ruby sighed.

"It's just Ozpin, Pyrrha said, "There's nothing to be scared of."

"I'm not talking about Ozpin." Ruby held her head in a hand. "Aaron's in the hospital, there's something going on in Vale, a Maiden is possibly dead, and I'm probably going to be doing the early negotiations between Alagaësia and Remnant." She shook her head. "That last one is more of a Weiss thing, but I can't just pass everything off to her."

Pyrrha stayed silent for a few seconds. "I don't envy you, Ruby. But I think I speak for the rest of my team saying that we'll assist in any way possible."

"Thanks. I have a feeling we'll need it." The elevator dinged and Ruby pushed herself off the back wall. She needed to focus, despite how much she didn't want to be there. The doors opened, revealing Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch standing at Ozpin's desk. Both professors stared at a projection of a building that kind of looked like the frame of the dorm under construction.

Ozpin looked up and smiled. "Ruby, Pyrrha, it's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back." Ruby took a closer look at the projection. The ground floor was filled with garage doors with windows on either side of each door. "Students in this dorm will have attached parking? You don't see that much in apartments in Vale."

"Not exactly." Ozpin shook his head. "Forgive me for assuming, but I had this dorm designed to hold up to eight dragons similar in size to Nalia during her third year here."

Ruby nodded. She would have preferred that Ozpin ask the Riders before it was planned, but none of them could claim to be the leader of the dragon Riders back then. Anyway, this could very well save time in the future. She looked up at Ozpin. "Something tells me you didn't call us here to talk about a building under construction."

Ozpin sighed. "I wish it was that simple."

"While you were away," Goodwitch started, "Grimm attacks have skyrocketed. Villages have fallen faster than we can support them. Vale and Mistral have a refugee crisis that none of us have seen before. Atlas' fleet has been withheld due to attacks on their own cities. Vacuo, well, the information that has come out of Vacuo these past few months has not been the most informative."

"Is this room secure?" Ruby asked.

Ozpin blinked. "Yes. This office is soundproofed and has no recording devices anywhere."

"I'm not taking any chances." Ruby raised her head and started chanting in the ancient language. She prevented anyone from listening or seeing in, either magically, physically, or electronically. If anyone was spying on Ozpin, their eyes would be blinded. "There. Now we can talk freely about what's going on."

"Scarlet Harris is dead." Ozpin's voice didn't waver. "Killed in her own home. A Huntsman passing by heard her scream and chased away the assassin. We believe her daughter is the new Summer Maiden."

Ruby's shoulders dropped. She'd met Scarlet's family once. Little Sol was only a year old. "Is she safe?"

Goodwitch nodded. "She's downstairs with Vernul. Last I checked on them, Sol was asleep."

"Does she have any family?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm afraid not." Ozpin shook her head. "She has her brothers, but the oldest is only five years old. Their father is dead. I'm working on setting them up in families we can trust."

Ruby crossed her arms. "How close? You can't exactly send them to a remote village anymore."

"We are looking to relocate them to Vale." The hologram changed to a view of Sanus. "Vale's situation isn't as bad as Mistral's, as the military has been able to secure most outlying cities and villages. Also, it won't be as much of a shock for ones so young."

There had been enough small talk. Ruby thought it was time to bring things to the source of their problem. "If it's Salem that's coming after Sol, we're going to need to get her a little more protection."

Both Ozpin and Goodwitch stiffened. "Your mother told you?" Ozpin asked.

"I wish it was that easy." Ruby shook her head. "It was Aaron, and he learned from his teacher on the other side. Salem isn't from Remnant, she's a Shade from Alagaësia."

"A Shade?" Goodwitch asked.

"I'd rather explain this once. My mom _did_ tell me that all headmasters of the academies are in on this whole thing, along with the relics under each one."

Goodwitch looked at Pyrrha. "Did you know about this before now?"

Pyrrha nodded. "A Shade almost killed Nora. We need to know our enemy. If Salem is after the relics, we need to keep them from her hands."

Ozpin stared at Ruby, then reached a hand under his desk. "We will be in a conference call with the other headmasters in the next few minutes." He paused. "I noticed some major changes to your force on your flight into the city. What happened on the other side?"

Ruby's shoulders slumped. "So much. We found one of Aaron's friends, Nora was almost killed by a Shade, then I actually killed that Shade. We found allies…" Ruby clenched her fists, "Cerise was poisoned. Us Riders flew to the elves for more allies and training," her shoulders dropped, "Weiss was kidnapped and tortured while we were away." Ruby allowed a smile to form. "But she escaped with an egg, which later hatched for her. Saphira's the blue dragon you might have seen."

Her smile disappeared. "Then came the first big battle. I was almost forced to kill Aaron. I got out of that and took down the Traitor. Halcyon was killed, and Yang's bordering on suicidal." Ruby sighed. She hated switching from that extreme lowlight to more happy things like she was brushing it off, but she had to. "But on the bright side, we won. About a week later, we took out all hostile Riders. We found Aaron's sister as well, but she's been enslaved since she was three."

Ruby stopped herself from going further. She turned her head to the side, away from anyone. _Umaroth, this is the man I've told you about. Do I have your permission to go through with our plan?_

Umaroth took a few seconds to respond, probably still simmering from Ruby's outburst earlier. _While we are not thrilled about this, and alliance with Ozpin may be necessary._

"Viki wasn't the only one we found." Ruby faced Ozpin again. "We found over two hundred eggs, fifty of which are with us now."

A ghost of a smile crossed Ozpin's face. "It appears I may not have overestimated the number of dragons we could be housing."

"You may still be. It will take a while before there are a lot of dragons flying around. Also, we found several hundred more in a… different state." Ruby looked around and gauged everyone else' reactions. All of them looked more confused than anything.

"What are you talking about, Ruby?" Pyrrha asked. "More dragons are alive?"

"Yes and no." Ruby lifted her head. "Umaroth? Care to explain?"

 _I believe I shall,_ Umaroth said, and judging by everyone's reactions in the room, he was in their heads as well. _Do not worry, friends of the Riders. My name is Umaroth. My Rider was the elf Vrael, leader of the Dragon Riders before Ruby Shadeslayer._

Ozpin brought a hand to the side of his head. "Well this is certainly a surprise."

"How is this possible?" Goodwitch asked.

 _I, along with many other dragons, are what we call Eldunarí._ Umaroth went onto explain what exactly the Eldunarí are and how they work. Of course, he finished with saying how important it was that the Eldunarí be kept a secret. Then again, everyone in this room has some pretty big secrets of their own.

 _What I have just told you,_ Umaroth said while finishing up, _may not leave this room. No one else, not even your teams may know._

Pyrrha shifted on her feet. "I am not comfortable with keeping secrets from my team."

"Believe me, Pyrrha, I know." Ruby nodded. "My whole team has a thing about keeping secrets, and quite a few times it's gotten at least one of us injured. I don't like secrets, but it's not up to us this time."

Something beeped on Ozpin's desk. He pressed another button, and all the glass around his office blackened. Images of three people appeared on the panes of glass. General James Ironwood, Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart, and Headmistress Dora Thi, Headmasters of Atlas, Haven, and Shade respectively. Professor Lionheart's eyes were red and had bags underneath. Mistral was probably well past midnight, so he was probably dead tired.

"This better be important for this time of night," Lionheart grumbled.

Dora Thi leaned forward. "It appears our two missing Maidens have returned. How was your mission?"

"Eventful to say the least," Ruby said. "We won, but at a big cost."

"Oz," Ironwood started, "we usually don't have Maidens in our calls. What's this about?"

"It appears Miss… Shadeslayer has some information on our enemy." Ozpin nodded at Ruby.

"Thank you, Oz." Ruby blinked. Did she really just call Ozpin _Oz?_ That felt so weird. She took a step forward and looked at each of the headmasters. "To start off, we know about Salem. _Everyone_ who went to the other side knows about Salem. I'm sure you all know a good deal about her, but I'm pretty sure we can fill in some gaps."

Ironwood crossed his arms. "Salem is a secret better kept than the Maidens. How can you have learned more than your mother knows?"

"Because Salem isn't from Remnant." Ruby watched the three screens. Ironwood raised an eyebrow. Dora Thi's jaw dropped. Lionheart shifted in his seat. Ozpin and Goodwitch already knew from earlier. "She came from Alagaësia, and is what's called a Shade. They're about as close to vampires as is possible. I know I'm going to be using a lot of terms that don't seem possible, but bear with me. I doubt you expected dragons were real five years ago.

"Shades are humans or elves that are possessed by Spirits. They were typically sorcerers who underestimated the power of the Spirits they summoned. Anyway, Salem is the strongest recorded Shade ever. She created the Grimm over there, then was driven out when the Riders were still new. Somewhere along the line, she made it here."

"A fascinating history lesson," Lionheart started, "but how is this useful."

"The more you know about your enemy, the better you can fight them." Ruby tried not to think about the one who taught her that. "Back to my comparison of vampire, you kill Shades the same way."

"You can't kill Salem." Dora Thi shook her head. "It's happened before, but she's come back stronger than before, if after a few decades or centuries."

"How has it been done?" Ruby faced Shade's Headmaster… Hopefully there was no relation between the two words.

Dora Thi held up a finger. "Decapitation, arrows and Dust rounds to the head, electrocution, and most recently, flattened by a Great War tank." She added fingers for each one. "She was only missing for a year after her last 'death.'"

"Then her heart has never been destroyed first." Ruby looked at every Headmaster. "Really, it's not that hard. We need to get in close. Then any skilled Huntsman can take her down with a quick stab to the heart." Ruby paused. "But something tells me that's exactly the problem."

Ironwood shifted in his seat. "We have an idea of where she is, but at the moment we have no way of getting there. Every inch of Manchu is Grimmland. We can't send infiltration teams there and expect to get them back. They would need to search the entire continent. It's a suicide mission even for the best of my specialists."

"Is there anything else we should know about… Shades?" Goodwitch asked.

"They are strong in magic, and I'm not talking about Maiden magic here. I'm talking Alagaësian magic. If she really wanted to, I'm sure she could kill everyone in all the Kingdoms with only a few words." Ruby slowed down toward the end. "If she just wanted to destroy us, she could have done that centuries ago. Are the relics really that important?"

Ozpin nodded. "They are. If any one person controls all four, they control Remnant, and could become as close to a god as any mortal can be."

"As much as we would like to," Lionheart started, "we can't use any resources at all to combat Salem directly. The attacks on all our Kingdoms require all militaries and Huntsmen make it so we can barely trade between Kingdoms. We don't have the escorts."

"Give us a week or two and the Riders will be back out there." Ruby dipped her head. "We have our own wounds to lick, and even then, some of us are going out there weakened."

Something beeped on Ozpin's desk. "It appears that's all the time we have." Ozpin faced the other headmasters. "Thank you for answering on such short notice." The other three headmasters nodded and their images disappeared.

Ruby stared at Ozpin. "What was that about?"

"We cannot risk being traced. The shorter our conversations, the better. After the hack that started the Battle of Beacon, we aren't taking any chances."

"Good thing I didn't mention the Eldunarí then. I'd like to deliver that information in person anyway." Ruby paused. "Where is the relic?"

Ozpin and Goodwitch exchanged a look. They both nodded. "In a vault deeper than where you found me during the battle," Ozpin stated. "We can't even take the elevator down that far. There is a concealed staircase in that Vault that will take us the rest of the way."

"Can I see it?"

Goodwitch narrowed her eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"So I know what I'm protecting, and so I can maybe get an energy reading off it so I can see how dangerous it really is. I can also place wards around it so it's even safer." No answer came from either professor. Ruby sighed. "Really, it's me. Do either of you think I'd try to steal it or use it for my own gain?"

"No," Ozpin sighed. "But the Maidens only have access to certain relics. Winter can access Creation, which is in Atlas, and Fall can access Choice, which is some distance beneath our feet."

"What?" Ruby turned to Pyrrha. "Did you know about this?"

Pyrrha looked at the floor. "I… did."

Ruby shook her head and stared at Ozpin. "Why did you keep me in the dark about this?"

Ozpin flicked his eyes to Ruby. "Because of your… other allegiances, the other headmasters wondered if you could be trusted with the information."

"What would they think we'd do? Take the relics to Alagaësia and use them in their favor?"

"That is the general idea."

 _Ouch._ "What do you think?"

Another long silence filled Ozpin's office. "Well, more protection can't be a bad thing," Ozpin said.

Ruby nodded. "Thank you, Oz." _Again with the Oz… Mom's getting to me._

"After this is done" Pyrrha spoke up, "I would like to check in on the others. I got along well with Scarlet's kids. I think they could use another friendly face."

Ozpin's shoulders relaxed. "I believe they would."

"I think I'll join you." Ruby hung her head. "They're not the only ones to lose someone recently."

"I will stay here." Goodwitch hit something on Ozpin's desk and the hologram of the new dorm glowed to life. "Someone needs to keep in touch with the construction crews."

Ozpin walked toward the elevator, "Well then, shall we?"

Ruby and Pyrrha joined Ozpin at the elevator door. _Cerise?_ Ruby called, _I'm probably going to be out of contact for a bit._

 _I expected as much,_ Cerise said. _I'm going to take a closer look at the new dorm. As close as I can get without being chased away, that is._

 _You do that._ Ruby paused. _Was I being too much of a jerk in here?_

 _Of course not. You were saying what you needed to get your point across._

 _I still didn't like it._ Ruby mentally sighed. _And I'm going to have to do this every day now. What did I get myself into?_

 _You're not alone, Gem. I am with you, your team is with you…and Aaron will be when he wakes up._

 _If he wakes up._ Ruby shook her head as the elevator doors opened. The three people in Ozpin's office entered. The elevator doors closed and it didn't stop for a while. The lights behind the floor buttons lit up to ground level, then stopped. Ruby leaned against the back wall. _I want to go home. I want to snuggle with Zwei, sleep in my own bed… and drink as much chocolate milk as possible. I need a break._

 _You'll get all that. Stay serious for a little while longer._ The connection between dragon and Rider strained as Ruby got farther underground. Of course, Ruby fell out of her own and her dragon's range. It wouldn't be for long, but considering the day she was having, it made her worry she'd break down before she could do what she needed to.

The elevator stopped and the door opened into a vault below Beacon. It didn't look anywhere near as big as it did when Ruby found Ozpin here years ago. Even though the room felt cramped compared to then, Shruikan still would have fit comfortably in the space.

Ozpin led the way down the vault. He turned down a side hallway, then to a pillar a little way down. "The relic is through here." Ozpin touched his cane to the pillar and a hidden doorway opened inward. A spiral stairway appeared on the other side. He stepped through and Ruby followed.

"This is becoming a common thing." Ruby watched as the doors closed behind her.

"Your trip to Vroengard?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah, where we found the Eldunarí." More green flame lanterns lit up the stairs. The three walked for a long time. Ruby thought they might be going as deep as the Vault of Souls, if not deeper. The stairs showed no sign of stopping.

A thought came into Ruby's head, and she was surprised she hadn't asked it sooner. She faced the back of Ozpin's head. "You have all the Maidens come here every year. Sol is here right now, and she's not even a year old. Pyrrha's said Amber told her that she'd been seeing you since shortly after her mom died. Why didn't you call me here after my mom died?"

"Your mother used most of her Maiden abilities when she attacked Fort Castle, and judging from police reports on the Nevermores while she was fighting them, she froze areas there as well. If anyone in that organization knew that the Maidens were real and how their magic worked, it would not take them long to figure out the two most likely candidates that would be in Summer's last thoughts."

Ruby hung her head. "Well, I guess they would've been right." She took another step down, but found flat floor instead of another step. Ruby leveled her head out and saw what she could only describe as an old-fashioned bank vault door a few feet in front of her. Pyrrha stepped forward and raised an arm. Her eyes glowed, and the door spun open.

A… diamond hammer rested on a pedestal behind the door. "I don't know what I was expecting," Ruby started, "but it wasn't that."

"It is the Relic of Choice." Ozpin faced Ruby. "It was buried here even before Beacon's foundations were laid. Very few have seen it since. Do what you need to so we can seal this again."

"I'll be quick." Ruby extended her mind toward the relic. She gasped and brought a hand to the side of her head. There was…so much. She took a step back as wave after wave of energy flowed off it. Without intending to, Ruby drew some of the energy from the relic. She stored as much as she could in the two rubies on her, but those filled in less than a second. Ruby cut her mind off before she overloaded with excess energy. She saw her Aura flare, and unlike whenever she said her true name, her Aura stayed visible.

Pyrrha rested a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Now I know what that thing being super powerful means." Ruby shivered. "I have never felt more awake in my life."

Ozpin faced Ruby. "Well? How powerful is it?"

"From what I felt, there's enough energy in there to destroy Vale…from Atlas, with some energy left over to cause the largest earthquake Remnant has ever seen." Ruby paused and her Aura faded back into transparency. "I've done what I needed here. Close this thing up. I'll put wards all over that and the staircase on our way up." Ozpin nodded and walked back up the staircase. Pyrrha raised her arm and closed the vault.

As Ruby chanted in the Ancient Language, she tried to piece together what she just felt. Before, she could tell the difference between Aura, Maiden Magic, and Alagaësian magic. But what she just felt…she'd need to go over that with Umaroth and the other dragons. She looked up at the staircase. She might as well use some of her excess energy to protect the relic.

* * *

 **Rooster Teeth, thank you for making more Maiden and relic stuff that I have to work around...I honestly just BSed Ozpin's explanation there. Don't know what else I could do. And yes, Vernul. Why? With Raven not being a bandit and not recruiting Vernul to the tribe, she's not a bandit.**

 **Also, last week this'll be here 'cause the game's on Saturday... HOP UNTIL FRISCO! HOP UNTIL FRISCO!**


	5. Going Home

**CINDER YOU FARTKNOCKER! YOU DID** _ **NOT**_ **NEED TO DO THAT! I WISH I COULD KILL YOU TWICE! *sigh* Is this how the rest of you feel? I'd think seeing it would be worse than reading it, but that's just me...**

 **Anyway, my last semester of college starts today, and it's my lightest load ever. I'm going to end my college career with a Yang.**

* * *

Yang stared at the screen of her Scroll. She had to make a call, but she didn't have the courage to do so. Her dad needed to know that she was bringing another person home… and one less dragon. Why did saying that to her dad feel so bad again? The last week wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad as the stay in Dras-Leona either. Her dreams about Halcyon had taken a happy turn… but it was never him.

A door to the waiting room opened. Yang snapped her head there, along with Weiss, Jaune, and Ren. But instead of a doctor, it was just another family. The mother and son sat on the far side of the room. Yang shook her head. She never was the best at waiting, but she needed to hear something from someone soon.

She looked at her Scroll again. Putting it off wouldn't make it any easier. Yang opened her contacts and called her dad. She brought her Scroll to her ear and waited for her dad to answer. Four and a half rings later, she heard a click on the other side. _"Hello?"_

"Hi dad." Yang could barely hear her own voice.

" _Yang? Is that you? I can barely hear you."_

"Yeah. It's me. We're back."

Her dad paused on the other side. _"Yang, what's wrong?"_

Yang sobbed and leaned forward in her seat. "What isn't wrong? Aaron's in a coma, Nora's injured pretty badly too, and Hal…" She tried to force the name of her dragon out a few more times, but she never got passed 'Hal.' Irolon tried to take away some of Yang's pain, but he wasn't very successful.

"… _Oh. Yang, I'm so sorry."_

"He went down fighting." Yang wiped an arm over her eyes. Weiss rested a hand on Yang's left knee and squeezed. Yang nodded at her teammate. "But… we won. The rest of us are here. Ruby and Pyrrha are meeting with Ozpin for… something. We don't know what.

"And…" Yang looked to her right where Viki sat. She hadn't said a word since Ruby left. Viki sat straight in her chair, not moving at all. No one in the room knew how to break her out of that. Both people who did weren't available. Maybe this would work. "…And we found Aaron's sister." Viki blinked and looked at Yang, her lips slightly parted.

" _I… didn't know Aaron had a sister."_

Yang faced the floor in front of her. "Because he thought she was dead. Without saying too much now, she's had a hard life on the other side. Like… August 20, our first year at Beacon." August 20… the day Ruby was kidnapped. There was no doubt their dad wouldn't get what Yang was getting at.

"… _Oh. I'll get Aaron's room ready."_ He paused. _"Is she, or any of you hungry? Or is there anything else I can do before you get here?"_

"It was just about midnight where we were, but I'll ask." Yang took her Scroll away from her head. "Jaune? JNPR just going to your apartment when we're done here?"

"Probably." Jaune shrugged. "It's about three blocks from here. If Nora has to stay a while, we'll be close."

Yang asked Weiss if she needed anything, but was turned down. She faced Viki, who once again sat ramrod straight. "And you? Are you hungry for anything?"

Viki shook her head. "No. I am not hungry."

Yang nodded slowly. That was a programed response if she ever heard one. Still, Viki said no. Yang pulled her Scroll back up. "We're fine here dad. Maybe just some water and deodorant. It's been a few days since any of us had a shower."

" _You got it. I'll see you when you get home… I love you, Yang"_

"Love you too, dad." Yang pulled her Scroll away again and ended the call. _Irolon, how much did you keep me stable there?_

 _If I hadn't intervened,_ Irolon started, _you would not have been able to speak past saying Halcyon._

Yang sighed. _Thanks for the help._

 _I will be here as long as you need me._

The door opened again, and this time, Blake stepped in. "Any news?" she asked as she sat down on the other side of Weiss.

"No." Weiss shook her head. "I don't know if no news is good news in this case or not."

"Hopefully it is." Blake paused. "By the way, I saw what looked like a motorcade leaving the SDC building by the Dust station. I think your father is in town."

Weiss clenched her fists. "Hopefully not. I don't want to deal with him right now… Or for another few months while I get my head figured out." She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Saphira must have had something to say to her.

A few minutes later, the door on the opposite end of the room opened. A doctor stepped through with a clipboard in hand. "Aaron Benson and Nora Valkyrie?" The teammates of said people stood up and approached the doctor.

"How are they?" Ren asked.

The doctor sighed. "We can't tell what's wrong with either of them. With Miss Valkyrie, as far as we can tell, her scar is just that. There's no scratches in the bone or any nerve damage. There are no signs as to why she has the episodes you described, or even if they have happened." Ren hung his head, and Jaune clapped his teammate on the shoulder. "We will keep her here overnight, but if there are no changes, we will have to let her out.

"Mr. Benson's condition is even stranger. It's like all of his systems have lost some functionality. None of them are running as well as they should be. This normally happens with severe head injury or loss of blood, but there is no sign of either. If I had to compare it to anything, it;s like a machine is not getting enough energy flowing through it."

"Believe it or not, doc," Yang started, "that's pretty much what happened. Something he did almost sucked the life out of him."

The doctor stared at Yang then shook his head. "I'm assuming that it's something only one of you can do?"

"Pretty much."

"Well, I have your numbers. If anything changes, I or one of my associates will call you." The doctor turned around and left through the door he came in.

"Well, we were just told what we already knew." Weiss crossed her arms. "Do we fly back to Patch now?"

"We can't stay around here forever." Blake shook her head. "And…I'm actually starting to get a little tired."

"Dad's waiting for us." Yang looked over at Viki, who hadn't moved from her chair. "Might as well get going." She walked to Viki's side and reached a hand down. "Come on, Viki. We're going to my house."

Viki looked up at Yang. "Y…your house?"

"Yeah. You'll be safe there."

Viki stared at the outstretched hand, then slowly reached one of her own out. Maybe she was learning some things. Yang pulled Viki to her feet. "I'm not sure what the elves gave you in Ellesméra, but the beds here are great compared to the ground or dirty floor."

"O…okay." Viki slowly nodded.

The large group walked out the door to the rest of the hospital. Jaune and Ren separated and walked toward the from door. Blake led everyone else to the parking ramp, saying that Saphira and her Bullhead were on the top level. As they walked across the skyway to the ramp, several red and blue lights drove up to their level. Yang stretched her mind out to the ramp and hospital. She didn't feel anything bad going on in either place. What was going on?

Several armed people strode through the doors on the other side, and they all wore SDC uniforms. Yang stopped and held an arm in front of Viki. "Stay behind me, Viki. This could get ugly."

Weiss walked to the front of the pack, and a woman who looked like the head of security approached from the other side. "Miss Schnee," the woman started, "I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."

"And I am going to have to decline that offer." Weiss stood her ground. "I already have other commitments I must attend to."

"Ma'am, I insist."

"I insist otherwise. If this is something my father has ordered, I don't-"

"Your father is dead." The skyway fell silent. Yang let her arm drop and focused on her adoptive sister. Weiss hung her head and her body shivered the faintest bit. "Assassinated. He took a sniper round to the chest while exiting the CCT in Atlas."

Weiss raised her head. "Thank you for telling me. Could you give me a minute to put my affairs in order?"

"Of course." The security chief motioned to other guards. They spread out and looked out the skyway for threats.

Weiss turned around. A single tear fell from her left eye. She walked back toward her teammates. "I… I'm sorry guys. I've got to go."

Yang's shoulders and heart sunk. "Go?"

"By Atlas law, I am now the owner and CEO of the Schnee Dust Company." Weiss grimaced. "Right now, Whitley is the acting CEO, and will claim that title in its entirety if I don't assume the position." She locked eyes with Yang and her own watered. "I need to get to Atlas as soon as possible."

"B…but…" Yang stuttered. "Halcyon…"

Weiss grabbed one of Yang's shoulders. "There's plenty of room at Schnee manor. Don't worry about people in Atlas. They'll have to deal with me and Saphira." She paused. "If anyone asks you directly, you can say you've volunteered to be my bodyguard. Since you're my teammate, it shouldn't raise any suspicion."

Yang hung her head. She wanted to say yes. She wanted to be as close to Halcyon as possible… but Ruby needed her here. Ruby was going through her own stuff, and she might need a shoulder to cry on too. And… if they couldn't get Halcyon an artificial Eldunarí similar to Penny for one reason or another… Yang needed to learn to live without him again. _Irolon, what are you doing to my thoughts?_

 _Nothing, Yang._ Irolon did his best to make Yang feel him shaking his head. _You are in full control of your own mind._

"Thanks, Weiss." Yang slowly raised her head. "But Ruby needs me here. I can't leave her here alone."

Weiss' lips parted, then came back together. _Yang,_ Weiss thought, _if I need to summon Halcyon for this thing, I'll tell you before I do. If Saphira and I are any indication, you'll him feel when he's back._

 _Probably._ Yang bit her lip. _That'll be torture._

"My offer stands until this situation is sorted out." Weiss paused and looked between Yang and Blake. "I'll arrange a space to hold our special cargo up in Atlas. But until that time, I'll see if I can have a few Knights or Paladins guarding it."

"Hopefully the guards won't be needed." Yang clenched her fists. "We can't have it getting out."

Weiss nodded, then took a step forward and hugged Yang. "I love you, sis. Take care of yourself."

Yang returned the hug. "Right back at you, Ice Queen." _Can't say princess with others around._

 _I know._ Weiss pulled away and faced Viki. "I know we haven't been around each other much… but…" Weiss shook her head. "I'm sorry I left you in that place for so long. I know I can't make it up to you, but everyone here is going to try to make you feel better. They're good people. They won't hurt you."

Viki stared at Weiss with her lips parted. She closed her mouth and nodded. "Thank… you."

Weiss stood there for a second before moving onto Blake. "I will make things right, Blake. I don't know how long it's going to take, but I'll do it."

Blake nodded and smiled. "I don't doubt you."

"Thanks, sis." Weiss hugged Blake at it was quickly returned. "Might as well make the original team RWBY one big happy family."

"I'm okay with that. Just give me a heads up if you ever want to come to Menagerie. My dad and I might have to smooth a few things over first."

"I'll do that." Weiss pulled away. With one last wave, she walked away with her security detail. They left the skyway, and Weiss entered a vehicle right on the other side.

Yang shook her head. _Don't run after her. Don't run after her._

"Let's get going." Blake took point again. By the time they left the skyway, Weiss' motorcade had left the ramp. When they reached the roof, Saphira was flying over the city. They boarded the Bullhead, and Blake flipped on the engines. The transport lifted off the parking ramp and turned toward Patch.

Viki sat in one of the seats and stared outside. "Welcome to Vale, Viki." Yang sat next to Viki. "It's a little different from anything you're used to. What do you think so far?"

"It's… so big." Viki stared at a skyscraper as the Bullhead passed it. The city gave way to ocean beneath them. "Where are we going?"

"An island called Patch. It's just off the coast. We're not far away."

Viki shifted closer to Yang. "I don't like water."

Yang hesitantly hooked an arm over Viki's shoulders. Ruby and Aaron did things like this, right? "No one here will let you fall." She turned to the seats themselves. "If you're really worried," she pulled Viki's seat belt from behind her back and clipped her in, "now you really won't fall out." Viki stared at the seat belt, then straight ahead. That look… Yang pulled and buckled her own seat belt. She probably should have done that first.

A few minutes later, the Bullhead angled down and landed in the yard of Yang's home. On one hand, it felt so good seeing it again. She always felt safe at home. Nothing went terribly wrong here… But Halcyon liked it here too. Another first without him… Yang didn't want to look to the spot Halcyon claimed as his, but her head wandered that direction anyway. That place would never hold a dragon again.

The front door to the house opened. Taiyang Xiao Long stood in the doorway. Yang sniffed and unbuckled herself and faced Viki. "Press the red button and the seatbelt will go back." Viki did as told, and jumped when the seatbelt flew back to the seat. "Some of them are temperamental like that." Yang stuck a hand out. "Come on. We're home." Viki took Yang's hand and they walked out of the Bullhead.

A flash of white and black ran out the door. Yang knelt down and waited for her dog to jump on her. Zwei kicked off the ground and into Yang's arms. He barked and licked Yang's face. "Hey, Zwei." Yang hugged her dog as hard as she dared. At least he was still there… but for how much longer?

Yang stood up holding her dog as Zwei continued to lick her face. She and Viki resumed walking toward the house. Her dad hugged her as she reached the door. "It's good to have you back, Yang."

"It's good to be back dad." Yang wrapped an arm around her dad, with Zwei in the other. "It's… too much."

"I know." Her dad pet her head. "When you're ready to talk, I'm here. I'm not disappearing again."

"Thanks, dad." Yang pulled away and set Zwei back on the ground. Her dog looked up at her with a cocked head. He stretched up Yang's leg, but stayed silent.

Taiyang turned his attention to the other woman. "So, you must be Viki."

"I am…" Viki looked like she wanted to say something else, but kept it to herself.

"Please, call me Taiyang, or just Tai." He put a hand on Viki's shoulder. "I don't know the specifics, but I do know the way you were treated is unacceptable. That won't happen here."

Viki nodded. "Thank you."

"Come on, Viki." Yang stepped into the air-conditioned house. While she preferred warmer temperatures, that felt nice after so long without it. "Your room's upstairs with the bathroom right next door." She climbed halfway up the stairs, then stopped to make sure Viki was following her. Viki looked around the living room while she climbed the stairs. Yang didn't think that looked out of the ordinary.

Yang walked two doors down the hallway and opened it. A travel mattress laid against the wall, and the bed itself was made. The room smelled like it had a spray of air freshener recently. "This is your room, and Aaron's… when he gets back. You two can decide on who gets the bed then." Yang gestured to the door closer to the stairs. "That's the bathroom," she jerked a thumb over her shoulder, "and that's mine and Ruby's room. If you need anything in the night, just come ask us."

"Uh…" Viki looked toward the bathroom. "What's a 'bathroom.'"

"It's, uh…" Yang walked into the bathroom and explained what everything inside was and what it was used for. She felt awkward explaining the whole thing to a—how old was Viki? Fifteen?—year old. Everyone knew what a bathroom was. Even the elves did.

When Yang finished, Viki said she wanted to 'do a shower.' Yang left her to that and leaned against the wall across from the bathroom. Something fell on her right foot. She looked down. Zwei had both his front paws on Yang's foot. His ears were flattened against his head. He whimpered.

"Yang," her dad said off to the side. Yang faced him, "do you need anything for tonight?"

Yang picked up Zwei again. Zwei nestled his head in the side of Yang's neck. "Turn up the AC?" Yang turned away and walked into her room. Everything was exactly as she and Ruby left it. It was so clean… that would change in the next few days. She set Zwei down on her bed and changed into her pajamas. She laid down on her bed, and Zwei laid his head on her chest.

Yang tried to fall asleep, but she just couldn't. She didn't know how long she laid tossing and turning, with Zwei always adjusting to the new position. Soldiers and Huntsmen often returned home and couldn't sleep in their 'too soft' beds. Is that what was happening here?

The door to her room opened and Zwei lifted his head. He set it back seconds later. Yang faced the newcomer. Ruby had her back turned and was carefully taking off her hood. "I'm still awake, sis."

Ruby jumped, then looked at Yang. "Oh…" She shook her head and hung up her cloak. "Blake filled me in on what happened at the hospital… Anything I can do to help?"

"Unless you can get Halcyon here now, not really." Yang faced away from her sister.

Ruby sat on Yang's bed and put a hand on Yang's shoulder, with the other petting Zwei. "Yang, mom wants to talk with you."

Yang snapped her head to Ruby. "And have her take you over again?"

"No. She wants to talk to you face to face, and I agree." Ruby paused. "You're more stable than you were back then. I don't think anything will happen to me."

Yang faced the ceiling. She _really_ wanted to talk to Summer. She had for weeks. Other people were fine, but there was something special about talking to her step-mom. "Yeah… okay."

Ruby squeezed Yang's shoulder. "I'll let you know in a few minutes." She stepped away and changed into her own pajamas. As soon as she disappeared under her covers, her mind touched her sister's. Yang allowed herself to be taken in.

Soon after, Yang stood in the now overly familiar clearing. Summer stood a few feet in front of her. "Mom…"

Summer ran forward and threw her arms around Yang. "I'm so, so sorry, Yang." She pulled her head back and kissed every inch of Yang's face. When she finished, she went back to her previous position. "I know what Halcyon meant to you."

Yang returned the hug as hard as she could. "I know…"

* * *

Weiss stared at herself in the mirror. She wore the beautiful white dress that the elves gave her. Everything was flat and straight as if it was ironed only seconds ago. Probably something the elves could do. She didn't look to tired either. The three-hour nap helped with that.

If she got a few looks for wearing white and not traditional mourning black, too bad. For one, she didn't have anything black on her. Two, she wasn't completely shattered from her father's death. He was a brute, and only cared about himself and Lien. His true nature showed on Weiss' tenth birthday. Weiss clung only to the happy memories before then, before her real father died.

 _I believe I see the…what did you call the caves for these transports?_ Saphira asked. She sent Weiss an image of what she was seeing.

"Hangars. They're called hangars." Weiss sat back on her bed. "And yes. That is ours. We own almost everything with that snowflake above the door."

 _Just like your glyphs._ Saphira hummed through the hull of the ship. _Weiss, I must ask, why are you taking over the company if you don't like it?_

"It's not that I don't like it, I don't like what my father's done with it. My grandfather built the largest and most well-respected company Remnant has ever seen. I want to return it to that." Weiss paused. "That, and if I don't take over, Whitley will. He'll just do what my father did. Nothing will change."

 _And your duties as a Huntress and Rider?_

"I can't and won't ignore them," Weiss shoulder's slumped, "but I'm not going to be very active in them for a while. My father left me a mess to clean up." She paused. "But when you get older, bigger, and better trained, you'll be able to go out to do what I can't."

 _And I will, but I may take you with me by force if I feel that it's needed._

"Fine by me." Someone knocked on Weiss' door. "Well, time to get things started." She walked to the door. If she was going to change how the Schnee Dust Company was run, she'd start with the smallest things. She put on the best smile she could muster and opened the door. A young crewman stood on the other side. "Yes?"

He shifted on his feet. "M…miss Schnee, I'm sorry to bother you, b…but we're nearing our destination."

"There's no bother at all." Weiss shook her head. "I was just waiting for someone to tell me."

"Well, uh, may I…take your bags?"

"All my things are with Saphira, but thank you." Weiss stepped out of the room and walked toward the front of the ship. She waited at the entry door for touchdown in the hangar.

The floor rattled and the touchdown announcement echoed through the ship. Then the rest of the ship shook as Saphira climbed off the top. _That was… interesting,_ she said.

 _Well, with any luck, you'll be able to fly across Remnant with your own jets soon._ The door in front of Weiss hissed and started to lower. Weiss straightened up and cleared her face. Being nice wouldn't work with the one on the other side of the door.

Metal hit ground forming a gentle ramp. Weiss strode down it and searched for the one who should be meeting her. A door on the far side of the hangar opened. Whitley approached Weiss at a quick pace. It looked like he was wearing an outfit similar to their father on a normal day at the office. He really was trying to be like their father.

Weiss halted at the front of her transport and held her hands in front of her. Saphira walked around the side of the ship and stood beside her Rider. Whitley slowed down for a second, then picked his pace back up. _He wasn't expecting you,_ Weiss thought to Saphira. _We could use this._

Whitley stopped in front of Weiss, with a plastic smile on his face. "Sister, it is good to have you back." His voice matched his face.

"It's good to be back," Weiss said in her business voice, "but I hoped it wouldn't be under these circumstances."

Whitley's fake smile turned into a real frown. "Of course. No one could have hoped for this."

 _I know of quite a few people that would beg to differ._ "But, as heiress to the Schnee Dust company, I will accept the position that is my birthright."

"In that case…" Whitley pulled out a tablet Scroll and handed it to Weiss, "father made some requests for whoever succeeded him."

Weiss took the Scroll and looked over the list. Some of them were reasonable and Weiss thought would be normal in a big business. Most others were the cutthroat and racist tactics that Weiss had unfortunately grown used to. "I will keep this in mind, but I do not think I will implement all of them." Saphira knelt down and Weiss put the tablet in one of the less packed saddlebags.

"You would go against father's final wishes?" Whitley demanded.

"If I am reading the list right, his final wish was the betterment of the Schnee Dust Company. I will be carrying that out as I see fit."

"To what extent? Our father built the company to be the largest of any kind on Remnant. He was the best businessman in history!" Whitley's voice rose as he spoke.

"Yet he forgot one crucial element: public opinion. The SDC has consistently ranked in the bottom five in customer satisfaction ratings. Imagine how much more of a profit there is when people _want_ to support the company."

"The company doesn't run off the opinions of the uneducated and degenerates."

Saphira growled. _Can I hurt him?_

 _Not yet._ Weiss' face didn't change. "Then both you and father have failed to realize something else. A good businessman wouldn't toss those off to the side. Those who don't buy in bulk provide more income than the big spenders. Huntsmen and Huntresses versus the military."

"The military is what is protecting our Kingdom from the increase in Grimm attacks. But you wouldn't know that. You have been off chasing Geists with no care for what was happening in your home. What does that say about you as a Huntress?"

 _Now?_ Saphira dug her claws into the concrete.

Weiss thought for a second _Now._

Saphira pounced on Whitley, pinning him to the ground. He yelped but was silenced by Saphira's growl. _You know not who you speak to. Your sister has helped more people than any of us will ever know, and none of it was done for herself. She fought foes that would only show in your worst nightmares. She freed people from slavery while risking her own freedom. She stared her own demons in the face and smacked them down. While she may not have been here in the past few months, she is a war hero where she was. Her name will be sung for generations._

"That's enough, Saphira." Weiss put a hand on her dragon's shoulder. "I think he's got the point."

Saphira snorted then backed off Whitley. _Also, there are Kingdoms where we are considered higher than the military. Armies would follow her without a second thought._ She walked past Whitley.

Weiss looked down at her brother. "If you remain respectful, you will keep a ranked position in the company. If not, you will have to find work elsewhere." She followed her dragon toward the other side of the hangar.

"I will have that beast in a cage!" Whitley yelled.

Saphira spun her head around and growled. Weiss help up a hand and her dragon silenced. She turned her head back toward her brother. Whitley had propped himself up on an elbow and glared at Weiss and Saphira. "General Ironwood is on my side, along with entire Kingdoms that you have never heard of. Without an army by your side, how can _you_ do anything?" She locked eyes with her dragon. Saphira snorted and nodded. They both continued on their path.

Weiss reached the door on the end and faced Saphira. "There's a window in the office I'm heading to on the north side. I'll see you there."

Saphira growled. _I don't like leaving your side._

"This is my own house. You won't be far. Besides, I don't think anyone trying to attack me would know what I can do now."

 _You aren't Ruby, Aaron, or the other Riders. You don't have their control of magic._

"But that's still more than most other people on Remnant." Weiss brushed her dragon's cheek. "You worry too much. Go on outside and pick a spot. I'll tell the ground's crew not to touch it unless you ask them."

Saphira's eyes darted to the hand on her, then back to Weiss' face. _If you're sure. But if the weather gets any worse, I may need a spot in here as well._

"Tell me when you figure that out." Weiss pushed open the door and walked through the long, glass hallway to the main portion of Schnee Manor. She saw Saphira fly out from behind the hangar and to the other side of the mansion. Weiss smiled at her dragon. It was kind of cute with how overprotective she was… That is until she remembered _why_ Saphira was like that. She shivered but refrained from hugging herself. There were a few newscraft flying around the hangar here and Vale. Don't give them anything.

Weiss entered the manor proper and looked around. Paintings, statues, and other decorations marked every square inch. There wasn't a speck of dust on anything. It felt so… fake, unlived in, especially after staying with Ruby and Yang at Beacon, and a substantial time at their house on Patch. That little shack in the middle of nowhere felt more like home than this place in the center of Atlas' power. The fact that only one person lived and worked here who really _cared_ about her made it feel even more empty.

She made her way to an office that was her study room when she still attended schools in Atlas. Weiss took a deep breath and pushed the door open. As expected, Winter and Klein stood inside. Both of them looked out the window at Saphira. Winter turned to look at the door. "Ah, Weiss. You're here."

Klein turned around as well. "Oh, my li..." His eyes flicked to Winter. "Miss Schnee, it's good to see you again."

"The feeling is mutual." Weiss closed the door behind her.

"My sincerest apologies for the loss of your father." Klein blinked and his eyes turned blue. "If there is anything I can do, please let me know."

Weiss nodded. "I will. But for right now, I am fine."

Klein blinked again and his eyes again turned brown. "I understand." He looked out the window again. "She's beautiful."

"Yes, she is." Weiss approached the window as well. "Her name's Saphira. She hatched for me about a month and a half ago."

"Saphira." Klein nodded. "A beautiful name for a beautiful dragon."

Saphira's pupils dilated and she hummed. _I like him._

Klein gasped and brought a hand to the side of his head. "She speaks."

"All dragons do."

"I didn't know." Klein paused. "Pardon me, but a month and a half? You haven't been gone that long."

Weiss shook her head. "Sorry. There's time dilation between here and Alagaësia. For us, we've been gone almost three months."

"Is that what this is about?" Winter asked, breaking her silence.

"Something that happened there, yes." Weiss closed her eyes and tilted her head back. _Saphira, what were the words for that spell again?_ Her dragon ran her through the one spell she purposefully asked Oromis about. Weiss cast the spell and felt the energy drain off her. Compared to summoning Halcyon, this was nothing. She opened her eyes and faced her sister. "Winter, is the room secured?"

Winter straightened. "I swept the room myself. No one outside will be listening or looking in."

Weiss sighed, and she let her entire upper body sag. "Good." She pulled a chair out from a desk and sat down. "I don't want others knowing about this yet." She was suddenly glad she told these two what RWBAY and JNPR were really doing. Weiss doubted that she could explain it now.

Winter narrowed her eyes and Klein shifted on his feet. "What is this about?" Winter asked.

"On the other side, I was on a team tasked with freeing slaves in one of the cities. We were successful, but some were taken elsewhere. They were tied up at the base of a mountain for a couple Pteros to eat." Weiss held up a hand. "Yes, there are Grimm on the other side, but that's not what this is about.

"The whole thing was a trap. Two dragons and Riders ambushed me and my partner at the time. I killed one pair…" Weiss hung her head. "The other knocked me out and took me. I was a prisoner of war, and tortured. They wanted information from me... or to make me join them." She clenched her eyes, hoping the memories didn't come back. It didn't work.

Klein gasped. Weiss didn't hear anything from her sister for a while. "What?" Winter finally said.

"I didn't give anything up. Not willingly, anyway. If I did, they tore it from my head. Nothing I could do to stop it."

"That's good to hear, but wasn't what I was talking about." Winter put a hand on Weiss' shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Weiss faced her sister and her voice caught in her throat. Winter's eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open. Her grip on Weiss' shoulder was stronger than it should have been. This was the first time Weiss saw Winter scared in… had she _ever_ seen Winter scared? "Physically, Ruby was able to heal everything. They were going for pain more than anything else." Weiss hung her head. "Mentally… I need help."

"What did they do to you?" Winter caressed Weiss' face, another thing that hadn't happened in a long time.

"I don't want to go back there." Weiss shook her head. "It's… bad."

 _Weiss,_ Saphira said, _you've made Ruby do the same thing._

 _That was…no it wasn't._ Weiss sighed. "What I'm about to say does not leave this room. Don't tell anyone, _especially_ not Whitley." She went onto explain in length what Formora and Galbatorix did to her. Saphira flooded her Rider's mind with her own. Winter held Weiss' left hand in both of her own. After the third time Weiss froze up, Klein did the same with her right. Then, as much as she was terrified, the words poured off her. She couldn't stop talking, even though she thought she grew less and less intelligible.

After a while, Weiss hung her head. A few more drops of water dropped onto her dress. "And that's when Ruby found me in the desert. I'd just about given up…" She felt terrible, but at the same time, she felt free. As cliché as it was, she didn't feel like she carried the weight of Remnant on her shoulders.

"Thank you for telling us, Weiss," Winter said.

"You're not… hounding me about this?"

Winter's face regained its neutrality. "Very few people are rescued from similar situation, and those that are may very well be broken." Her eyes softened. "You know this from your team leader."

Weiss nodded and faced her lap again. "They're more than just my team. They're my friends. My family." She faced Klein. "If anyone from team RWBAY, JNPR, or CFVY are here, I expect them to be treated as such."

"Of course." Klein nodded. "I will spread the word to the rest of the staff… but I assume that this side of the family will not be as formal."

"Some can handle it. Others, not a chance." A small smile formed on Weiss' face as she imagined Nora, Yang, and Coco trying to act all proper. There wasn't a snowball's chance in Vacuo.

Klein blinked once more and his eyes turned yellow. "If that is the case, I do believe I will look forward to their visits."

Weiss smiled at her favorite butler, but it disappeared just as quickly. She looked between the Klein and Winter. "I didn't tell you this just to get it off my shoulders. I'm unstable. There have been times even after Ruby rescued me that I couldn't tell if what was going on was real or if it was another one of _their_ things... One time I tried to take my own life." Klein gasped and Winter squeezed Weiss' hand harder. "You two are the people closest to me in Atlas. When I get bad, I don't think even Saphira will be able to stop it. Klein, if I start acting up, I want you to stop me in any way necessary, even if it means calling the police. Winter... you'll actually be able to stop me if I go crazy."

"I... will do what I must," Winter said.

"But it will not come to that." Klein released he hand he held and squeezed Weiss' shoulder. "We will not let it." Saphira snorted her agreement from outside.

"Thank you, Klein, Saphira." Weiss faced Winter. "Did you know that when we killed something for our Summons that we keep the Aura they have."

Winter once again donned her military face, but kept her hands on Weiss'. "You killed something that wasn't a Grimm."

"Yeah…" Weiss' head dipped again. "Halcyon. Yang's dragon."

"…Oh." Winter pulled her hands back. "He was dying?"

"Quickly… I did it so she could see him again. I expected him to be like all my others, not _him._ I can't expect you to understand this, but Yang can feel him. When he's summoned, it's like he's alive." Weiss shook her head. "I need to get in contact with Doctor Polendina. I know it's a long shot, but maybe he can do something like he did for Penny."

"He works for the Atlas military, not the SDC. That will not be a small request."

"I know. But I promised Yang I'd try." Weiss paused. "It's more than just getting Yang her dragon back. She was suicidal for a while. I honestly don't know if she still is. Again, it's a Rider thing. You'd only understand if you are one."

Winter stayed silent. "I will take your word for it." She stood up. "I'm sorry Weiss, but I have to report to General Ironwood. He let me to suspend my next mission for this, but the time he allowed has passed. I have to go."

Weiss nodded. "Good luck." Winter never said what missions she went on before they happened, even if it was Grimm defense. Weiss stopped asking years ago.

Winter stopped before she left the room. She faced her sister again. "Weiss, if this gets out and anyone asks how I reacted…"

"If it's my teammates, I'll tell them the truth. Anyone else, you were only concerned about our operational integrity."

"Precisely. Good luck on your own work. You'll need it." Winter left the room and closed the door behind her.

"Is there anything you need from me, Weiss?" Klein asked.

"A cup of hot tea… and be a friendly face around here. I'm going to need more of those in the coming weeks."

"Always, my little snowflake," Klein said. Weiss smiled at Klein as he walked out of the room. He was much more of a father to her than her actual father in the past decade.

Weiss sighed and turned her attention to the matter at hand. She turned to her desk and pushed her computer's power button. She was going to message Ironwood to set up a meeting with Doctor Polendina. Hopefully he wouldn't block the request immediately.

Her Scroll vibrated in a pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the screen. Neptune texted her. Weiss stared at the screen before opening it. The two of them had been dating for about a year, but they'd never been as close as Sun or Blake... or now Aaron and Ruby. But... after what happened, she _really_ needed people. She opened and read the text. 'Just saw you got back. Sorry about your dad. You okay?'

Weiss shook her head. 'I'm fine. I just need time.' She set her Scroll down then continued her message to Ironwood.

The Scroll vibrated again and Weiss checked Neptune's message. 'Okay. But if you need anything, I'm on the first airship to Atlas.'

A small smile slowly formed on Weiss' face. 'I may take you up on that, but not now.' She set her Scroll to the side and finished her request.

 _I am not sure about Neptune,_ Saphira said. _You've said that he chased other female's tails._

 _Not for a while. Just, wait until you meet him, okay? Then I'll take your thoughts into consideration._

* * *

 **Take that S***ley! Don't make a dragon mad.  
**

 **Also, for the sixth time in seven years, my college's football team has won the FCS National Championship. We got us a six pack, and I've been there for half of them! GO BISON!**


	6. Queen Viki

**Called it! Don't know if I ever said it here, but I called that Raven was the Spring Maiden back in Volume 4. Also, Jaune... you couldn't have found your Semblance a little sooner? I have no problems with how it happened or what it is, but come on! You just made so many fanfictions obsolete.  
**

 **Fun fact about this chapter, I brought it for a workshop day in one of my creative writing classes. If only I gave a little more context to this beforehand... no one knew what was going on, and I only got minimal relevant feedback...**

* * *

Something fuzzy pressed against Ruby's face. She groaned and pushed it away. Her bed was comfy and she wanted to sleep as long as she could. The thing returned and this time added something hot and wet. Ruby opened her eyes and looked at her dog's face. "Zwei… not nooooow. I want to sleeeeeep." She closed her eyes again and turned her head away on her pillow.

Zwei jumped over her and pressed his face into Ruby's. He whimpered as he continued to push. Ruby opened her eyes and stared at Zwei. This was new. Zwei hadn't woken anyone up for food in years. He was so well behaved. "What's going on?" Ruby asked. Zwei whimpered again and jumped back over Ruby. He walked to the door which was open a crack. What did Zwei do during the night?

Ruby groaned and followed the corgi. She rubbed an eye as she left her room. Her left foot landed in something wet. "Zweeeeiiiii…" Ruby grimaced and lifted her foot. Zwei was getting old for a dog, but Ruby didn't think he'd gotten _that_ old. She took as big of a step as she could to miss the puddle, but even then she still stepped in dog pee. Ruby jumped down the hall, and _still_ landed in it.

She stopped in place. Zwei never used the bathroom _that_ much. Plus, wouldn't there be a stink to it? Ruby lifted one of her feet and sniffed it. Just bad foot smell, nothing else. She knelt down and touched a hand to the floor. Her bionic eye scanned the floor as well. It was just water. Did something spring a leak? The bathroom was right there.

Ruby put a hand on the door to the bathroom and stared at it. How was the door wet halfway up? She moved her hand to the top of the door. How was it wet at the _top?_ What kind of broken pipe was this?

A chair moved downstairs. Ruby faced that direction. Someone was up. Yang was still asleep, and Ruby thought she still felt her sister deep in her head. Blake, dad, or… Viki. _Oh no. Please don't be her._ Ruby walked to the stairs and to the landing halfway down. Her heart fell.

Viki knelt on the floor with a wet rag in hand and a bucket of water to the side. She looked up at Ruby and blinked. "Good morning." Viki stood up and held the wet rag in front of her. "I have washed the walls, floors, and doors upstairs and on this floor. I am… unfamiliar with some of the furnishings in this house and require further instruction on how to properly clean them."

Ruby's shoulders slumped. "Viki, what happened?"

Viki stiffened. "Have I not pleased you, Mistress?"

"Mist…" Ruby's eyes watered as she shook her head. "No." She walked down the stairs and toward Viki. Ruby snatched the wet rag out of Viki's hands and threw it to the side. She pulled Viki into a tight hug. "No. No, you didn't. You don't have to do these things anymore, Viki. You're no longer a slave. You're free. You don't need to serve anyone like that." She swayed from side to side, taking Viki with her.

"B…but," Viki stuttered, "I was given a room that served no other purpose than to house me."

"It's called a guest room. We do that for friends and family so they don't have to sleep on the couch. You're both."

Viki hesitated. "Yang showed me a room to clean myself and then left."

"That's the bathroom." Ruby felt a tear roll down her cheek. _What did those monsters do to you?_ "Yang showed you that so you can make yourself look and smell better. She left to give you your privacy."

"I…get privacy?"

"Yes! Yes! You do. Typically a closed door means you don't want to see anyone. If someone knocks, you can decide whether to let someone in or not."

"I've… never had that before." Viki loosened in Ruby's arms.

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe all her work wasn't wasted. Something in Viki wanted to be free, to be a normal person. But how could she bring it out? Keeping her here wouldn't work for long. That would make her think she couldn't leave. Movies? Food? Massages… wait. That might just do it.

She pulled away and smiled at Viki. "Why don't you sit down?" She gestured at the small dining room. "It can be there, on the couches, in the kitchen, anywhere, you pick. I'm going to make you breakfast." Ruby turned around and walked toward the kitchen. She wasn't as good as making pancakes as Ren or her dad, but she could do in a pinch. Probably her mom helping out.

As she was pulling all the ingredients out of the cabinets, Zwei showed up at her feet. Ruby knelt down to her dog's level. "Wake everyone else up, nicely. Don't let Viki know what you're doing. When you're done, keep Viki company." She held a hand in front of Zwei. "Understand?" Zwei licked the hand then trotted off toward the stairs. Ruby felt Yang pull out of her mind. Their mom must have told her what was going on.

Ruby peeked around the corner and looked at her charge. Viki sat at the head of the dining room table, where Ruby's dad typically sat when they had guests. Her eyes flicked up and locked with Ruby's for a moment. Ruby pulled back into the kitchen and started preparing breakfast for her friend.

As she was getting the first pancakes on the griddle, Ruby heard Zwei bark. She peeked back into the other room. Viki sat at another spot at the table, with Zwei stretching up the legs of the chair. Zwei jumped onto Viki's lap and proceeded to lick her face. Viki started petting Zwei, but otherwise didn't react.

A sizzle came from behind Ruby. She jumped back to the griddle and flipped the pancakes. That was close. She didn't take her attention off her work from then on, except to pour herself a huge glass of chocolate milk. It was so good after so long... She threw the maple syrup in the microwave and got a plate and silverware out. This was going to be Viki's best meal yet…well, besides anything she had in Ellesméra.

When everything was ready, Ruby set the plate and grabbed some silverware. She loaded the plate high with pancakes and fit everything on a CCT tray. "Breakfast is served!" she called as she left the kitchen. Viki sat in yet another spot on the table, but her head hung and she shivered. Was she trying to see how far she could go? Ruby sat the tray in front of Viki. "There's more in the kitchen. Help yourself. But the griddle's still hot. Don't burn yourself."

Footsteps came from the first-floor hallway. Both her dad and Blake stepped around the corner, looking at the floor. Ruby walked over to them. "Here's what's going on," she whispered. "Zwei woke me up, and I found Viki cleaning _everything._ She fell back into her… bad state of mind. We need to break her out of that. Blake, team meeting upstairs, now."

Blake looked at Viki, then nodded. "Got it." She walked upstairs and out of sight.

"Dad…"

"I'll do what I can." Taiyang took a step toward the table.

Ruby grabbed one of his arms before he got far. "Dad, I don't mean anything by this, but Viki's been forced to… please older men before. If she's back in that state of mind..." She let the thought hang.

Her dad grimaced. "Noted." He slowly approached Viki and started talking with her.

Ruby walked back upstairs and made for her room. She pulled out her Scroll and started putting together a conference call. Weiss, JNPR, and CFVY might be able to help in some way. Ruby pushed the door to her room open. Yang sat up on her bed and leaned against the wall. Blake was right next to her.

" _Hello?"_ Velvet's voice came from Ruby's Scroll. _"Something going on?"_

" _Please tell me this is just a check-in,"_ Jaune said through the same thing.

" _I'm sorry, Ruby,"_ Weiss started, _"but I can't talk long. It's my first day of work, and there's a lot I need to do."_

"Hold on a sec, guys. I'm going to hook you up to a projector." Ruby flipped through her Scroll for the right setting. She connected the Scroll to the small projector in her room. Instantly, three views sprang up from the projector; the entirety of JNPR in their apartment, CFVY minus Fox in theirs, and Weiss walking through a wide hallway. Ruby set her own Scroll up so the camera could see the rest of the room.

"Here's what's going on." Ruby sat on her bed. "Viki's gone back to her old self. She cleaned a good chunk of the house overnight… and called me mistress this morning."

Weiss stopped in place and looked off-screen. _"Klein? Let's take the long way to headquarters this morning."_

Coco looked over her shoulder at Velvet. _"Viki's the former slave, right?"_

" _Yeah."_ Velvet's ears drooped. _"She's Aaron's sister too. She wasn't okay at all when we found her."_

" _How bad is 'not okay?'"_

" _She had bad reactions to just about anything. No matter what happened, she thought she was a slave."_

"… _Shit. That's not good."_ Coco shook her head.

" _I thought she was past that,"_ Pyrrha said.

"We did too." Ruby dipped her head. "I guess that it's hard to get rid of that programming." She clenched her fists then looked back at the Scroll. "So we're going to treat her like a queen today. We're going to show her a life that she couldn't have dreamed of before, that this could be her new normal."

Jaune nodded. _"What do you have in mind?"_

Ruby focused on Nora. "How you feeling this morning, Nora?"

" _I'm not in the hospital."_ Nora shrugged. _"What do you need?"_

"Viki has to be under a lot of stress. Think you can get rid of some of that?"

Nora smiled. _"I think I can take care of that."_

" _Thank you. Coco?"_

" _I'll see if I can put something together."_ Coco turned to her Rider teammate. _"You got any pictures I can go off of?"_

" _One or two."_ Velvet picked up her own Scroll and handed it to Coco.

" _Dang."_ Coco looked over her sunglasses. _"That's a good-looking girl."_

" _Nothing too extreme, Coco. She wasn't exactly comfortable in the dress the elves gave her."_

" _Got it."_ Coco handed Velvet her Scroll back. _"Then again, she should look good in just about anything."_

"She's only…" Ruby did some quick math in her head, "fifteen...but she'll probably act younger than that going forward because of how she was raised. Keep that in mind." Ruby paused. "Food. Something good, but not too extreme."

" _I believe Claret's parents own the Vacuo Roadhouse on sixth,"_ Velvet offered.

"That works." Ruby nodded. "There's some bakeries and candy stores in that area too. We could stop in those too."

" _Anything I can do?"_ Weiss asked. It looked like she'd entered some sort of vehicle.

"Uh," Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "With you in Atlas… Maybe a bed, or some other things."

Weiss nodded. _"I'll see what I can do. Patch has same day delivery, right?"_

"Yeah. We just don't use it much here."

" _Got it."_ Weiss looked away from her Scroll. _"Sorry. I've got to go. I'll let you know what I can do when I can."_ Her line on Ruby's Scroll went dead.

" _I should probably get working too."_ Coco stepped off-screen.

"Velvet, could you send Cerise back this way?" Ruby asked. "We're going to need to fly as soon as possible."

Velvet turned her head to the side. _"I think she heard. She just took off."_

"That's good." Ruby paused. "And her eggs?"

" _She and Vert fought for a while on who would warm them for the night."_ Velvet shook her head with a small smile on her face. _"I think they ended up sleeping side by side with their eggs in between them."_

Ruby smiled at the thought. "I'll let you call Claret. Talk to you later." Velvet nodded on her end, then her screen went dead."

" _We'll see you soon here!"_ Nora gave a salute. _"No one leaves my care stressed."_

"Hopefully that's the same for Viki. See you soon." Ruby cut the link this time and the projector turned off.

"What about us?" Yang asked.

Blake ran a hand through her hair. "I actually wanted to try to get in touch with Sun. A lot's happened since we last talked, where we were and here. Honestly, it would be nice to talk to someone that's not so proper, and that I haven't spent the past few months with."

"And Yang…" Ruby walked to her sister's side and sat beside her. She rested a hand on Yang's knee and squeezed. "Stay home with dad today. Relax… and you might have helped make Viki go back into that state."

"What?" Yang's eyes widened and the rest of her body slumped. "What did I do?"

"You showed her the bathroom. I wasn't there, but something you said probably wasn't right." Ruby hugged Yang as soon as her sister started shaking. "I know you didn't mean it, and hopefully Viki will realize that soon."

"Yeah… it's better I don't go with you." Yang pulled away. "I… don't want to hurt her again."

"Hopefully you'll both be better tonight." Ruby waited for Blake to leave the room before changing into fresh clothes, just another of her Huntress outfits. The only difference was her living emblem with the ruby in the middle. She left her room and walked downstairs. Viki still sat at the table, with a fresh set of pancakes in front of her. Ruby peeked into the kitchen. Her dad was cleaning up the kitchen, and it didn't look like there were any pancakes left. Either Viki was hungry, or Ruby did a really good job… Or both.

Ruby waited until Viki finished before approaching. Viki stood up and grabbed her tableware. "I'll take those." Ruby grabbed the empty plate and silverware and brought it to the kitchen, leaving Viki staring after her. She returned and up a hand on Viki's shoulder. "How was your breakfast?"

"It was… good," Viki said. "Thank you."

"That's good to hear." Ruby took a step back. "Viki, how would you like to see Vale? If you're going to be here a while, you might as well get to know the city, that is if you want to."

Viki continued to stare at Ruby. "If… _I_ want to?"

"Yep. It's your decision."

"I…" Viki's eyes darted to the floor, then locked with Ruby's. "I think I want to."

"Great! How about a tour of Patch first?" Ruby picked up Máni Bláto from its place by the door. The populated parts of Patch were usually safe, but if what Ozpin said yesterday was true, it was better safe than sorry. She opened the door and gestured outside. "The island's beautiful this time of year. Then again, it's beautiful any time of year."

Viki stepped toward the door at a snail's pace. She looked at Ruby, swallowed, then stepped through in front of Ruby. As far as Ruby knew, that was Viki's first time leaving a building ahead of someone. A major milestone for someone who had followed monsters her whole life.

Ruby walked outside and searched the sky for Cerise. She didn't see any red. _Cerise? How far out are you?_

 _Not far,_ Cerise hummed. _My eggs were good for CFVY. They weren't any trouble._

Ruby laughed to herself. _How can eggs be trouble?_

… _I don't know. I'm trying to be a mother, okay?_

This time, Ruby didn't hold her laugh back. _Something tells me you're going to spoil your hatchlings._

 _You know it. I'll be there soon._

Ruby focused back on the area in front of her. Viki was staring at her. "Don't worry about me. Cerise just said something funny." Ruby stepped ahead of Viki and waved at her. "Come on. Let the tour begin!" She led the way out of the yard, and she made sure Viki was still following her before actually leaving.

They walked down a sidewalk on the main road, and a pickup truck drove toward them. Viki hid on the other side of Ruby until it passed. "What was that?" she whispered.

"That was a car, or more specifically a truck. It's kind of like a Bullhead, but it can't fly. Don't worry about it." Ruby paused. "At this point, if I'm not scared of something, you don't need to be either."

"So… I don't need to be scared of anything?"

Ruby smiled at Viki. That was probably as close to a joke as she's gotten, even though she didn't know it. "You'd be surprised. Quite a few things scare me, but we shouldn't run into any of them here." She looked up. Her dragon flew directly above her. "Plus, with Cerise nearby, those things that scare me shouldn't be around at all."

Cerise hummed. _I won't be far from wherever you are._

Ruby lowered her gaze to Viki, who still stared up at Cerise. A faint smile grew on Viki's face. For whatever reason, she _really_ felt safe around the dragons. "Let's keep going. We haven't even gotten to downtown Patch yet." Ruby reached her hand toward Viki's. Viki took the hand with only a second's hesitation.

The rest of the tour of Patch went fairly well. Ruby showed her charge the important parts of downtown, well, at least to her, meaning bakeries and weapon shops, along with other things. She explained several safety things as well, like stoplights and not walking down the center of the road. A few people Ruby knew waved at her, but kept their distance. As time went on, Viki asked more and more questions. Ruby had to fight herself not to hug the lights out of Viki for each one.

When they came to Signal, Ruby again tried not to geek out. She only went there two years, but she had so many great memories. She tried to keep in touch with some of the friends she had there, but it had gotten harder over time... and a good chunk of them turned out to be jerkfaces. As she turned to leave, a familiar set of ears caught her eye. She tried to find them again in the small crowd. A few people walked away, clearing her sight.

Violet Calrow sat on a bench with her mother right beside her. The fur on her left coyote ear matched the rest of her black hair, the one on the right matched Cerise' scales. A bag carrying Signal's emblem sat on the ground beside them. Ruby brought a hand to her mouth. It looked like Violet was following in her footsteps. Ruby turned away. If she locked eyes with Violet, she'd have to talk with her for a while. She had other priorities at the moment.

Ruby checked her Scroll. It looked like enough time had passed for Coco to get an outfit or two together. But also knowing Coco, it would take a long time to go through them. She had to make sure everything was right. In this situation, that was fine with Ruby. "Hey Viki, Velvet's told you about her team, right?" Viki nodded. "Well, Coco's been working on a new outfit for you so you don't need to wear this all the time." Ruby gestured at the earth-tone elven dress Viki still wore. She'd been getting a lot of attention in that.

"Oh." Viki looked down at herself. "Like you in Ellesméra to now?"

"Exactly like that. We don't want to get our nice clothes dirty or torn."

Viki's head dipped, then rose again. "I, think I'd like that."

Ruby looked up at her dragon. "Cerise?"

 _Coming._ Cerise dove and landed on the side of the road. _Climb on._

Ruby climbed up Cerise side and offered a hand to Viki. "Their apartment is on the mainland and the other side of Vale. I know you don't like the ocean, but flying's the fastest way to get there… and confronting your fears is the best way to beat them."

Viki nodded, then took Ruby's hand. Ruby helped her charge up and secured her to the saddle. Cerise stood and took off toward the mainland. Viki tightened her grip around Ruby's midsection as they flew over the water. Ruby squeezed Viki's arms. Viki's grip loosened. She was learning some gestures. Maybe she could act like a normal woman soon.

A few minutes later, Cerise angled down toward an apartment complex. Vert stuck his head around the corner and roared in greeting. Cerise returned it just before setting down. Her two riders dismounted and walked toward the main entrance. Velvet met them there and led the way up to her team's apartment.

"I've seen the outfit's Coco's laid out," Velvet told Viki just outside the door to the apartment. "I think you'll love them."

"Thank… you?" Viki said. She looked to Ruby, Velvet, and back again.

"You're good." Ruby pat Viki's back. "You used it right."

Velvet opened the door to her team's apartment and stepped inside. "They're here," she called. Ruby followed her fellow Rider inside. Yatsu sat at a desk on the far side of the living room. Fox and Coco were nowhere to be seen.

Then Coco stepped out of the hall on the other side of the kitchen. "Perfect timing. I just got the third outfit put together." She approached the newcomers. "So, you're Viki." Coco peeked over her sunglasses and looked Viki up and down. "Velvet's photos didn't do you justice. Come on. I'll get you looking good in no time." She waved and Viki, then started walking toward the hall again.

Viki stayed in place and looked at Ruby. Coco stopped at the hall entrance and turned her head back. She was about to say something but Ruby cut her off. "It's okay, Viki. You can go with her. She's nice."

"I'll come with you." Velvet put a hand on Viki's shoulder. Viki nodded and walked toward the hall with Velvet right behind her.

"You know where all the stuff is." Coco pat Velvet on the back as she passed. A door closed and Coco sighed. "Man, Viki did _not_ look okay. Velvet wasn't kidding about her."

"Nope." Ruby shook her head. "But compared to how we first found her, she's much better off now than she was back then."

Coco winced. "Something tells me I don't want to know. You know I'm all for looking my best all the time, but I'm not sure if this'll help her."

"Anything that will help her look or feel normal." Ruby paused. "I honestly don't know what I'm doing. I'm guessing and hoping things work. I'd take her to a professional, but something tells me she wouldn't respond the best to someone in a suit. She doesn't even know how to think for herself. I…" Ruby shook her head. "I'm worried that she'll be like this forever."

Coco sighed. "Well, I'll do my part." She paused. "You taken her to see Aaron yet?"

Ruby's head sunk. "It's... on the list. I'm waiting to see if she brings it up."

"Got it." Coco turned down the hallway and walked away.

Ruby sat on the couch and reached for the projector controller. She paused before she hit the on button. "Yatsu? You mind if I turn on the news?"

"I will not hear it," Yatsu said.

"Thanks." Ruby turned on the projector and changed the channel to VNN. She'd been gone a long time and a lot had happened she needed to catch up. At the moment, it was just talking about a council member's apparent affair. Not worth her time. "Where's Fox?"

"He is on mission in his home village. Their Huntsman was killed two weeks ago."

"Oh… wish I could say hi, for… multiple reasons." Ruby shook her head and faced the projection again. The news had already moved on. This new story focused on the assassination of Jacques Schnee. Now _this_ Ruby had an interest in. Jacques had no active Aura to protect him, the sniper was about three hundred yards out, and was a member of the White Fang. The sniper stated that his hatred for humans came from…

Ruby's jaw dropped. She covered her gaping mouth with her left hand. "Oh my gosh…that's gonna kill him." The news continued, but Ruby didn't pay attention. She knew the exact event that triggered this nearly five years ago. She couldn't forget that conversation on the rooftop.

She didn't know how long she stared at the projector. A door opening drew Ruby back into reality. She turned around and looked down the hall. Viki walked down the hall, but Ruby didn't think she'd recognize her if she didn't know Coco's work. Viki wore dark blue jeans with a matching long sleeve shirt with a red vest. Her hair was cut to just above her shoulders. The only thing missing from a Coco Makeover was the truckload of makeup. It didn't look like Viki had anything extra on her face. It was simple, and she looked like everyone else on the street, but she still would turn heads. Despite the new look though, Viki still stared at the ground and walked like a robot.

"Oh wow." Ruby stood up from the couch and approached Viki. "You look beautiful."

Viki raised her head and locked eyes with Ruby. Those green orbs had more light in them than when she entered the apartment. "You really think so?"

"Yep! Anyone who doesn't see it is blind. But the real question is, how do you like it?"

"I… uh…" Viki dipped her head again, but it didn't look like she was depressed. "I think it's… comfortable?"

"Like normal everyday clothes are supposed to be!" Ruby looked past Viki. "You've outdone yourself this time, Coco."

"I try." Coco shrugged. "And this wasn't even my best work."

"You could have fooled me." Ruby looked at a clock hanging on the wall. "Velvet? You get in touch with Claret?"

Velvet nodded. "Yeah. It sounds like she'll do anything to help. She had her dad reserve a section for you at noon."

"And it's a quarter to. Perfect timing." Ruby faced Viki again. "How would you like to have lunch somewhere that has much better food than pretty much anything you'll have at my house?"

Viki blinked. "Is that possible?

Ruby laughed. "Thank you, but yes, it is. Those were my pancakes this morning. You haven't had Ren's. And this place we have in mind has steak and bacon. God's gifts to Remnant… That's an exaggeration. I, along with just about everyone else on Remnant, really like them."

"Oh… well, I don't see why not." Viki shrugged.

"Okay, then! Let's get going." Ruby walked to the door, but faced team CFVY before heading out. "Thanks again for the help."

"Not a problem." Coco waved. "Anything I can do to help."

Ruby left the apartment, and this time, Viki didn't need any prodding to leave herself. They left the building and climbed onto Cerise. Cerise flew west at a leisurely pace. About halfway to the restaurant, Ruby touched Viki's mind. She hadn't done so to this extent since she first found her. Viki was… confused, to say the least. She wanted to be happy, but she was worried that this would all disappear like it had in the past… one of her former 'owners' must have done something similar before throwing the book at her. Both sides were fighting for control. Ruby had to make sure the right one won out.

Cerise landed in a park near the restaurant. Ruby and Viki dismounted and walked the remaining two blocks. It was close, but not close enough. Ruby saw several people snapping pictures of her. She knew she and the other Riders were some of the biggest Huntresses in Vale, and with the dragons, that came with a lot of extra attention. Ruby glanced at Viki. Maybe it wasn't the best idea that she was out right now… but she needed to know what it was like in the city and be around people… Why wasn't anything easy anymore?

They walked into the Vacuo Roadhouse. As expected for the time of day, the place was packed, with a lot of people waiting in line. Quite a few of them looked Ruby's way, but she didn't pay attention to them. She waited in the line for the front desk. The line moved quickly, and Ruby made it to the front in record time. She waited for the hostess to return from seating another customer.

After a quick fangirl session, the hostess escorted Ruby and Viki to a booth in the far back corner. Ruby noticed that the booth directly across from hers and Viki's had one of the benches torn up and a toolbox sitting on the table. She had to wonder if the booth was like that before Velvet called in.

Ruby and Viki sat across from each other. "You might want to take a look through this." Ruby took a menu out of its holder and handed it to Viki. "There's a lot here."

Seconds later, a waitress with a familiar face and rabbit ears walked to the table. "Hi, Ruby. It's been a while."

"Claret?" Ruby beamed up at her friend. "Velvet didn't mention you worked here."

"I only started last week. It helps that my parents own and run this place." Claret placed a basket of freshly baked bread on the table and lifted a notepad. "Anyway, anything I can get you two to drink right away."

"Water, please." Ruby turned to Viki. She wouldn't know what any of the soft drinks were, and she wasn't old enough to drink, so she'd probably get the same thing. But Ruby wasn't about to put words in Viki's mouth.

Viki stared at the menu in front of her then to Claret. "I'll… have water too."

Claret nodded and wrote something on her pad. She flipped the page and tore another off. "By the way, my dad wanted me to give this to you." She slid the paper facedown toward Ruby.

"Thanks." Ruby nodded at Claret as the latter walked away. She flipped the paper and read it over…

'We will go by your time. I don't need or want to know what that poor child went through. Everything is on the house today. You do what you need to do. – Hunter Jacobson.'

That made things a little easier. Claret would respect their privacy, and there wouldn't be a push from management to get going. Before Ruby returned her focus to Viki, she cast a few silencing spells. No one would be listening in. Ruby turned back to Viki. "The bread here is really good, and it'll keep coming until we leave. Have as much as you like. Also, feel free to order… almost anything on that menu. You need to be twenty-one years old to order any alcohol."

Viki stared at the bread, then back at the menu in front of her. "Uh, Ruby?" She slowly looked up. "I…uh…"

"Something wrong?" Ruby leaned forward.

"I… can't… read." Viki dipped her head. "I…know the numbers because one of my former masters had me go to the market, but I don't know the rest."

Ruby leaned back against the bench. "Huh. None of us asked, did we?" Viki shook her head. Ruby stared at her own menu, then back at Viki. "Well then, I guess I'm going to have to teach you. But for now…" Ruby slid off her bench and into Viki's. She grabbed Viki's menu and held it in front of both of them. "Okay, appetizers. Boneless wings…" She continued her mission to read and describe absolutely everything on the menu for Viki. Just because Viki couldn't read didn't mean she wouldn't get a choice.

When she was halfway through the steaks, Ruby heard a sniff to her right, but it wasn't from someone smelling something. She turned that direction. Viki's eyes were read, her head hung. Tears ran down her cheeks. She sniffed again, this one sounding gunked up. Viki was _crying._ This was the first time Ruby had seen her cry, and the first time Ruby knew of that Viki showed any real emotion away from the dragons. Even then, it was never to this level.

"Why are you doing this?" Viki creaked her head around to face Ruby. "What have I ever done for you?" She blinked and fear filled her eyes. She tried to back away but her back hit the wall.

Ruby smiled at Viki. She reached a hand out and cupped Viki's cheek. Viki flicked her eyes to the hand, then back to Ruby's face. "Nothing, Viki. Nothing at all." Ruby hesitated as she thought about her next move. Then she leaned forward and kissed Viki's forehead. When she pulled back, Viki's jaw dropped, but she was no longer shaking. "It's nothing that you've done for me, but everything you've been forced to do for everyone else.

"Viki, you've been treated terribly your whole life. Those days are behind you. Everyone that you've spoken with today and the past few weeks want the best for you, even Claret." Ruby faced away from Viki and removed her hand. She mumbled in the Ancient Language under her breath to make sure her wards were still up and would work as intended. "I don't think I've told you yet, but I was on sale as a slave once too."

"Y…you?" Viki whispered.

"Yeah. After Cerise hatched for me too." Ruby dipped her head. "Though I have a feeling that the kind of work I'd be doing wouldn't be cooking and cleaning." She shook her head, trying to clear those thoughts. "But that's where the similarities end. They only had me a few hours, and I was never sold."

Ruby faced Viki again. "But I do know a few things and I can guess others. I know that being in that position is the worst thing that can happen to a person short of death, and to some people even that's debatable. _Nobody_ deserves to live like that." She grabbed one of Viki's hands and held it both of her own. "From knowing you in the short time that I have, and those I've helped free, I can tell that it does terrible things to a person in that position for any length of time. It makes them feel like they're not even people.

"Viki, that's what we're trying to correct. I know we'll never be able to give you your life back, but we can try to make it better from here on out. That's what we're doing today. We decided we're going to give you the best day of your life so far, and show you what it's like to have a normal life, maybe even better than normal. Today is all about _you,_ and what _you_ want to do. I only have suggestions, and that's all I've given all day."

Viki stared open-mouthed at Ruby. "You're not going to… tell me what to do?"

"The only things that I've ever told you to do are safety and law things that everyone has to do, even me."

"You…don't want to…use me?"

Ruby shook her head. "Never."

Viki sobbed and squinted her eyes. She tilted her head forward and continued crying. She mumbled incomprehensible words through all of that. Ruby pulled Viki into the best hug she could manage in the booth and touched Viki's mind. Gone was the confusion and fear, replaced by complete gratitude. Ruby smiled and rubbed Viki's back. "You're safe here, Viki. Let it all out." Viki finally returned the hug and squeezed. "Don't worry about a thing. We'll take care of you."

"Tha… Than… Thank you."

* * *

 **Big sister Ruby = Almost best Ruby**

 **Oh and... ho-ly crap. It's a Minneapolis Miricle. Can you Digg it? Skol Vikings!**


	7. Helping Out

**Ding! Dong! Cinder's dead! Sing it high, sing it low!... Anyway, it looks like my version of Ruby is extremely underpowered judging by that Maiden vs Maiden fight. One more episode left. Hopefully it's not a letdown.  
**

* * *

Ruby pushed the empty plate in front of her to the edge of the table. That was some good food after some of the things in Alagaësia. She looked to Viki, who also had an empty plate that once held steak in front of her. "Well, how was it?" Ruby asked.

"You were right." Viki smiled at Ruby, the salt stains on her cheeks almost gone. "This was great."

"Hungry for any desert?" Ruby gestured to the dessert menu on the inside of the table.

"No." Viki rested a hand on her stomach and her smile widened. "I'm…not hungry. I'm not hungry." She laughed out the last three words. Her eyes watered once more.

"It's a wonderful feeling, isn't it?" Ruby took out her wallet and set a few Lien on the table. The meal was on the house, but she still wanted to be a good customer, and leave an example for Viki. "So, do you want to go see JNPR?"

"Wh…why?" Viki winced and turned away. Maybe she wasn't completely in the right state of mind.

"It's okay to ask that, Viki." Ruby squeezed Viki's left shoulder. "Nora gives some of the best massages, not that my dad's that bad, but she's better. Don't let him know I said that."

Viki cocked her head. "What's a massage?

"It's…" Ruby left her head fall to the right then left, "It feels really good, and is a major stress relief for a lot of people, including me."

"Oh. Well, I think I'd like to try it."

"Okay! Let's go!" Ruby slid out of the booth and turned for the exit. As soon as she did, Claret walked into view. The rabbit Faunus was a little stiffer than before. "Something wrong, Claret?"

"A little." Claret rubbed the back of her neck. "There's a horde of reporters out front looking for you. I don't know why."

Ruby sighed. Did that need to happen when she was still with Viki? "I don't suppose there's another way out of here?"

"Dad says you can use the employee entrance. It's this way." Claret led Ruby and Viki through the restaurant and into the kitchen. Ruby felt more than a little weird walking through an active workplace, and it probably broke a few health codes, but she wasn't about to run to any health inspector.

 _Cerise,_ Ruby called, _we're leaving out the back of the Vacuo Roadhouse. Can you land somewhere nearby?_

 _I will try,_ Cerise returned. _Hope for a red light._

 _Will do._ Ruby peeked out the back door of the restaurant. There were a lot of cars in the parking lot, then the road, but no one with cameras or Scrolls. _Coast is clear of people. We're ready when you are._ She looked to the sky,

Cerise flew around one of the skyscrapers and dove for the restaurant. She hovered in the air above the road for a lull in the traffic, then landed soft enough not to break the asphalt. _Now's the time, you two._

Ruby jogged to her dragon's side with Viki right behind her. When she was halfway up Cerise' back, the reporters swarmed around the side of the building. "Come on, Viki.' She reached a hand down to her charge. Viki took the hand and the Rider hauled her up onto the saddle.

 _Hold on tight._ Cerise flared her wings, making those on the ground keep their distance. She jumped into the air over Vacuo Roadhouse and turned toward JNPR's appartment on the outskirts of the city.

"Ruby?" Viki tugged Ruby's shirt, "who were those people?"

"Reporters." Ruby sighed. "Some of them are good people, others want a story and will do whatever the need to get one." She stared back at the mass of most likely frustrated people. "Right now, I'd say they wouldn't leave us alone. They'll learn what's going on eventually, but not now."

 _Not until we know what's going on,_ Cerise added. _Then, only the nice ones._ She faced forward again. JNPR's apartment complex laid directly ahead of them, with a large park across the street. Cerise dove for the park and the few people down there scattered. She landed and settled on her belly. _Go on inside. I'll soak up the press. I don't mind the attention._

"Call me if they get to be too much." Ruby patted her dragon's neck and slid off Cerise' back. Once on the ground, she helped Viki off as well. When she faced the building, Pyrrha already stood in the doorway. The champion hugged both other women before leading them up to her team's apartment.

Pyrrha opened the door to the apartment. Ruby noticed a difference between this place and CFVY's apartment before stepping through the door. Instead of smelling like air freshener, the scent of pancakes wafted out the door. That was _so_ Nora. With what she's been through, she deserved it.

Inside, Ren and Jaune sat on the couch with VNN on the projector. Nora stepped out of a back room and spread her arms. "Welcome to Chateau du JNPR! Or however that's pronounced." She put her fists on her hips and focused on Viki. "So, you're my first patient today?"

Viki glanced at Ruby then nodded. "I guess I am."

Nora relaxed her arms. "Well then, right this way. I'll have you feeling better in no time." She gestured to the room she came out of. The normally hyperactive fighter walked to the room and held the door open for the former slave. Once Viki stepped through, Nora closed the door behind them.

Ruby sighed and sat by Ren on the couch. Pyrrha came over and sat pretty much on top of Jaune. The Rider faced her friends. "Pyrrha, you fill them in on what Ozpin said yesterday?"

Pyrrha nodded. "I have, but not the things that we… can't." She locked eyes with Ruby. She didn't say anything about the Eldunarí. That was good to know.

"At least we have an idea on where Salem is." Jaune shook his head. "Well, if we didn't have a whole continent to search anyway."

"Better than a whole planet." Ruby dipped her head. "Or two."

"They don't have all of their planet mapped, do they?" Ren asked.

Ruby shrugged. "I don't even think they have a name for it, or anything mapped outside of Alagaësia. Searching a continent we know about is going to be hard enough." She raised her head then cocked it. "You know, Manchu does kind of look like a dragon."

"Manchu translates to dragon in an ancient Mistrilian language," Ren said.

"Huh. Ya learn something new every day. I guess we're going to have to get the Grimm off the dragon's back." Ruby looked past Ren to Jaune and Pyrrha. "So, now that we're back, you two have a date yet?"

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other and their cheeks turned red. "Uh, we haven't thought about it much." Pyrrha rubbed the back of her neck. "We only got engaged a few days before we went on mission, and we've just got back."

"It's on the list." Jaune shrugged. "But for now, we all just want to relax."

"Same thing at my house." Ruby let her head fall back. "I think everyone's going to take a few days before doing anything extreme."

"Also," Pyrrha grabbed one of her arms, "my mother called and told me my grandfather is in the hospital in Mistral. I'm going to fly out there as soon as I get the chance."

Ruby's shoulders slumped. "This the same one who doesn't trust the Riders?"

Pyrrha nodded. "My mother said it has only gotten worse since we left for Alagaësia. I don't think you would be welcome there."

"I'm sorry." Ruby dipped her head. "I hope he pulls through."

"So do we." Pyrrha looked toward the back room. "How's Viki? She seemed better than what you described this morning."

Ruby smiled at where Viki and Nora disappeared. "She's doing a lot better. She's asking questions, she's talking more in general, she _cried_ at Vacuo Roadhouse, not holding back. Who knew hearing people cry would feel and sound so right? She's breaking out. I think we're going to see the real Viki sooner than any of us thought.

"But…" Ruby's smile disappeared. "She still has a long way to go. I'm going to have to teach her how to read and write. I'm sure there's some things we haven't even thought of that will make her go back into that state. I need to figure out how to register her as a refugee or… something so she can be a citizen of Vale. She needs to be able to make her own choices. I'm just worried about how long that will take.

"I'm really worried about her. I don't want her to feel like she's a slave here. But how do I do that? There's laws, regulations, customs, traditions… Viki's been a slave her whole life. How can I show her that this isn't like that? Am I doing that now…" Ruby leaned forward and held her head in her hands. "What if I'm just making it worse?"

Ren laid a hand on Ruby's left knee and squeezed. "The fact that you're worried about this tells me that you won't let that happen."

"And Ruby?" Jaune's eyes darted to the back room, "we have fairly thin walls here."

Ruby snapped her head back there and covered her mouth with a hand. The door was still closed, but that didn't mean they didn't hear on the other side. Nora wasn't the best at keeping quiet, but hopefully this would be the exception.

"On a brighter note," Pyrrha started, "it looks like there might be a development in space travel."

"Wait, what?" Ruby stared open-mouthed at Pyrrha. "How's that?"

Pyrrha gestured at the projection. Ruby faced it as well. Sure enough, VNN was talking about something discovered in _Vacuo_ of all places. The inventor called it 'gasoline.' While it was worse for the environment than Burn and Lightning Dust, which was saying something, it didn't have the same properties, and the inventor hoped it could be a stepping stone for fuel that could get satellites into orbit. A few Atlas scientists confirmed. "Oh. So cool."

The news was apparently on a science segment. For a while after, they talked about some other recent developments. Nothing on solar panels though. It looked like that glory would go to Weiss. That would be a major win for her early on.

After that came the reports on Grimm attacks. Ruby paid just as much attention to that, but for different reasons. That would determine how long she could rest up and how much time she could spend helping various friends and family recover. It looked like the area directly around the City of Vale was good, but that had to do with the increased military presence Ruby had already seen. The other cities were good until Bullworth on Vacuo's border. It was shaky just about everywhere else. Ruby took notes on her bionic eye of the villages that were the worst off. Hopefully some of them would still be around by the time the Riders returned to action.

Just as they were getting into politics, which Ruby had no interest in whatsoever, the door to the back room opened. She turned her head over her shoulder, and Viki walked out with the most blissed-out face imaginable. "You like that?" Ruby asked.

"You weren't lying." Viki plopped down in another chair in the room and sighed. "That was amazing."

"Good to hear." Ruby paused. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"Hold that thought!" Nora grabbed Ruby's shoulder and pulled her into the back room. "You are coming with me."

"Wait, Nora!" Ruby faced her friend as the door closed behind her. "What are you doing?"

"Making you relax too." Nora pushed Ruby onto the massage chair. "I heard what you said about Viki. If you want to help her, you need to relax." She pushed the Rider's cape to the side and pressed her hands against Ruby's back.

"Oooohhhhhh." Ruby let her hands fall. "I guess I can roll with this for a while. Just don't stress yourself out."

"If I feel an attack coming, I'll stop and let you know." Nora continued working her magic. Meanwhile, with each passing second, Ruby felt her stress pack up and move to Mistral. Nora _had_ to have some professional training somewhere. There's no way she could get that good on her own. The Rider closed her eyes and felt them roll into the back of her head. _That_ is what she needed.

 _Can Nora do me?_ Cerise asked somewhere in the massage.

 _Ohh, I'm sure she wouldn't mind. I'll ask if Viki doesn't want to go anywhere else._

A little while later, the heavenly pressure on Ruby's back disappeared. "All done!" Nora chirped.

Ruby turned her head to the right. "Thanks, Nora. I needed that."

"No problem!" Nora gave Ruby a salute. "Just come see me if you ever need to unwind."

"Got it." Ruby pushed herself up and left the room. In the living room, Viki was still blissed out, but looked more thoughtful that before. Her head lolled to the side and she looked at Ruby. Viki stiffened a little and she looked away. Something was going on in her head. Might as well bring it out. "Something on your mind, Viki?"

"I… was wondering…" Viki leaned forward and hunched over. "I… don't know how things are done here, but…" she locked eyes with Ruby again, "can we see Aaron?"

Ruby smiled at her charge. "Yes. To be honest, I was hoping you would bring it up." She reached a hand down to Viki. "I don't think he's awake, but we can still go see him. I'm pretty sure visitor hours are until eight tonight." Viki grabbed the offered hand and Ruby helped her up.

With a wave to JNPR, Ruby and Viki left the apartment. When they reached the outside door, Ruby looked for any reporters. Of course, they swarmed around Cerise across the street, and a few others roamed around outside the building. _Cerise, any chance of you making it over here?_

 _I can try._ Cerise stood up and the reporters around her scattered. _These people aren't making it easy._ Still, when she made it to the street, the reporters scattered, but reformed outside the building.

Ruby grimaced, faced Viki, and grabbed her hand. "Just stay with me. We're going right to Cerise. Don't talk to anyone here." She faced the door and pushed it open. Cameras flashed all around and questions flew in every direction. The Rider ignored it all and kept walking toward her dragon. The sea of people parted before her, and they gave way completely when she reached Cerise. She and Viki climbed up and Cerise took off as soon as both were in place.

About a minute later, Vale General came into view. Nalia laid on the adjacent parking ramp, facing the hospital proper. Ruby's shoulders slumped. How long would Nalia be there… Knowing Cerise, probably until Aaron woke up… If he ever did.

Cerise landed on the ramp beside the other dragon. Ruby dismounted her dragon on Nalia's side. "Nalia, how you doing?" Nalia didn't even flinch.

Viki walked past Ruby and put a hand on Nalia's snout. The dragon's eyes moved from the hospital to Viki. Her pupils contracted and she raised her head. _Viki. You look well._ She looked the former slave up and down. _This is a new look. I like it._

"Thank you." Viki paused. "How is my brother?"

Nalia's eyes dilated again and she rested her head back on the pavement. _I can't read him. He's alive, but that's all I know._ She whimpered. _He's gotten weaker, not stronger._

Ruby dipped her head and flicked her eyes to the space behind Cerise. _Umaroth, do we have some idea of what happened?_

 _We have a theory,_ Umaroth said. _There is nothing in the spell itself to isolate Aaron. He was cursed, in a way we have never seen before._

 _One of Galbatorix' magicians?_

 _We are not sure, and we cannot begin to remove the curse until we know what it does and how it does it._

Ruby sighed. _It was a mistake trying to cast that spell. It was too easy. We should never have found that… scroll._ She faced the saddlebag that held that piece of paper. What if it wasn't _just_ a piece of paper with words on it? She reached for the saddlebag and pulled out the scroll. Nothing stuck out on the piece of paper itself, and it couldn't hold spells or magic by itself. What about the scroll rod?

She stretched her mind into the piece of wood, and there was something in there. A lot of energy in a small place. Ruby yanked the paper off and smacked the rod against the concrete beneath her. The wood splintered, and a small diamond bounced out. She glared at the gemstone. That's what nearly killed her boyfriend.

Nalia saw the stone as well. Her pupils shrank to slits. Her growl shook the parking ramp. She stalked toward it with her teeth barred. _This… this_ _ **thing**_ _hurt my Rider._

As much as she wouldn't mind that diamond being destroyed, Ruby put herself between the stone and Nalia. "Don't. We need this."

 _What?_ Nalia redirected her glare to Ruby. That look could have scared _Grimm_ away, but the Rider stood her ground.

"We need to know what exactly this did to Aaron. We can't destroy it yet. As soon as we do, and Aaron is back walking around on his own… we'll decide who gets to destroy this thing."

Nalia stared at Ruby for a few more seconds, then returned to her former spot. _Fine. But if it's safe for me to destroy, I'm doing it._

Ruby nodded, then faced Viki, or tried to anyway. She wasn't standing anywhere she was before. Instead, she was latched onto one of Cerise legs, shaking terribly. Seeing dragons angry was never easy. It looked like Nalia noticed this at the same time. She turned her head back and drooped her ears and wings. She inched her head forward and nuzzled her snout against Viki's chest. _I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you._

Viki stopped shaking and shifted her grip to Nalia's neck. Ruby let them have their moment, then walked to Viki's side. "Okay Viki. Let's go find Aaron."

* * *

Yang stared at her scaled gauntlets as her chin rested on her arms. She'd used them for almost ten years now, and the biggest change up until recently had been an almost complete rebuild of the right gauntlet after a particularly rough training session at Signal. But now, she was considering a complete redesign of at least one of her weapons.

She picked up the right half of Ember Celica and removed Halcyon's scales one by one. The damage that she did herself back in Urû'baen was worse than she thought back then. Yang didn't know how it kept firing after that. Chunks of stone were everywhere and other mechanisms were hanging on by a thread. "Might as well start here."

She set the gauntlet aside and took out her Scroll. Yang looked up various ways to make miniaturized flamethrowers. It turned out there weren't very many ways to do it that were widely advertised. She knew it was possible, she'd seen flamethrowers built into something as small as a soda can. Then again, some Huntsmen didn't like giving away their secrets, like Ruby and her scythes.

After a while, Yang thought she found something she could work with. She might need to ask Ruby for some help with the final schematics, but Ruby would probably jump at the opportunity… That would be just like her, trying to make her big sister happy again.

 _Are you saying you would push Ruby away?_ Irolon asked.

"Of course not!" Yang turned to where the Eldunarí's bag rested on the other side of the shed. "She just has so many other things to worry about right now." She let her head fall. "Viki, Aaron, I don't think she's put much thought into how much it's gonna take to make the Riders legitimate on Remnant. I don't need to add onto that. Besides, you're here."

 _You're saying that she won't go out of her way to help you. With the little bit I've known Ruby, I doubt you'll have a choice in the matter._

"I believe it. I just won't go far out of the way to ask for help." Yang heard the door open behind her and she closed her mouth. People couldn't know about Irolon, or the Eldunarí in general. She turned back, and didn't see anyone. Was it the wind? As she turned back to her workbench, she saw a black bird standing on the edge with a die-cast car in its teeth.

The bird set the car down on the workbench and jumped back. Yang picked the thing up. It was a newer Flame Wheel car, like the ones she used to collect, and probably still had in a box somewhere. But it was Halcyon gold. It was _exactly_ the color of Halcyon's scales. It couldn't be a coincidence that Raven brought this one.

"How long'd it take you to find one like this?" Yang faced Raven, who once again took her human form.

Raven shrugged. "Eight hours, and stores in Mistral and Vale." She shook her head. "I'm…not good with this whole consoling thing. That's definitely more of a Summer thing than me. But…You know that I wanted to come back to you for a long time right?"

"Yeah. Ruby passed it on." Yang faced Raven and crossed her arms. "You never said why you didn't."

"Haven't I?" Raven's head drooped. "The Nevermores were still active when Summer died. Against Ruby's optimism, they still are today, but they're about as strong as a normal street gang now."

"So you wanted to keep the Nevermores off our backs?"

"That, and I couldn't replace Summer in a million years." Raven looked up and locked eyes with Yang. "Something tells me if I was around, you'd end up being a rebellious child."

Yang faced her workstation again and stared at the car. "How many of these were from you?"

"Quite a few. As far as I know, you never got lucky finding them on the road to school. I planted a good chunk of them there. If you didn't find them, I picked them up and tried again another day."

"Did dad know about that?" Yang stared at her mom out of the corner of her eye.

A ghost of a smile graced Raven's face. "I don't know. I don't think you gave him the time to care."

"True." Yang nodded then faced Raven. "Why are you here now?"

Raven dipped her head. "At risk of sounding like a stalker, I watched you at Beacon for quite some time. What you and Halcyon had was special, and from what Ruby has said on the news and various talk shows, I'll never understand it." She locked eyes with Yang. "I haven't been there for you at any other time. I'm ready to do so now."

"Really?" Yang faced away from her mother and ended up staring at her motorcycle… Summer's motorcycle. Summer was always there for Yang as a kid, and had been looking out for Ruby for even longer. She was Yang's mom as well as Ruby's. But… from the little information Summer gave her through Ruby, Raven wanted nothing more than to be by Yang's side. "Well, it might be a little too late to take over the 'mom' role, but… something else maybe."

"I'm okay with that." Raven approached the workbench. "So what are you working on?"

Yang faced her broken weapon. "Messed up this thing pretty good on the other side. Trying to figure out how to get a flamethrower in here. There's not much out there."

"Flamethrower?" Raven stared at Yang then back to the broken gauntlet. "Well, there's nothing revolutionary in that. Just fuel, ignition, and propellant. You don't see it much in weapons this size because the fuel takes up so much space and isn't the most practical. But with a few modifications to your exoskeleton and armor, you'll be good."

"About that, this thing's powered off right now."

Raven's mouth hung open. "They figured out how to fix it on the other side?"

"Kinda, sorta, not really. Halcyon did it. His last gift to me." Yang hung her head and clenched her eyes. "He did so much for me, and I couldn't do anything for him."

 _Yang…_ Irolon said, _don't do this to yourself._

 _All these things…why didn't I go with Weiss?_

A hand patted the center of Yang's back. "Just…let it out Yang." Raven sounded like she had no idea what she was doing.

"I've got nothing left to let out." Yang shook her head and looked at the current flamethrower schematic on her Scroll. "Looks like I got all the parts in here already. I'll salvage what I can from this, then go from there." She faced Raven. "Could you help me out here?"

Raven shrugged. "Been a while since I built a weapon. Could be fun."

"If Ruby was here, it would be an event." Yang pulled up the old schematics for Ember Celica and focused on the right gauntlet. She cleared out everything related to the shotgun and started putting in components related to the flamethrower. Raven was right. It looked like the parts to the flamethrower itself could be brought down to scale no problem. It was the fuel solution that could be an issue. Maybe if there was some way to make it more efficient…

Yang toyed around with different layouts, parts, and fuel mixtures for a while and ran simulations for each. While she was doing that, Raven was removing the debris and intact components from inside the gauntlet. After the twelfth or so, Yang found a setup she was happy with. She propped her Scroll up on the workbench and got to work.

As Yang took a screwdriver from Raven, she realized that this was the first thing they'd really done together. Sure, Raven had been there when Yang was first paralyzed, and a few times after that, but in the end, it only made Yang kind of like her. Apparently Summer thought the world of her partner, but Yang had yet to see what made her so likable. Maybe she'd finally see it.

"Do you ever ride Bumblebee anymore?" Raven asked.

Yang sighed and set down her tools. She turned around to face Summer's motorcycle. "Not recently. Riding it in my exoskeleton never felt right, and Halcyon always carried me around." She dipped her head. "I guess neither of them are a problem anymore. Probably going to be riding a lot more in the future."

"Summer loved that bike almost as much as she loved Sun's Light." Raven crossed her arms. "I never understood why she was so attached to inanimate objects."

"Don't let Ruby know you said that. You'll get a lecture."

The door to the shed opened inward and Ruby poked her head in. "Don't let me know what?" She blinked and looked at Raven. "Oh, am I interrupting something?"

Raven shook her head. "No, we were just talking."

"Okay." Ruby stepped inside the shed and looked at the workbench. "So what are you working on?"

"This." Yang held up the gutted gauntlet. "Finally taking care of this… changing the shotgun out for a flamethrower."

Ruby's eyes widened and her smile stretched from ear to ear. Before she could explode, her eyes and mouth retreated to more manageable positions. "That's beautiful, Yang. You talk to Halcyon about this?"

Yang stiffened and she faced the workbench herself. "No. Should I have? What if he doesn't like this?" She let her head hang. "I should have gone to Atlas."

She stood there alone for a second before Ruby rested a hand on her back. "You know what he would think, Yang? He would want to know who could launch theirs farther and who's is hotter. You know him better than I do. Am I wrong?"

"No." Yang laughed once and shook her head. "And as long as we're both alive, we'd try to top each other." She stared at the wall behind the workbench. "Weiss, you better hurry up."

"You know she'll work as fast as she can."

"It's not her I'm worried about." Yang looked over her shoulder at Raven. The older woman looked confused more than anything. "Weiss made the final blow on Halcyon. He's one of her Summons now."

Raven blinked. "Oh." She shook her head. "I wonder if Winter ever had to do that."

"What's the deal with Qrow and Winter, anyway?" Yang faced Raven. "I haven't seen them together much, but they can't go two sentences without insulting each other."

"Oh, that…" Raven smirked. "They dated for about a month. Needless to say, it didn't end well."

Yang and Ruby locked eyes, and the older sister had to fight back a laugh. Judging by how Ruby's lips twisted and her cheeks puffed out, she was too. "Those two?" Some of Ruby's built up pressure let out. "That would be interesting."

"Then we'd have Weiss as a cousin… no…" Yang drew some lines in her head, then covered her mouth. "She'd be our _aunt."_ With that, the sisters burst out laughing. Yang leaned against the workbench to avoid curling over.

Before long, Ruby wrapped her arms around her sister. Yang stared at her sister's head. What brought this on? "I'm so happy for you Yang," Ruby said.

"What do you mean?"

Ruby looked up with a lake in front of her eyes. "That's the first time I heard you laugh like that since… the first time in a long time."

Yang blinked and looked past Ruby. "That is the first time, isn't it?" She shook her head. "Well, he wanted me to be happy. I might as well try."

"Yep!" Ruby pulled away and faced the workbench. "Now, the flamethrower..."

Raven coughed behind the two of them. "Well, I should probably get going. I've got a mission near Armen… and I'm still not in the best place with Tai. I don't think he'll like seeing me around here." She pushed open the shed door but stopped before leaving. "I think you have a visitor."

Yang looked past Raven and her jaw dropped. A girl she thought she knew sat outside with Zwei running around her. "No way. _That's_ Viki? She looks so much better."

"She is." Ruby walked up to Yang's side and ran a finger under her eyes. "I think I broke through to her at Vacuo Roadhouse. The real Viki is starting to shine through."

"I take it there's a history here." Raven looked between the sisters.

Ruby stared at the ground. "Viki's been enslaved since she was three. Now she's…roughly fifteen, sixteen." Raven clenched her fists. "I don't think she was in as bad conditions as the Nevermores put people in, but…she was broken. She still is. She's got a long road ahead of her, but she's off to a good start."

Raven looked back at Viki. "I…" She faced Ruby and Yang again. "I'm not Summer. I'm not good in these situations. But if you need anything from me, just ask."

Ruby nodded. "Will do." She paused. "I take it you're going to be around a little more then?"

"I guess so. I promised Yang I'd be around more often, and now for her." Raven stared back at Viki.

"Good. I…" Ruby shifted on her feet. "The past few weeks, mom's told me a lot about team STRQ, from Beacon to, well, right before she made it into my head. I'd like to get to know the Raven my mom did."

Raven turned to Ruby. "You're quite a few years too late. Summer would not be happy with how I've acted since she died."

"She doesn't think so. It's hard to put out that much of a ray of sunshine."

Raven stood ramrod straight, but her shoulders slumped. Her mouth hung open, and there was more light in her eyes than Yang had ever seen. "No. Only Summer can call me that." Again, there was more to her voice than before.

"Nope!" Ruby smirked and crossed her arms. "Mom said that any of her puns and jokes are free to use."

Raven groaned and facepalmed. "Of course she did. Even with her gone, I can't get away." In contrast to her words, Yang saw a smile behind the hand.

But what caused this? Knowing Summer, there was a pun in there somewhere. Ray of sunshine… Yang groaned and slumped her whole body. _Rae,_ not _Ray._ "It was good, but that took me way too long to figure out."

"Mom's got a lot more for all of us." Ruby winced. "But I'm staying away from any of dad's. That could be awkward."

"The reason you've never told dad what mom said word for word?" Yang asked.

"Yeah." Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "Never gonna do that."

Raven sighed. "You are definitely your mother's daughter." She left the shed and walked toward the trees. She stopped halfway there and turned her head back. "Not to spoil your fun, but Weiss wouldn't be your direct aunt. She'd be removed… or your second aunt, however that all works." She turned back around and walked into the tree line.

"I'll see you later." Ruby waved. Yang joined in a few seconds later. Raven entered the tree line and one of her portals appeared inside. She stepped in and disappeared.

Ruby patted Yang's back. "You want to keep working, or you coming inside?"

Yang's stomach growled and she covered it with a hand. "I think that answers that. I haven't eaten all day."

"Yep. That'll do it." Ruby walked toward the house and Yang followed. Cerise hummed in their direction as they crossed the yard. Yang nodded in her direction before entering the house. Viki and Blake sat on the couch, with Blake flipping through the channels.

Yang thought she saw Ruby in the process. "Wait, go back."

"I saw her." Blake flipped back a few channels.

Ruby sighed. "Guys, we don't need to watch everything I'm on."

"We just got back," Blake said. "We might not be the most people popular people at the moment."

"True… wait, why am I on the celebrity channel?"

Yang faced the projection. It had a picture of Ruby leading Viki through a crowd of reporters. Then a rainbow came down from the top of the screen with a heart cut out in the center. Yang didn't need to listen to know what that meant. Blake changed the channel almost immediately.

Ruby groaned and brought a hand to her face. "Again?" She walked off to the kitchen. "I've never dated Weiss. I've never dated Blake. I've never dated Pyrrha…" She disappeared into the kitchen.

Yang shook her head. "Some people. Ya can't act friendly to people anymore."

"What's going on?" Viki looked between Blake and Yang.

"Something for another time." Yang shook her head. Explaining some people's relationship craze would probably be a little too much for Viki, especially since she was involved in this one.

* * *

 **Yes, that last bit was a dig at shippers.**


	8. To Menagerie

**So, Volume 5 is over. Cinder is believed to be dead, Vernal is dead, RWBY is back together, and the relic is secured. I've seen a lot of hate for Volume 5, but I don't see it myself. Was it perfect? No, but it's had some of my favorite moments in RWBY so far, like all points when members of RWBY meet up and Raven vs Cinder. I just wonder what Raven's role will be going on. She's scared… and did I see some love for Yang in there? Hopefully. She won't be Supermom Summer, but maybe Birb Mom can make an appearance.**

 **Enough rambling. Let's get to this.**

* * *

Blake sighed and set her Scroll down. No response again. Sun had to be in Vacuo. The CCT signal was so terrible there… but didn't he live in Vacuo City? It should be great for him there. Unless he was on a mission, in which case he could be anywhere. There went contacting him before going home.

But she wanted her longtime boyfriend to know she was back, and okay. Blake picked up her Scroll again and searched for Neptune's number. If he didn't know where Sun was, he would at least get the message to him.

The Scroll rang twice before the screen flickered and Neptune's face showed up. It looked like he was in a restaurant somewhere. _"Hey, Blake. I saw you guys were back. How'd it go?"_

"Could have been better." Blake shook her head. "We won, but Nora's hurt pretty bad in a way the Riders can't fix, and neither can science. And… we lost Halcyon."

Neptune's jaw dropped. _"Oh… geez. How's Yang?"_

"Not as bad as she used to be, but that's for her to say, not me." Blake stopped herself short of saying the plan to give Halcyon the Penny treatment. Neptune never learned how to keep a secret, and it didn't sound like Yang wanted that piece to get out. "Oh, and Aaron's in a coma, which we can't do anything about either."

Neptune sighed. _"Is anything going right over there?"_

"Aaron's sister is feeling better, but that's a whole story."

" _Aaron has a sister?"_

"He thought she was dead. Long story short, Viki has been a slave for thirteen years. Yes, thirteen. Time dilation. Anyway, Ruby found Viki, and we brought her back here."

Neptune scowled. _"Well, that's good. The less of that anywhere, the better."_

Blake nodded. "But that's not why I called. You know where Sun is?"

" _Oh yeah, you wouldn't know."_ Neptune hit himself on the side of the head. _"He's in Menagerie."_

"Really?" Blake blinked. She didn't expect that.

" _Yeah. He met a few people he knew from his last visit there in Windpath. Why we were there in the first place, well, it paid well. Nothing illegal or immoral, but still. Back on subject, they said they left Menagerie because they didn't have enough Huntsmen there and the Grimm were taking out quite a few settlements. It sounds like they're getting hit as bad as everyone else."_

Blake grimaced. It was only a matter of time on that island. They were lucky it didn't get bad until the rest of the world did. "Well, looks like I'll be doing more than just seeing family when I'm there." She paused. "Any word from Sage and Scarlet?"

Neptune shook his head. _"Haven't heard from them since they ran off together. With Scarlet, that's nothing new. Sage… they're either in a CCT dead zone, or they're in serious trouble, or worse."_ He paused. _"Speaking of worse, what happened to Weiss? We talked for a few hours a little while ago, and she seemed off in more ways than one."_

"That's something that needs to be said in person, by her. You won't hear anything from me."

" _Looks like I need to get up to Atlas sometime."_ Neptune shook his head. _"Well, be careful on your trip to Menagerie. There's a whole lot more aerial Grimm south of Anima. You could run into some trouble there."_

"Thanks for the heads up. See you around." Blake ended the call and put her Scroll back in a pocket. She stood up and grabbed her luggage before walking out of the guest room. No one in the house knew she was leaving. Might as well fill them in.

Blake walked into the living room. Ruby and Viki sat on different couches and were doing completely different things. While Ruby disassembled and sanded the remainder of Crescent Rose, Viki worked on what looked like the letter worksheets that were given to preschoolers of kindergarteners when they were first learning how to read and write. By the look of it, Viki had already finished a few sheets.

Ruby lifted her head to look at Viki, then turned to Blake. She smiled, but it disappeared when her eyes rested on her teammate's suitcase. "You going somewhere, Blake?" Viki looked up for a second, then faced her work again.

"Yeah. I'm going home." Blake set her suitcase by the front door.

"What?" Ruby's jaw dropped. "When'd you decide this?"

"When you were out with Viki two days ago. I already have my flight to Mistral and ship to Menagerie paid for. I would have told you sooner, but you would have convinced me to stay."

Ruby slumped her whole body and pouted. "Is it too late to try?"

"I'm not as well off as Weiss. I need to use these tickets." Blake paused. "Ruby, if you hadn't seen your mom and… well, your dad anyway, in over a year and you had a chance to, would you take it?"

Ruby sighed. "I'd take it in a heartbeat."

"They need Huntsmen down there too. I just got off the Scroll with Neptune. He has it on good authority that Menagerie is just as bad off as the rest of the world. There's not enough Huntsmen down there to begin with. It has to be worse now."

"Then that's where you need to be." Ruby stood up and hugged Blake, which was returned in a heartbeat. "I'm gonna miss you here, sis."

"I'll miss you too, Ruby." Blake squeezed Ruby before pulling away. "Try not to burn the house down while I'm gone."

Ruby blinked. "Why are you telling me? Cerise is the one with a cold." She jerked a thumb to her right.

 _This stinks…_ Cerise moaned. She sneezed, and a gout of flame flew on the other side of the living room window. _I'm a dragon. I shouldn't be sick like this._

"So that's what I was hearing earlier." Blake smirked then looked back at Ruby. "Still trying to not take advantage of magic?"

"Yeah. If the police or military call us in on something, I'll take care of it. But until that happens, Cerise is gonna have to deal with it."

"Ruby," Viki called, "I finished another one."

Ruby hopped to Viki's side and looked over her shoulder. She smiled and hugged Viki from behind. "Great job here. The lowercase is perfect, but the capital 'H' is all straight lines, and the one on the right goes all the way to the top." She pointed at various spots on the paper. Blake tried not to stare at the sight. Ruby really was trying to help Viki. It was kind of… not cute exactly, but something along those lines. Viki was in good hands.

The Faunus walked up the stairs and toward Ruby's and Yang's shared room. Yang would probably like to know where her partner was going. Blake knocked on the door, then pushed it open.

Yang laid on her bed staring up at the ceiling, with her Scroll right beside her. The lifted her head to face the newcomer. "Sorry Blake, I'm not in the mood to talk."

"What's going on?" Blake walked to the side of Yang's bed.

"I just talked to Weiss. It sounds like it's going to be a while before she can talk to anyone up there. She has to go through General Ironwood to get to Penny's dad, and who knows how long that's going to take. Everything has to go through the proper channels." Yang shook her head and laid it back down. "Why can't she go straight to him? I want my dragon back."

Blake hesitated. Her partner wouldn't like what she was going to say. "Yang, I'm leaving."

Yang's head shot off her pillow, her eyes pleading. "What? Why?"

"I haven't seen my family in over a year. They need to know I'm back and I'm okay. That, and I've heard the Grimm situation there is worse than it usually is."

"Everyone's leaving." Yang leaned back and faced away from Blake. "Why can't everyone stay in the same place?"

"Hey," Blake put a hand on Yang's left shoulder, "you've still got Ruby and Cerise. If things get bad here, just get a message to me, and if the situation on Menagerie is better, I'll come back."

Yang scoffed. "If it gets bad here, odds are by the time you get the message, we'll all be dead, or everything's been taken care of."

Blake shook her head. Where was the happy Yang she saw yesterday? "You have magic, don't you? You can talk to me the same way Weiss and I did when we were working on the Underground Highway."

"I guess there's that." Yang sighed. "Sorry, Blake. I'm not right in the head right now."

"I know. I won't pretend to know what you're going through, but you can't keep yourself locked in here until this thing gets taken care of."

"I know. I have a feeling dad's going to say the same thing later." Yang pushed herself into a sitting position and kicked her legs off the bed. "No way to convince you to stay."

"No. Ruby didn't even try, and you know how she is."

"Yeah. You're a lost cause." Yang stood up and hugged Blake.

"Completely." Blake patted Yang on the back then pulled away. "Next time I see you, I better hear so many cat puns."

"You paw-sitive about that?" Yang smirked, but it wasn't nearly as bright as it usually was.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Blake took a few steps backward. "See you later, sis."

"Fly safe." Yang picked her Scroll up and woke it up.

Blake turned around and left the room. She walked down the stairs and looked at Ruby and Viki. It looked like Viki added a few more sheets to the pile. Ruby took her eyes off her first weapon and turned toward Blake. "So, you said you've got a ticket to Mistral? Why aren't you taking the Bullhead?"

"The Lien for that came out of your Rider account. It belongs to the Riders, not me. Plus, we own a garage in Vale. I'd have to rent in Mistral, and I don't know how long I'd have to pay for."

Ruby shrugged. "I guess I could learn how to fly it… Come to think of it, I never got my learners permit. I should probably get on that."

"You haven't needed to drive. You've always flown everywhere."

Outside, Cerise sneezed again, making another puff of fire. _Not today. I'm not leaving the yard._

"If you keel over and die," Ruby called, "we'll know it was more than a cold. I swear, you're complaining more than Jaune about this." Cerise growled and Ruby laughed.

"Well, I've got to go." Blake picked up her suitcase and faced Viki. "Hey Viki?" Viki looked up from her worksheets. "Keep getting better. I hope you find yourself."

Viki smiled at Blake, the first time the girl did so with it not being forced. "Thank you, Blake."

"Anytime." Blake opened the front door. "See you all later." She left the house and walked across the yard.

Cerise sneezed again, and this time she added a yelp into the mix. Blake turned around and managed to hold back a laugh. Cerise was stomping out a small fire on the ground, one that she most likely started. When the fire was out, Cerise glared and growled at her audience. _What are you looking at?_

"Nothing." Blake shook her head. "It's not as cute as when puppies sneeze."

 _I don't like you,_ Cerise growled again.

"I don't like you either." Blake climbed into her Bullhead and started up the engines. It was going to be a long few days, but hopefully it would be worth it.

* * *

The ship's foghorn blared, making Blake look up from her book. She looked out her window. Menagerie's coastline slid into view. It wouldn't be long until they reached Kuo Kuana. She picked up her suitcase and left her small room on the ship. The hall outside was empty, then again, there weren't exactly many people heading to Menagerie. This shipment was mostly food and Dust, with nothing carrying the SDC logo. Blake didn't know if she hoped that would change soon or not.

She made her way to the top deck and the bow of the ship. The outlying buildings of Menagerie's 'capital' peaked over the hills. Smoke rose over the trees, but no more than Blake remembered. The ship sailed around the hills, and the bulk of Blake's hometown came into view. From her angle, nothing looked too different. All buildings were intact, banners and flags still waved, and farmers were still in their fields. But looks could be deceiving.

The ship pulled into port and Blake waited for the crew to anchor the ship. The few passengers onboard gathered on the top deck. Down on the ground, Faunus gathered by the moorings. They looked scared. No kids ran around, couples latched onto each other, and almost all adults had some type of weapon on their hips or backs. Very few people on Menagerie fought; they were there to avoid fighting. If so many people carried weapons, the situation had to be terrible.

The crew onboard and on the ground secured the gangplank and the passengers filed off. Blake was the last to disembark, trailing her suitcase behind her. A few people nodded at her, but that was the only interaction. News didn't travel fast to Menagerie, but people knew what Blake did in the Vytal festival tournament, and elsewhere around Remnant. They had to have heard by now that she was guarding a build site for a new CCT relay… unless that cover story blew up at some point. She didn't check on that back in Vale.

Walking around the streets of Kuo Kuana, Blake noted how empty the city felt. It still felt more crowded in Vale, but she could walk down the street without bumping into anybody. How bad was the situation? Most Faunus who lived on Menagerie moved there from the Kingdoms to escape the oppression there. Were they moving back, or were the people born on the island the ones moving away?

As she passed through the market, a familiar tail caught her eye. It looked like Sun was checking out the stalls… but why was he at a jewelry stall? That wasn't like him. Might as well surprise him. As Blake walked over, Sun left the stall with something in his right hand.

Blake walked up behind Sun and tapped his right shoulder. "Yeah?" Sun turned his head around. He yelped and jumped away. He threw the small box behind him and caught it with his tail. "Oh! Blake! You're back. When'd that happen?"

"I just got off the boat." Blake gestured to her suitcase. "It's been a while since I've been back. I wanted to see my family. That, and Neptune said that the Grimm situation was as bad here as the rest of Remnant."

"Yeah. Right. Heh, heh." Sun shook his head. "That's why I'm here too." He coughed and his whole body relaxed. "It's… been bad. There's actually a few human Huntsmen working in the outer settlements, but it's not enough. We've lost two of the outlying villages in the past week… Please tell me more of your team is here."

"No." Blake shook her head. "They have so many problems back in Vale to worry about." She looked around the market. "Let's talk on the go. There's too many people here."

Sun's smile once again became unsure. "Uh, sure. Walk and talk." He turned around and Blake walked up to his side. They walked side by side through the market.

"Where have you been staying here?" Blake asked when they left the market behind.

"About that…" Sun rubbed the back of his head. "Your mom couldn't let your boyfriend stay in a hotel, so I've been staying in one of your guest rooms."

Blake winced. "How's my dad like that?"

"At first, he wasn't happy about it… at all… like a few times I thought he wanted to rip my head off. After I fought off a few Grimm attacks in Kua Yan, he no longer openly glares at me."

"He'll warm up to you eventually. He's just a little protective of his little kitten."

"Yeah, I've gotten that impression alright, only it's a little _over_ protective." Sun paused. "So what can you tell me about your mission?"

"Right now, I can tell you about what can be physically seen. I don't know if it would be good to have some of the stuff that happened over there become common knowledge here."

"What? Come on, you can trust me."

Blake shook her head. "It's that, and if the past is anything to go by, Ruby won't want people talking about it just yet."

"What is it about your team and secrets?"

"I don't know." Blake shrugged. "Ruby says she hates secrets, but she likes keeping a lot. Don't get me wrong, I love Ruby, like we've adopted each other as sisters, but at times it feels like I'm ignored because I don't have a dragon of my own."

Sun raised an eyebrow. "Really? That doesn't sound like her."

"I know it can't be intentional, but I can't help how it feels."

"I can tell you this," Sun wrapped an arm around Blake's shoulders, "you won't be ignored around me."

Blake smirked. "Is that supposed to be comforting?"

"Admit it. You love me."

"I do." Blake hung her head and let her ears droop. "I… have to admit I was stalling. We're not in the best shape. Aaron's in a coma, Nora's out of commission… and Halcyon's dead."

Sun stopped and took his arm off Blake's shoulders. "Oh… Geez. Uh, how's Yang taking it?"

"She's having mood swings. The day before I left, she was fine. The day I left… she wasn't in a good place, but that's still better than a month ago."

"Something tells me that's something Yang should say." Sun shook his head. "Man. I don't know what to think about that."

"Let's just keep walking." Blake started forward again, and Sun jogged to catch up. "Despite all that, we won, and we found Aaron's sister who we thought was dead. Weiss also had a dragon hatch for her."

"Really? The Ice Queen? How cold is her dragon?"

Blake clenched a fist, then took a deep breath as she let it go. "Sorry. Weiss got the Nevermore treatment over there." Sun stiffened. "She wasn't cold before then, even less so now."

"Okay, shutting up." Sun shook his head. "Your team has is rough."

"Yeah. And here I am with only a few stab wounds that haven't left a lasting scar." Blake paused. "Subject change, why were you at a jewelry stall?"

All of Sun's limbs straightened, along with his tail, which still held the box. "What? What jewelry stall?" He put on a fake smile that a child could have seen through.

"The one you were at just before I found you."

"Oh, that one. Eh, I thought it was a berry stall. You know how much I love blueberries." Sun gave Blake a shaky thumb up. "I thought some of those necklaces in back were bananas too."

"Sun, you're a worse liar than Ruby. I can see the box in your tail."

"What box?" Sun pulled his tail down with a hand. "There's no box." He raised his tail back up, but kept his hand behind his back. "See?"

"Sun, now you're stalling."

"Eeeehhhh…" Sun sighed and all the tension left his body. "You couldn't have been away for one more hour, could you?" He brought his hand around, revealing a velvet covered flipping box… the same size as pretty much every ring box in Vale. "I planned on making this a little more romantic, well, as much as I can get anyway."

Blake's jaw dropped and her ears stood straight up. This was in the back of her head since she saw Sun at that stall. It was a different thing altogether seeing it. "Sun, is this what I think it is?"

"If you're thinking this is the lamest proposal in history, you're spot on." Sun crouched down and took a knee. He cleared his throat as he opened the case. A single banded diamond ring sat inside. "Blake Belladonna, will you marry me?"

Blake smiled down at Sun. She released her suitcase and crossed her arms. "You know, there could be worse ways to do this, like the ring in a glass of wine or something like that."

Sun's eyes flicked to the side, then back to Blake. "Of course not. I would never think of that. That's so cheesy… So is that a yes?"

"Yes." Blake laughed. "Yes, it is."

Sun's face lit up like his namesake. "Great!" He stood up and hugged his fiancé. Blake returned it. A little later, she pulled back and planted her lips on Sun's. This felt right. After all that chaos in Alagaësia, this made her feel right at home.

After a while, they separated. Blake held out her hand. "Let's see if it fits."

Sun fumbled around with the box, but was able to get the ring out. He grabbed Blake's left hand and fit the ring on her ring finger. It was a little loose, but it wasn't too bad. "I'm pretty sure I can get this fit right." Sun patted his right pocket. "I got the receipt right here."

"Don't worry about it right now." Blake lifted her hand and admired her ring. "It won't fall off while I'm just walking, and I don't plan on fighting today either. Plus, I'm pretty sure when Ruby finds out about this, she's going to freak out and offer to do that herself." She grabbed the pull handle of her suitcase again. "Come on. Let's go surprise my parents."

"They won't be too surprised," Sun said, sounding like his normal carefree self again. "I asked them for your hand last week."

"Really? So you can be proper."

"Yeah… except I asked your mom first. I knew she liked me… and I'd need someone to stop your dad from beating me to a pulp."

"That's mom alright. How'd my dad take it?" Blake thought she knew the answer, but she needed confirmation.

"Surprisingly, he hugged me and said he'd be proud to have me as a son-in-law. I did _not_ see that coming."

Blake nodded. "Sounds about right."

"Wait? You expected that?"

"Yeah. After you left here the first time, I confronted him about why he criticized everything you do. He defended himself at first, but mom got him to crack and he said that after the disaster that was Adam, he was going to test any future boyfriends. If he scared them away from me, they obviously weren't _that_ interested, and shouldn't be considered further." Blake shrugged. "He's just being a dad. He's actually liked you from the beginning."

Sun blinked. "Huh. Not sure how to feel about that."

"He's old-fashioned. I can't hold that against him." Blake and Sun stopped at the top of the hill that lead down to the Chieftain's Manor, Blake's house for a good chunk of her life. "It's good to be home." Blake started walking down the hill.

"I should probably say," Sun started, "You might not be able to meet with your parents right away. They're meeting with Sienna Kahn."

"What?" Blake whipped around to Sun.

"Yeah. That's actually the reason I was in the market. Something wrong with that?"

"Hopefully not." Blake continued down the hill, walking with purpose."

Sun again jogged to catch up. "Blake, what's going on?"

"I just finished fighting a war against someone who used similar tactics to get to power. I don't want to see us go down the same path." Blake had a lot of time to think about this in Tronjheim while waiting for reports from Weiss on the Underground Highway. She used to think Sienna was right, that they needed to get their way through force, make humans fear them. Seeing it on the front lines of the White Fang was a different story. Seeing it in Alagaësia convinced her even more that force wasn't the way to do it. It made it possible for people like Adam to rise to power… Hopefully Ilia wisened up. She didn't need to be caught up in all that.

"Blake, what are you gonna do?" Sun sounded worried.

"I'm going to try to talk some sense into Sienna. If not… I'm going to do something stupid."

"Something stupid?"

"You'll see. I swear, being around Ruby and Yang has made me a little reckless, but I have thought this over."

"Oh, boy." Sun rubbed the back of his neck. "You've been thinking about this for a while."

"For months." Blake paused. "There's a bit of time dilation between here and Alagaësia, or there was. Aaron was trying to fix it when he went into a coma. We were over there for about three months, and I've heard it's been about a month and a half here."

"Is there anything that isn't complicated about your trip?"

"Nora and Ren snuck in smores, and it was Nora's idea. You can always count on her to be weird."

Sun gave a sideways nod. "Fair point." The two walked through the gates of the Chieftain's Manor. For once, Sun took the lead and pushed into the house. Blake didn't hear her parents or Sienna, but then again, there was a lot of space in the mansion. She set her suitcase down by the door and made her way to her dad's study. That was as good of a place as any to start looking.

As she got closer to the study. Blake heard other voices. They weren't yelling by any means, but they still didn't sound like they agreed on whatever it was they were talking about. Blake stopped just before the door to the study and listened in.

"Ghira, I know you are worried about the new Grimm threat," Sienna said, "but bringing human Huntsmen here? The Faunus here are scared enough as it is."

"It would be much worse if we didn't have any Huntsmen at all," Ghira said. Blake had to admit, it felt so nice to hear her dad's voice. "We are running out of volunteers here, and the people I have asking for more help in the Kingdoms can't find enough Faunus that want to leave their homes to help defend us here. The humans that are here have left their families to help us here, and have been vetted before they boarded the ship here, and by myself when they arrived. None of these humans are the ones that hate us."

"Humans are all the same. They will say whatever they need to get paid."

"You know that is not true," Kali said, ever the peacemaker. "You publicly thanked Ruby Rose for her help years ago."

"I would hardly call her human anymore. Even if she was, she is one of the few exceptions."

"Have you met with any humans lately?" Ghira asked. "Have you sat down to talked with them about their thoughts on the subject? Or anything?"

"I've never gotten far enough. They all accuse me of doing things I have never done."

Blake stepped around the door and into her dad's study. Her dad sat behind his desk, with her mom standing just behind him. Sienna stood in front of the desk with her arms crossed. "Then you have been meeting with the wrong humans." All eyes in the room turned to her. "There's quite a few bad eggs out there, but there are many more who want the same thing we do."

"Blake," her dad stood up. "You're back."

"I am." Blake nodded at her dad, then she faced Sienna. "It looks like I came back at the right time."

Sienna shook her head. "This does not concern you."

"Maybe not, but considering you just insulted someone I consider my sister, someone needs to defend her." Blake walked further into the room. "I can also speak for dozens of more humans that have fought for us and alongside us against other humans and Grimm."

Sienna rolled her eyes. "Your teammates?"

"Not just them. Atlas soldiers, Huntsmen we've met and assisted, the people we've helped, people we've never even met. So many people, human and Faunus, have come up to me to thank me for what I helped do to the Nevermores. So many people support us, and they would likely support you if only you'd let them.

"I used to think like you. I used to think all humans would throw us under the bus if they had their way, that we needed force to gain respect and equality. But experience has taught me otherwise. There are so many humans that don't care that we're Faunus, or will defend us because we're Faunus. If you find the right ones, they'll fight for you, or even die for you.

"Right now, the White Fang isn't acknowledging that those humans exist. You're treating them all like the Nevermores and those like them. With all this hate and distrust, how is the White Fang different from any of the hate groups in the Kingdoms? How aren't we as racist as them?

"I have seen what trying to get your way through hate and fear looks like. I just spent the last few months fighting a war against."

"A war." Sienna scoffed. "That hardly sounds like a peaceful endeavor."

"No, it's not. But when one side promotes slavery and genocide, I chose the lesser of two evils."

Sienna narrowed her eyes. "I do not like what you are insinuating."

"You may not be in favor of that, but others in the White Fang are. Look what Adam did to Beacon and Vale. The riots in Mistral a year ago. The assassination of one of the most powerful men on Remnant."

"I had nothing to do with any of those." Sienna clenched her fists. "And we both know what a terrible man he was."

"And Weiss will do a much better job than her father, but that doesn't make what happened right. What would the Faunus think if anyone in this room was assassinated by a human? It would drive them to hate humans even more. The same thing is happening among the humans right now. Even some of the people that would normally be on our side are turning against us because all they see is violence.

"The Faunus are turning against the White Fang as well. They have been for years, even before the Battle of Beacon. The Faunus in Vale are starting to agree that the White Fang is nothing but a terrorist organization. They're scared about what could happen if the White Fang gets its way, or hurts the wrong person at the right time. The humans who hate us would have the leverage to attack us, and they would have a way to swing those on the fence in one way or the other."

"Do you have a point, Blake?" Sienna's eyes bored into Blake's.

"Either change White Fang policy," Blake straightened to full height, "or step aside for someone who will." Her dad's jaw dropped and her mom brought a hand to her mouth.

But Sienna smirked. "So, that's what this is. A power play. And who would my successor be, you?"

"Maybe, but it doesn't have to be. It could be any Faunus who wants equality, not superiority, or to get even."

"We tried the peaceful way. It didn't work."

"It was working. We just didn't want to wait." Blake nodded at her dad. "It took me way too long to realize this."

Her dad brought a fist to his mouth and coughed. "I have to agree with Blake here, and not because she is my daughter. I have heard much the same thing about the White Fang from immigrants to Menagerie." Sienna spun to face Ghira. "I must add that some of them were in Mistral during the protests before they were forced into riots by White Fang instigators. They no longer see the Fang as an organization that knows what is best from the Faunus."

Sienna shook her head. "You two do not know what you are talking about. I have the full support of our members, and they would not see me replaced so quickly."

"Maybe." Blake shrugged. "But I have the ears of both Velvet Scarlatina and the Hero of Fort Castle." Sienna faced Blake again, and for the first time that day, there was worry in her eyes. "I'm sure you know how much Faunus love them, and since Ruby can hardly be considered human, we won't have one of them influencing the White Fang."

Sienna looked away, then faced Blake again. "I will consider your proposition."

Blake nodded. "That is all I ask."

Sienna turned back to Ghira. "If you'll excuse me Chieftain, I need to be on the next ship to Mistral. I have a meeting there in two days."

"Of course." Ghira gestured to the door. "I am sure you know the way out."

"I do. Thank you for your hospitality." Sienna walked past Blake without a word.

Blake waited until she heard the massive front doors open and close before she let herself relax. "Sorry I interrupted your meeting, dad."

Her dad smiled. "There is nothing to be sorry about, Blake." He put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "It has been too long since I've had a conversation with Sienna. Many of the points you brought up, I was going to as well. You just happened to walk in on me defending the humans on the island. Though I must say, I was not going to go as far as asking Sienna to step down."

"Thanks for agreeing with me on that." Blake paused and looked away. "I guess I made it sound like I wanted to take over, huh?"

"Was that not your intention?"

"It was, but it just dawned on me that that entails."

Her dad laughed, a deep booming sound that Blake loves since she was a kid. "Yes, Blake. It is complicated. But if and when you become the High Leader of the White Fang, I will be there to help you."

"Sorry to change the subject like this," Kali walked around Ghira, "but is that what I think it is?" She pointed to Blake's left hand.

Blake stepped back and lifted her hand to give her parents a better view. Her dad took in a breath and stared at the ring. "If you're thinking the result of a lame proposal, then yes."

Her dad took his eyes off the ring and looked at his daughter. "Your words or his?"

"His. That being said, I think that's about as romantic as Sun could manage."

"My little girl is getting married!" Kali stepped forward and hugged Blake. "I'm so happy for you Blake."

"Thanks, mom." Blake hugged her back and brought in her dad as well. "It's good to be home." A little after that, another pressure came on her back and another set of arms wrapped around her. "Sun, were you waiting outside just for this?"

"Maybe a little," Sun said. "Figured I'd leave the talking to you."

Blake shook her head. "You are such a dork."

* * *

 **And** _ **that**_ **is why I don't write politics... and I'm sure some of you would say romance as well...  
**


	9. Attempts

**Welcome back... to another Tide ad (any Super Bowl watchers here?) Surprised that isn't a meme already. Pretty much everything else I have to say deals with the Super Bowl, but I'll leave that to the end.  
**

* * *

For the first time in her life, Ruby wished she had a boatload of history homework from Dr. Oobleck. That would have been less frustrating and took less time than what sat in front of her. At least she had history books as guides, and Weiss and Aaron to help her make sure she didn't miss anything important. Now… why couldn't this be like Alagaësia and the Riders already be recognized? Then these forms wouldn't even exist. But everything had to be filled out correctly, and in the right order, or else the Riders would not be recognized as a Huntsman Organization.

There were so many things that Ruby didn't even know existed that she needed to fill out. Mission statement? 903.5 status? COAD participation? Then, of course, there were different processes for each Kingdom. Vacuo, unsurprisingly, was the easiest to fill out, but that couldn't be filed until after Vale, where the headquarters would at least temporarily be.

Ruby groaned and pushed herself away from her desk. She needed help. Her dad was at Signal, Uncle Qrow and Raven were out who knew where, the Eldunarí were more confused than Ruby, Pyrrha was in Mistral, she didn't know any lawyers… and a week later, Aaron was still in a coma. Nalia wouldn't leave his side… Maybe there was some way Ruby could transfer Aaron to the hospital on Patch.

She shook her head. There was one person that could help, or at least put her in touch with the right people. Ruby picked up her Scroll and called Weiss. Hopefully she wasn't in a meeting. The Scroll rang twice before flashing. Weiss' face appeared on the screen. _"Hi, Ruby. How are you doing?"_

"I've been better." Ruby sighed and slumped into her chair. "I'm working on making the Riders a legitimate Huntsman organization. I didn't expect it to be easy, but it's really kicking my butt."

" _I figured you'd run into that."_ Weiss laughed a little. _"Taking a break?"_

"Actually… I was hoping you could help me out, or at least point me in the right direction."

Weiss blinked and her mouth hung open. _"Ruby, you know I would, but I have my own company to run. There's so much to do, so much to undo."_ She sighed. _"I'm already trying to plan trips to combat schools so Cerise' and Vert's eggs can choose their Riders, but it's not going so well. It's not going to be at least a month until I can make the rounds."_

"I figured as much." Ruby hung her head. "Could you at least give me some names of people in Vale that can do this?"

" _Maybe."_ Weiss looked off screen and typed on a keyboard. _"The Vale branch of the SDC has several lawyers on staff, as well as others we contract to help in some cases. I'm sure I can find one that could help you out."_ She made a few other noises of concentration before facing the Scroll again. _"I'm sending you the contact information of a few people we employed and hired before. You can check them out and decide which of them to trust."_

"Thank you. That's all I could ask for." Ruby paused. "So how's Saphira liking Atlas?"

Weiss smiled and looked offscreen. _"I'm actually having a landing pad built just off my office. She doesn't like being fifty floors below me."_ She winced and turned back. _"Saphira is still a little overprotective."_

"Knowing some of the other dragons, that's no surprise. And the cold?"

" _Of course she'd be happier in Vacuo."_ Weiss shook her head. _"But she hasn't complained. As soon as we get the hangar extension at my house approved by the city and built, I think she won't have a problem here. By the way, how's the search coming for everyone back on Patch?"_

Ruby groaned and she tilted her head back to the ceiling. "That's at the bottom of the pile. Can I just go back to being a student?"

 _"You can. It's called graduate school."_ Something beeped on Weiss' end. She faced it and her smile disappeared. _"That's General Ironwood. I'm finally meeting with him about meeting Professor Pollendina. Wish me luck."_

"I'll let Yang know. One more thing before you go, could you bring up… the cargo we still have in Blake's Bullhead?"

All emotion left Weiss' face. _"Of course. We need to get that taken care of as soon as possible."_

Ruby let her shoulders relax. She didn't like leaving Pruma in a minimum security garage, but that's what they had to do at the moment. "Glad you agree. Talk to you later, sis."

" _Bye, sis."_ Weiss cut the link, leaving Ruby alone.

Ruby navigated to her email on her Scroll. Sure enough, there was a list of five lawyers and advisors, and on first look, only one of them was directly employed by the SDC. She wasn't sure if that would make things easier or harder. Either way, maybe someone would be able to help out if her dad couldn't.

Someone knocked on the door. Considering Yang would just walk into their room and Blake was on her way back to Menagerie, it had to be Viki. "Come in." She turned around to face the door. Sure enough, Viki pushed her way in. Her shoulders were slumped and she rubbed the back of her neck. That could only mean one thing. "Can I help you with something?"

Viki shifted on her feet and she stared at the floor. "Can we… go see Aaron?"

"Of course." Ruby stood up and grabbed her wallet and Scroll from her desk. As much as she wanted to get her paperwork done, Viki was her first priority.

 _Keep telling yourself that,_ Cerise said. _You're still a procrastinator. Don't worry, I won't tell Umaroth._

 _Because there's nothing to tell. Viki_ _ **is**_ _first._ Ruby grabbed Máni Bláto off its place on a shelf and hooked it to her belt. "Cerise is ready. Let's get going." She placed a hand on the small of Viki's back, pushing her forward. Viki led the way through the house and out the door. Ruby watched her charge the whole way. Viki had gotten a little more confident, and maybe gained a pound or two, but she still walked like an android and apologized for things that were not her fault in any way. At least she still hadn't tried to clean the house again.

Before leaving, Ruby faced the couch in the living room where her sister was sitting. "Hey, Yang?"

"Yeah?" Yang turned her head toward Ruby. It looked like today was one of her better days, as in she didn't look like she'd curl into a ball at a moment's notice.

"I just talked with Weiss. She's talking with Ironwood about meeting with Professor Polendina as we speak."

Yang blinked and fully faced Ruby. "Really?"

"Yeah, but from the sound of it, it's just a meeting to set up the actual meeting. No guarantees."

"It's better than not having anything." Yang faced away again. "I want Halcyon here again." Her head jerked to the side, probably something Irolon said.

"We all do." Ruby sighed. "Need anything before we go?"

Yang shook her head. "No thanks…" She paused. "Actually, did you hear about Blake?"

"I haven't heard anything since she left."

Yang stuck a thumb at the projector. "VNN just had a whole segment. Sienna Kahn just stepped down as High Leader of the White Fang and said Blake's her successor. No interviews with Blake, but that's probably because she's in Menagerie."

Ruby smiled. "That's good to hear. Hopefully she can take the stress."

"We're talking about Blake here. She'll manage it." Yang faced the projector again. "I won't keep you. Go check on your boyfriend."

"Will do." Ruby finally followed Viki out of the house. As with each time they flew out, Cerise nuzzled Viki's face before helping her up. Ruby climbed up as well and sat in front of Viki. Her charge wrapped her arms around her and Cerise stood up. _Hang on tight. The wind's blowing more than normal._ She spread her wings and jumped into the air.

The now familiar flight path took longer than normal because of the wind, but Viki didn't hold onto Ruby with as much of a death grip. Nalia still laid on the same spot on the parking ramp. As far as Ruby knew, the dragon only left that spot to eat, drink, and 'use the bathroom.' Ruby didn't even bother her this time. There was nothing she had to say that would break her out of the funk.

Ruby and Viki walked through the hospital toward Aaron's room. As they got close, Ruby's good mood tanked. It always did. Seeing Aaron like that, so pale, hooked up to so many machines… She now knew how Aaron felt when she was in the hospital after they fought Kialandí.

Viki pushed open the door to Aaron's room and stepped inside. Ruby leaned against the doorframe and looked at her short time boyfriend. Nothing had changed since yesterday, or the day before that. Well, the IV drip was being changed as Ruby watched, but that was the only thing. The nurse walked by Ruby and disappeared into another part of the hospital.

Viki sat by Aaron's side and grabbed one of his hands. This was the same every day as well. She just held Aaron's hand, not saying anything other than occasionally something along the lines of 'please wake up.' Of course, he never did. Nalia sometimes spoke only to Viki as well. She had to be taking this worse than anyone else.

Ruby, Yang, Velvet, and the Eldunarí were trying to crack the spells that surrounded the diamond that cursed Aaron. It was with Velvet that day, and a good chunk of the more experienced Eldunarí were transferred to Vert. Considering they hadn't heard anything from her, there was no progress.

"Viki, I'm going to see if I can figure out how to get Aaron to the hospital on Patch." Ruby pushed herself off the door. "I'll be back soon." She walked back toward the nurse' station. The nurse on duty was talking on a Scroll when she got there, so she stood at a respectful distance.

The nurse hung up her Scroll and looked up to Ruby. "Can I help you, Miss Rose?"

"I hope so." Ruby stepped forward, trying to shrug off the weird feeling of being named by someone she didn't know. "I was wondering what the procedure was to transfer a patient to another hospital. This place is getting to be a pain to get to."

The nurse went onto explain yet another legal form that needed to be filled out in a specific way in order to make sure everything went right. At least this one was easier to understand than pretty much any of the others. "…and then a signature from the next of kin. After this is turned in to the attending physician, the transfer can begin as soon as there is an open bed at the target hospital."

Ruby took the packet and nodded at the nurse. "Thank you." She turned around and walked back toward Aaron's room. Most of that was no problem, but… next of kin? Maybe power of attorney would work too. She only started teaching Viki how to read and write in the past week. The poor girl could barely make out an 'O' from a 'W' while reading, and her writing was way to big to fit anywhere on the packet… Then there was the fact that Viki was a minor and only registered as a refugee two days ago. Her signature might not even be legal.

She pushed back into the room. Viki and Aaron still rested in their previous positions. "Hey, Viki?" Said girl faced Ruby. "Remember when I said that I was going to try to get Aaron closer to home yesterday?" Viki nodded. "Well, it looks like I'm going to need your help with that."

Viki straightened in her chair, but kept her hand on Aaron's. "My… help?"

"Yes." Ruby pulled up another chair and sat by Viki. "At a few points in this packet, they need the signature from next of kin, which would be you. If I signed in your place, that's illegal and I could be arrested for that. So, if Aaron is going to be moved to Patch, it's going to be up to you."

"Oh…" Viki stared at the packet. "Do you think I can do that?"

"I can teach you how to write your name, and I can read all this to you." Ruby positioned herself and the packet so Viki could see. "It's a bit of a long one with some confusing medical and legal words. Just tell me if I'm going too fast or if you don't understand something." Ruby began reading every word to Viki. It was slow going, but it needed to be done. Was every word needed? Probably not, but it could help Viki know how to read in the future.

A while later, the door opened and another nurse stepped in… with another IV bag. The nurse looked around the room and he locked eyes with Ruby. He jumped back a foot. "Oh, uh, Miss Rose. I didn't expect to see you here."

Ruby looked at the IV drip currently connected to Aaron, then back to the nurse. "Is there something wrong with that one? It was just changed fifteen minutes ago."

"Yes. Uh, there was a, uh, a bad batch and we need to change all bags on this floor." The nurse's voice shook with each word. Sweat formed on his forehead, and he couldn't stand still for more than a second.

Ruby narrowed her eyes and handed the transfer packet over to Viki. _Cerise, check the rest of the hospital. Nalia are you listening in?_

 _I am,_ Nalia growled. _I do not like the sound of this._

"Really? I've never heard of IVs going bad. Is this common?"

"No. We received a notice from the factory that certain serial numbers were tainted." The nurse moved toward the IV stand.

Ruby stood up and put herself between the nurse and Aaron. "I would think that something like that would be all over the news. Things like that can't be healthy."

The nurse looked Ruby up and down. "M… Miss Rose, I believe you're trying to k-keep me from doing my job."

"That isn't my intention. I'm just wondering why a tainted bag got set in the first place. If I could hear from Dr. Storbakken about why this happened, I'll be out of your way."

 _Ruby,_ Cerise called, _I've checked the whole hospital. This is the only place this is going on. I'm telling CFVY what's going on. Backup will be there soon._

 _Thank you._ Ruby touched the nurse' mind. He was scared beyond belief. That could change things.

"Miss Rose, nobody doubts your skills in combat, but this is my area of expertise. Let me do my job."

"You're right about this not being my forte," Ruby dipped her head, but kept her eyes locked on her target. "but my job needs me to know when people are lying to me."

The nurse froze in place and more sweat formed on his forehead. "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"This is the only place in the hospital where an IV is being changed because of tainting. I know that Dr. Storbakken didn't send you here to change Aaron's IV." Ruby glared at the nurse. "How about you tell me why you're really here, and I won't introduce you to Nalia?"

The nurse took a few steps back, then turned for the door. "Læsa." The door locked on Ruby's command. The nurse pulled at the door, but the wood didn't budge. "You're not going anywhere until I hear what I want to."

"Please…" The nurse looked at Ruby with wide eyes. "They have my family. They said if I hook this up, they'd go free."

Ruby raised her head and relaxed her shoulders. _Cerise, be ready to fly._ "Who's they?"

The nurse' eyes flicked to the window, then back to Ruby. "I only spoke with one guy. I think he called himself Watts."

Ruby looked at the window over her shoulder. Nalia's head hung over the side of the parking ramp, her pupils slits and lips peeled back. That had to be better persuasion than anything Ruby said. She faced the nurse again. "Where and when did you last see them?"

"Just this morning at home. My wife drives my son and daughter to South Elementary every day. I don't think they made it."

Ruby nodded. "If they're still in the city, I'll find them… but I'm still going to need to turn you into security." She grabbed the nurse' arm and faced her charge. "Sorry, Viki. I need to work now. Someone from team CFVY will be here soon."

She faced the nurse again and took away the saline bag. "Let's get going." Ruby looked at the doorknob. "Ma'mor." The door clicked and unlocked. She pulled it open and forced the nurse in front of her. They stopped at the nurse' station and Ruby set the saline bag on the desk. "Get someone to check this for anything."

The nurse there stared at the bag, then at Ruby. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Ruby!" Coco called. Ruby faced where she heard the voice. Coco ran down the hall from the elevators with Velvet right behind her. "Cerise gave us the rundown. What do you need?"

"Coco, take this guy down to security." Ruby handed the nurse off. "Velvet, Viki's in with Aaron. Ask Nalia to fill you in on what's going on. I'm sure she'll be at least a little more talkative." Ruby took a few steps to the hall Velvet and Coco ran down. "I've got to figure out what's going on." She turned around and ran toward the parking ramp. _Cerise, tell me you've been looking._

 _I have, and so have the Eldunarí. We've found a group of three humans who are scared like those we found in Fort Castle. They aren't far._

 _Anyone nearby that could be holding them?_

 _One, maybe two individuals. I can't tell if they're human or Faunus._

 _It can't be the Nevermores, unless his wife and kids are Faunus themselves._ Ruby ran across the skyway between the hospital and parking ramp, then up the stairs to the top level. She took out her Scroll and punched 119. Instead of bringing it up to her ear, she grabbed her helmet and fit it over her head. Her Scroll automatically connected to her helmet.

The line clicked. _"119. What's the nature of your emergency?"_

"This is Huntress Ruby Rose. I've located three kidnapped individuals on the west side of the city." She climbed up Cerise' side as she spoke. "There are two confirmed hostage takers. Armament is unknown at this time, as well as the condition of the hostages." Cerise jumped off the parking ramp and flew west.

" _What is the address of your location?"_

Ruby waited for Cerise to fill her in. "708 35th avenue south. I'll wait for backup if I can, but if things are going south inside, I'm going in."

" _Copy that, Miss Rose. Officers will be on scene in less than five minutes."_

"Thank you. Ruby out." She ended the call and stretched her mind out in front of her. It didn't take long to find the hostages. Three people were huddled together terrified, and two guards who felt like they were a room or two away. At least they weren't worried about being attacked.

Cerise hovered about a block away from the building. _I'll stay here unless you need me._

 _Got it._ Ruby patted Cerise' neck twice, then slid out of the saddle. She drew Máni Bláto in the air and shifted it to sword form before she hit the roof beneath her. She ran and jumped two buildings over and hid behind the half wall on the edge of the second building. _I'm in position. You see any lights heading this way?_

 _I don't see any, but I hear them. I'd guess they're… two minutes out if traffic doesn't get in the way._

Ruby stared at the building across the street. She could see the two hostage takers through the window. They were just playing cards, but two assault rifles leaned against the table, stocks up. As she watched, one of them picked up a Scroll. Seconds later, both guys grabbed their weapons and ran to the pillars between the windows. But Ruby still had line of sight to the weapons.

"Jierda." Both weapons broke into three pieces. Ruby jumped off the roof and activated her Semblance. She dashed across the air and smashed into and through one of the windows. The goons didn't have a chance to yelp before she smacked them both against the pillars they used as cover. "Slytha." Both of them fell asleep on the spot. Ruby shook her head. She probably should have done that first.

She turned around and walked to where the hostages were. From where she was, she thought the three were in the basement of the building. Ruby took off her helmet and clipped it to her belt. She also contracted Máni Bláto back to travel form. No point in scaring the hostages anymore.

The bottom of the final staircase to the basement was pitch black. Ruby took her Scroll out and activated the flashlight app as she descended. The basement started out as one long hallway, opening into a larger room further down. That wasn't too weird, but all the lights were broken. This building didn't look abandoned for too long, and none of the other lights in the building were torn off the ceiling.

Ruby once again put a hand on Máni Bláto, but didn't draw it. This felt like a trap. _Cerise, how far out are the police?_

 _They're right down the road. Four cruisers and a SWAT van. You'll have reinforcements soon._

 _Got it._ Ruby held her Scroll to the walls. They were mostly clean and unscuffed. The floor felt uneven beneath her feet. She moved her Scroll to the floor just before she stepped into the large room and stopped. Claw marks were everywhere on the concrete. _Grimm_ claw marks.

Something ran at Ruby from the side. Before she could face it, it smacked her Scroll out of her hand. She drew Máni Bláto and flipped the switch for scythe form. Her bionic eye automatically switched to night vision. She was surrounded. Beowolves, Creeps, and an Ursa. All of them completely black, like the Lethrblaka and Ra'zac. _Cerise! There's Grimm here! Hold off those reinforcements._

"A lone Rider," a voice said. "Away from its dragon." Ruby faced the voice... It came from the Ursa? "You aren't leaving here alive."

Just like the first Ra'zac she faced… That's when she realized she didn't feel the life force in any of the Grimm around her. "I don't think you know who I am."

"Ruby Kingkiller," another Grimm said, this one a Beowolf flanking her right side, "Rider of Cerise Langrlost. Sister of Yang Xiao Long. Leader of team RWBAY. The Hero of Fort Castle. Last Huntress Standing in the forty-first Vytal Festival Tournament. Slayer of the Shade Durza. Chosen successor to Vrael as leader of the Dragon Riders. The killer of King Galbatorix. The Winter Maiden. Girlfriend of Aaron Benson."

Ruby froze in place. _Oh no… no, no, no._ _Please not again._ That wasn't everything there was to her bu a long shot, but she knew where it was going. _Mom… Cerise… be ready._

"We can smell your fear," a creep on the other side said. It licked its lips. "You smell… delectable."

 _Okay. They haven't used my True Name. Maybe they don't know it._ "What do you want?"

"Your death." Something slammed into Ruby's back and forced her to the ground. Jaws clamped around her neck. They broke through her wards, but were stopped by her Aura. A surge of energy flooded her body from Cerise and the Eldunarí. She pushed herself off the floor and called on her Maiden magic. The room lit up from her glowing eyes and she stared at her opponents. They all growled in the new light.

"Funny. That's what I want from all of you." Ruby fired Máni Bláto behind her and flew forward. She slashed at the Ursa and its head popped right off. With the biggest threat gone, she faced the rest of the room. She purposefully backed herself into a corner, putting all Grimm in the room in front of her.

 _Ruby, the police heard shots. They're coming in._ Cerise' mental voice was a little more worried than normal.

 _So finish this quick. Got it._ Ruby held her hands out in front of her and a gale force wind blew in the room. Several ice spikes formed in front of her, one for each Grimm. She launched them forward and into the heads of each monster. All but what looked like an Alpha fell. That one charged Ruby on all fours. She raised Máni Bláto over her head and brought the point of her weapon down on the Alpha's head. It fell to the ground, twitched a few times, then moved no more.

Ruby pulled her scythe out of the dead Grimm and reversed the flow of magic. All ice and frost in the room evaporated, leaving no trace except the holes in the corpses. Footsteps thundered down the hallway to the staircase. Two officers with assault shields stormed into the room, followed by six more with shotguns and assault rifles. Their weapons and flashlights passed over Ruby and focused on the Grimm.

"Keep an eye on these." Ruby pointed at the Grimm as she walked toward the only door in the room. The hostages were on the other side. "These Grimm are tricky. If any of them twitch, blast them." She faced the door and sniffed the air. She didn't smell the tell-tale stink of a Grimm dissolving. More proof that these Grimm were like the kind she faced in Alagaësia. She needed to let the others and Ozpin know that these things were here.

But for now, Ruby had other things in mind. She took a deep breath and calmed her racing heart. The Rider put on a smile pushed the door to the back room open. These people probably needed a friendly face or two.

* * *

"Thank you for the hospitality, Miss Schnee." General Ironwood placed his mug on the table in front of him and stood up. "But I must attend to my other duties."

"I understand." Weiss stood up as well and offered the general a hand. "If you need a little extra muscle, Saphira and I are only a Scroll call away."

Ironwood took the offered hand. "I'll keep that in mind." He released his grip and stepped back. "Until next time." He turned around and walked out of the office.

Weiss waited a full minute before sighing and collapsing in her chair. Ironwood, _James_ as he said Weiss could call him, wanted to talk about more than just meeting with Professor Polendina. He mainly talked about the special relationship between the SDC and the Atlas military, and how it was much more than what was advertised, but he still approved Weiss' request to meet with the mechanist. He also said he'd see if he could find someplace to hide Pruma. The way he said it made Weiss think that he was going to set something up as soon as he got back to his office.

"Saphira, how'd I do?" She turned around in her swivel chair and looked down toward where her dragon lay on the ground.

 _I believe you did wonderfully._ Saphira mentally hummed. _You pushed your view without trying to force it. As for waiting through all that, well, I hope that is the only time you have to listen to it._

"I guess I have you to help me remember." Weiss picked up her own cup of coffee and took a sip. "Thanks for being with me through that."

 _You are very welcome._ Saphira paused. _Little one, you've told me you have experienced lectures like this before. Why was this one different?_

"Because back then, I was the only one impacted on how much I remember. That, and…" Weiss dipped her head. "With what they did to me… I don't trust my memory like I did before then."

More of Saphira's mind flooded into her Rider's. _Weiss, do not let this control you. When you are done with your job today, I am taking you for a long flight. You need it._

"Don't I know it." Weiss took another sip of her coffee and stared out over the Atlas City skyline. While most of the buildings here were among the tallest in the world, she thought Vale's skyline was much more impressive. While all the buildings there had different looks, they still blended into each other, and when looking at the city from a distance, she could draw an arch over the buildings. In Atlas, most buildings were the same shade of gray, and the skyscrapers stood next to virtual shacks in every part of the city. Still, Weiss thought she could get used to the view, especially when Saphira's landing pad was built.

Something over the city caught her eye. Three fighters flew over the city toward Schnee tower. That in itself wasn't strange with all the Grimm activity in the area, but they were flying at her eye level. Were they picking up James? "Saphira? You see these things?"

 _Yes, but James' transports are down here. I'll see if he knows._

"Got it." Weiss stood up and approached the window. Those things were flying fast… like attack speed fast. She walked to her desk, pulled out a drawer, and grabbed Myrtenaster. She didn't like the look of this.

 _Weiss! Get out of there!_ Saphira's roar shook the windows. _He doesn't know what those are!_

Weiss turned around and ran out of her office. Only her secretary was in the next room over. "Get out of here! We're under attack!" Glass shattered in Weiss' office and Dust rounds flew through the open door. She put herself between her office and her secretary. She slammed Myrtenaster into the ground and an ice barrier formed in front of her. "Go! Now! I'll cover you!"

Her secretary bolted for the elevator, but it was in the line of fire. Weiss formed a deflection glyph and moved to protect her secretary. Dust rounds flew everywhere, some ricocheting multiple times before burying themselves somewhere. She heard the elevator ding once, then twice. With her secretary safe, Weiss walked forward, keeping her glyph in front of her.

She reentered her office and stared down the three fighters. Their cockpits were empty, so these had to be the new automated fighters that her company designed two years ago, supposedly unhackable after the Battle of Beacon. At least that meant she wouldn't kill anyone with the fighters' destruction. She formed several more glyphs in a line and prepared to fire ice.

Saphira roared and she slammed into one of the fighters from beneath. Weiss held back on firing to avoid hitting her dragon. The dragon pulled an engine off a wing and the fighter fell from the sky. She jumped to the next one and pulled off an entire wing. Weiss shook her head and used her glyphs to fire at the third fighter. Four streaks of ice flew toward the guns and engines on her remaining attacker. The guns jammed and the engines smoked. Saphira jumped on that one and they dropped out of sight.

After a few seconds, Saphira rose back to Weiss' level. _Are you well?_

" _I_ am fine." Weiss couldn't hold back the worry and anger that built up inside her during the fight. "What were _you_ thinking?!" She stepped over the broken glass and shattered furniture as she approached where the windows once stood. "I could have taken them! Ironwood's men could have taken them! So many others could have taken them!"

Saphira narrowed her eyes and pulled her lips back. _Are you saying I'm weak?_

"I'm saying you're inexperienced and defenseless! Those aren't flint or iron-tipped arrows, they're Dust bullets! They could tear through your scales and skin like they were paper! I don't care how strong you think you are, if one of them turned to face you, you would have died in _seconds!_ I've seen it! Cerise, Halcyon, Nalia, Vert, they've all faced machine guns without Aura and effective wards, and they're all lucky to be alive."

Weiss felt something wet run down her cheeks. "I don't want to lose you. I know you'll be able to fight them, Grimm, and many others in the future, but right now, you're too fragile. Saphira, I _promise_ I'll work with you on your combat skills. Every day after work if you want to. Aaron, Ruby, and their dragons put together some training videos too. I'm sure both of us can learn something from those. I just don't want you taking on anything that's too hard for you right now. There's a difference between pushing yourself and trying to get yourself killed. Doing that-" Weiss pointed toward the smoke rising up from the ground, "-was too close to the latter."

During the rant, Saphira closed her lips and widened her eyes to a normal range. _Fine, but you should know I disapprove of you working in such an exposed area, and with very little protection. I insist that you work close to the ground near me until this room is repaired and my landing area is built._

Weiss sighed and slumped her shoulders. "I'm okay with that…Just get in here." Saphira flapped to the building and landed inside Weiss' office. The Rider wrapped her hands around her dragon and squeezed as hard as she could. That was the first assassination attempt on her, and if what happened to her father said anything, it wouldn't be the last.

The others needed to know, before the news sent this everywhere. Weiss took her arms off her dragon and searched around for her Scroll. She found it with only a crack in the ruins of her desk. The screen flashed, showing she had another message. She opened that and her jaw dropped. "Oh my God. Saphira, Aaron and Ruby were attacked too."

 _What?_ Saphira's growl returned.

"Ruby texted half an hour ago." Weiss lowered her Scroll. "This can't be a coincidence." She looked up at Saphira. "We may need to hurry up with that training."

* * *

 **There hasn't been a lot of fighting in this fic... and that's going to be a chronic thing I'm afraid. Then again, rebuilding the Riders requires much more than just fighting.**

 **So, Super Bowl weekend. One of my cousins is in the University of Minnesota marching band, and I saw him on TV during halftime. I'm not jealous at all… My Vikings may have died in Philly, but my boy Wentz got another ring to add to his collection! He may not have played, but he still paved the way! Go Bison! Fly Eagles Fly!**


	10. Progress

**One week from today, I turn 22! You know what that means... cookie cake! Ruby would be so jealous.  
**

 **Oh, and if any of you care, which a few of you do because you've asked for it, I now have an author's page on Facebook. It's called Pokeman1280 Fanfiction. I... honestly have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but I have one.** **I'm guessing I'm just going to be posting work updates, maybe with real-life updates and shenanigans thrown in there too. There's almost certianly going to be more interaction with you guys too.  
**

* * *

Ruby looked herself over in the mirror. She was heading back to Alagaësia to meet with both King Deynor, Queen Islanzadí, and Oromis and Glaedr. As she wasn't coming from a battlefield, she had to look her best. The dress the elves gave her on her first trip to Ellesméra was the nicest thing she owned, so hopefully they didn't make a big deal about her wearing the same thing over and over. But for once, her hair took most of her concern. She was growing it out just to see what it looked and felt like. At the moment, it hung just above her shoulders, a few inches too short for what she wanted. She shook her head. She was turning into Yang.

"Cerise? You about ready?" Ruby picked up the bag that held everything she thought she needed for this trip.

 _Just about,_ Cerise said. _Velvet's just loading up my engines. Hopefully this is enough fuel._

"If we did the math right, it should be." Ruby left her room and made her way to the front door. She stopped long enough in the living room to see what those in there were doing. It looked like Yang was introducing Viki to Hisney. It was probably a good idea to start there and not Darvel or Galaxy Wars. "Hey, I'm heading out."

Both other women turned to her. "When will you be back?" Viki asked. The question barely sounded robotic, a huge improvement over the past month.

"If all goes well, I should be home late tonight, early tomorrow. See you then." Ruby pulled open the front door and walked across the yard to her dragon. Cerise wore the harness for her engines, the braces for her wings, and windshield for her eyes, none of which she had with her in Alagaësia last time. "How's it all feel?"

 _Different._ Cerise rolled her shoulders out. _I'd rather not have armor at all, but this is faster._

"You at least have that luxury." Velvet walked around Cerise' head. "Vert's needed his almost his whole life."

 _But now he gets to fly without any assistance._ Cerise raised her wings and looked over to where her mate lay. _Vert, when we have the time, we are flying around Vale, just me and you._

Vert hummed and raised his head. Ruby didn't hear his response, but from the way Cerise' emotions changed, she didn't want to. Her cheeks burned and she looked anywhere but Velvet and Vert. That was one part of her dragon's life that she wanted no part of.

Ruby climbed her dragon's side and grabbed her helmet off the saddle. She put the bag she carried from her room into a secured saddlebag. "Okay, Cerise. Ready when you are." She leaned forward and grabbed the spike in front of her.

 _Hold on._ Cerise spread her wings and jumped into the air. She curved toward the lake near the center of Patch.

 _Umaroth?_ Ruby faced the pocket space behind Cerise where the Eldunarí hid. _Could you run me through this spell again?_

 _Of course,_ the ancient dragon said. _It would not do to trap us in between worlds._ Umaroth went onto explain the spell that he said could potentially take the caster to wherever they wanted in the other world. That could save a lot of travel time, especially if they wanted to be in Vale and they ended up in Mistral.

 _Okay then. Let's see if it works._ Ruby straightened in the saddle and looked at the lake below. Cerise dove for the coast and her Rider dismounted. "Okay. Ilirea. Think Ilirea." Ruby held her hand out toward the water and began to chant in the Ancient Language. She kept an image of the air above Ilirea in her head the whole time. When she finished the spell, the water swirled just like it did the two times she saw Aaron cast the original spell.

Ruby knelt down by the water and portal. "Cerise? Hold my legs?" She stretched her legs out behind her. A pressure held her legs in place. "Going in." She leaned forward and her head entered the portal. The exit was exactly where she hoped it would be, about a mile in the air and away from the city. She pulled her head back out and faced her dragon. "Well, either it works, or we got really lucky."

Cerise snorted. _Since when do you believe in luck?_

"My point exactly." Ruby remounted Cerise and the dragon dove into the portal. They flew toward the city at a leisurely pace. While in the air, Ruby pulled out her solar powered Scroll and disconnected it from the CCT. Even though it technically already was, this would prevent the time from being automatically updated upon her return to Remnant. That way, she could tell if the spell Aaron cast wasn't in vain.

Cerise flew over the walls and toward the citadel. She landed in the courtyard out front, and the massive doors swung open. One man stood on the other side and approached the dragon. Ruby dismounted Cerise and closed the distance. She had to remember to change how she spoke between her family and here. "Brom, I trust you are well."

"Very." The former Rider nodded. "This is the first time in years when I don't have to worry about fighting the Forsworn and Galbatorix. The land is almost peaceful."

Ruby cocked her head. "Almost?" She walked into the citadel and Brom fell in beside her.

"Several cities have faced rebellions from within, and Teirm resists Deynor's rule."

 _Is a Rider's intervention necessary?_ Cerise asked.

"Nay. Deynor is on his way there himself to settle the matter. He should be in the city the day after tomorrow."

Ruby nodded. "I hoped to speak with him, but I have little time. Will you relay what I have to say?"

"Of course."

"Well, most of it is actually on paper." Ruby stopped walking and Cerise knelt beside her. She reached into a saddlebag and pulled out her bag of materials. From there, she grabbed the binder that held copies of all the forms that kicked her butt repeatedly over the past month. "These papers have all the information required for the Dragon Riders to operate in the four Kingdoms where we're from. I know that these aren't necessary here, but I believe that we'll carry out similar services here." She handed a stack of stapled papers over.

Brom took the forms and raised an eyebrow. "This writing…"

"The technique's a few centuries old at this point. We call it a printing press. Well, this one came from an office printer, not a huge rolling machine. I think you can tell where my handwriting is."

"Why make the distinction of handwriting?" Brom flipped a few pages. "How else would you write?"

"Typing on a keyboard while a word processor is running on a Scroll or computer, then printing it out."

Brom sighed and shook his head. "Another of the things that is different in your land?"

"Yes. I don't think the printing press will be invented here for another few centuries."

"Very well, I will give this to Deynor when he returns."

"That is all I ask."

The three walked in silence for a dozen feet before Brom spoke up. "I am sorry to say that many people in the Kingdom do not like the fact that you are leading the Dragon Riders."

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Why is that?"

"They have heard you are not from Alagaësia, and they believe that as such, you are not fit to defend these lands. They also do not like that none of the Riders that freed them from tyranny are no longer actively defending them."

"Oh." Ruby relaxed her shoulders. That was better than she expected. "Well, they'll have to get used to it. I'm sure the humans have had problems with all elven leaders."

"That they have. The same can be said for the elves and the human leaders before you."

"Good to know that humans are the same no matter where they're from." Ruby paused. "How goes the Eldunarí rehabilitation?"

"It progresses, but slower than any of us would like." Brom shook his head. "The dragons are broken, I fear some are beyond saving."

"As long as they live, we will not give up on them. We can't." Ruby faced the golden doors at the end of the hall and any good mood that she still had disappeared. "How has Shruikan been?"

Brom faced the doors as well. "Surprisingly cooperative."

 _How so?_ Cerise asked.

"Since you gave him control over the eggs, he has not made any hostile movements toward anyone in the citadel, not even when someone unintentionally wakes him up."

"Really?" Ruby looked up at her dragon. "That's a rarity among _sane_ dragons."

 _We like our sleep,_ Cerise snorted. _Those who interrupt it should be worried._

"I have watched him closely," Brom continued. "I am not seeing any signs of madness. If he was mad before, he has pulled out of it."

"Enough to let him roam free again?"

Brom hesitated. "I do not believe so. It would be best to observe him for a while longer."

"I trust your judgement, but I want to see this for myself." Ruby focused all her attention on the doors. They opened when she was a few dozen feet away. On the far end of the former throne room, Shruikan laid with his back to the Riders.

His wings raised and his neck curved around. Shruikan's eyes met Ruby's. _Shadeslayer. You have returned._

"Indeed, I have." Ruby took her eyes off the dragon and focused on the eggs behind him. "I've come to check on your progress and the eggs under your care."

 _Of course._ Shruikan shifted to the side and gave Ruby an unobstructed view of the eggs. Each of the fifty here had its own padded podium. If there was a pattern to their placement, it wasn't obvious.

"Have any of them moved?" Ruby stood a few feet away from the eggs.

 _None have. This is not a place wild dragons would hatch and…_ Shruikan turned away. _I doubt any would hatch in my presence._

 _Ruby,_ Cerise started, _I know you are checking on Shruikan, but if you are so close to the eggs, you shouldn't be so negative._

The Rider glanced at her dragon through the corner of her eyes. _Let me guess, your eggs?_

 _I would say this if I didn't have any on Remnant._

 _Got it… you big softie. That's why I'm not petting the eggs yet. I need to calm down._ Ruby took a deep breath and felt her heart rate slow down. She stretched out a hand to brush the surface of the egg in front of her, a sun yellow beauty with orangish veins. This one would grow into a beautiful dragon someday.

Shruikan shifted on his feet. _Shadeslayer, if I may, have you found a place for the unbonded dragons to roam._

Ruby sighed and faced the large dragon. "Not yet. We have a few ideas, but they're all infested with Grimm. That, and all places that we're considering fall into a Kingdom's or territory's jurisdiction. In Alagaësia, no place is far enough away from human, elf, urgal, or dwarf occupation. We might eventually me able to do something about the radiation on Vroengard, but that's going to take a long time. No matter what, it's going to take a long time."

Shruikan sighed and looked over the eggs. _These hatchlings have spent too long in their eggs. They deserve to know the sun and the wind._

"I agree with you there." Ruby faced the eggs again. "But when they do, they need to be safe. I don't want them to fall prey to any Grimm or large predators. Too many dragons have already died." She smiled and rested a hand on another egg, this one a baby blue. "But when they come back, they'll have one heck of a welcome. I think we'll all make sure of that."

* * *

Yang stared at the victory screen in front of her and pumped a fist. That was a hard fought 'battle.' All the peeps in the park faced her and clapped, and so many balloons floated into the sky. "Okay. Time to turn this into a death park." She went to one of the many launch coasters in the park and cranked the launch speed as high as it could go. With the track only being a loop and a straight hill, the train would fly off, killing everyone on board.

She hovered the cursor over the open sign… but she didn't click it. Something in her was holding her back. She'd done this so many times over the years. It's how she celebrated winning every time. Why couldn't she do this?

She pushed herself away from her desk and held her head in her hands. She had a good guess. All those people she killed in Urû'baen. So many that were just trying to surrender… Were all of them soldiers, or were a few of them just wearing red at the wrong time? She couldn't remember. It was all a haze. She didn't know if she wanted to know the truth or not. Water dropped from her face to the carpet beneath her.

Irolon entered Yang's head just as she clenched her eyes. "Don't think about that. Halcyon wants me happy. Don't think about that. Halcyon wants me happy."

 _Why would you take joy in the deaths of these…'peeps' anyway?_ Irolon asked.

"First off, they're not real." Yang shook her head. "Second, it's… fun… I don't know why, it just is."

 _And this is a normal thing?_

"Oh, yeah." Yang laughed once. "Everyone who plays this does it. Well, everyone but Ruby." She laughed a little more. "One time when she was a kid, she accidentally drowned like twenty people, she cried her eyes out. She thought she killed actual people."

 _And… this is funny to people here?_

"People being hurt is funny, as long as it isn't serious. Slipping on ice, wiping out on a skateboard, guys being hit in the crotch." Yang shook her head. "It's just funny. I can't explain it."

Irolon stayed silent for a few seconds. _The humor of your world is strange to me._

"I'm sure I can say the same about Alagaësia." Yang paused and sighed. "Thanks, Irolon. I needed that."

 _You are welcome, Yang._

A knock came on the door to her bedroom. "Come in." Yang faced the door. It opened inward and Viki stood on the other side. "Hey, Viki. You need something?"

"Who were you speaking with?" That was the most confident question that Yang ever heard come from Viki. No shaking, no hesitation, no robotic sound.

If only she asked almost literally everything else. _Uh, what's our story here?_

 _Can you speak to others through this… computer._

 _Yeah. That'll do it._ Yang gestured at her computer. "Just one of my friends from Beacon. You don't know him."

Viki stepped fully into the room and looked at Yang's computer. "May I ask what you are doing?"

"Sure." Yang gestured at the projection, which hadn't changed since she changed the launch speed. "Just playing a classic computer game, Roller Coaster Mogul 2. It's older than me, but it's still a fun game. Beats some of the other 'games' that have come out recently."

"How does it work?" Viki approached Yang, never taking her eyes off the projection.

Now _this_ was something Yang could teach… except… "How far along are you in reading? There's a lot in this."

Viki's shoulders slumped and she hung her head. "I can read the letters of the alphabet, and I can put some words together, but not many."

"Hey, for only a month, that's not bad. It takes some people a year or more to do that. But for now, I think I have some other game in here somewhere that are pretty much all images."

"I take it there's too much to read it all to me?" Viki locked eyes with Yang.

 _Oh, man. How does Ruby do this?_ "I would, but a lot of words go by fast, and I'm not a speed reader." Yang cocked her head. "Although, that doesn't matter too much in sandbox… and that can be some of the most fun." She clapped her hands. "Okay then! I'll pull up the tutorials, and I can teach you from there." She save her game then backed out of the park to the main menu.

Yang opened the tutorial, then got out of her chair. "The command seat is yours." With only a second's hesitation, Viki sat in the swivel chair. Yang leaned on the desk then pointed at the text on screen. "Okay, so this is just telling you how to move the camera…" She continued to lead Viki through the various tutorials in the game, with some of her own tips and tricks thrown in too. As time went on, Viki's smile grew. Maybe she would be a gamer. She certainly got started on one of the good ones.

Windpathian Rhapsody started to play in the room and Yang jumped. "Oh. That's my Scroll." She picked it up off her desk and looked at the caller ID. Weiss… what was she doing calling during the day… unless… Yang hit the answer button, and Weiss appeared on screen. There were several patches on her skin with wires coming off them. "Weiss, isn't it business hours?"

The other Rider nodded. "It is, and this is related to what we're doing." Weiss looked off screen, then back to Yang. "Dr. Polendina has tracked where other Summons come from my Aura, and now he needs to trace Halcyon. But to do that, I need to summon him."

Yang froze and her mouth hung open. "What?"

"From my comparative little time with Saphira, I think you'd be able to feel him even though you're in Vale." Weiss paused. "Yang, I know how you've been the times I have summoned him. Penny and I managed to convince her father to let me make this call, but this is going to be the only time we can do so to this level."

"So… if you need to summon him in the future, I'll be in the dark." Yang sat on her bed with both hands gripped on the Scroll.

"Right. So we're going to try to get all the data he needs today." Weiss raised her right arm, showing she held a blue… translation headband. "I know Halcyon didn't like these because they hid his scales, but Saphira's lending hers if he wants to use it."

Yang straightened up. "You're not hanging up?"

"Like I said, this is the only time we can do this. I'm putting my faith in Dr. Polendina that he can get everything he needs today. So if Halcyon wants to speak directly to you, he can do so. If he doesn't want to use this, I'll translate for him, unless that messes up the readings."

"Weiss… You're the best."

"Don't let Ruby or Halcyon know you said that." Weiss offered a smirk, then backed off screen. The bottom of the screen lit up with white light. Seconds later, Halcyon rose from there facing the screen.

Yang took in a deep breath as she felt her dragon come back into existence. "Ay, you."

Halcyon blinked and looked around. He focused on something off screen and peeled his lips back. Yang knew her dragon well enough to know that he was talking with someone. Weiss explained the whole situation to him too, and his lips once again connected. He lowered his head and Weiss fit the headband over his forehead.

"Testing, one, two, three." The electronic voice was an almost perfect replication of Halcyon's 'voice.' "Good, it works." He hummed and faced the screen again. His pupils filled his entire eyes. "Hey, Firecracker. How have you been?"

"Trying to make the most of life. It's lonely here without you." Yang smirked at her dragon. "Ya know, it's weird hearing your voice come out of a Scroll.

"How do you think I feel?" Halcyon snorted and shook his head like a dog. "Dragons don't talk like this. It's weird _hearing_ my voice at all."

Yang laughed. "I hadn't thought about that." She ran an arm over her eyes, clearing off some of the leakage. "Halcyon, it's been too long. _Way_ too long."

Halcyon lowered his head. "How long."

"It's been a month."

"A month?" Halcyon's ears and head shot up. "What's happened? Obviously we're back on Remnant, but what's happened since I last saw you?"

Yang began explaining everything that had happened in Vale since they got back, starting with Aaron being in a coma. She hadn't been involved in much, mainly helping Viki. She actually forgot Aaron's sister was in the room until she mentioned her. Yang tried to cover Weiss' and Ruby's parts as well, but she didn't know much… She'd spent too much time in her own little world trying not to break down.

"Oh, there's also this." Yang reached over to her dresser and grabbed her modified gauntlet. It looked almost identical to the original, only it had flames painted on the front end and an input tube on the back with scales covering every part in between. She fit it over her right arm. "Remember how I said I destroyed this back in Urû'baen? Well, I fixed it, modified it, so now," she flicked a switch and a flame appeared on the end, "it's a flamethrower. Since it's not really Ember Celica anymore, and the official story is that you're dead, I'm calling it… Ember Halcyon. Unless you have a problem with it."

Halcyon hummed and his wings raised. "Firecracker, I would be honored. Just don't go smacking this one into any concrete."

Yang laughed at her dragon. "Halcyon, I wouldn't dare."

"Good." Halcyon looked off screen. "We've been talking for a while." His head tilted to the side, then nodded. "Saphira says she's helping Weiss keep me here, but that won't last much longer."

"Got it." Yang paused. "Halcyon, I don't say this enough, but I love you."

Halcyon hummed and slowly blinked. "I love you too, Yang. I can't wait to see you again." He paused. "You're not wearing your exoskeleton. How's your back?"

"Much better. I'm still not back at full strength, but I can walk and run on my own. Still playing it safe, I haven't gone out to fight Grimm without it."

"Good. I don't want you getting hurt out there."

"No one does. Dad may or may not have freaked out when I lifted Bumblebee without help like I used to."

"Sounds about right." Halcyon lowered his head. "Have fun on that thing for me. Get that wind in your hair like you love to do."

"Will do, and have done. Just got to get it out to the Beacon Speedway sometime."

"Halcyon? Yang? Wrap it up!" Weiss called from off screen.

Halcyon looked straight into the camera. "Yang, do not fear for me. I am in good hands here." He paused. _"I know they will succeed, and I will be back with you soon."_

A lump formed in Yang's throat. Halcyon couldn't swear that if he didn't completely believe it. "I'll save a spot for you in the grass, shed, my desk, wherever needed."

Halcyon hummed and closed his eyes. "Brace yourself. I'm fading." As Yang watched, Halcyon disappeared from the back forward. When his snout disappeared, she no longer felt her dragon. She groaned and bent forward. Her Scroll dropped to the floor. There was no getting used to that feeling. Thousands of miles in between them didn't lessen the pain. The hole in her heart and head couldn't be filled, no matter how hard Irolon tried.

The bed moved beneath her, and arms wrapped around her. Yang stiffened. There was only one other person in the house. She turned her head to the person. _Viki_ was hugging her from the side. She didn't say anything, and she wasn't looking at Yang, but she was still there.

That's exactly what Yang needed. She turned and brought Viki into a full hug. "Thank you. Thank you for being here."

Viki stayed in place for a few seconds, then tightened her grip. "You're welcome, Yang. I'm glad I could help."

* * *

" _Again, thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Your Majesty."_ Ruby gave the Queen of the Elves a light bow.

" _Of course, Shadeslayer."_ Islanzadí lifted the packet Ruby just handed her. _"Your Kingdoms are… strange in how they operate, yet I see why they are this way."_ She paused and faced Ruby. _"I trust that you will also bring this information to Oromis?"_

" _Yes, but I must speak with someone else in the city before we fly to the Crags of Tel'naeír. After that, we will stay the night. As we are needed elsewhere, we must leave in the morning."_

" _I understand."_ Islanzadí leaned back on her throne. _"Ruby Shadeslayer, Cerise Longtail, may the stars watch over you."_

" _And may you have a good day as well."_ Ruby turned around and mentally kicked herself. _Really? That's the best I can come up with?_

Cerise bumped her Rider's shoulder on their way out of Tialdarí hall. _What were you even thinking there?_

 _Cultural exchange? I don't know! I have no idea what I'm doing! I'm making this up on the go._

 _Well, you are doing a fantastic job._ Cerise hummed and nudged her Rider's shoulder.

 _I have you here to make sure I don't mess up._ Ruby patted Cerise' snout. They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, then continued walking to Rhunön's hut.

About halfway there, Cerise raised her head again. _That scent… what is it?_

Ruby sniffed the air. _Nothing smells wrong._

 _It's not wrong, it's…_ Cerise' pupils dilated to fill her whole eyes. Her happiness poured off her like a waterfall. _Oh. That'll do it._

Ruby looked her dragon up and down. _What is it?_

Cerise' looked down at Ruby. _It's not a threat, but it is coming this way._ She stared in the direction they were walking.

Ruby followed her dragon's gaze. She didn't see anything over there that could get Cerise so excited. Several elves were staring in their direction but that wasn't new. That happened all the time the last time they were in the city. The only anomaly that she saw was Arya walking around. Every time Ruby saw her before, she was in her mother's shadow. Then again, she wasn't in the city long. Maybe it was just… a green hatchling stepped out from behind a tree.

Ruby took in a sharp breath and covered her mouth with a hand, hiding how big her smile had gotten. She stopped in place and stared at the hatchling. _Oh my gosh! Cerise, you're seeing this?_

 _And smelling him._ Cerise hummed and raised her wings.

 _Nalia's going to be so happy._ Ruby lowered her hand. From how close the hatchling was to Arya, she had to be his Rider. The hatchling looked almost a month old. He could probably speak, and carry his Rider short distances. _Well, shall we go introduce ourselves?_

 _We shall._ Cerise continued walking toward the young dragon with a spring in her step.

Ruby jogged by her dragon's side to keep up. Arya and her hatchling stopped in the road as the older Riders approached. She clasped her hands in front of her. The hatchling looked at his Rider and sat down. He then focused his eyes on Cerise. His ears and wings raised but he stayed silent.

Arya raised two fingers on her right hand to her lips. _"May good fortune rule over you."_

Ruby stopped in front of the newest Rider and mimicked her. _"Peace live in your heart."_

" _And may the stars watch over you."_ Arya took her fingers away from her mouth. Ruby saw the gedwëy ignasia on that hand.

" _Arya,"_ Ruby let her hand fall and looked between the Rider and dragon, _"How long?"_

Arya smiled and rested her marked hand on her dragon's head. _"He hatched the day after you left. He surprised everyone."_

That confirmed that the hatchling was about a month old. Cerise extended her neck so her head was only a few feet away from the hatchling's head. _**And what's your name?**_

The hatchling straightened his neck. _**My name is Fírnen.**_ His mental voice was deeper than any dragon Ruby had heard, including any Eldunarí. _**It is an honor to meet you, Cerise Longtail, and you, Ruby Shadeslayer. My Rider has told me of your exploits.**_

" _Only the good things, I hope."_ Ruby laughed to herself, then she saw the expressions on Arya's and Fírnen's faces. _"Sorry. It's a joke where I come from."_

Cerise hummed. _ **I can already tell you will grow into a strong dragon. Your mother will be proud. When she finds out, it will take a lot to keep her away.**_

Fírnen raised his wings. _**I have also been told of my mother's feats. I am honored to be of her blood.**_

Ruby faced Arya. _"May I assume that you just came from Oromis' hut?"_

Arya nodded. _"Of course. Masters Oromis and Glaedr have been teaching us since the week after Fírnen hatched."_

" _That sounds about right. I can tell you this right now, you are going to have much better training than I did. Nothing against Aaron, but he wasn't fully trained himself when he and Nalia found us."_ Ruby's happiness and smile faded. _"Speaking of him, we need to get going. There's a lot going on in my home Kingdom. We're stretched thin back there, and we need to get our tasks done here to get back."_

" _Of course, Master Ruby."_ Arya bowed to the elder Rider. _"We will not keep you."_ She and Fírnen walked past Ruby and Cerise and toward Tialdarí hall.

Ruby stared after them. _Master Ruby?_ She shook her head. _I'm not sure how to feel about that._

 _You better get used to it, Gem._ Cerise raised a wing and forced Ruby back on track. _Unless you don't want anyone to call you master. You are setting a new precedent._

 _Yeah, but I'm doing so with one of our predecessors listening in._ Ruby looked at the spot behind Cerise where the Eldunarí hid. She waited for a response from Umaroth, but none was forthcoming. _Also… Viki is the only one to call me something like that before._ She shook her head. _Not that kind of Master. Let's get to Rhunön's hut._

Dragon and Rider continued without anyone else stopping them. When they reached the hut, smoke billowed out of the chimney. Ruby climbed up her dragon's side and pulled her supply bag out of one of the saddlebags. She walked into the hut and followed the sound of clanging metal.

Ruby approached the forge and stood in the doorway. Rhunön stood in front of the forge proper with a rod of red hot metal over the coals. The Rider knocked on the wall. _"Hello?"_

Rhunön whipped around holding that same rod as a sword, but she relaxed when she locked eyes with Ruby. _"Ah, Shadeslayer. You have returned."_ She set the rod back over the coals. _"To what do I owe this pleasure"_

" _When you helped me forge Máni Bláto, I promised that I would show you around my workshop."_ Rhunön's snapped her head back to Ruby, but the Rider held up a hand. _"I can't do that yet. It's not like moving in between here and the Broddring Kingdom. Since you wouldn't be a refugee, you can't just show up and do whatever you want."_

" _Then why are you here?"_ Rhunön narrowed her eyes.

" _I have the next best thing."_ Ruby set her bag on the floor and pulled out several textbooks. She set them on an unoccupied table. _"These books have the basics of Remnant engineering. I'm sure you can figure it out… You can read human, right?"_

" _Of course."_ Rhunön walked to the table and grabbed the book on top, _A History of Vacuo_. She handed it back to Ruby. _"I believe you misplaced this one."_

Ruby pushed the book back. _"No, I didn't. That one I believe is the most important in this stack. Long story short, Vacuo is a mess, and a good chunk of it is due to the influx of machinery and technology to its shores during the Great War. They…"_ Seeing no way to describe it in the Ancient Language, she switched back to Vytalian. "They industrialized too quickly. There's factories all over the place, abandoned and functional. There's only one big city in the Kingdom, and it has wood and straw huts up next to the factories. There's so much wrong there, and it's all in that book.

"I gave you this book because you should know the dangers of bringing this kind of technology into a place that has none of it. I know you wouldn't intend it, but neither did those in Vacuo's council, or the tribe chieftains before that."

Rhunön stared at Ruby, then huffed. _"If you insist."_ She set that book down and picked up the next in the stack. _"Is there anything else you need?"_

" _Yes, actually."_ Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. _"How soon did you forge swords for Riders after they were bonded?"_

" _When they were ready, and not a moment sooner."_ Rhunön faced Ruby again. _"You know how deadly your weapon and_ Redemption _are. If any young Rider is given a sword as soon as it can be forged, they will cut themselves to ribbons."_

Ruby nodded. _"I figured as much. Thank you for your time."_ She turned around and left Rhunön's hut.

Cerise joined her Rider as soon as she left the hut. _To Oromis?_ She laid down on the ground.

"To the Crags of Tel'naeír." Ruby climbed her dragon's side and the flew off to their old master's hut. She cocked her head at that thought. "Wait, we're the leaders of the Riders. Are they still our Masters?"

 _Of course,_ Umaroth spoke up. Ruby jumped in the saddle, not expecting the interruption. _While you may be their superior, they are your elders. They will be your masters until you share their level of experience._

"Good to know." Ruby shook her head. She still needed to get used to the idea of someone other than Cerise being in her head for a considerable amount of time. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. Public speaking was never her strong suit, but it was only Oromis and Glaedr. It shouldn't be too hard to give the same spiel for the third time that day.

* * *

 **At least Nalia is going to have something happy going for her.**


	11. New to You

**I don't know about you, but I'm feelin 22! (That's how the song goes right?) Yep. Today is my birthday, and I have no idea what to do today other than write and play video games. Nothing wrong with that! Time to conquer the galaxy again.**

 **Also, saw Black Panther the day it came out. Great movie, but it still falls behind Winter Soldier and Avengers to be my third favorite in the MCU. Those two are hard to beat. Ten people left my theater before the credits ended... SHAME!**

 **Oh, and there's this too.**

* * *

Ruby wiped a hand across her head and looked down at her defeated opponent. _"Not bad, Arya. Your strength and speed are there, and your form is great, but those aren't everything in a fight. If your opponent can see your attacks coming, it doesn't matter how fast or strong it is, or if your form is near perfect. They can counter it. In other words, right now, you're predictable."_ She collapsed Máni Bláto from sword to travel form and reached a hand down to the new Rider. _"With that said, you could have bested me easily when I had a similar time with Cerise."_

Arya took the offered hand and let Ruby pull her to her feet. _"I will work on this, Master."_

" _I know you will."_ Ruby stepped back and faced her old masters, who were both standing by Oromis' hut. _"She's all yours, Master Oromis."_

The ancient Rider nodded and walked toward the young one. _"Arya, there is another form I would like you to try…"_

Ruby turned away and walked to her dragon's side. "Ready to get home?"

 _I still think we should have left at first light._ Cerise knelt down and Ruby climbed up to the saddle. _There are so many things that need to be done._

"The same could be said for here." Ruby looked over at Arya and Oromis, who were going through another complex form with their swords. "Now we don't need to make a trip back here to know that Arya's ready for her sword."

 _You have a point._ Cerise turned her head to Glaedr. _**Master, we depart.**_

The golden dragon snorted at the red. _**May the wind be at your backs.**_

Cerise nodded and flew west. She angled toward a small lake not too far away. _Master Umaroth, do we know that this spell will work this deep into Du Weldenvarden?_

 _We have no way of knowing for sure,_ Umaroth said. _The spells guarding this forest prevent things from magically transported in, but not necessarily out. I would not try it to get to Ellesméra from Remnant, but it could be possible to go in the opposite direction._

"Okay then. Stick my bionic arm with my Scroll through the portal with it recording, pull it back, and see what's on the other side. Simple… Probably should have done that yesterday." Ruby shook her head. "Me and my impulses."

 _I wouldn't have let you do that if I thought it was dangerous for you._ Cerise dove for the lake. _Now to go home._ She landed beside the lake and knelt down.

Ruby slid off her dragon's back and knelt by the water. She cast the spell and the water swirled in front of her. At least that hadn't changed. She took her Scroll out of her pocket and set the recording. "Here goes nothing." She dipped her bionic arm into the portal, held it there for a few seconds, then pulled it out. Her whole arm was still intact and her Scroll was still recording. She played back the past few seconds and saw her house on Patch. "We're all good. Let's go." She remounted her dragon and Cerise dove through.

Cerise circled the house instead of diving for it. _Do we tell Irolon or Nalia first?_

"Yang's probably here, so that means Irolon is too. Let's start with him." Cerise nodded and nosed down. She glided into the yard and set down by the house. Ruby grabbed the now empty supply bag and binder and jumped off her dragon's back. She walked into her house and was about to call 'I'm home' when she noticed Yang, Viki, Jaune, and Pyrrha sitting in the living room. She thought the couple would be in Mistral for another few days. But… her head said there was another life force in the room... Probably a mouse or something. "Oh. Hi guys."

Jaune and Pyrrha looked over their shoulders. "Hey, Ruby," Jaune said. "How was your trip?"

"Uneventful." Ruby set her bag on the coffee table. "But I could do without the politics. One of these days I'm going to say one thing wrong, then I'll have the entire planet coming for my head." She paused and focused on Pyrrha. "How's your grandpa?"

Pyrrha's small smile disappeared. "He's… in a better place now."

Ruby slumped her shoulders. "I'm sorry."

"He was happy when he passed. He got his last wish." Pyrrha raised her left hand, a double banded ring wrapped around one of her fingers. "He got to see one of his grandchildren get married."

Ruby couldn't hold back a squeak and she held a hand over her heart. "I suppose I should say congratulations." As she continued to look at Pyrrha, the extra life force became more pronounced. It was no mouse. A huge smile broke out on Ruby's face. "Oh my gosh! Congratulations!" She launched herself forward and wrapped the married couple in a massive hug. "I'm so happy for you two!"

The other two returned the hug as best they could. "It just hit you?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah!" Ruby pulled back and looked between her two friends. "Do you know the due date?"

Both Jaune and Pyrrha blinked and looked at each other. "Umm, due date?" Pyrrha cocked her head.

"You mean a Vale reception?" Jaune asked.

Ruby took in a sharp breath and stepped back. "You didn't know, did you?"

Jaune narrowed his eyes. "Know what?" Pyrrha's eyes bulged and she looked down at herself. Ruby felt her surprise, but nothing of the sort from Jaune.

"Okay. Sorry I told you, but the cat's out of the bag." Ruby took a deep breath and looked into Pyrrha's eyes. "Pyrrha, I'm pretty sure you're pregnant."

All eyes in the room turned to Pyrrha. The champion still had her eyes on her belly. Jaune put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha looked up at Jaune, and her face outshone the sun. "I thought I felt a little woozy this morning… and that the pickles in the fridge here looked good." Jaune's face lit up as well and the newlyweds embraced.

Ruby backed away and let her friends have their moment. She sat next to her sister on the other couch. Yang leaned over to her. "Well that was fast," she whispered.

"Really?" Ruby elbowed Yang. "I don't need to think about that."

"Come on. Less than half a month after they get married and they're pregnant? That doesn't happen that often anymore. What were you thinking about?" Yang smirked. "Oh, Ruby, you dir-"

"Say one more word, I freeze your mouth shut for a week." Ruby made the temperature drop in and around Yang's mouth. Her sister pursed her lips together and shook her head. "Glad we understand each other." She looked past her sister at Viki. Her charge smiled at the newlyweds, but there was sadness in her eyes and head. "Viki, what's wrong?"

Viki's head dropped. "I don't know if I can do that anymore."

Ruby's heart stopped. _Anymore?_ "You don't have a kid on the other side, do you?"

"No. My… _owners,"_ she spat out the word, "killed him after he was born, saying they couldn't afford to keep the bastard of a slave. Then they did something to me to make sure it didn't happen again." Tears dripped from her eyes. "This was three years ago."

Ruby clenched her fists. Now _that_ was barbaric. But Viki didn't need angry Ruby. The Rider stood up then sat on the other side of her charge and hugged her. "I'm so sorry, Viki. No mother or child deserves that. That will never happen here." She paused and contacted Umaroth. _Can we do anything about this?_

 _If this process is as it was before my and Vrael's predecessors originally outlawed slavery,_ Umaroth started, _you can. It is a long spell, but the outcome is worth it for the target._ He growled. _You and I have a common belief on this topic. I will lend you any support you need for this._

 _Thank you._ Ruby pulled back but kept her hands on Viki's shoulders. "When the time comes, and if you want, I can give you that ability back. I'm not saying now, but I'm laying the option on the table."

Viki's lower lip trembled. "Thank you. Maybe someday." She leaned her head forward and wrapped her arms around the Rider. Ruby returned the hug and rested her head on top of Viki's. Yang also hugged the poor girl from behind.

After a while, they separated. Ruby looked at Yang and touched her mind. _Is Irolon listening?_

Yang blinked. _Yeah. Why?_

 _Just listen in._ Ruby faced everyone in the room. "I can't stay long. I've got to get to the hospital and tell Nalia what I'm going to tell you." She took a deep breath. "One of her eggs hatched."

The smiles in the room returned, but likely subdued from where they would have been without Viki's revelation. Irolon, however, roared as best as an Eldunarí could. Ruby thought he would be doing backflips in the air if he had a body. _Really? Which one? Is my hatchling healthy?_

 _Listen in. I'm sure others will ask the same. Or, at least Nalia will._

"That's good to hear," Pyrrha said. "I'm sure Nalia will be happy about it."

"Hopefully it will bring her away from the hospital for a little bit. Fírnen already has a strong opinion of her from what Oromis and Glaedr have told him and Arya. I'm sure they'd love to meet each other."

"Arya?" Yang asked. "The princess?"

"Technically she's not a princess, but yes, Queen Islanzadí's daughter. She's already a great swordsman, and I'm sure Oromis will mold her into a great spellcaster in no time. Now I've got to call Weiss about maybe getting some brightsteel down here so I can start forging Riders' weapons."

 _Fírnen,_ Irolon hummed. _I like that name._

Ruby looked around the room once more. Seeing that no one was set to ask anything else, she stood up. "Well, I'm going to the hospital. Hopefully Nalia will listen to me." Those in the room wished her well, and she left the house. She climbed onto her dragon's back and they flew to Patch Central.

Less than a minute later, the relatively small hospital on Patch came into view, with Nalia sprawled out in the grass beside it and her head pressed up against the building. Cerise landed nearby, giving the still much larger dragon some space. Ruby dismounted her dragon and walked over to her boyfriend's. "Nalia?" No response came from the dragon. Ruby placed a hand on Aaron's dragon's side. "Nalia, one of your eggs hatched."

Nalia's head popped off the ground and she turned it to face Ruby. Her eyes were almost completely black. _Hatched?_

"Yeah." Ruby hoped Irolon was listening in, but she didn't check to make sure. "The green one from the citadel. He chose Arya, Islanzadí's daughter. His name is Fírnen. He would like to meet you."

Nalia continued to stare at Ruby. _And I, him._ She whimpered and returned to her former position. _But I cannot leave Aaron. Fírnen is safe in Ellesméra. If I'm not here when Aaron wakes up…_ She pulled out of Ruby's head and said no more.

Ruby sighed and walked away. She was as close to being as worried about Aaron as someone who wasn't bonded to him could get. But over the course of a month with no changes, visiting every day turned into once or twice per week. She was just as worried, but she had other things to do. Aaron wouldn't want her to waste her life waiting for him to wake up… He'd probably have a word with Nalia about that as well. She shook her head and made her way to the visitor entrance to the hospital.

She walked through the halls to Aaron's room. As always since he was transferred from Vale General and the assassination attempt, a police officer stood outside, looking incredibly bored. Ruby passed the officer and pushed into the room. Again, nothing changed, except the bowl of rose petals she always left behind was empty. The nurses probably dumped the withered petals. Ruby made sure she had enough space, then activated her Semblance. She ran in a straight line back and forth, making enough rose petals for a field. When she had enough, she cast a spell that made all petals in the room group up and fall into the bowl by Aaron's bed. It wasn't as good as real flowers, but she thought it was more personal.

With decorating out of the way, Ruby pulled up the chair by Aaron's bed on the window side. She sat down and grabbed his hand. She thought her boyfriend regained a little bit of color, but not nearly enough. "Hey, Aaron. I'm back. Quite a bit's happened in this past week. On the business end, we now officially own a mountain just east of Vale, the one you and Nalia found on your first night on Remnant. It's unnamed right now because it's not a big one all things considered, but we can change that at any time. We're waiting for all Riders to get together to decide if we should do anything about it. Also, I have all the paperwork on setting up the Riders as a Huntsman organization. I spoke with Brom, Islanzadí, and Oromis yesterday and got all of their approval. I guess I should probably get that turned into city hall after I leave here.

"Yang took a mission near Armen a week ago, her first one without Halcyon. It wasn't much, just cleaning out a place near the walls with a lot of large Grimm. She said she just cast a spell and killed them all in ten seconds. She came back with a nice paycheck, but she's still depressed. She's trying to hide it, but I don't need to be telepathic to know what she's doing."

"On a more positive note…" Ruby couldn't hold back a smile and she felt tears forming in her eyes. "Viki's made another major improvement. I won't say what led up to it, but it sounds like she's disgusted about being owned. Sorry, but I don't think you'll recognize her. I think she's starting to think that she's just like the rest of us." Her smile fell. "At least, I hope so. I don't know whether she's really thinking that… or if she thinks that this is just another place she's enslaved. That she has to act a certain way or be punished. I don't want to hurt her like that. But that's how she's lived her entire life. I've only had a month. How could I have broken through to her in such short time? I'm not going into her head to find out her motivations. She's never had any privacy. I'm not going to take that one place away from her."

The floor vibrated with Nalia's hum. _Ruby._ The Rider faced the dragon. Nalia's visible pupil had constricted to a normal size. _I do not believe you are causing any harm. From the few interactions I've had with her, I think Viki is genuinely happy._

"I'm sure being a slave and being happy aren't mutually exclusive, and she's always happy around dragons."

 _I know, but there is a spark to her that I didn't see or feel when we first found her. I believe you're making her a person._ Nalia's eye shot forward and dilated again. Her head tilted down a few degrees and her ears raised. Something squeezed Ruby's hand.

Ruby snapped her head to the bed. Aaron had shifted his head to the right, and as she felt, he squeezed her hand. She looked between her hand and Aaron's face. "He's waking up. Nalia, he's waking up!"

 _I know! I knew it before you did! Move over! You're blocking my view!_

"Sorry." Ruby stood up and moved her chair a few inches to the right while never letting go of Aaron's hand. She sat back down and scooted as close to the medical bed as possible.

Ever so slowly, Aaron showed more and more signs of life. He shifted around in his bed, groaning. His arms flexed and both hands clenched over and over. His eyes fluttered under his eyelids. After an unbearably long time, his eyes opened. They were hazy and not at all focused, but Aaron was awake for the first time in a month.

Nalia hummed high and long. The floor and walls shook from her moving around outside. "Naaaa…" Aaron's head lolled toward the window. His eyes were still unfocused, but undoubtedly aimed at his dragon.

Ruby sat silent, letting Aaron and his dragon catch up. Another thought came to her as she waited. _Cerise, get Viki here as soon as you can._

 _On it._ The floor shook a little from Cerise' take off.

Aaron's head drifted further to the right, and he locked eyes with Ruby, as best as he could anyway. "Morning, Aaron." Ruby smiled and didn't hold her eyes back from leaking. She gave Aaron's hand a squeeze. "Have a nice nap?"

"Rrruuu…" Aaron's head returned to its previous spot. "Wheerrree…"

"You're in Patch Central Hospital. You're safe here."

Aaron faced Ruby and blinked several times, his eyes clearing up with each repetition. "Wha…" He shook his head them relaxed back into his pillow. "Headache."

Ruby couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not surprised." Her good mood disappeared. She didn't know if Nalia told him what happened, so she would. "Aaron, something happened when you cast the spell to stabilize the link between here and Alagaësia." Aaron faced her, his eyes much clearer than before, but confused. "Something blocked any of us from sending you energy. If Weiss didn't have her glyph active at the same time, you… wouldn't be here at all."

"What?" Aaron looked at Nalia again. Ruby's heart fell. That wasn't a good sign. He grimaced. "Did work?"

"I… don't know." Ruby pulled out the disconnected Scroll from a pocket and checked the time. Her bionic eye was synched to the CCT, and her Scroll before she went to the other side. Any time difference would show there. Both clocks showed the same time, and the seconds changed simultaneously. "It looks like it did. I hope we didn't just mess things up for someone somewhere. There's probably an episode of Professor Who where something like this happened."

Aaron looked at Ruby again, but not her face. "Rrruuu… hair?"

"This?" Ruby ran her free hand through her hair. "I'm trying something new, growing it out. It's not as long as I want it yet, but it's getting there." She felt her cheeks burn and she sunk her head in between her shoulders. "Do you like it?"

"Yes, but…how long?"

Ruby looked away. Something told her he didn't mean her hair length. "A month."

"A month?" Aaron tried to sit up and pull his left hand back.

Ruby kept his hand in her left and used her right to push Aaron back onto the bed. "Don't move. Stay down. Save your strength."

"Stay down? I've… a month…" Aaron clenched his eyes and brought his right hand to his face. "Words… hard."

"Yeah… that happens when you're in a coma for so long." Ruby turned her head to the window. One of Nalia's eyes almost filled the whole thing. "I take it you're doing what you can to help?"

 _Of course, but mental injuries aren't easy._ Nalia whimpered. _There's… a lot wrong._

"Maybe…" Ruby bit her lip and faced Aaron. She had an idea, but she didn't know if he would be okay with it. "Aaron, you let me know your True Name in Alagaësia. Can I… say it? It might help you out."

"I…" Aaron held his head in his right hand again. "I did…" He looked at Ruby again. "Can you?"

Ruby got out of her chair and leaned over the bed, right by Aaron's ear, still not letting go of Aaron's hand. She whispered Aaron's true name directly into his ear. He shivered and his Aura flared green. Ruby finished and pulled away. Aaron's Aura still flared but it wasn't as intense. "Any better?"

"Much." Aaron sighed and his Aura became transparent again. "But… words still hard."

"Then why don't I do the talking and tell you everything you've missed?" Ruby sat back in her chair. Aaron just nodded. Ruby began with saying what happened directly after Aaron went into his coma. As much as Ozpin probably wanted to keep the relics a secret, Aaron was second in command of the Riders… and Ruby refused to keep that secret from him. Then she talked about how the team was forced to go their separate ways and as much of their separate stories as she could get.

As Ruby was describing her first mission since coming back, Cerise returned with Yang and Viki. When she finished her story, she squeezed Aaron's hand. "Aaron, Viki's here. She's been here almost as much as I have, and I'm sure she has a lot to say to you too."

Seconds later the door to the room opened and Yang stepped in. She held the door open and Viki entered the room. Aaron stared at the newcomers. "Yang, who's this?"

Viki's eyes watered. "Aaron, it's me. Viki."

Aaron's jaw dropped and he looked his sister up and down. "Viki?"

Ruby finally let go of Aaron's hand and stood up. "I'll give you two some time." She walked around the bed and past Yang. Her sister closed the door behind them.

"Well?" Yang leaned against the wall. "How is he?"

"Mixed." Ruby shook her head. "He's confused, he's having trouble speaking, and he has some memory loss… but he's awake. That's a huge improvement."

* * *

Aaron stared at his sister, unable to put words to what he was thinking, for multiple reasons. Viki did not look at all like she did in Ellesméra. Gone were the slave clothes and elven dress, replaced by jeans, a light long sleeve shirt, and a vest. Her hair was clean and shiny, almost as much as Weiss' typically was, and it now grazed her shoulders at its longest. Her face had gotten a lot of color too, and it looked like she gained a lot of weight. The straps of a backpack hung over her shoulders. Not that Aaron was complaining, but what happened?

Viki approached the right side of Aaron's bed and sat in a chair there, setting her backpack to the side. She reached out and grabbed the closest hand. "Hi, Aaron."

"Viki, you…" Aaron shook his head and looked out the window. His dragon's visible eye was locked on him. "Nalia, help?"

 _Of course._ Nalia hummed and slowly blinked, sending waves of happiness into Aaron's head. When she opened her eye, she looked right at Viki. _He means to say you look wonderful._

Viki smiled, and it wasn't forced like so many he had seen. It held real happiness, and it reached her eyes. That wasn't even there around the dragons before. "Thank you." She ran a hand over an ear, pushing her hair back. "I've had help. I didn't get this way on my own."

"Who?" Aaron looked Viki over again. "How?"

"Well, all my clothes came from Coco. Yang taught me how to take care of my hair, and... I think she called it personal hygiene. Really, everyone who lives in the house has helped in a big way. But Ruby…" Viki nodded and her smile grew, which wouldn't have been possible the last time Aaron saw his sister. "Ruby has done so much. She said that she was the one who got Coco and the others to help, and no one has said anything different. Every morning when she's in the house, she makes sure I'm feeling okay. She's actually made _me_ breakfast most days.

"The first day I was here, I told Ruby I didn't know how to read or write. I don't even think she hesitated to offer to teach me how to do those. We were at Vacuo Roadhouse at the time. She read the whole menu for me, several times. So many books followed after that. I'm starting to read some of them by myself, without help. Whenever I make it through a page, she gets so happy and hugs me. I think Cerise once said that she's my personal cheerleader.

Viki's eyes watered. "Every time we're in the same room, she's right there, talking to me like she does with everyone else. She's so happy all the time, and I think she wants me to be like that too." She wiped an arm over her eyes. "I don't know what I did to deserve this, but… Is this what having a sister feels like?"

"It's what… she's like." Aaron said. He flicked his eyes toward Nalia. _More help?_

Nalia hummed. _Ruby tries to help everyone she knows, in the best way she can. She may not know what you went through, but she knows better than most others._

Aaron stared at his dragon. "Ruby… knows?"

 _Yes._ Nalia's eyes dilated and her ears fell. _You know._ Aaron just stared. _The Nevermores? The North Sanus Mountains?_

"What do you mean?"

Nalia whimpered. _Aaron…_ She dove deep into Aaron's head. He felt her searching through everything, gently at first, but after a while it began to hurt. _It has to be in here… It has to be in here… You have to remember that…_

"Nalia, what…"

 _Aaron,_ her visible eye locked with her Rider's, _Ruby and Cerise were kidnapped shortly after we met them. Ruby has bionic body parts because of what happened there… I'm trying to find anything else you can't remember._

"Memory… magic… hard." Aaron leaned back into his pillow, then faced Viki. "You…read?"

"I can," Viki said, "just not very well yet."

Aaron blinked. "Show me?"

Viki's smile almost broke off her face. "I can. I actually have a book with me." She unzipped the backpack and pulled out a book titled _Go, Cat Go!_ "Just bear with me. I'm a little slow." She opened the book and started reading aloud. Her words were disjointed and she said several a few times before moving on, but Aaron could understand what she was saying. It was like hearing a child read aloud. And Viki was happy with it. Her smile never left her face.

It took a while, but Viki made it through the whole book. As soon as she closed the back cover, the door opened and Ruby stepped in. "I heard all that, Viki." She took a step forward and pounced on Viki, encasing her in a hug. "I'm so proud of you."

Viki returned the hug. "Thank you, Ruby."

The Rider pulled away, then walked to the other side of the bed. She sat down in her previous chair and grabbed Aaron's hand. "I guess I was telling you before you woke up. She is so much better, and she's getting better every day. She's…" Ruby trailed off and her eyes widened as Aaron lifted her hand.

Aaron's arm shook as he brought Ruby's hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. _Nalia, help with words._ He looked Ruby in the eyes as Nalia flooded more of herself into her Rider's mind. "Thank you… for… taking… care of… Viki."

Ruby squeezed Aaron's hand. "Both of you are very welcome. I've done what I could, and I'll continue to do so."

Aaron stared into Ruby's eyes for a few more seconds, then he noticed the other person in the room. Yang leaned against the wall at the foot of the bed. The blonde Rider smirked. "I guess you can take the Alagaësian out of Alagaësia, but you can't take the Alagaësia out of the Alagaësian. How ya feeling, Aaron?"

"Bad." Aaron narrowed his eyes. Something was off about Yang. "You look… different."

"Probably the hair." Yang stroked the one silver streak. "I… decided to keep it… Wait, weren't you around when that happened?"

Aaron looked away. "Maybe."

 _He's lost some of his memories,_ Nalia said, _some of them fairly important ones._

"Like what?" Ruby turned toward the window.

 _What really happened in the North Sanus Mountains, the Battle of Beacon… Everything from leaving Ellesméra to now._

Ruby faced Aaron again and her lower lip trembled. "Who won the two Vytal Festival Tournaments our team was a part of?"

"You… I don't know." Aaron shook his head. He knew he should know, but he couldn't think of it."

"Where did we go to school?"

"Beacon."

"Who is now King of Alagaësia?"

Aaron clenched his eyes and brought a hand to his head. The Traitor was dead. Ruby killed him. Who took his place? "Don't… know."

Ruby's gaze drifted to Aaron's right shoulder. She put a hand on his arm just below the sleeve. "What is under my hand and this sleeve?"

Aaron looked away. "Kills." He killed so many people… Why couldn't he forget any of that?

Ruby's hand trailed back down Aaron's arm to his hand. "I guess we'll have to help you remember as time goes on."

"Well, if the mood's swinging back," Yang pushed herself off the wall and picked something off the table on wheels. "Dad wanted you to get this as soon as possible." She handed over a small stack of paper. "It would be best to fill that out as soon as possible."

Aaron grabbed the stack and looked at the top page. The title read 'Application to date my daughter.' He stared at the rest of it. "What?" Things were strange on Remnant.

"Need help?" Ruby leaned over and looked at the paper. She tried and failed to hold back a laugh. "Well, that's a thing. Aaron, you don't really need to fill this out... unless you want the joke with this to continue." She flipped a page and her face turned as red as her cape. "Seriously, I'll recycle this right now if you don't want to worry about this."

Aaron stared at the paper. "Not… real?"

"What? No! No. This is not legally binding. It's a joke that started quite a few years ago. I think it started as a joke, anyway."

"Oh." Aaron shrugged then stared up at the ceiling. "What I… miss?"

"Quite a bit." Yang shook her head and leaned against the wall again. "This could take a while." For once, Yang did most of the talking. Ruby and Viki added things at some points, but they mostly sat quietly, each of them holding one of Aaron's hands. It was… a lot to take in. Aaron wasn't even sure if he remembered what was said at the beginning.

After the nurse came in and changed Aaron's IV, Ruby looked between her chair and Aaron's bed. She bit her lip and repeated the process several times. She shrugged and stood up. "I don't think the nurses would mind too much." She positioned herself at the side of the bed and… climbed over. Her side ended up laying right next to Aaron's left arm, and her head resting on his shoulder.

Aaron stiffened and stared straight ahead. This was... new, or at least he thought it was. Judging by the surprise that rolled off Nalia, at least she hadn't seen it. Yang laughed. "You better get used to this, Aaron. Ruby's a total cuddler. She'll do this whenever she gets the chance."

"And how do you know this?" Ruby shot back.

"I've known you your whole life, and…" Yang pointed at Viki, "I've seen you around her this past month."

"True." Ruby wiggled closer to Aaron.

"Uh, Ruuu?" Aaron groaned.

"Yeah?" Ruby lifted her head off Aaron's shoulder.

"Arm…" Aaron moved his arm as best as he could, but that wasn't saying much.

"Oh! Sorry." Ruby wiggled away till her back hit the railing. Aaron lifted his arm and brought it down behind his girlfriend. Ruby's face lit up, and she wriggled back to her previous position, only she nuzzled her head in closer. "I don't know about you, but I'm comfortable here."

Aaron let his head loll to the side and onto the top of Ruby's. "Same."

* * *

 **Yeah, Ruby's a total cuddler. Absolutely no one is surprised.**


	12. Old Feelings

**So, this past weekend I found this Anime called How to Keep a Mummy, and my gosh, it is so cute! It also make me wish even more I spent more time with hatchling Cerise... So much more adorableness...  
**

* * *

Ruby hefted Crescent Rose off the workbench and looked it over. If felt as heavy as she remembered it, and all the paint and mechanisms looked to be in place. She flicked a switch and it all compacted down into travel form. Nothing grated against each other, and it was faster than before. She extended her old weapon once more, and nothing popped off.

"Only a few more things to test." Ruby grabbed an ammo mag from the bench and left the shed. She walked a ways into the woods around her house and made her way to her makeshift firing range, a rock with a target carved into it. She aimed at the exact center of the target. The new auto-scope zeroed in and showed exactly where the bullet would land, not that the spells she added to the gun would let her miss anymore. She pulled the trigger and a single round flew out the barrel. A new hole appeared dead center in the rock with a plume of smoke.

Satisfied with the first shot, Ruby fired fourteen more times at the rock. She inspected the places she had to repair her scythe. Nothing popped out of place and nothing was worn down. With that out of the way, she set her sights on a nearby tree. She charged it and sliced at the trunk a few feet off the ground. She faced her target expecting to see it falling over. Surprisingly, the tree still stood. The Rider blew on the tree, and then the trunk separated from the stump. It landed and kicked up a cloud of dirt.

"Crescent Rose," Ruby raised her first weapon in front of her, "I missed you, sweetheart." She hugged her weapon and started the walk back to her house. "I'm sorry I let you be cut like that. I failed you. But you're back now. I have to introduce you to your sister, Máni Bláto. She's made completely of brightsteel and magic, some of which I put into you too. I think you'll like each other."

Ruby continued to talk to her beloved weapon all the way back to the house. Cerise lay in the front yard with a dragon's best attempt at a smirk on her face. _I believe this is is where Yang would say get a room._

"Bleh!" Ruby stuck her tongue out and shivered. _"Not_ about my babies! Don't put that image in my head."

Cerise laughed at her Rider. _Then I won't say that in reference to your weapons._

"Please, don't make that joke at all…" Ruby folded Crescent Rose back up to travel form and hooked it to her belt. She pushed her way into the house and checked if anyone was in the living room. Viki sat watching VNN, which was running a story on how the lasers on Atlas battleships were being installed on more ships, and even… Paladins.

Ruby looked at Crescent Rose, then back to the projection. It showed a Paladin with a cannon on its arm shoot a laser at a mock up Deathstalker. The fake Grimm exploded and the concrete wall behind it shattered as well. The Rider looked back at her weapon, with gears turning in her head. "Crescent Rose, how would you like to be Remnant's first laser sniper rifle?"

Viki turned her head back. "What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. Just planning future upgrades to my weapons." Ruby skipped up the stairs and down the hall to her room. She had some research to do. She pushed the door open to her room. Yang sat on her bed holding her head in her hands. "Sis, you okay?"

Yang shook her head, keeping her hands glued to the sides. "Weiss summoned Halcyon again… He's still there."

Ruby jumped to her sister's bed and latched onto her. Yang freed her arms and returned the favor, only much harder. "I'm here, Yang. I'm here." Ruby rubbed her sister's back. "He'll be here too. You'll be back together in no time."

"I know," Yang said through clenched teeth. "That's not what I'm worried about… It's been a while. It's coming any second. He's going to…" Yang gasped and curled over as far as Ruby let her. She groaned and tried to break free. "He's gone… he's gone…"

"No, he's not. He's in Atlas with Weiss. You'll bring him home before you know it."

"I didn't get to say anything to him… He didn't get to say anything to me… Oh my gosh, how hard is this for him? I've never asked."

"I'm sure he's more worried about you. To him, it's only been a few hours, right? You've been his only concern since then."

"What if this doesn't work?" Yang shook her head. "What if it ends up killing him for good?"

"Yang," Ruby pulled back and turned Yang's head so they looked into each other's eyes. "Don't say things like that. Don't think so negative." She mentally switched languages. _"Dr. Polendina and Weiss will figure out how to bring Halcyon back. He will get his artificial EldunarÍ. You two will be happy together again. I'm looking forward to the two of you making fun of me and Aaron again."_

Yang stared at Ruby and her mouth hung open. "You really think so?"

" _Would I be able to say this if I didn't?"_

Yang's throat visibly constricted. "Thanks, Ruby." She hugged Ruby again, even tighter than last time. She sobbed over her sister's shoulder as she got a mini back rub. Ruby hummed as Yang got quieter. Irolon had to be saying something too.

After a while, Yang pulled away and ran an arm under her eyes. "Thanks guys. I needed that."

"No problem. If you need anything, I'll be right over there doing research." Ruby pointed to her desk. She set Crescent Rose on her dresser beside Máni Bláto, then sat at her desk to start her initial research. Unsurprisingly, there wasn't anything on her first search. Atlas probably didn't want anybody building their own versions of their strongest weapon. Well too bad for them. And since Ruby couldn't see any of their specs, it would be completely her design, and they couldn't sue her.

Her Scroll rang while she was watching her third video of the _Vytal_ firing on Grimm. She looked at the caller ID and answered the call. "Hey dad."

" _Hey, Ruby. How's it going there?"_

"For me, Crescent Rose is back together, and I'm researching how to make lasers like Atlas has. And Yang's…" Ruby looked back at her sister. Yang laid on her bed staring up at the ceiling. "Weiss summoned Halcyon again. She's not in the best place."

Her dad stayed silent for a few seconds. _"Oh. Anything I can do?"_

Ruby faced her research again. "Call and ask her later. That's something she needs to say, not me."Ruby paused. "So you coming home early?"

" _Uh, no, but this does have to do with school."_ Papers shuffled on the other side of the line. _"Remember when you had to sign up for a Huntsman mentor in your first year at Signal?"_

"I chose Uncle Qrow right away. I take it quite a few people asked for me?"

" _You, Yang, Pyrrha, Velvet, all the heavy hitters in the three teams. Something tells me that you'll recognize someone who requested you. Violet Calrow."_

Ruby took her focus off her research. "When's the first session?"

" _I'll put you down for her. As for the first session, her physical training time starts in fifteen minutes. I can have her meet you in the selection armory."_

"That works. Is there anything I should know before I go in?"

" _There's a handbook that I'm legally required to tell you about and send you, but I'm not sure how many people use it. I looked through it recently, and honestly, I'm starting to see it's outdated. No wonder Qrow wanted to get rid of it when he worked here."_

"You gotta admit, Uncle Qrow knows what he's talking about."

" _Yeah. The old bird's hardly ever wrong."_

"Aren't you two the same age?"

" _Touché. I'm sending you the handbook now."_ A blue envelope appeared in the right side of Ruby's vision.

"Just got it. I'll be there as soon as I can."

" _I'm sure Violet'll be glad to hear that. Talk to you later. Bye."_

"Bye." Ruby hung up then grabbed her weapons and hooked them both to her belt. "Cerise, you hear all that?"

 _Yes._ Cerise hummed again. _Little Violet's all grown up._

"She's thirteen. I'd hardly call that grown up." Ruby picked up Crescent Rose, left her room, and walked toward the front door. "We'll have to swing by the hospital to tell Aaron and Nalia we'll be a little late, but I think they'll understand." She told Viki where she was going before heading out the front door. Cerise knelt right outside and her Rider jumped directly into the saddle.

As discussed, Cerise flew toward the hospital before Signal. Nalia no longer had her face pressed against the side of the building. Instead, she sprawled out in the grass beside the hospital. She looked up at Cerise. _You two are early._

 _Not exactly,_ Cerise responded. _A student at Signal chose Ruby as their Huntsman mentor. We're just here to say that we're going to be late._

Nalia's head drooped. _Aaron wants to get out of the hospital. He's had enough time in there._

 _And we want to take him home._ Ruby shook her head. _We will in an hour or two, but the sooner Violet starts her weapons training, the better._

 _Violet?_ Nalia raised her ears and wings. _That changes things. I'll let Aaron know what's going on._ She rested her head on the ground again and faced the hospital.

Cerise turned toward the other side of downtown and flew toward Signal. Only a couple of minutes later, she landed in the grassy area to the east of the main building. Ruby dismounted and looked around her old high school. Not much had changed, except the light posts had been switched out for the translucent kind seen in parts of downtown Vale. So many good memories in such a small time… if only her 'friends' from here didn't turn out to be jerkfaces.

She shook her head and walked toward the armory, or what passed for one at a combat school anyway. It didn't have any inhouse firearms at all, but it had at least one of almost every melee weapon ever invented. For prospective Huntsmen and Huntresses, that's what they needed at this stage.

Ruby walked in the front door. As expected, quite a few teenagers roamed among the racks. Most of them looked her way and whispered to each other. The Rider looked among the assembled faces as well. She didn't see Violet in the main room, but then again, she was a few minutes early.

She made her way to the training section of the armory and pushed the door open. A single girl sat on the opposite side of the room, and one of her extra ears was red. Violet wore some dark blue jeans and a light purple jacket over a red Frying Pan t-shirt. She looked up from her Scroll and her eyes met Ruby's. A huge smile broke over her face. "Ruby!" She stood up from her bench and jogged over.

"Hey there, little 'yote." Ruby knelt down and met the girl in a hug. "It's good to see you again." She pulled away and looked Violet up and down. "Frying Pan, huh? Good band."

"I know, right?" Viki held her arms out to her sides. "They are _so_ under appreciated."

"I completely agree." Ruby stepped back and crossed her arms. "So, you want to be a Huntress?"

"Yes!" Violet didn't hesitate for a second. "I've wanted to for a long time!"

That… didn't sound right. "Can you tell be why?"

This time, Violet hesitated. "Well, I, uh, want to be like you… and…" her head and ears drooped. "I don't want anyone to feel like I did. I want to be a Huntress detective. I can do so much more that way."

And _that_ was more than any thirteen year old should have to know. "Violet, I can tell you this now." Ruby rested a hand on the girl's shoulder. "If you want to be just like me, you're holding yourself back." Violet tilted her head up and her mouth hung open. "Truth be told, I wanted to be like either of my parents or my Uncle. Two of them told me the same thing. Everyone has their flaws, and some of them are huge handicaps. If others try to take them on, it doesn't go well. That, and the world would be a very boring place if everyone was trying to be the same person."

Violet's shoulders slumped. "Okay…"

"But that other part," Ruby squeezed Viki's shoulder, "that is something to build on." _I just wish you didn't have the reason._

"With that said," Ruby straightened up, "what kind of weapon were you looking at, or were you looking at any?"

Violet trailed a foot on the ground. "A massive sniper-scythe…"

"I think I know which one you're talking about." Ruby unhooked Crescent Rose from her belt and extended it to scythe form. "I know what I just said about copying people, but with weapons, you never know. My Uncle Qrow uses a scythe, and my mom had a sniper. For me, they worked well together."

"Really?" Violet looked between the weapon and the Rider. "I can use your weapon?"

"In here, yes." Ruby handed over one of her two prized possessions. She showed Violet how to properly hold the weapon, then took a few steps back. "Okay, show me what you got."

Violet blinked and looked at the weapon in her hands. "Aren't you going to show me how to use it?"

Ruby shook her head. "The weapon chooses the Huntress. You'll know if a scythe isn't the right weapon for you with a few swings." She turned around and walked to the room's control panel. She activated a simple program that made a dozen immobile holographic Beowolves appear in the room. "Okay. Clear the room, and we'll see about this."

"Okay…" Violet faced the targets and rushed them, or it looked like she tried to anyway. Her charge ended up more like a jog. She reached the first Beowolf and swung Crescent Rose around. The barrel of the weapon struck the hologram's side, and moved with the weapon. Violet almost spun completely around before the blade cut through the Beowolf.

The rest of the dozen holograms ended up in much the same way, except the one Violet speared through the head. She was slow the whole time, her strikes never confident. It was like she was moving through syrup. She never figured out the range she needed, and she needed to pull the weapon just a bit to cut through. But through all of that, she didn't sweat, she didn't pant, and she didn't slow down, not that she could get much slower.

As the last hologram disappeared, Violet shook her head and returned to Ruby's side. "I don't think a scythe is for me." She handed the weapon back over. "It's too big. I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about." Ruby took her weapon and checked the point. It wasn't bent or dulled in the slightest. Her new wards were holding on the old head. She collapsed her weapon and hooked it to her belt. "I went through quite a few weapons myself before I settled on a scythe. I tried my fists like my dad and Yang, but I was a terrible fist fighter, and honestly, I still am. Then I tried a buster sword like my uncle, but it just wasn't right. A scythe fit me perfectly."

Ruby faced the weapon wall. "So, if Crescent Rose was too big…" She scanned the weapons for something that would fit the style she just saw. Two weapons caught her eye, but she dismissed one of them. She picked a hand-and-a-half sword off the wall, not too different from Redemption in weight and length. "Try a sword. They're pretty common, and unless the curriculum has changed since I've been here, you'll be using swords like this in basic training classes, and then I'll help you with whatever weapon you end up using for real." She held the blade flat in her hands and held it out to Violet.

Her student took the weapon and returned to where she stood before Ruby activated the first holograms. The Rider activated the same program and more Beowolves spawned. Violet ran at the lead hologram and slashed through it. From there she jumped toward the second and cut off it's head. It wasn't a clean transition by any means, or clean strikes, but it was the first time she used the weapon. But as she cut through the remaining holograms, Ruby noticed how close to the hilt her student's strikes were. Only when Violet jabbed at one of the Grimm did she use the blade's full length. Her arms looked like they wanted to separate as well. Even though she was more comfortable with this weapon, it still wasn't _the_ one.

Again, Violet shook her head when she killed the last hologram. She walked back toward Ruby. "To long?" the Rider asked before Violet opened her mouth.

Violet's head sunk between her shoulders. "That obvious?"

"To the trained eye, yes. A few years ago I would have thought you found your weapon. It also looked like you wanted to be using two weapons at points in there." Ruby took the sword back and hung it in its place. She looked over the wall again. "Let's see, up close, but not close enough to go weaponless. Small enough to be used in one hand. Dual short swords… a one handed sword and a shield…"

Her eyes drifted back to the weapon she discarded before. She now realized why the draw there was so strong. Tonfa, the batons favored by the police in Vale. There were two of them, which covered the dual wielding. They were blunt and rounded, which might be why Ruby discarded them so quickly. They'd be unusual for Huntress weapons, but then again, so was gardening and farming equipment.

Convinced, Ruby grabbed the handles of both tonfa and spun them around in her hands. These would work. She shifted her grip to the front end on both weapons and held them out to her student. "Try these. I have a good feeling about them."

Violet grabbed the handles and held the weapons at her sides. She also spun the weapons in her hands a few times and stopped them with the long end parallel with her forearms. The edges of her lips twitched upward, but they returned to their former positions. "They aren't too heavy."

"Too light can be a problem too." Ruby ran the same program once more. "Show me what you got."

Her student spun the tonfa so the long end was facing out. Violet ran forward and slammed both weapons into the first Beowolf's head, She spun away from that one and swiped the legs out from under another one. She tried jumping for a third but fell flat on her face. It took a few seconds, but she pushed herself up and continued through the rest of them. As time continued, Ruby felt her own smile grow. While not a master or even skilled by any means, Violet was comfortable with the weapons. _That_ was what mattered.

Violet jabbed the sharper short end into the last Beowolf's eye, then stepped back. She looked at the weapons and nodded. "I like these." She turned around and faced Ruby. "I _really_ like these."

"I could tell." Ruby approached her student. "While you were flailing all over the place, you were comfortable with them, and you adjusted with them during the fight, something you didn't do with the other two…" She paused. "And do you know what went wrong when you fell?"

Violet winced. "I got overconfident. I tried to be fancy like you."

"Exactly. The fact that you know what you're doing wrong means you're ages in front of me." Ruby brought out her Scroll and looked at the handbook her dad sent her. "How long until your next class?"

Violet looked at the clock on the wall. "Forty-five minutes."

"Okay then. I'll talk with the quartermaster here and see if I can rent a set for myself." Ruby walked toward the door, but stopped before leaving. "Hey Violet? Do you watch Mellen DeWinfrey?"

"Sometimes, why?"

"I'm going to be on her show tomorrow. They gave me a few tickets for friends and family, but Weiss is stuck in Atlas, and Blake can't make it from Menagerie. If you're interested…"

Violet's jaw dropped. "Umm, yes. Please."

"They're all digital. I'll send you an email." Ruby left the room and she walked toward the quartermaster. As she crossed the room, she watched a few students look at various weapons. _Not the sword, try the sai… Nunchucks, those'll work… Steady, strong arms, try a buster sword with a sniper…_ She froze in place at the quartermaster's desk. Was she really judging what weapons she thinks students should use? She looked around the floor again. Some students she thought had the right weapon with a few modifications, others weren't even close. She held a smile in, or at least she hoped she did. Maybe being the swordsmith for the Riders wouldn't be so difficult after all.

* * *

Aaron stared at himself in the mirror. There was… something wrong with what he saw. His green hat and jacket looked right. The t-shirt Ruby brought him was different, but that wasn't it either. He ran a hand over his chin. "Nalia, did I have a… beard?"

 _No, you didn't._ Nalia hummed. _You shaved every morning. You didn't like how it felt on your face._

"Really?" Aaron turned his head from side to side. "This feels weird like this."

 _I'm just saying what you've thought in the past. This could be one of those things that you have a change in._

"At least I didn't wake up speaking only in the Ancient Language." Aaron sighed, then sat down on his bed. "This is… too much."

 _Aaron,_ Nalia pressed her head up against the window, making most of the room shine green, _we are helping as much as we can._

"I know." Aaron raised his right hand and watched it shake uncontrollably. "How long until I can get out of here?"

 _Ruby is filling out the paperwork now. You'll be out of there within the hour._ Nalia's visible eye slowly blinked. _Then you aren't leaving my side for a long time. You are mine until I decide to let you go._

"As long as I'm not in here." Aaron let his arm fall. Something else didn't make sense to him, but with what was going on the past few days, what did make sense? "Why is _Ruby_ signing me out, not me?"

Nalia looked away. _You… can't think clearly for yourself. Your memory is not all there._

"What are you talking about?"

 _When you woke up this morning, you thought you were in your second year at Beacon. Don't you remember that?_

"Yeah, but I pulled out of it."

 _How long has it been for us since Vroengard fell?_ Nalia looked straight at her Rider.

"What are you talking about? Vroengard stands as it always has." Aaron winced and held his head. "No… that's… how…" The harder he thought about it, the more it didn't make sense. They killed Galbatorix for what he did to the Riders… but he did _nothing_ to the Riders?

Nalia whimpered. _This is why your team leader is signing you out. If you're seeing things and can't remember huge parts of your life… it was better to keep you in here where they can keep an eye on you._

Aaron grunted and looked away. "The sooner I get out of here the better."

About a minute later, the door opened and Ruby stepped in. "You're all set. Let's get you out of here."

"About time." Aaron stood up and wobbled on his feet. Was there an earthquake?

Ruby pounced forward and caught Aaron before he fell. "You okay?" She righted him and took a few steps back, her arms still out.

"I'm…." Aaron brought a hand to his head. Why couldn't he think?

"Are you sure you don't want a wheelchair?"

"No…" Aaron shook his head. "No… wheel. Just… time."

Ruby looked out the window at Nalia. "Well?"

 _He will straighten out in about a minute, with some help from me._ Nalia's mind flooded into Aaron's, making him regain his balance

"Thanks." Aaron brought a hand to his head again. "That's not going to get easier for quite a while, is it?"

"No." Ruby grabbed one of Aaron's hands. "But you've got us to help you out. You didn't abandon me when I had my own mental problems, I'm not abandoning you." She took a step toward the door, pulling Aaron with her.

As they walked through the hospital, something else came to Aaron's mind. "Why didn't you use magic to wake me up?"

Ruby dipped her head. "We couldn't risk it, for more than one reason. For one, waking people up from a coma is the first place is risky. You… knew that at one point. The real reason…" Ruby bit her lip and looked around. "I know magic isn't as much of a secret anymore, but I don't want to say around so many people." She led the way through the lobby and out the front doors.

Off to the side, Nalia hummed high and long. Aaron faced his dragon and looked her up and down. Her pupils dilated to their fullest extent. Her wings and ears stood on end. _Aaron._ She walked forward, though her emotions said she wanted to pounce.

"It's good to see you again." Aaron walked away from Ruby and toward his dragon. Nalia bent her neck down so her eyes were level with Aaron. The Rider wrapped his arms around his dragon's snout, and she wrapped her wings around both of them. "I missed this." He put all his weight on his dragon's snout.

 _As did I._ Nalia hummed again and closed her eyes. She sent even more of her emotions into her Rider. Wave after wave of happiness, concern, and sadness rolled off her and into Aaron. _I missed you._

"And I, you." Aaron laid on his dragon's snout for quite some time. Laying on hard scale was surprisingly comfortable. Then again, it belonged to Nalia, so that probably made all the difference.

After a while, Nalia raised her head, forcing Aaron to his feet. _While I would love to keep you to myself for a little longer, there are others who want to see you._ She pulled her wings back, laid on her belly, and extended a leg. _Climb on._

Aaron climbed up the offered leg and settled in the saddle. This was another thing that felt completely right. Redemption was hooked to the side of the saddle. Seeing his weapon comforted him in a strange way. Then again, maybe he got that bit from Ruby too. He looked through the saddlebags to see if he'd forgotten about anything in there too. There was some food, his V4, extra ammo, a map, a repair kit and… He nearly fell off Nalia's back. "Nalia, why is there an egg in here?"

Nalia turned her head around and nuzzled the bag. _It's one of mine and Irolon's._ She looked up and locked eyes with her Rider. _I have two more on the other side. Well, one anyway. One of them hatched!_ She stomped on the ground with all four legs. _I'm officially a mother! I thought I'd never see the day._

"Hatched…" Aaron smiled and rubbed Nalia's snout. "Have you seen the hatchling yet?

… _No._ Nalia looked away. _I couldn't leave your side. Ruby and Cerise offered to show me memories of him, but I don't want to spoil myself._

"Then why don't we go now?"

 _No!_ Nalia's eyes contracted to slits, then dilated back to normal size. _No. Not until you've recovered. I am not going without you, and I'm not taking you long distances until you can think, walk, and talk normally again._

"Then why don't you lend me your energy? That could fix it." Aaron blinked. "Why haven't you, anyway?"

Nalia's ears drooped. _I'll let Ruby explain that. She's been investigating it._ She walked over to Cerise, who stood at the edge of the tree line.

Ruby had already mounted her dragon. She looked over at Aaron. "You ready to head home?"

"Yeah, but… you and Nalia said you have reasons for not waking me up before."

"Oh… that." Ruby hung her head. "Let's talk on the move." Cerise walked into the trees and Nalia followed. "When you cast the spell to stabilize the timestreams, which is a whole 'nother story, you were cut off from all of us and the Eldunarí. We couldn't send you energy. We still can't."

Aaron stared at Ruby. "How? Was there something in the spell?"

"No." Ruby hesitated, then sighed. "There was a gem hidden in the scroll the spell was in. It isolated anyone who cast the spell so they couldn't have any help. It drained pretty much all your energy... and stopped your heart. Ren made a Dust defib and restarted it, but I guess it wasn't enough. You weren't getting enough oxygen to your brain, which is why you were in a coma and you can't remember some things. At least that's what I've found in research. I'm not a doctor.

"We've been trying to crack the spell that did that to you. But we haven't had any luck. We've run everything we can think of on the gem and you, but we can't find _how_ you're being blocked, and we can't fix it until we do. I'm sorry Aaron, but this is the hand we've been dealt."

"So…" Aaron looked at his lap. "It was a trap?"

"It looks like it." Ruby looked over at Aaron. "Does any of this ring a bell?"

Aaron shook his head. "No."

Nalia turned her head back and looked at her Rider. _Aaron, listen to me. You are not to use any magic until you are stable. You are not going to exert yourself until you can stand without shaking. You are going to relax. I know this will be hard, but you will not be without help for a long time._

Aaron grimaced. "As long as I'm not eating through a tube and I can use the bathroom on my own."

 _At least you're being sensible._ Nalia nudged Aaron's left leg. _Just enjoy the ride. That's an order._

"I don't think I have a choice." Aaron paused and looked to Ruby. "I've been watching VNN at the hospital, and they're talking a lot about the assassin who killed Weiss' father. They show his mugshot every time. I think I've seen him before, but I can't remember where. Nalia doesn't know either."

Ruby dipped her head then looked away. "I've never met him, but you told me about him."

 _Do not speak!_ Nalia growled.

"No!" Ruby turned her head back to Nalia. "No. No more secrets." She locked eyes with Aaron. "You met him at least once. He was the one who ran the night you added your first scars here."

Aaron let his shoulders drop. It all came back to him. His head dropped beneath its own weight. Why could he remember the events surrounding all his kills so well? "I… I did this."

"No, you didn't," Ruby and Nalia said at the same time. "Aaron, you didn't turn him into a killer," Ruby continued. "You let a scared kid go that night. You defended yourself from the real bad guys, even though it hurt you. No one wanted what happened that night.

"Aaron, you're a good guy. You don't like fighting, you like hurting and killing people even less. Heck, you don't even like killing Grimm. If you ask me, that makes you a better person than I'll ever be. I love that about you. Aaron, don't beat yourself over this. Odds are he was already down that path. There was nothing you could do."

"That's supposed to make it better?" Aaron shook his head.

"Yes. You aren't a killer. You're a defender. You're a protector… But you can't save everyone." Ruby looked down at her dragon and patted Cerise' side. The red dragon slowed to walk by Nalia's side. Ruby stood up and jumped onto Nalia's back behind Aaron. She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you Aaron. I won't let you go back down that hole."

Aaron sighed and didn't return Ruby's gesture. "You're going to have your work cut out for you."

"I don't care. When you get back to normal, it will be worth it."

* * *

 **In case people are wondering, Mellen is just Ellen, not a combination of Ellen and Oprah.  
**


	13. Mellen

**Uploading in another state today. Summit League basketball tournament pep band. We won the first game, lost the second, and now we're stuck thanks to the massive snowstorm in the center of the US. Not sure when we'll be able to head home... It's also why the spelling and grammar might have taken a dive. I'm away from my normal software I use to check it. Dang craptop... If it wasn't for you I'd have them!  
**

 **Oh, and the entire pep band is now married to the entire cheer team... Yep. That's a thing.**

* * *

The alarm on Ruby's Scroll screamed for her attention. She groaned and flailed around for the noise maker. Why did the thing always wake her up before she was ready? Her fingers found her Scroll, picked it off her dresser, and hit the off button. She sighed as she set her Scroll back in its previous spot. "Cerise, wake up. We got a big day ahead of us."

Cerise groaned outside. _So soon? I thought the show doesn't start till later._

"It doesn't." Ruby kicked her legs out of her bed and sat up. "But I want to do something for Aaron before we head out. That, and see if he wants to come too." She stood up and started to get dressed.

 _Point._ Cerise yawned and raised her head to Ruby's window. _Morning, by the way._

"Morning." Ruby finished getting dressed and grabbed Máni Bláto. Before leaving her room, she faced Yang, still asleep in her bed. "You'll bring Halcyon home. You have to." She pulled open the door and walked through. The smell of fresh pancakes wafted her way. That was weird. Her dad normally left for Signal at the crack of dawn, if not before. She passed Viki's room. Aaron's bed was empty, which was expected since he slept with Nalia… but Viki's bed was empty too.

Ruby sniffed the air. Various cleaners mixed with the pancakes. Her heart dropped. "No…" She ran down the hall and the stairs to the main floor. Viki was setting up three trays with plates and silverware while a fourth was piled high with pancakes, with warmed up maple syrup on the side. The floors and picture frames shone after being wiped down Everything in the living room was in its proper place after being a mess last night. Zwei lay in his bed, his head resting on the edge and ears drooped.… How long had Viki been working on this?

She looked over at Ruby and smiled. "Good morning, Ruby." She cleared her hands of butter knives and walked toward the Rider.

"Viki…" Ruby's vision turned watery and jumped forward. She brought Viki into a tight hug. "What happened? You haven't done this in a month. I thought you were past this."

Viki returned the hug, though hers was much gentler. "I am. I didn't do this because I had to. I did this because I wanted to."

Ruby stiffened. That sounded so genuine. She pulled back and looked Viki in the eyes. There was no fear in them, no sadness, none of those negative things that Ruby came to expect over the past few months. Ruby bit her lip. "Viki, you have every right to say no to this, but... can I see into your mind? I... don't undertand." She wouldn't do it without Viki's permission, but she _had_ to know what Viki thought of herself. Viki stayed silent for a few seconds, then nodded. Ruby gently touched her mind to her charge's. There was no fear, no sadness, only happiness and gratitude.

"You and everyone here have helped me out so much since you found me," Viki started. "I don't know what I did to deserve it. You all have treated me with such kindness I have never known. And now you've helped bring my brother back. I wanted to thank you for all you've done." Some of the sadness returned and Viki looked down. "I… don't know how to do anything else."

"This is perfectly fine, Viki." Ruby's heart fluttered. Viki fully believed in what she said. No double meanings… but there was still something Ruby had to know. "Did you feel forced to do this? Have you felt forced to do anything here?"

Viki shook her head. "No. You've all been so nice to me here. I… think this is how it feels to be free."

Again, no lies. Viki truly thought she was free. The dams behind Ruby's eyes broke. She pulled Viki into another tight hug, and this time it was returned in full. "I'm so happy for you, Viki." The two of them swayed together for a little bit, then Ruby pulled away. She looked at the table. "Three trays? I take it one of them's for Aaron?"

"Yeah. I think I heard you call it breakfast in bed."

"Yep!" Ruby picked up the central tray and one of the others. "Let's not keep him waiting. Cerise might have woken him up with her yawn." She walked toward the front door while Viki picked up the other two. She cast a simple spell and the door swung inward. The Rider left the house, followed by the recently free woman.

Cerise hummed as she walked around the house, her pupils wide and wings and ears raised. She approached Viki with her head at human level, but didn't touch. _Viki, I'm proud of how far you've come. You are an exceptional human being, and I cannot wait to see what you become._

Viki's cheeks burned red. "Thank you." She followed Ruby around to the back of the house. Nalia lay curled up in a ball with her head under a wing. She pulled her head out and looked at those incoming. She hummed and spread her body out a little more and made a human sized gap between her wing and her body wing. Ruby and Viki walked inside the living tent.

Aaron sat on his inflatable mattress with his back against Nalia's belly. His lower body was still under various blankets, while his upper was covered by the Beacon tank top he had since his freshman year. He looked up at the newcomers, his eyes semi-focused. "Morning."

"Morning!" Ruby chirped. She set the food filled tray on the ground, then sat down next to Aaron. "Viki figured you'd like breakfast in bed."

"Judging from what the others have said," Viki said as she sat on the other side of her brother, "hospital food is not the best tasting. Everytime someone here's made pancakes, they've been amazing. Especially Ren's."

Aaron stared at the stack in front of him, then back to his sister. "You made these?"

"Yes. It's the first time I've done it on my own, so they might not be the best."

"I'm sure they're great." Aaron reached out for some food, but his arms shook like an earthquake. He took them back and grimaced. "A little help?"

Ruby set her own fork and knife to the side and reached out for the pancakes herself. She grabbed three, then moved them to Aaron's plate. She grabbed three for herself then handed the syrup to her boyfriend. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Terrible." Aaron focused on his hand and his breakfast. He managed to keep it half stable when he doused his pancakes in syrup. "I woke up thinking I was in Ellesméra. I don't know when, but…" He shook his head as he handed the syrup over to Ruby. "I lost it. Then there's the constant headache."

"Maybe this will help." Ruby set the syrup on her tray and put a hand on the side of Aaron's head. She chanted in the Ancient Language and Aaron held in place. She finished and her boyfriend sighed. "Better?" Aaron just stuck a thumb up.

He picked up his fork and speared part of his breakfast. He stuffed it in his mouth and his eyes bulged. "Viki, these are great."

Ruby took her own first bite and she had to agree. "Move over, Ren. There's a new chef in town."

Viki blushed again. "Thank you. I've been told I'm a good cook." Her smile faded and she looked away. "It was one of my… selling points." Both Ruby and Aaron stared at her, waiting for something. Viki faced them again. "But you guys aren't them. From not on, I'll only cook for friends and family."

"That's one way to go about it." From there, the three humans, and occasionally the two dragons, talked about random things, mainly on what Aaron missed. A good chunk of the things he asked were things he already asked before. He remembered some things, so his memory wasn't completely shot.

But as time went on, Aaron grew frustrated, but not at the conversation. He dropped his fork several times, and it sometimes took a few tries to get the food in his mouth. Ruby worried for him. This was new for him, for any of them. Maybe Yang could help him. She knew more about this than Ruby hoped she ever would.

Aaron dropped his fork again. He growled, picked it up, and threw it toward Nalia's wing. He leaned forward and held his head in his hands. Nalia stuck her head under her wing, her eyes wide.

Ruby looked at the dragon, then back at Aaron. She rested a hand on his shoulder. "Aaron?"

"I can't even do this." Aaron straightened up but kept his hands in place. Water started to drip from his eyes. "If I can't do this, is there anything I can do?" He shook his head and rested it in his hands again.

"Aaron…" Ruby set her own food down, then leaned against Aaron. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head so it rested at the base of Aaron's own. "I know this is hard, but we're all here for you. Yang and I have gone through something like this ourselves. Nora's going through it right now. We're all here to talk, we're all willing to help."

"That's not the problem. I'm going to hold the rest of you back."

"Yang said something similar years ago, and I'm telling you the same thing. You will not hold us back. We will do everything we can to help you out. I don't care how long it could take. We're sticking with you, however long it takes."

Viki leaned over and peeled one of Aaron's hands away. "Everyone I've met since you took me out of Dras-Leona has helped me a lot, especially Ruby. She can help you too."

Nalia hummed and inched her head closer to her Rider. Something passed between the two of them, that took a long time. Nalia's expression turned from caring, to worried, to angry, and back again several times, whereas Aaron remained passive, not showing any outward expression. Then again, him throwing his fork showed more emotion than Ruby had seen from since he woke up.

After a while, Aaron dipped his head, but not into his hands. "Could I get my fork back?"

"Of course." Ruby reached for it and picked it up. She cast a spell cleaning it of dirt and all that other stuff before handing it back. The rest of the breakfast continued in silence. The next time Aaron dropped his fork, Nalia asked Ruby to help feed Aaron. She did as asked, and Aaron didn't voice his complaints, if he had any. She didn't like the situation at all, but she was willing to do whatever it took to get her boyfriend better.

When everything Viki made was gone, she and Ruby cleaned the area up and set it all on one tray. A notification icon appeared in Ruby's bionic eye, followed by the reminder she set a week ago. She sighed and faced Aaron. "I've got to go. I'm on Mellen today, or, recording it anyway. I printed out a few tickets last night and they're on the fridge. You can come if you want. If you need to rest your head, do that." She leaned forward and kissed Aaron's cheek. "Take care of yourself here while I'm gone. I'll help when I'm back."

She stood up and walked out of Nalia's wing. The dragon pulled her head back as well and stopped the Rider from getting away. _Thank you for your help._ Nalia nuzzled her face against Ruby's. _He can't show it right now, but he really appreciates you being there and helping out._

 _Thank you._ Ruby paused. _Did I scare him at the end there?_

 _No._ Nalia mentally laughed. _You left before he realized what happened and he could return the favor._

 _Oh. Well then. Maybe when I get back. See you after the show._ Ruby thought her cheeks turned red as her cape as she walked around the dragon.

 _Get your head out of the clouds,_ Cerise said as her Rider approached. _It's my job to get you up there. I'm hurt when you get up there yourself._

"Don't worry. I'm not cheating on you." Ruby climbed up her dragon's side. "Seriously, let's keep joking around. I need to get in the frame of mind needed for the show."

 _Don't want to go in dragging your feet?_ Cerise jumped over the trees around the house and angled toward the westernmost part of Vale.

"Nah. For this, I'd rather be my normal happy go lucky me. It has to be real."

 _So, fly slow and steady while trying to keep our moods up,_ Cerise looked back, a mischievous look in her eyes, _or fast and wild to get your blood pumping?_

Ruby smiled and she secured her arms to the saddle. "Not too extreme over the ocean. Don't want the military shooting at us."

Cerise snorted. _Unless the IFF in my saddle is damaged, that shouldn't be a problem._

"Hold on." Ruby stared at that portion of the saddle. Cerise' IFF came up green in the Rider's bionic eye. "You're good. Just don't skim the ocean and mess up how I look." She leaned as far forward in the saddle as she could go and hugged her dragon.

 _Hang on._ Cerise faced forward again and flared her wings. _It really has been too long since we've done this._ She thrust her wings down and she shot forward. Several flaps later, she reached her top non-jet-assisted speed. She rolled in the air and Ruby screamed in delight. She closed her mouth soon after. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to lose her voice before going on a talk show.

Cerise continued to fly erratically through the air over the ocean. It felt like she was having as much fun as Ruby. One of the few times she straightened out, her Rider looked toward the coastline. A good chunk of people lined up on the beach and watched the show over the ocean. _It looks like we have an audience, Cerise._

 _I see them. Why don't we go say hi?_ Cerise turned toward the beach and dove to just above the water. No water came up to hit Ruby, so she didn't complain. The people on the beach stayed in place for the most part, but the end that she flew toward dispersed a little. The dragon curved away, then back toward the crowd. She gained a little bit of height before flying over the beach. Ruby looked back to gauge people's reactions as best she could. Considering none of them raised their weapons at Cerise, and the kids were jumping and waving, people loved it.

 _Okay. Let's get to the studio._ Ruby faced forward again. _Don't want to be late._

 _Agreed._ Cerise slowed and turned her head back. She held back a laugh. _Well, you're not wet, but your hair's a mess._ She sent Ruby an image of what she saw. The Rider's hair bent all the way back and almost looked matted in places.

Ruby sunk her shoulders. _Aw well. They wanted us there early. Probably for makeup._

 _Probably._ Cerise faced forward again. _That's going to be interesting, you being treated by others like that._

 _I'm not as bad as I used to be._ Ruby rolled her eyes. _Or, I don't think I am anyway._

 _We'll see about that._ Cerise looked down at the city. _I think that's the studio._

Ruby looked past her dragon's head. _Looks like it… Oh my gosh, is that a bullseye?_ Several red and white concentric circles covered a parking lot.

 _I think that's where I'm supposed to land._ Cerise dove for the bullseye.

Ruby looked over the studio itself and the surrounding area. The parking lot out front was fairly empty, but then again, recording wasn't set to start for another few hours. No transport pads were on the roof, which was fairly rare among the buildings in the area, and was probably why the bullseye was in the rear parking lot… and there were a few cameras already trained on Cerise as she approached. _I think we're being recorded._

 _Why not give them a show?_ Cerise diverted course to the right. _I can already see the Eldunarí shaking their heads… if they had any._ As they approached, Ruby saw they were going to miss the center of the Bullseye by two rings. She didn't know what her dragon had planned, but she liked it that way.

As expected, Cerise landed off center. She growled at the center dot, then pounced on it. She snorted her approval and looked back at Ruby. _Nailed it._

"Sure, you did." Ruby laughed then freed herself from the saddle's restraints. She grabbed Cerise' translation band from a saddlebag and fit it over her dragon's head. "It's on. Test it out."

"Testing. Testing." Cerise' voice went into Ruby's ears as well as her mind. "One, two, three. A, B, C. Anyone hear me?"

"You're good. Now the other way?"

Cerise locked eyes with Ruby. _Is it really necessary?_ This time, Ruby only heard her dragon in her mind.

"Yes. Yes it is."Ruby slid off her dragon's back and walked toward the back door of the studio. A cameraman and a stagehand stood by it, with the stagehand waving her forward. Ruby waved and smiled at the camera as she passed and walked into the studio. The stagehand led her through a maze of halls and to a room with her name on it.

A couple of makeup artists stood inside Ruby's dressing room. They sat her down in a chair and immediately set to work. Unlike some of the other shows she'd been on, these two were quite talkative. Then again, this was the most laid-back show that she'd been invited on. The rules were different here.

A while later, the door to her room opened. "Ruby Rose, it's an honor to finally meet you."

Ruby turned her head back. _The_ Mellen DeWinfrey stood in the doorway. "I have to say the same, Mellen." Her makeup artists backed away as she stood up. "I've been a fan for I don't know how long." She approached the talk show host with an arm outstretched.

"Same here, only I know it started just before the Fortieth Vytal Festival Tournament." Mellen took the hand and shook it. "You've helped quite a few people, Ruby."

"I try." Ruby took her hand back. "I take it you need to know something before the show starts."

"I do, and specifically about if there's anything you don't want me to ask." Mellen sat on the couch in the room.

"Well, there are a few things I'd rather not speak about here." Ruby sat next to Mellen. "First off, I legally can't talk about any open cases in the Kingdoms, which I have a few."

Mellen waved her off. "I've had a few Huntsmen on the show before, I know the drill."

"Also, no politics. The Riders are arbitrators and facilitators in that stuff. We only get involved when sides can't come to agreements peacefully, or when we're the subject of whatever's going on. Other than that, there are a few specific things on our last mission that I can't talk about. Otherwise, I think we're pretty open."

"Okay. Good to know. Well, while I'm here, I might as well fill you in on what's happening on the show today…" Mellen went onto explain what was planned before and after Ruby was set to go on. It sounded like a fairly normal show, with the addition of a promotion for her new game show.

When Mellen was done, she stood up and offered Ruby a hand again. "It was nice talking with you. I'll see you onstage."

"Will do." Ruby took the offered hand and shook it. Mellen left the room and Ruby returned to her makeup chair. When her makeup artists left, Ruby looked around her room for anything interesting. At one point, Cerise said that Nalia dropped Yang, Viki, and Aaron off and lay by her in the parking lot. Hopefully Aaron was feeling well and he didn't feel like he _had_ to come.

After a while, the show started and Ruby watched the opening in her room. Her stomach started to knot. _Come on, Ruby,_ she thought to herself, _don't get nervous. You've talked to Kings and Queens, and joked with them on occasion. You can talk in front of a camera. No pressure. It's not like you're being graded or people's lives depend on it. Just be yourself._

 _Breathe, Ruby,_ Cerise reminded. _I'm here if you need or want help._

 _Thank you._ Ruby took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay. Let's do this." Someone knocked on her door. "It's open."

The door swung open and the same stagehand from before peeked his head in. "You're almost up. Time to get moving."

"Okay." Ruby stood up and walked to the door. "Lead the way." She followed the stagehand through the maze again. This time, she heard people cheering and clapping, and it didn't come from any speakers. Her stomach continued to knot as she got closer. She took more deep and deliberate breaths. _Why can't I be comfortable with public speaking?_

The stagehand left Ruby on the back side of the guest doors to the stage. For whatever reason, she thought it would be just as grand and glittery as the other side, not the structure open for all to see. On the other side, it sounded like they were taking a break. That at least gave the Rider a chance to collect her thoughts. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, doing her best to meditate.

A few minutes later, the crowd cheered again. Ruby opened her eyes and pushed herself away from the wall. She looked up to the screen on the right side of the doors in front of her. Mellen waved at the crowd and looked into camera. "Now I'd like to introduce my special guest for today. You may have seen her ride outside at least octuple parked."

Ruby held back a snort. She was miced and she didn't know if it was live yet. _I think you're more than octuple parked, Cerise._

"She is the youngest student ever to attend any of the Huntsmen academies, the first Dragon Rider on Remnant, youngest ever to earn the Remnant Gold Cross, and the hero of Fort Castle, please welcome, Ruby Rose."

The crowd roared to life again and the doors opened in front of Ruby. She smiled and waved at the full studio. As expected, she got a standing ovation, from most people anyway. Aaron sat in the front row, with Viki and Yang standing on his right. Violet and her mom stood on his left. It was good to see that everyone made it.

Ruby took her eyes off the crowd and faced Mellen. They approached and hugged each other, then sat in different chairs across from each other. The crowd quieted down with a wave from Mellen, then the host faced Ruby. "So how was your flight in?"

"Good. We had a little time before we had to be here, so Cerise and I decided to have a little fun over the water between Patch and the mainland. We haven't had time just to fly lately."

"It looks like it. We actually have a video of you and Cerise flying over the beach. Can we pull that up?" Mellen pointed to the massive projector at the back of the stage. Ruby faced it and sure enough, it had a view from the beach of Cerise doing a barrel roll before flying over the camera.

From there it cut to the parking lot just outside the studio and Cerise landing just off center, then pouncing on the center circle. Everyone in the studio laughed and Ruby faced the host. "So, what happened here?"

"Officially, the wind blew her off course. Unofficially, she wanted to get a few laughs." That statement alone got a few laughs from the crowd.

"So, we've seen that Cerise in particular is a bit of a goofball, are all dragons like that?"

"For one, she's using my ears, she can hear you." The crowd 'ooo'd. "Two, all of the ones in Vale are to a point. Saphira's a little too young for anyone but Weiss to tell. Dragons in general can either be fierce enough to make hardened soldiers wet their pants, or gentle enough to rock a baby to sleep, or both. I've seen all dragons here be both at one point or another. Cerise is mostly on the gentle side… and she's a total cuddler."

Mellen leaned forward. "She's using your ears. She can hear you."

Ruby laughed along with the crowd. "I walked into that one. But considering she hasn't lanced my head, she didn't mind too much."

"It's the show, Ruby," Cerise' voice entered Ruby's ears. The Rider jumped in her seat and faced the projector. Sure enough, Cerise' head was projected on the back of the stage. "Don't worry, Gem. I know you like sleeping under my wing."

There were about as many 'aww's and 'ha ha's in the crowd. "Not a lie." Ruby held her hands with her palms up.

"Ruby," Mellen started, "this past month, you've been fairly active in Vale, not necessarily in combat, but other things. You've bought a mountain just west of Vale and you've filed paperwork to create a new Huntsman organization. What's going on?"

"These actually go hand in hand actually. In Alagaësia, the Dragon Riders are a legitimate organization. We're making that true here too. It's basically all the same principles, but with a lot more paperwork." Ruby paused for the audience to stop laughing. "Here's essentially what the paperwork said: we will not rest until there is no fear, sadness, or hate in the world, and that everyone has the right to life. It's a pretty broad mission, and that's by design. We'll do just about anything that's needed, whether it's repelling Grimm, helping with local law enforcement, or bringing happiness to people's lives where there is none." She spared a glance at Viki as the audience burst into applause. Violet was also bouncing in her seat, clapping so fast it was almost a blur. "And I see a few shining examples of that in the front row."

"Yes. Why don't you tell us who you brought with you today?" Several cameras swung toward the front row on Mellen's signal.

"On… my right, there's Aqua and Violet Calrow. I'm Violet's Huntress mentor at signal… and she's the first one that I helped after becoming a Rider." Violet blushed and sunk into her seat with the polite applause she got. "Next to them are Aaron Benson and Viki Sarasdaughter. Don't let the Agalaësian naming conventions fool you, they're brother and sister. Well, he was adopted when he was ten anyway. Last but not least, the Big Sister of the Year Award recipient nineteen years in a row, Yang Xiao Long." Yang gave Ruby two thumbs up and a smirk.

"Ruby, you're fairly well known on Remnant, whether it's because you ride a dragon, your work in the field, or your appearances in the Vytal Festival Tournament. Since people have known who you are… what's the craziest thing you've been asked to sign and what's the strangest question you've been asked?"

"Pretty much when anyone asks me to sign bodyparts other than kids on their foreheads or cheeks. The weirdest question, well…" A few days after she came clean about her bionic body parts, a fourth-year student walked up to her and asked if her arm had a vibrate function. At the time, she didn't know why Yang punched that guy clean through two buildings. She wished Yang never told her that night. "I can't say the real weirdest because this is a family show, so I'll just say any and all times people ask who I'm dating, especially the few times someone asked if I was dating Cerise, or worse, Yang." Mellen and a good chunk of the crowd made varying noises of disgust. "I'm setting this straight right now. I will neither confirm nor deny anymore questions on my relationships. That is all I'm going to say on the topic until it gets permanent or it ends." Ruby leaned back in her chair and made a point to not look at Aaron.

"I'm sure you've gotten this question before," Mellen started when the studio quieted down, "but what are some of the biggest perks of being a Dragon Rider as opposed to a regular Huntress?"

"For one, I've got a soulmate for life." Ruby turned toward the projector in back and gave Cerise a quick salute. "I can eat raw cookie dough, made with _eggs,_ and not worry about getting sick." The crowd 'ooo'd once more. "Yeah, I'm such a rebel. Oh, and my periods are pretty much nonexistent." Ruby clamped her lips together as the crowd exploded in laughter. _Did I really just say that?_

 _I think you did,_ Cerise said. _I'm… not sure what I can do to help_

 _Don't laugh._ Ruby leaned forward and held her head in her hands. "Well, I won't be living that one down any time soon."

Mellen shrugged. "Probably not. It'll be all over the CCT tomorrow night."

"And Cerise is my accountability partner." Ruby gestured at the projector. "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile." She paused and the crowd erupted again. "KBC owns Wishworks, right?"

"I don't think so." Mellen paused. "You have helped so many people across Remnant, and I'm guessing these past three months on the other side in Alagaësia. It might just be me, but I've heard you referred to as the Hero of Fort Castle over the Forty-First Last Huntress Standing. Even though your official Huntress work started before that raid, how does it feel to be recognized in such a manner?"

"It's unreal, and it's not just you." Ruby shrugged. "So many people I don't know come up to me for autographs and thank me for my service. The kids know me from the tournament and more recent actions in and around the main cities of the Kingdoms. Adults, it's always Fort Castle. Frankly, I don't know why I got that honor. Everyone in the mission did their duty. No one outshone anyone else."

"Don't be so modest. There has to be something you did there that earned you that title."

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her good mood evaporated and she tilted her head down. _Cerise, I don't want to do this anymore._

Cerise hummed. Ruby turned toward the projector, and the parking lot a few hundred feet behind dragon's pupils filled her entire eyes and her ears drooped flat on her head. _Gem. I am behind you the whole way. If you want to say this now, I will speak for you if you can't find the words._

 _Thank you._ Ruby raised her head, then looked directly at Violet. She never told her what really happened in the North Sanus Mountains. She would know as soon as the rest of Remnant did, and it would probably break her heart to know how weak her hero was.

Ruby looked back at Mellen, who looked more confused than anything. "I don't know what I did to earn that title. I don't deserve it. The Huntress that people talk so much about didn't exist then, and I'm not sure if she exists now."

Mellen blinked and straightened in her chair. "I'm not sure I understand."

"No one does outside my family and my closest friends… and some assorted others at Beacon and in Atlas' military. This all started well before Fort Castle, when we first took on the Nevermores." The waterworks weren't running yet, but they were building up. Ruby looked to where her friends and family sat. Yang searched the edges of the stage, probably looking for those who would stop her from running on stage. Aaron gripped the armrests of his chair and leaned forward. Viki turned between Aaron and Ruby. Violet and her mom looked on confused like everyone else in the studio.

Ruby faced Mellen again. "That day we took them on in the North Sanus Mountains, I stopped a Nevermore courier in downtown Vale, and tracked a few more to the coast of Forever Fall. Cerise was shot down, and both of us were taken prisoner...I was with all those kids up north." The audience collectively gasped. "There was no infiltration team, there was no prior intel. The only reason that place was found was because Riders are telepathic. I still owe Yang for that.

"People think my PTSD is from being blown up that day. But no. It's from what they did to me. The only parts of that time I remember were every time they hurt me, and when Yang came in to save me. Everything else is blank or worse. That day was easily the worst day of my life. I still have nightmares. I still see…" Her throat constricted so she couldn't speak. That was probably for the best. What happened to her did not need to show up on this show.

 _I'll take over,_ Cerise hummed, then her voice came through the speakers in the studio. "We have tried to put together what happened in between, but we can't. We only have what others have said to go by. If I could, I would make those memories overpower the others."

"Cerise…" Ruby faced the projector again.

"No one needs to let that rule their lives, especially my Rider."

Ruby stared at the projector for another few seconds, then she felt someone touch her right hand. She faced it, but there was no one there. She moved her fingers, but something kept them from moving much. She hadn't had an episode like that in a long time… Unless it wasn't an episode. She stretched her mind out, and felt Violet standing beside her, the girl's Aura flaring. It looked like Violet found her Semblance.

The Rider shook her head and faced Mellen. She also rested a hand on top of Violet's. "I can't tell you why I got my bionics so quick either. It takes Atlas soldiers months or years to requisition them, and I got mine the day I lost my limbs. That had to break I don't know how many protocols. If I had to take a guess… My mom once saved General Ironwood's life, and I don't think he got the chance to return the favor, until something happened to me.

"Then came Fort Castle. They had Vert. We couldn't stand by while someone else attacked… and I couldn't stand by while more kids and a close friend were in trouble. But at the same time, I couldn't go up against the Nevermores again. I did, but I was terrified. The only reasons I didn't run were that I had Blake with me to keep me level and I couldn't leave her in there alone, and I could feel the minds of those kids. Then afterward I found out that's where my mom was killed too…"

Ruby sighed. "I can never go back to the North Sanus Mountains, or Fort Castle. Cerise will tell you, the few times we've flown to Atlas, we've flown wide around that range so we can't even see them over the horizon. If something happens near either of those places, I'll have to send other Riders. Going as myself is only a last resort. I just know I'll break down." She dropped her head and squeezed Violet's hand.

"Oh… Um… Well…" Mellen stammered, "How are you so well put together?"

"Now, time." Ruby looked up again. "Back then, I was a wreck. I was afraid of my own dog at the time, and he's the cuddliest corgi on Remnant… But I have the best team ever. They only wanted what was best to me. Honestly, threatening to tell Ozpin to bench me if I didn't see Beacons counselors was one of the best things they could have done. That, and the numerous group hugs that happened around that time." She wiped an arm over her eyes. She felt so much better now. "I'm still seeing one of the counselors from Beacon. Just this past week, she said she's never seen someone recover to this level after so much trauma."

"Well, uh, sorry Ruby, you caught me flat footed here." Mellen looked off stage, then back to Ruby. "I take it that's why you stay in contact with all the kids that were there?"

"Yes. I was with them in that place. Apparently I did something in there to give them hope, but I can't tell you what that is. I've tried to call them at least once a month, but since I got back, I haven't been able to contact many of them. There just hasn't been time. The only other one I've stayed in contact with is Violet." Said girl tried to pull away, but Ruby kept her hand in place. In fact, she looked at where she stood, unseen to the rest of the world. "I still have that card you made me. It's sitting on the mantle back home. If I ever need a pick-me-up there, I just take a look at that."

Violet slowly faded back into reality, her own cheeks now hosting salty rivers. She jumped over the armrest and she wrapped her arms around Ruby. The Rider returned the favor. Neither one of them said anything and most of the audience clapped and rose to their feet.

When the crowd quieted down, Mellen rose to her feet. "Ruby, I may be able to help you with getting in contact with them." Ruby's eyes fixed on her host. She'd watched the show enough to know where this was going. Considering she didn't feel the minds of any of those kids, it had to be another video from them or a conference call. Mellen gestured to the wall/door Ruby initially walked through. "We tracked them all down and they're waiting behind that door."

Ruby's jaw dropped and she faced the area. The door opened and a dozen Faunus ran through. Their minds opened to the Rider as soon as they stepped foot on the stage. All of them had aged since last time she saw them in person, but they were still her kids and she knew them all by name. Of course, Claret took up the rear, as they'd seen each other fairly recently.

The kids jumped onto Ruby's chair and they wrapped their arms around her, or whoever was closer until everyone was piled up on the one chair, and Ruby would have struggled to breathe if she didn't have wards protecting just that. She did her best to free her arms and wrap them around the entire group. _Cerise… how?_

 _It was Yang's idea,_ Cerise said. _We asked the Eldunarí if it was possible to shield people's minds from detection, and we worked to do this._

 _Thank you,_ Ruby said to both Yang and Cerise. Her sister and Aaron had also left their seats and approached the stage. Some of those kids broke off to them as well. Ruby looked at the kids around herand no longer held back the waterworks. There went the last thing she held over them. They were now all equals. The leader of the Dragon Riders would have it no other way.

* * *

 **Well that's the weight of Remnant off her shoulders. When you got to say something, you just say it.**


	14. Frozen Tundra of Atlas

**Spring break baby! Winter Jam on Thursday. That's going to be a looong but awesome night! Also, Yay! New laptop that will hopefully last more than two years!  
**

 **So, a while ago I said I started a Facebook page... but I haven't done anything with it since I created it... Partly becasue like no one joined, partly because I have no idea what to do with it. I'll try to change that this week.**

* * *

Someone knocked on Yang's door. "It's open." She turned away from her computer. The door opened and Aaron stepped in. "Well, this is a surprise. I was expecting Viki."

"Yeah… she's here too." Aaron stepped fully into the room, with Viki right behind him.

Yang's heart sunk. This had to be about something that happened when Aaron was still in a coma. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No." Aaron shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "You were teaching Viki how to play video games while I was out?"

"The last couple days, yeah." Yang relaxed her shoulders. She liked where this was going. "I've only introduced her to Roller Coaster Mogul 2, but she's a natural… then again, she did have someone to tell her about all the stats and keyboard shortcuts."

"Is there any way we could play together?" Viki asked.

Yang smiled between the two of them. "Brother-sister bonding time, huh?" Viki and Aaron nodded. "Well, base game, no. But I have heard about something online." She faced her computer again. "The question is whether or not it's safe. And… ooh. You'd need to ask Ruby to use her computer. This isn't something you can split screen."

"Um, split screen?" Viki asked.

"Two or more players have different points of view on the same screen. It's not used so much anymore, and Ruby and I do not like it. We've had fun." Yang pulled up Tootle and entered her search. A few sites later, she nodded. "Looks like it's safe. I'll get it on this one, then ask Ruby if I can get it on hers." She clicked the download button, then stood up. "She, Coco, and Velvet are still downstairs, right?"

"Yeah. They're still talking." Aaron shook his head. "From the sound of it only Coco knows what's going on."

"That sounds about right." Yang sighed as she left her room. After what Ruby said on Mellen, they needed a PR person. Ruby didn't want to ask Weiss for much more, she'd already gave the Riders so much of her own Lien and SDC contacts, all while having to deal with things in her own company. She had her own problems to deal with. So instead of anyone Weiss could have sent, the leader of the Riders wanted to choose someone from the three close teams. Coco and Velvet were the number one and number two choices. Yang thought they were good options, well, as good as they could get on their budget.

Yang stood at the top of the stairs and looked down into the living room. Ruby, Coco, and Velvet stared at the projector, with Coco writing something on the notepad on her lap. The screen showed VNN with the headline 'Ruby Rose: Con or Courageous?' It looked like they were jumping on this bandwagon too, and it didn't look like Ruby was the biggest fan of it. She leaned forward and held her head in her hands. "Hey sis, you okay?" Yang called from the steps.

Ruby straightened and turned back to her sister. "I could be worse. People could not be saying that I should be upgraded to a Platinum Cross."

Yang gave her sister a smile. Maybe Ruby wasn't in such a bad place. "Good to hear. Anyway, Aaron and Viki were wondering if they could use your computer. They want to play a multiplayer game."

Ruby blinked. "Oh. Okay." She paused and a huge smile burst onto her face. "This could be great for both of them! They get to spend much needed time together, Viki gets to do more things herself, and I don't care what some people say, video games improve people's hand-eye coordination, which Aaron's lacking. So, yes. One of them can use mine."

Coco snorted and elbowed Velvet. "Told you." Velvet's ears drooped.

"Mind if I download something that makes Roller Coaster Mogul multiplayer?"

"The classic! Of course. That'll give us something to do on the weekends too."

"Got it. I'm sure they'll appreciate it too." Yang turned around and walked back to her room. She knew Ruby's password. She hadn't changed it in years… They all probably had to change all their passwords soon. No one wanted to be hacked. She pushed the door to her room open. "I'll get Ruby's computer set up." She looked at her own. It looked like the download had finished. "Aaron, you've been around us long enough to know how to run a program, right?"

"It think so." Aaron sat in Yang's chair. "If not, Nalia will tell me."

Yang sat down at Ruby's computer and went through the same steps on hers, only adding running the program itself. She pushed away from Ruby's desk and stood up facing Viki. "The chair is yours."

Viki sat down and stared at the projection. "This is… different."

"Need help?" Yang leaned over Viki's shoulder and pointed at one of the buttons onscreen. "My guess is it's that one to play together." She went back and forth several times between each computer until the game was set up, and then again to answer any questions either of them had. Viki's were mainly word related while Aaron's were… just about everything else. He wanted to learn, but he was out of his element big time. Yang didn't mind. It finally felt like she was doing something useful around the house.

Her Scroll rang in a pocket. Yang pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. She froze and her good mood evaporated. "I've… got to take this." She walked out of the room and answered the video call. Weiss appeared on screen, but not in the same place as the past two times, and none of the wires or patches. In fact, the logo for her company was on the wall behind her. What was this about? "Yeah, Weiss?"

" _Hey, Yang,"_ Weiss said. _"I've got a few things. Is Ruby there?"_

Yang blinked. She wasn't expecting that. "Yeah. Her Scroll off?"

Weiss shook her head. _"I just wanted to make one call, and I **really** need to talk to you."_

 _That_ was what Yang expected. "What you want to tell Ruby?"

" _I'm going to be flying to Vale tomorrow. I got time at Signal next couple of weeks to bring Cerise' and Vert's eggs in front of the students."_

"Really?" Ruby yelled from downstairs. She appeared in a flash of rose petals and snatched Yang's Scroll away. "Any idea on what time you'll be here? Are you staying with us or somewhere downtown? When will you need the eggs?"

" _Breathe, Ruby,"_ Weiss reminded. Ruby took a deep breath, then nodded at the Scroll. _"I expect I'll arrive around noon tomorrow, I'll need to collect the eggs right away, and if it's okay, we would like to stay with family this next week."_

"None of those are a problem! Blake's normal room is empty. We'll have it set up before you get here, unless you'd rather sleep with Saphira."

Weiss looked off screen. _"I… don't know yet. I might not decide until I get there."_ She paused. _"Ruby, now I really need to talk with Yang."_

Ruby's excitement disappeared before Yang's eyes. "Of course. See you tomorrow, sis." Ruby handed the Scroll back to Yang.

"What did you need to tell me?" Yang asked when Ruby disappeared down the stairs.

" _Yang,"_ Weiss' voice was just above a whisper, _"it's time."_

"T… time?"

" _Dr. Polendina just called me. He says all his equipment will be set up by tonight, and it will be good to go as soon as it's all plugged in."_

Yang's heart pounded in her chest. "Does that mean…"

" _It does. I have a ship waiting for you in Vale, and it will meet you at the docks on Patch. It's… actually one of mine, and the fastest model a civilian can buy. It should have you in Atlas before midnight."_

"Really?" Yang wasn't sure if she was more excited or nervous.

" _I wouldn't lie about this, Yang."_ She paused. _"But you should know, he has told me of a few risks for this whole thing."_

"How big? If it's Halcyon's life, it's a no go."

" _That's the thing, he says even if this goes well, there's a chance Halcyon could be hurt in some way. This is the first time something like this has been done. He did something similar with Penny, but she was his actual, living daughter, not a dead Summon. Well, living in a sense that she was fading on life support after a car accident. Penny lost most of her memories in the transfer, and she still hasn't regained them. I don't think he can get any Grimm caught up in the transfer because they don't have Aura… but I do have that other dragon as a Summon. Some part of it could come along too despite all protections and preparations. In either case, we can't test this. Grimm have nothing to transfer, and getting that insane dragon back here is way too dangerous."_

Weiss shifted in her seat. _"Then of course, there's the risk to me. If something goes wrong, it could draw part of me out. That could either end up with Halcyon, or disappearing completely. In other words, if something goes wrong, this could kill me and Halcyon."_

Yang fell back and leaned against the wall while never taking her eyes off her friend. "And how likely is this to work without anyone being hurt?"

" _I asked Dr. Polendina the same thing a few days ago. He said the chances of success are ninety percent. We have a limited window to do this too. He has other projects to work on, and it could be another year before he can help us again."_

Yang bit her lower lip. "Ruby once made me play ACOM. Ninety percent shots miss a lot."

" _We know that here, too. When Saphira heard that, she essentially kidnapped me and brought me to a cave in the mountains north of here. It took me about half a day to convince her to take me back."_ Weiss winced and looked to the side. She stared off screen for a while, then looked back at her Scroll. _"She's a little protective of her Little One."_

"Weiss, are you sure you want to do this?"

" _I am."_ Weiss nodded. _"I'm just beginning to know what Saphira means to me. You and Halcyon had years. I'm not sure what I would do if I lost Saphira now, so I'm going to do whatever I can to give you your dragon back."_

"Thanks, sis." Yang felt something run down her cheek even though she could see clearly.

" _Anytime. See you later."_ Weiss ended the call.

Yang let her arms fall to her sides. It was finally time. Tonight, either Halcyon would get his artificial Eldunarí… or Yang would never see or feel her dragon again. She needed to get to Atlas.

Someone knocked against the wall. Yang looked toward the stairs. Ruby stood at the top of the stairs, her own eyes watery. "Have you been evesdropping?" Yang asked.

"Maybe a little." Ruby pulled some hair away from her head revealing her pointed ears. "These things aren't decoration. I'd be able to hear downstairs anyway." She walked forward and pulled Yang off the wall and into a hug. "Bring him home. I can't wait to see him again."

"Same here." Yang hugged her sister back. "I'm sure he's missed all of you too. He hasn't even met Viki."

"Then you'll have to introduce them." Ruby pulled back, but kept her eyes locked with Yang's. "Why are you still standing there? Cerise can't pick you up in here. Get outside." She gestured to the stairs.

Yang nodded, then ran past her sister and down the stairs. Dad would forgive her for running in the house. She burst out the front door and didn't stop until she jumped onto Cerise' back. The dragon took flight and angled toward the island's docks. A ship with what looked like ribbons hanging off the back fins rested near the water on the outside of the city. It kind of looked like Winter's ship, only with the fins and ribbons being ice blue. Cerise flew straight toward that, and didn't slow down until she landed near the ship.

The Rider dismounted and waited outside of the ship for the ramp to lower. They had to see Cerise fly in. Not even a baby would miss a rose red dragon flying toward them at full speed. There had to be something that the crew had to do so they wouldn't already have lowered the _dang ramp!_

 _Yang,_ Cerise said. Yang faced her sister's dragon, her whole body tense. Cerise lowered her head to eye level. _Bring my brother home._

Yang relaxed her whole body. With all of the stuff she went through, she didn't even think about how anyone else was affected. "I'm sorry, Cerise." She walked back to the dragon and hugged her snout. She didn't know what else to say. Losing Halcyon was still the worst for her. She didn't know how to talk to anyone else about it.

Air hissed behind Yang. She released Cerise and faced the ship. The ramp had lowered halfway, and a single woman stood at the top. The Rider walked up the ramp as soon as it hit pavement. She looked at the bars on the woman's uniform as she was halfway up. It looked like the woman was the ship's captain. "I take it you're the one flying me to Atlas?"

"Of course, ma'am." The captain saluted Yang. "Miss Schnee has requested that I bring you to Atlas at best possible speed."

"Did she tell you why?"

The captain shook her head. "Rider business. That's all she said, and all I need to know."

"Got it." Yang looked around the one hall of the ship she could see. It was all very… white. "Is there a bedroom or something in here?"

"Of course. You are free to go anywhere on this ship, except the engine room and the crew lounge. I will show you to your quarters." She turned to the left, revealing a wolf's tail coming out of her pants. Something told Yang this ship didn't have a Faunus captain before Weiss took over.

The captain led the way down a couple halls, and stopped by a double wide one. "This room would be used by Miss Schnee were she onboard. For this trip, it is for your use. There are panels by the door and your bed that contain intercoms that connect directly to the bridge. Whatever you need, I will ensure you get."

"Thank you." Yang walked toward the door and it automatically opened.

"If I may," the captain started, and Yang turned to face her, "I know your sister gets most of the credit for what happened at Fort Castle, but I know your whole team was there and you all helped to the best of your ability. So for that, I thank you."

"Thanks… I take it you knew someone?"

"No. But one of my former coworker's husband was on the medical detail in Vale after Fort Castle." The captain shivered. "I don't know why I asked."

"Yeah… but I just dealt with the kids in the North Sanus Mountains. Ruby and Blake met with the kids in Fort Castle."

"I've seen the news the past three days. That doesn't change what I said."

Yang nodded as she felt the ground shift beneath her. She looked into the room and out the window. The city of Vale sank beneath the window and out of sight. They were on their way to Atlas. She faced the captain again. "If I can ask, how do you like working under Weiss?"

The captain smiled. "Considering I was the captain of a barge in the mines south of Armen, and I have been paid this last month to stay home with my family waiting for you, this is a major improvement. And… already in her first month, I can tell I'm going to like her more than her father."

"I think that's just about everyone on the planet. Thanks for taking me to Atlas. It means a lot."

"You are welcome, Miss Xiao Long. If you need anything, just call." The captain turned and walked back down the hall they came from.

Yang walked into her room for the flight and looked out the window. They'd already left Patch behind, and it was growing smaller surprisingly fast. Then again, Weiss said this was the fastest ship a person could buy. This thing could get her to Atlas before the sun went down… maybe. It was a big ocean. Either way, Nalia wouldn't be happy that there's another thing that's faster than her.

Yang sat on the king-sized bed and stared at the projector on the wall. Right now, it just showed the SDC snowflake. She probably had access to Scrollflix, Fulu, Twinge, pretty much any streaming service, but then again, CCT dead zones. Still, there were probably a lot of movies or other things downloaded. Weiss was rich. She could do that.

But Yang never reached for the remote control. She hugged her knees and rested her chin on them. She couldn't help but run what Weiss said over and over in her head. This was the day. She most likely would be holding Halcyon's artificial Eldunarí before she went to bed… and in all honesty, in bed as well. But there was a good chance that she could lose Halcyon, and Weiss too. Then Saphira would be alone as well.

Yang waited for Irolon to say something, anything, but he never did. Then Yang realized she didn't have his Eldunarí with her. He was in a bag at the foot of her bed. "Dang it." Yang buried her face in her knees. She was flying halfway across Remnant with no one she cared for nearby. No bubbly Ruby, no hyperactive Nora, heck, she'd take Ren. Even he talks more than the air.

With no motivation to do anything else, Yang switched between looking out the window and pacing around her room. If she was lucky, she saw another ship, whether in the air or on the water. They gave her something to think about. With nothing distracting her, her thoughts wandered to dark places. Today, she could lose her dragon and her adoptive sister. Saphira would be just as destroyed as Yang, and likely blame her for the loss of her Rider… Every time she thought like that, she shook her head and forced herself to think about literally anything else. It rarely worked.

As the sun kissed the ocean, land came into view, a good chunk of it covered in snow. Yang had only been to Atlas once, and she didn't see much of it, but the place was freezing in the middle of summer. Weiss wore her normal, non-insulating clothes, and she didn't so much as shiver when it was only thirty degrees outside. Atlesians were made of something else.

A red dot appeared on the projector. _"Miss Xiao Long,"_ the captain's voice came over the speakers in the room, _"we are approaching the Schnee manor. Miss Saphira will be meeting you in the hangar."_

"Thank you." Yang shook her head. That was the first time she heard someone refer to a dragon as 'Miss.' She left her room and walked back to the ramp. She leaned against the wall and looked out the window there. They flew past some low lying buildings and a wall with some pretty big guns, then nothing was beneath them. If Yang remembered right, this was the huge area of land separating Schnee manor from the rest of Atlas. Then the snow-covered land gave way to steel and concrete. The floor shook as the ship touched down.

Saphira walked into view outside the ship with a translation band on her head. She hummed as she faced Yang. _Welcome to Atlas,_ she thought, not using the band.

 _How far away is this place?_ Yang asked.

 _A half hour. Weiss is already there being prepped. I will take you as soon as you are ready._

 _I'm ready as soon as the ramp lowers._

Saphira looked Yang up and down, well, as much as she could through the window. _Weiss told me to tell you to put on a jacket if I can see your stomach, and I do._

Yang looked down at herself. "That's a simple fix." She pulled the bottom ends of her jacket together and zipped up. "Better? I've got wards against the cold and wind too."

Saphira snorted. _I don't think that's what Weiss had in mind, but I'm satisfied._

Air hissed again, and the ramp beside Yang broke out of the wall. The cold air assaulted her immediately, but because of her wards, it wasn't that bad. She forced herself to wait until the ramp touched the ground before sprinting off. She jumped directly onto Saphira's saddle and strapped herself in. _I'm ready._

 _Obviously._ Saphira faced the hangar opening and walked toward it. She groaned as she stretched her wings. _You are much heavier than Weiss._ She jumped out of the hangar then turned north.

 _No surprise. Weiss is a twig._ Yang leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Saphira's neck. _You don't mind this, do you?_

 _As long as you don't stop me from breathing, no._ Saphira turned her head back. _I believe Weiss told you this earlier, but I am not happy with this. I would very much prefer that the chances for success were better, or that there was no threat to my Rider, but I do not believe that will ever be the case. You have been separated from your dragon for far too long, and you deserve to get him back._

 _Trust me, I completely agree with you. I was thinking of that on the way over._ Yang looked off to the side. _I don't want to lose Halcyon or Weiss. If this goes wrong…_

 _It will not. It can't._ She peeled her lips back. _If it does, I will hold Dr. Polendina accountable._

 _I might join you in that._ Yang lifted her head and looked where they were flying. There was nothing but mountains for quite the distance. Then again, that was most of Solitas. Even the cities themselves weren't flat, but Mistral city and pretty much every dwarf city were even more of a pain to navigate because of the height differences.

At least the company here was much better, as in Yang actually had someone to talk to. She returned to her former position. _So how do you like Atlas?_

 _This land is too cold for my liking, but it is bearable. My real problem is that there is very little to hunt here. The bears and deer around Atlas are few and far in between. I have yet to find a place were the roam in herds. Nalia says it's dangerous to eat Grimm, and I do not want to test if she is right._

 _I take it Weiss won't let you go hungry?_

 _Of course not._ Saphira snorted. _In fact, she has already ordered her chefs to make some pastries for me._ She licked her lips. _Who knew that something other than meat could taste so good?_

 _Most people._ Yang laughed once. _You not like what the elves made you?_

 _I did, but those pies were so small._ Saphira hummed. _These ones were the size of Weiss. They tasted great and were filling._

 _Now you're sounding like just about everyone else on the team._

 _Thank you from welcoming me in._ Most of the rest of the flight was spent in silence, with Yang squeezing Saphira's neck harder as time drew on. The Rider didn't know if her adopted sister's dragon was as cuddly as Cerise, but there wasn't a better time to see. Saphira never said she had trouble breathing, so Yang never let go.

Eventually, Saphira dipped toward the ground. _Yang, our destination is right in front of us._

Yang looked at the mountain before them. She didn't see anything that stood out. No structures, no windows, no concrete. Then a large chunk of the rock about halfway up the mountain split in a straight line. Behind it laid a concrete hangar that could have held Glaedr. This was a secret mountain base. Yang couldn't help but think that something like this should be in the Rider's future base east of Vale.

A lone figure with ginger hair stood near the center of the hangar. Saphira landed near her and crouched down. Yang dismounted the dragon and faced the welcoming party. "Hey, Penny. It's been a while."

Penny saluted. "Salutations, friend Yang. We have been expecting you. My father is ready to start this procedure. Please follow me." She turned around and walked toward an elevator at the rear of the hangar. It was only human sized.

Yang faced Saphira. "You're not coming with us, are you?"

 _No, but where you are going is not far enough beneath us where I will not be able to assist Weiss._

"Okay… hopefully I'll be in a much better mood when I get back in here." Yang turned back around and followed Penny. Neither of them said anything walking across the hangar. The elevator doors opened before either of them got there. Probably motion sensors or whatever. They stepped inside and Yang leaned against the back wall. She tapped the heel of her right foot several times as the door closed and the elevator fell.

"Do not worry, friend, Yang." Penny put a hand on Yang's shoulder. "My father has calculated that this procedure has ninety-point-zero-three-nine percent chance of success with no side effects."

"Yeah, but you're an android." Yang shook her head. "You know how often that extra ten percent actually happens. It's _not_ ten percent of the time."

Penny hesitated. "Yang, this _will_ work. My father believes he has perfected the process since he first captured my Aura, and he believes this process is not very different from the one that created me. Weiss will not be harmed, and you will be back with Halcyon before the day is done."

"I've heard the same thing so many times today. I'll believe it when it actually happens." The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Yang stepped out into a white lab with who knew what kind of equipment everywhere. A man with a white hair and a lab coat stood in front of a bank of computer screens. That had to be Dr. Polendina. Weiss stood not too far away with dozens of patches and wires coming off her head, arms and torso, barely allowing her to keep her modesty.

Weiss took her eyes off the screen and looked at the newcomers. She straightened her back. "Yang. You're earlier than I expected."

"I think your captain broke a few speed laws on the flight over." Yang hugged herself and bent her knees. She looked between the scientist and her teammate. "How soon can I see him?"

"We are just about set, Miss Xiao Long." Dr. Polendina took his eyes off his screens and faced Yang. "I assume that this doesn't need to be said, but please do not touch anything."

"Not a problem." Yang took a step back, even though she wasn't near any equipment at the time.

Penny walked past Yang and to Dr. Polendina. "What do you need me to do, father?"

"Make sure these readings stay stable, and draw power from the exterior shielding if necessary." Dr. Polendina faced his screens again. "Miss Xiao Long, we should have your dragon back in this frame of reality in the next ten minutes." Yang stared at the scientist, then shook her head. There was probably some technical stuff that would confuse even Ruby at work in here.

"Yang?" Weiss called. She walked as close as she could to her teammate as the wires would allow.

"Hey, Weiss." Yang moved in for a hug but Weiss waved her off.

"Dr. Polendia doesn't want any of these monitors moved." Weiss paused. "Yang, I'm sorry I couldn't give you any better warning last time. CCT wireless doesn't stretch this far north. I had to connect this to the landline the first time to call you.

"Halcyon wasn't too happy. He was mad at just about everyone in here for a second, then he was so worried about you. I've never seen a dragon pace before. Dr. Polendina wasn't too happy about that either. Halcyon didn't knock anything over, but he came close. Saphira helped calm him down a little, but he was so worried about how you were doing. I don't think he talked about anything else."

"Thanks." Yang hugged herself tighter. "I guess I'll find out soon."

"Miss Schnee?" Dr. Poledina called. "We are ready."

Weiss pointed to the one area in the lab not occupied by some sort of equipment. "I'll summon him over there. After this process starts, I don't know how long I'll be able to keep him here." She turned and walked toward a machine with a Weiss-sized opening.

"Wait." Yang reached an arm out, but stopped herself from grabbing Weiss' shoulder. Her teammate turned her head back. "Could you make him… more my size?" She rubbed her arms while still hugging herself.

Weiss stared at Yang for a second, then nodded. "Unless I'm told to make him full sized, I will." She faced the machine again and stepped inside. Dr. Polendina and Penny walked over and connected a few more wires and strapped the CEO in. A little later they stepped back and the scientist nodded at Weiss.

The glyph used to summon Halcyon appeared on the floor, though much smaller than before. He slowly rose from the glyph, until he was about the size of his Rider. Yang gasped as she felt her dragon enter her mind again… and for possibly the last time. "Ay, you."

Halcyon blinked and looked Yang up and down. _Did you get bigger or did I get smaller?_

"You're more my size. Easier for this." Yang hooked her arms beneath her dragon's shoulders and pulled him up into a hug. "It's been way too long since we could do this."

Halcyon hummed and wrapped his neck, wings, and front legs around his Rider. His head rested right by Yang's, their eyes inches from each other. _I missed this. And I missed you._ Equipment hummed to life behind the pair. _How were you last time when Weiss summoned me?_

"Not good. I didn't know when you'd leave. That was the worst. Ruby and… Viki were there. Irolon was too."

 _He has done wonders for you, but I am taking you back as soon as I can._ Halcyon paused. _I… I feel strange. Is this it?_

"This is it." Yang squeezed Halcyon tighter. "Just don't let this be it for you."

 _I'm not sure I have a choice here._ Halcyon pressed the side of his face into Yang's. _This is… Yang… I'm scared._

That was something that Yang never expected to hear from her dragon, and it was probably something he didn't want going around. _I am too. I'm right here, Halcyon._ She closed her eyes and pressed it into Halcyon's.

 _That's not what I'm worried about. Yang, if this doesn't work, don't follow me. Don't ask Ruby to release you from your oath. Live. Live the life we wanted._

Yang opened her eyes. She nearly forgot about that whole thing, but it had to be fresh on Halcyon's mind... She could see her hands and arms through her dragon. They were running out of time. **_I will Halcyon. I will. No matter how hard it is, I will._**

 _Thank you._ Halcyon's translucent tongue shot out of his mouth and licked a tear off Yang's cheek. _**I love you, Yang.**_

 _ **I love you too, Halcyon.**_ Yang maintained eye contact with her dragon until he faded out of existence. She clenched her eyes and waited for the pain. She waited for her dragon's mind be ripped out forever. It was only a matter of time. Would it hurt more than it did before? It had to. Halcyon wasn't completely gone before, but now… now… he was still there.

 _Yang?_ Halcyon's mental voice shook.

Yang snapped her eyes open and jerked her head toward where she felt her dragon. A gray hard drive looking thing rested on a podium with a black tube connected to the back of it. "Halcyon?" she forced out in a whisper.

 _I can't hear… I can't see… I can't move._

"Use me!" Yang pounced forward and grabbed the edges of the podium. "My eyes, my ears, whatever you need! Take it!" Halcyon dove into his Rider's mind. Yang threw her head back and closed her eyes. Her dragon hadn't been that deep in her head since before Urû'baen. It was like someone threw an ice-cold bucket of water on her, in the best way possible. Her mouth formed a smile without her command. She opened her eyes and looked down at the artificial Eldunarí. She felt her dragon using her eyes. It worked. It worked! Halcyon was back!

"Transfer successful and stable." Dr. Polendina walked over to the podium. "Miss Xiao Long, I need to disconnect the device."

"Just a second." Yang jumped on the scientist and hugged him tight. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Dr. Polendina patted Yang's back, but it didn't feel the most confident. "You are welcome. Now would you please get off me?"

"Of course." Yang dropped to the floor and took a few steps back. The sooner she could hold her dragon, the better.

Dr. Polendina put a hand on the black tube. He unscrewed something on the back. His hands brushed the artificial Eldunarí proper and he jumped back. Yang felt Halcyon wanting to jump too. "That was… unexpected."

"What's going on?" Yang looked from the scientist to the podium.

"I am not certain," Dr. Polendina rubbed the back of his head, "but I believe I might have just seen into Halcyon's mind."

 _I can confirm that,_ Halcyon said. _That was… different._

"Really?" Yang held herself back from bouncing on her feet. Dr. Polendina resumed working on the artificial Eldunarí, this time with a handkerchief serving as a barrier. He pulled the black pipe off the back and stepped away. Yang jumped forward and picked Halcyon off the podium. It wasn't as jarring as touching an actual Eldunarí, but she felt even more of her dragon. She held Halcyon's entire soul in her hands. From the feel of it, neither one of them had a problem with that.

A hand fell on her right shoulder. "So… it… worked?" Weiss asked.

Yang spun around to face her teammate. Weiss panted like an overheated dog and sweat enough to fill a swimming pool, but her emotions screamed that she was concerned. "It worked." Yang brought Weiss into as tight of a hug as she dared. She pulled back just enough to kiss Weiss on the cheek, then rested her head on her teammate's shoulder. "Thank you so much, Weiss. Today, you win the best little sister award."

Weiss finally returned the hug, but it was more like she rested her hands on Yang's back. "Don't… let… Ruby… know… you… said… that."

"You know her. She'll agree." Yang pulled back but kept her hands on Weiss' shoulders. "Weiss, I don't know what I can get or give you that you can't get otherwise, but if there is, name it. I don't care what it is or how expensive. No questions asked."

"There's a… few things." Weiss returned Yang's smile as best as she cold. "A… friendly… face until… tomorrow?"

Yang laughed. "I think I can do that."

Weiss dipped her head. "Energy… tired… Saphira… too far…" Before she even stopped speaking, Yang poured as much energy as she dared into her teammate. In the end, her knees felt weak, but Weiss stopped panting. "Thanks. That's not as good as Aura would be… can we even do that?"

"If we can, we haven't figured out how to." Yang drew her arms back to herself and cradled Halcyon like a baby. "But I guess if anyone's going to figure that out, it's going to be us."

 _It could take a while,_ Halcyon agreed, _but it could be useful in so many situations._

"Miss Xiao Long?" Dr. Polendina called. Yang faced the scientist. "I will need to see you and… Halcyon back here in thirty days for any Aura leakage."

"What?" Yang hugged Halcyon tight.

Dr. Polendina held up a hand. "There are no signs of it right now, and the odds are in your favor. It would be more like a checkup for people."

"Oh." Yang relaxed her arms. "I guess that's okay… How could I ever repay you?"

The scientist waved an arm in front of him. "For one of Penny's friends, nothing. Also, it's the least I can do after my former apprentice tried to kill Weiss and Aaron."

Yang stiffened. "Wait, what?"

"The man who tried to assassinate your teammates, Arthur Watts, was my apprentice for a time. I cast him out when he helped Merlot in his Grimm control research. I believe he had a hand in Mountain Glen's destruction, and I know he was behind the hacking software that controlled the androids during the Battle of Beacon. He was a brilliant man, but his head and heart were in the wrong place. I wonder who he's working for…" Dr. Polendina shook his head. "I'm rambling. Take care, you two. Penny and I have work to do."

Penny waved at Yang and Weiss. "Goodbye, friends! I hope to work with you again sometime soon." She turned back to her father and they both returned to the screens.

Yang and Weiss turned around and walked back to the elevator. The former looked at the device that held her dragon. "At least we have a name for someone we're going after."

 _There is that. But... Can we not talk about work for a while?_ Halcyon mentally hummed, and it felt like he tried to make is physical too. _I would like to spend some actual time with my family, and catch up on everything that I've missed._

"I'm sure that can be arranged." Yang faced Weiss. "What do you say, Ice Princess?"

"I think I'd like that." Weiss nodded. "When we get in range, I'll call Klein so he can whip something up for us."

"He's the one who helped us break you out a few years ago, right?"

"Yes. I am so glad father never found out."

"Ya know, Weiss," Yang hooked an arm around her teammate's shoulders, "you're my sister now. You've got a real dad on Patch over that whack-job."

Weiss blinked. "Is that okay?"

"I've heard Blake call him dad a few times, and she's not in a bad place with her real parents."

 _What about me?_ Halcyon asked. _I never knew my father. Can I call him that too?_ He sounded joking over sad.

"He wouldn't mind, I'm sure."

Weiss laughed a little, then faced he artificial Eldunarí. "It's good to have you back, Halcyon." She brushed the surface of the metal and jerked her hand back. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Just like a real one." Yang brought Halcyon up to her face and pressed him against her cheek. It was the best hug she could give him, and it made the transfer from his mind to hers that much quicker. "We are not leaving each other's side for a long time.

 _Awww,_ Halcyon whined. _But I wanted to go pet giant spiders..._

Yang drew the artificial Eldunarí away from her face. "Okay, maybe not."

 _I'm just teasing you._ Halcyon hummed. _I've got a lot to catch up on. Brace yourself._

* * *

 **The moment a lot of you have been waiting for, especially any Yang and Halcyon fans in here.  
**


	15. Bring 'em Home

**My gosh, it's not easy to write on a bus… Wrote this in four days while on a bus with 50+ people on the way to the FCS championship.** **I wrote this back in the first weekend of January.** **Yeah, I was that far ahead.  
**

 **Thank you all for the kind words last week. It's nice seeing so many of you happy instead of calling for my head**

 **Also, did A Rose's Scales end up on a list or something? I got like ten favorites and a lot of reviews on that in the past week with it being stagnant for a long time. It's spread to here too. As always, if this hits 100 favorites, another chapter will be uploaded on Friday. Huh. Same thing happened back then too... History is repeating itself.**

 **One more real life thing, for those of you who read through Nevermore, you may remember I've done some voice acting work for a Star Wars EAW FOC mod. Now I've got something else in Thrawn's Revenge! Recording later today.**

* * *

Aaron was exhausted, if that was the right word for what he was feeling. Ever since he had woken up from his coma, he just laid in bed or on the couch watching whatever was on the CCT, mainly news or sci-fi shows and movies. He was tired of sitting on the couch, tired of being useless around the house, tired of doing nothing but waste away inside or under Nalia's wing.

There was no way he could get back into fighting shape sitting on the couch. He sighed and stood up. The room stayed stable around him as his legs straightened. That was an accomplishment. He pulled the coffee table out of the center of the room to open an area so he could perform Rimgar. Before, it was a good start to training and practice. Hopefully it would be again.

 _Aaron!_ Nalia scolded before her Rider could do anything. _What do you think you're doing?_

"Rimgar." Aaron walked to the center of the space, struggling to stay upright. "I'm tired of sitting around."

 _I know how you feel, but Rimgar? You know how long it took you to learn it the first time. You may not need to again, but you may still hurt yourself._

"When did you become so protective?"

 _Since you were almost killed in front of me._ Nalia growled, but that turned into a whimper. _I don't want to see you like that again._

Aaron sighed. "Then what would you have me do?"

"Have a spotter," Ruby said behind Aaron. The latter turned around and faced the stairs. His girlfriend stood about halfway up the stairs with her arms crossed. "If something goes wrong, I'll stop the whole thing."

"That's not necessary, Ruby." Aaron waved a hand. "I'm sure you have other things to do."

"I do, but you're also my concern." Ruby let her arms fall and walk down the stairs. "Keeping those under my command healthy, safe, and physically fit has always been my number one priority. Until there's a lot more of us and I physically can't look after everyone, it will be. Also," she continued walking toward Aaron, "you're my second in command… and my boyfriend. Both of those make me almost as concerned for you as I am for Cerise."

Aaron looked away. "You don't need to do this."

"Hey." Ruby grabbed Aaron's chin and guided his head back to face her. Their eyes met and stayed locked together. "Yes, I do. I know you're not used to accepting this kind of help. I wasn't, Yang wasn't, Nora isn't. You know how hard Yang pushed back and where she is now. Asking for help isn't easy, especially for something like this. But as _you_ know, there are so many people around here willing to offer it."

Aaron stared into Ruby's eyes for a few more seconds, then sighed. "Did Nalia put you up to this?"

"I'm sure she would have if I'd given her time." Ruby took her hand back. "She just let me in on your conversation." She sat on the couch and crossed her arms and legs. "So, you were going to perform Rimgar? Go ahead. Level one, from the top."

"Okay." Aaron took a deep breath, then reached his arms straight up. He wobbled on his legs, but didn't fall over. That was the theme for the rest of the session as well. His whole body shook at times, but it never gave out. Well, when he was bent over backwards and supporting his upper body on his hands, Ruby had to step in to make sure he didn't fall on his head, but Aaron never hit the ground.

After he was done with the first level of Rimgar, Aaron collapsed on the floor and sprawled out. That was more exhausting than he remembered it. Everything hurt, but he could still move. He could probably do another round, but he would prefer not to.

Ruby bent over so her head hung above Aaron's. Her hair draped down on either side of her head. "How you feeling?"

"Sore… but it could be worse. I can still work."

"Nalia?" Ruby looked to the side. "Do I have your permission to continue working with your Rider?"

 _Permission granted,_ Nalia said. _I will let you know when you can stop. Just don't have him move his head too much._

"Then on we go." Ruby straightened up and faced Aaron again. "Roll over. Let's see how many pushups you can do."

Aaron did as told, but he was confused. "I thought Nalia said so fast movement?"

"She did." Ruby laid prone in front of Aaron with her palms on the floor as well. "Why do you think I'm not having you do sit-ups or crunches? You've always done slow pushups, even though they're harder." She pushed her elbows out. "I'll do them with you."

"But… you hate pushups."

"Besides Yang, Nora, and bodybuilders, who _does_ like them?" Ruby pushed herself a little off the floor. "Come on. Let's get started." Aaron copied Ruby as best as he could. His arms were already sore from level one Rimgar. Now they shook for every inch they pushed him up. "Come on, Aaron! You can do it!" Ruby cheered.

Aaron refused to let gravity win. He pushed himself up and stayed there on his shaky arms. Again, that was more difficult than it should have been. This was going to take a long time. Too long. Before he could think further, something warm and a little wet pressed against his forehead. He didn't even notice Ruby leaning in for the kiss. "Uh, Ruby?"

"There's more where that came from if you keep this up." Ruby smiled and lowered herself to the floor. "Come on. I'm doing this with you, not the other way around."

Aaron blinked then lowered himself back to the ground. "I'm not used to this."

"Someone working with you to improve, or something else?"

"Both." Aaron started pushing himself back up, this time wasn't any easier than the last. "Those that I trained under were more like… I believe you call them drill sergeants." He straightened his arms and held himself there.

Ruby matched Aaron the whole way. "Really? I didn't get that impression from master Oromis."

"You weren't under him when Cerise first hatched. But I think you got that from Brom when we were on horseback."

"True." Both teammates lowered back to the ground. "But if you're expecting me to act like that, you're out of luck."

"It got results back then."

Ruby's smile disappeared and she touched her knees to the floor. "Aaron, I can see how training like that is necessary. It gets results both in Alagaësia and the militaries on Remnant. But this isn't training. This is rehab. Your body physically can't take that strain. And until we figure out how to reverse that curse, we're stuck doing it the way everyone else has to. I know you don't like it, I don't like it either. As team leader and leader of the Dragon Riders, I need you at full strength as soon as possible… As your girlfriend, I want to see you happy again. I don't want to see you hurting anymore."

Aaron dipped his head. "I know. It's just…" He sighed. "I feel useless. So many things are happening out there, and I'm sitting on the couch."

"Which is why we're doing this." Ruby leaned forward and kissed Aaron's forehead again. "And I'll be your cheerleader the entire way." She got back into a pushup position. "Come on. Let's see how many of these you can do. After this, if Nalia permits us, we'll work on your legs."

True to her word, Ruby cheered for Aaron every time he completed a single pushup, especially in the last two when his arms almost gave out. Aaron thought she only got more excited when at sporting events and when fighting Grimm just to fight Grimm. It felt… oddly refreshing. He didn't think he would have been able to get through it all.

Even so, after he completed the last pushup of the set, Aaron collapsed to the floor. Ruby was right. His body couldn't take the stress of this. How could he go through what he did on Vroengard? He brought his knees up and tried to push himself off the floor, but his arms wouldn't lift his weight.

Ruby stood up without any problems. "Need a hand?" She reached her left hand down.

"Not going to take off your bionic and hand it over?" Aaron took the offered hand and Ruby helped him to his feet.

"Not when you're like this." Ruby shook her head. "Maybe when you're back to one hundred percent." She stepped forward and hugged Aaron. "You're doing great so far."

Aaron returned it, trying not to put all his weight on Ruby. "Well, I've got my own personal cheerleader."

"Glad I can help." Ruby turned her head, kissed Aaron on the cheek, then turned back. "Keep up the good work, and there will be more where that came from." Aaron relaxed and he stopped trying to be the only one holding his weight. Then Ruby pulled away making him stand on his own. "Okay. Let's get you walking a little." She walked toward the front door, then held it open.

"Where to?" Aaron asked as he walked outside, trying to stay upright.

"Not far, just around the house." Ruby closed the door behind her. "Do you want help the first time around, or do you want to try completely on your own?"

"I can't use you as a crutch forever. I have to go alone sometime."

Ruby looked toward the other side of the house. "Nalia? Your permission?"

 _You appear to know what you're doing._ Nalia hummed, and Aaron felt it through the ground. _I trust you._

"Well…" Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "I'm making this up as I go along. I have no idea if I'm doing this right. I should probably look something up." She walked in front of Aaron, then turned to face him. "I'll catch you if you fall, but for now, one step in front of the other."

Aaron walked forward with only a little shake in any direction. Ruby faced him while walking backward and offering words of encouragement. The same excitement from before would probably come around when they made it back to the front door.

They walked into the backyard where Nalia and Cerise laid. Viki sat in the curve of Cerise' neck, doing something on Aaron's original Scroll, probably playing one of the games Ruby downloaded for that exact purpose.

Nalia hummed again and lifted her head. Aaron and Ruby stopped and looked toward the dragon. _You two…_ Nalia focused on Ruby. Something Aaron didn't hear passed between them. Whatever it was made Ruby blush and turn away and made Cerise raise her head and ears and look at Nalia.

Aaron looked between the three of them. "Am I missing something here?"

"Oh, uh, well…" Ruby shook her head. "I won't say what exactly Nalia said, but in essence, she just thanked me for helping you out."

Aaron faced his dragon. _Well?_

 _What I told Ruby was for her and Cerise only. I am sure you will find out in time._ Nalia curled her lips to give the best smirk a dragon could give. _She has you figured out. Why have I never seen this side of you before?_

 _We've never been in one place long enough… but that's not what you're talking about._

 _Nope._ Nalia laughed, once again shaking the ground. _But I like this side of… you…_ she turned her head around to her saddle. _Did I just…_

"Nalia, what's wrong?" Aaron instinctively reached for Redemption, but his hand met open air. Beside him, Ruby grabbed Máni Bláto. Nalia didn't answer. She just stayed still, with her ears slowly rising and angling forward. Her eyes stayed locked on one of the saddlebags… Aaron relaxed his shoulders and straightened up.

Nalia's ears and wings jumped straight up. Her pupils filled her entire eyes. She bugled toward the sky and stomped on the ground with all four legs. _It's happening! It's happening! He's hatching!_

Aaron straightened and his jaw dropped. This… this was great! He ran forward, ignoring the pain in his head and legs. He jumped up into the saddle and opened the proper saddlebag. Sure enough, the purple egg shook in the bag. He pulled the egg out of the saddle and slid off Nalia's back, barely managing to stay on his feet. The waking hatchling inside squeaked as Aaron set the egg on the ground.

Nalia snaked her head over the ground until her snout rested a few inches away from the egg. _He's hatching! I'm going to be a mother! Again!_ She hadn't pushed out this much joy and happiness since she laid her eggs years ago.

Aaron took a few steps back, his legs about ready to give as the world spun around him. Maybe he should have left egg retrieval to Ruby. Arms wrapped around him before he could fall and held him tight. "Aaron, I don't know how you did that," Ruby started, "but that was some great improvement!"

"I guess I had the right motivation." Aaron brought a hand to his head. "I'm regretting it now."

"I'll help you out. But first." Ruby walked around Aaron while still keeping her arms on him. "I don't want to be called a liar, and I don't know how you can top that in such short time, so…" She closed her eyes, leaned forward, and planted her lips on her boyfriend's.

Aaron stiffened. As far as he remembered, this was only the second time this happened. He didn't know what to do then either. But… he couldn't just stand there and do nothing again while Ruby was honoring him in such a way. He closed his own eyes and did his best to return Ruby's favor. He hoped it wasn't 'bad'. At least to him, it felt wonderful.

After a few seconds, Ruby pulled back and locked eyes with Aaron. Her cheeks burned red and she looked away. "So, yeah. Good job. Now let's see Nalia's…" She raised her head and her eyes widened. "Yang?" Aaron turned his head to where Ruby faced. He stepped back and out of Ruby's arms.

Yang stood just inside the tree line with her hands on her hips and the smirk of all smirks on her face. She sauntered over staying in that position. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

 _A hatching dragon!_ Cerise called from the side. She had repositioned herself so she had an unobstructed view of Nalia's egg. Viki stayed by Cerise' head, bouncing on her heels.

Yang's mouth hung open and her arms fell. "Okay. Tease the two of you later. We've got more important things." She ran to Ruby's side and stared at the shaking egg. "Purple huh? This one's going to be cute."

Aaron stared at Yang instead of looking at the egg. She seemed happier than she had been since before she lost Halcyon. Did her trip to Atlas work?

Before he could ask, he heard a squeak, followed by a louder and deeper hum. Aaron faced the egg again. A piece had fallen off and a single black claw stuck out. Nalia shifted her head to be right in front of the hole. Her tail flicked from side to side and her wings fluttered. She stuck her tongue out in front of the egg. She hummed again and stomped around once more.

"Nalia, mind if I take a video of this?" Ruby asked.

Nalia's visible eye flashed between Ruby and her egg. _Only after he sees me._ She returned her focus solely to her egg. Nothing could turn her away now.

More pieces of the egg fell off. The squeaking inside grew more excited with each breakthrough. Nalia hummed and rumbled things that Aaron thought were encouragement. Then a full purple claw stuck out of the egg. It used its new vantage point to peel open the egg more. A second paw joined the first and together they pushed a huge section off.

The hatchling inside fell out of the egg. His head landed on his forepaws, with his legs and tail still in the shell. The pitch black horns on his head curved up instead of down. His wings were larger than any other hatchling's. He could be another Quickwing. Nalia hummed the highest yet and moved her head to just over her hatchling. She flicked her tongue out again and ran it over her baby's back. The hatchling looked up at his mother. He chirped and stood up, tail wagging the whole way. He raised his head and nuzzled Nalia's snout.

 _Welcome to the world, little one._ Nalia returned her hatchling's gesture. She otherwise stilled her body. But judging from the emotions she put out, she wanted to roar at the top of her lungs and take her hatchling to see the world. She wanted to teach him the ways of the dragons… She would do anything to protect her young.

"Oh my gosh!" Ruby whispered. She pulled out her Scroll and started recording. "The first wild dragon to hatch on Remnant!"

Viki stepped away from Cerise toward Nalia. _No, Viki,_ Cerise moved her head to stop Viki. _Let her have her time with her hatchling. I'm sure you'll be close at some point._

"Okay." Viki bounced a little more. "He's just so cute…"

Aaron smiled at his sister. She still had a ways to go, but she rarely acted like a slave anymore. She and Ruby now shared quite a few qualities. That was expected with how much time they spent together. But something else was on his mind. He turned back to face Yang. "How was your trip to Atlas?"

Ruby whipped her head around and dropped her Scroll. "Yang?" She grabbed her sister's right arm. "Did it work? Do you have him?"

A smile formed on Yang's face and her eyes grew glassy. "I'm surprised you haven't felt him, yet."

A mind Aaron hadn't felt in far too long entered his. _What am I chopped liver?_ Halcyon asked. _Maybe. I seem to be missing mine._

"Nah, you're fine." Yang tapped a new pouch on her belt. "I think it was vaporized back in Urû'baen."

 _Oh. That's good to know._

"Oh my gosh!" Ruby jumped on Yang and hugged her with both arms and legs. "Yang, this is great!" She got off her sister and faced and gestured at the pouch. "May I?"

Yang froze up and looked down at the pouch. "I, uh…"

 _Really, Yang?_ Halcyon laughed. _It's Ruby. If you can't trust me with her, I'm surprised you could trust me with anyone else._

Yang sighed. "You've got a point." She opened the pouch and pulled out a metal box.

Ruby took the box and gasped. "Wow. I didn't expect that." She looked at Aaron. _Just like an Eldunarí._ She faced the artificial Eldunarí again. "It's nice and sturdy. It should take a fall, and I'm guessing you've already put dozens of wards on here?"

"That's what I was doing on the flight over here." Yang nodded. "I still didn't get as many as I wanted."

 _It's not too bad in here,_ Halcyon started, _but… I can't see. I don't have any of my senses._

Ruby's jaw dropped. She turned Halcyon over in her hands at all angles. After she'd looked over all sides, she handed the box back to Yang. "I'll be right back." She disappeared in a flash of rose petals and left a trail toward downtown Patch.

"Where do you think she's going?" Aaron asked.

"Probably an electronics store. Something for Halcyon. You know her… enough to have one heck of a kiss."

Aaron faced Yang again. "What was that?"

"Just messing with you." Yang punched Aaron's shoulder. "What led up to that?"

"Ask her." Aaron gestured at the trail of rose petals. "She's been acting like that all day."

Yang laughed. "You know her True Name, and you still don't know her."

"The ones who we know the most are the ones most alien to us."

"Uh…" Yang blinked. "Oromis?"

"Yeah. He said that the first time Nalia met Irolon."

Yang shrugged, then smirked. "Well it looks like you're treating Ruby right. Just don't get her pregnant until she's ready."

Aaron tensed up with his whole body. "Excuse me?" His voice was just above a whisper. Yang blinked and her smirk became uncertain. "I am _not_ one of those lecherous pigs that are unfortunately common here. In Alagaësia, we throw those people in the stockades, if not worse."

"Whoa, whoa, geeze, I was just joking." Yang blinked, then smirked again. "Oh. My. Gosh. Either you're more innocent than Ruby, or I need to find an Alagaësian myself. Probably both. No more concerns."

Aaron glared at Yang, then shook his head. "Yang, in all seriousness, I'm happy for you. You're the first one to get this opportunity, and I don't think very many will get it in the future."

"Thanks, Aaron." Yang relaxed her whole body and cradled the box that held Halcyon. "I won't waste it."

 _You better not,_ Halcyon said. _I didn't come back from the dead for nothing… And Aaron, before you say anything to me, I know how serious this is. I was not acting like this on the flight over. I'm making up for lost time._

"I wouldn't have said that," Aaron started, "but I'm sure one of the Eldunarí would."

"Probably." Yang nodded. "The ones I've talked to are a little wound up."

 _Most of them would probably think I'm more than a little odd… or wonder if I should even be alive._ Halcyon's tone trailed off at the end.

Yang's smile fell from her face and she stared at the box in her arms. "If any of them tell you that, they'll have to deal with me."

A gust of wind blew by accompanied by more rose petals. Ruby now stood by Yang's side. "I'm back. Hopefully this works." She tore open the plastic case in her hands. A new netcam lay inside. "Yang, may I?" She reached a hand out for the box.

Yang handed over Halcyon's artificial Eldunarí. "This doesn't look like one of the cheap ones."

"I grabbed the most expensive five star rated netcam I could find." Ruby flipped the box over in her hands. "Hopefully the price means quality." She faced the netcam toward Yang and plugged it in. "Well?"

Halcyon didn't answer right away. _I'm not sure this is Yang. My Rider is always smiling._

Yang laughed and took the box back from Ruby. "Nope. It's me." She lifted the camera and kissed the front. "Believe it's me now?"

 _I'm convinced._ Halcyon laughed, but it sounded… off. Then again, he didn't have a body to properly laugh anymore. _I still can't move, but I can see and hear._

"I could help with that too," Ruby offered. "I could hook you up to Yang's exoskeleton like Cauroc. Or…" she looked toward the shed, "Yang's motorcycle. Oh! I think Blake's Bullhead is in storage somewhere. Then you could fly again."

 _Thank you, Ruby. I would love any of those._

"Anytime." Ruby focused back on her sister. She placed a hand on Yang's right shoulder. _"Yang, I release you from your oath."_

Yang blinked and her jaw dropped. "Ruby, you didn't have to do that. I'm not thinking like that anymore."

"I know. But I don't need or want anyone taking a bullet for me, especially not my big sister."

Yang pulled her lips back together and smirked. "If you're in trouble, I'll still be there. You'll have to curse me to make me stay away."

"I know. I wouldn't do that to either of us."

Aaron stared at the two, then shook his head. He either missed something or forgot something… or both. "Since you're back, does that mean Weiss is too?"

"She and Saphira are on the mainland." Yang stuck a thumb over her shoulder. "They're picking up Cerise' and Vert's eggs."

"Oh my gosh!" Ruby clamped her hands on the sides of her head. "I almost forgot about that!" She jumped in place. "This day just keeps getting better!" She pulled Aaron and Yang into a hug at the same time, which Yang returned right away. "It's not even my day. It's yours, Nalia's, and maybe whoever is lucky enough to have an egg hatch for them. I'm so happy for the both of you. You both deserve the rest of the day off. Aaron… that's more of a suggestion. If Nalia says you can go on, just make sure you have a spotter."

"Uh, sure thing." Aaron readily returned the hug to Ruby but was more hesitant with Yang. Was this okay? He was with Ruby, not Yang… then again, these two hugged just about everyone. Was this a Remnant thing or just around the people on his team?

Ruby pulled away and walked backward toward Cerise. "I'll see you two later. I'm going to find Weiss." She turned around and jumped onto Cerise' saddle. The dragon whimpered and looked away from the hatchling. Viki walked away from the red scaled neck and toward Nalia. Cerise then kicked off the ground and flew toward Signal.

 _Aaron, Viki, Yang?_ Nalia lifted her head off the ground. _If you want to introduce yourselves to my hatchling, you may._

"Do I?" Yang pounced forward to Nalia's side. Viki took it a little slower and looked over the new mother's neck. Aaron shook his head and approached as well. He liked baby animals too, but a hatchling wasn't a puppy or a kitten, especially wild ones. Hopefully the others would realize that.

* * *

"Are you satisfied with how I've packed your eggs?" Weiss stepped away from the red, green, and purple padded cases and the eggs that rested inside. She clasped her hands in front of her.

Vert looked over each egg in turn, then snorted. _They will be comfortable in there._ He nuzzled each one, then looked them over again. It looked like he was speaking to them, but he didn't let Weiss in on it. After about a minute, he stepped away. _You may take them. They are ready._

Weiss nodded. "I will guard them with my life." She closed the cases and Velvet helped load the three of them onto Saphira's saddle.

Saphira looked at her new cargo. _I don't think I've properly thanked Ruby and Cerise for letting me do this. It's an honor I don't know what I did to deserve._

"With Ruby," Velvet started, "it's probably because she trusts you and Weiss."

"We're all one family." Weiss sighed. "I just hope this doesn't come back to bite us someday."

"What do you mean?"

"I have nothing against Ruby at all, but odds are either future Riders don't want to be treated like us… or will be people like Cardin."

Vert snapped his head to Weiss and his pupils narrowed to slits. _I would hope my hatchlings would have the common sense not to choose a brute like that._

"Not your eggs, but there are how many eggs out there?"

 _I would think Aaron or Yang would take care of them,_ Saphira offered.

"Or Ruby herself." Velvet shrugged. "Remember what she did to Cardin after Fort Castle?"

"Yeah. If he didn't try to attack you, it would have been entertaining." Weiss paused. "What happened to CRDL anyway?"

"I don't know, I don't care." Velvet shook her head. "I'm just glad they're nowhere near me."

 _Knowing them,_ Vert growled, _I would expect they're among the Huntsmen that just care about Lien, doing whatever mission pays the most._

"If that's the case, I can't wait for the day we find them and put them behind bars." Weiss paused and took out her Scroll. "We've got to go. We need to be at Signal in fifteen minutes. We'll see you later." She climbed her dragon's side and strapped herself in.

Saphira stood up and faced the ocean. She jumped over the park by CFVY's apartment building and flew over the city. _From what I've seen of Vale,_ she started, _I like this city better than Atlas. Why do we not live here?_

Weiss shook her head. _Atlas law, and the contract the company has with Atlas' military. Believe me, I agree with you. Vale is amazing and it's close to my **real** family, and I would if I could. But until we can get laws changed and the contract runs out, we're stuck in Atlas… All that, and it gets way too hot for me here._

 _And Atlas is too cold for me._ Saphira snorted.

 _You'd want to live in Vacuo. The temperature there would kill me._

Saphira looked back at her Rider. _Kill you?_

 _Not literally._ _I just can't take heat over seventy-five degrees._

 _Well, I suppose if you get the hangar heated, I can stand Atlas for the time being._ Saphira faced forward again. _Is that Cerise?_

Weiss faced where her dragon did. A red dot hovered over the spire of Signal's arena. _I think so. I guess they wanted to be here for this._

 _This is a historical event._ Saphira hummed. _The first time the Riders officially introduce younglings to the eggs._

 _That's probably part of it, but not all._ Weiss smiled at the red spot above Signal. There was a time when she thought Ruby was the most annoying and unbearable person on the planet. Now, she missed the younger woman as much as Winter at points, if not more.

The red dot which had since gained distinction as Cerise dove for the island. Saphira flew over the combat school and Weiss looked off her dragon's side. Ruby and Cerise stood just outside school grounds, with Ruby waving at the dragon still in the air. Weiss waved back as Saphira spiraled downward.

The blue dragon landed by red and Weiss dismounted. "Hey, Ruby. This is a surprise."

Ruby tried to hold back a snort but failed. "It shouldn't be. I live five miles in that direction." She stuck a thumb over her shoulder as she approached Weiss. "It's good to see you again, sis." The adopted sisters hugged.

"It's nice to see another friendly face. Yang was nice the past day, but that's too few and too far in between."

"About that…" Ruby squeezed harder and shook Weiss from side to side. "Thank you, thank you, _thank you_ for saving Halcyon. You gave me my sister and little brother back."

"Yang's my sister too. I wanted to help in any way I could."

 _Cerise,_ Saphira started, _do you know how our Riders are related? I've never understood._

 _Oh, they aren't._ Cerise shook her head. _But with how they act around each other, they might as well be sisters. Ask Vert about it. He sees Nalia as his mother._

Weiss pulled away from Ruby. "Really? I hadn't heard that."

 _I've known since we've mated. He asked me to keep it from everyone. But it makes sense when you think about it._

Saphira growled. _How does it make sense?_

Weiss sighed. "I've been trying to explain this for a month. She's not getting that." She looked up at the clock on the spire. "I should probably be getting inside. Since you're here, could you help me with the cases?"

"Sure thing." Ruby took the red case off Saphira's saddle while Weiss grabbed the other two.

Cerise stepped forward, her wide eyes flicking between all cases. She hummed and licked the air in front of her. Ruby smiled at her dragon, then the cases, then her partner. Weiss felt Ruby enter her mind. _I don't know what she's saying, but she's the happiest she's been in a long time._

 _I think Vert's the same way. He did the same thing too._

 _Sounds about right. Looks like they're going to be empty nesters._ Ruby stiffened, then her cheeks burned red and her eyes flicked to Cerise. _But… Cerise has said she wanted more… they could be trying for more anytime…_ She locked eyes with Weiss. _If that happens, can I join you in Atlas alone for a… month?_

 _Sure. I could use the company._

Cerise snorted and stepped away from her eggs. _I've said my piece. They're all yours._

"Thank you, Cerise." Weiss nodded at her. "I'll make sure they're well looked after." She turned around and walked toward the training arena with Ruby right behind her.

They walked into the building side by side. Unlike Mandate, the basic combat school in Atlas, Signal's arena was multipurposed as a gym like other high schools and a sparring arena, and an amphitheater. The bleachers were pulled out of the wall with a few more rows of chairs on the floor. They must have been expecting a full house. Then again, this was the only time where all students in the school were required to show up initially.

"Want to see something adorable?" Ruby asked when they passed the bleachers..

Weiss sighed. "Is it Zwei asleep on his back?"

"Even better!" Ruby took her Scroll out of a pocket.

Weiss blinked. "Who are you and what have you done with Ruby Rose?"

"Trust me, you'll understand." Ruby did something on her Scroll then angled it toward Weiss.

A purple hatchling rubbed his head against Nalia's lower jaw. Weiss' jaw dropped. "Oh my gosh! He's so cute!" Weiss bent her knees, then stood back up. "How old is he?" She felt Saphira using her eyes as well.

"Not even a half hour. So, yeah. Nalia's pretty happy right now too."

"I can see why." The video continued to show the hatchling crawling onto his mother's snout. Weiss bit her lower lip to keep her smile from getting too big. "I can't wait to meet him."

The video ended and Ruby put her Scroll away. "That's when I realized Yang was back from Atlas and I had to ask her what happened." She paused. "So, what do you have planned for this?"

Weiss fell back into business mode, or a more relaxed version anyway. "I have a speech planned that encompasses everything Aaron told Blake, Yang, and me when he first introduced us to Halcyon's and Vert's eggs, things from the document you've submitted to Vale's council, and more. After that, I'm not going to call every student one by one like Aaron did for us. I'm going to call them up row by row and they'll go through like that. For the next two weeks, I'll be back here for a half hour with the students that touched the eggs. It fits into their free periods or PT times. If you could look over my speech to make sure I'm not giving up any trade secrets or get any other things wrong, I would be grateful."

"So would I, and I'm sure the Eldunarí would be too. Where do you want the eggs?"

"I'm going to be up on the stage." Weiss nodded at the area. The partners walked over there and set the cases down on the stage. Weiss then opened her speech on her Scroll and handed it to Ruby. Soon after that, Signal's headmaster walked in and greeted Weiss. He already had all the information about what was happening, so it was mostly pleasantries. The headmaster then walked to the other side of the area where the tech crew was.

The bell rang in the arena and the rest of the school. Weiss took a deep breath, then let it out. "Well, they're coming. Ruby, are you going to be backstage or in the front row?"

"Well, some students probably saw me and Cerise land outside, and it's not Violet's normal training time, so I'll be out here."

"Okay. Wish me luck."

"Don't mess up." Ruby faced the cases and rested a hand on the red one in the center. "You three are taking a big step today. Take your time. Don't feel pressured into choosing a Rider today. Take some time. Think about it. But if you've found _the_ one for you, let them know. No dragon has regretted their choice of Rider. I don't think you'll be the first." She backed away as the doors to the arena opened and the first students filed in.

Weiss retreated backstage and waited. The noise in the area grew as more and more students entered and took their seats. She peaked out once and sure enough, the place was packed with more students and staff walking in. She smiled to herself. Unlike Ruby and Yang, she never had a problem talking in front of others. In fact, she thrived off it. If only there were more opportunities… then again, that's all she was looking forward to for a while.

The bell rang again, and Signal's headmaster walked onstage. The crowd clapped, then quieted down. "Signal Academy," he said into a microphone, "we have a special guest for you today, and potentially a very special opportunity for a few of you in here. As you may have seen outside, we have Dragon Riders in the building, and they are looking for more students to have the honor of being bonded to a dragon." Many people in the crowd whispered to each other. Some sounded excited, others nervous. "Now, allow me to introduce the Dragon Rider's Caretaking Director, Weiss Schnee."

Weiss stepped onstage to moderate applause. She suspected that a good chunk of these students were only here because they were required to be. They would most likely leave if given the chance. Good. They likely wouldn't make good Riders.

She stopped at the podium and set her Scroll on it. Weiss likely wouldn't need it, but it was nice to have a backup and see Ruby's notes. She looked over the crowd. _High schoolers. Don't be afraid to go off track and make jokes._ "Thank you all for coming in here today. Like headmaster Nelson said, I'm the Caretaking Director for the Dragon Riders. To simplify what that means, I am in charge of any and all eggs that are set to be bonded to Riders, and any eggs for wild dragons that are unable to be cared for by their parents, or they entrust to us for reasons beyond any of our control.

"Let me clarify something headmaster Nelson said: _We_ aren't the ones searching for people to be bonded to dragons." Weiss gestured at the cases on stage. "The hatchlings inside these three eggs are searching for the one they want to spend the rest of their lives with, the one they want to share every waking moment with. I know you have probably heard by now that the Huntsman doesn't choose the weapon, the weapon chooses the Huntsman. In this case, that is literally true. Dragons choose their bondmates, and they choose for life. Even Ruby Rose would agree that there's a little bit of choice for the Huntsman while choosing weapons." She glanced down to the front row where Ruby sat next to her dad. Ruby held her mouth open and a hand on her chest. Weiss leaned closer to the mic. "She's actually sitting in the front row, and she's giving me a betrayed look right now." That got a little laugh from the students, followed by applause.

Weiss waited for the audience to calm down before continuing. "Being a Dragon Rider is similar in many ways to being a Huntsman. Both are excellent fighters, both are heroes to the people, and both can kill Grimm with ease. But there are several things that set the Riders apart. We are loyal to no one Kingdom, but to the innocent in all. We defend those people with everything we have. We act with little to no reward asked for or expected. We know there is more to helping people than just killing Grimm or stopping bad guys, and we can do something about it.

"There are quite a few benefits to being bonded to a dragon. If you're lonely, you'll have someone to be there with you. You can talk to them about anything, and they won't judge. They'll know you at a level that no one else ever will, not even your parents or your boyfriends or girlfriends. You'll be faster, stronger, and smarter than ever before. And well, you won't have to pay for fuel for cars later on." Again, there were a few laughs in the crowd. _I should have asked Yang for help on these._

"But at the same time, you'll be providing these same services to your dragon. Even when they're a few weeks out of the egg, they can be as smart as any of us. They're not normal animals. They're fast learners, and their near photographic memory helps. They may act like puppies or kittens when they first hatch, but you could be having fully fledged conversations a month after they leave the shell.

"But there are a few things you should know about that could make you change your mind on if you want to be a Rider. First off, the bonding process is terribly painful. It was one of the worst pains in my life, and I'm sure to some if not most of you, it would be. But if you ask any of us Riders, it's worth the minute or two of pain. Second, if one of these hatchlings chooses you, your minds would be bonded forever. This can either be a blessing or a curse. It means you can feel each other's emotions, each other's joys and fears. But it also means you feel their sadness as your own. You even feel each other's pain, no matter how small or large. You won't be injured yourself, but knowing how hurt your bondmate is hurts on a level deeper than what can be physical felt."

Weiss glanced down at her Scroll. Ruby didn't make any marks on this next one. This would probably turn more people away than anything else. "Third, dragons are immortal, or at least none have died of old age or have suffered any diseases that plague our elderly. Their bond with their Riders is strong enough to give them immortality too." There were murmurs of excitement in the crowd. "However, that is a double edged blade. Yes, you could live long enough to walk on the moon, you could make first contact with an alien species on their homeworld, but who do you know right now that would be there with you?" The crowd silenced. "This part was not told to the Riders of Alagaësia, but we think this is important. You will outlive any unbonded human or Faunus you know. That hurts too, and it won't get any easier as time goes on. It's hard to get my head around it, and I don't think I ever will.

"With these things being said, I will still say that even in the few months I've known her, Saphira choosing me is the best thing to ever happen to me. She's become my other half, and I can't imagine life without her anymore." Weiss felt her dragon hum in her head. "It can be this way for any of you too. The hatchlings inside these eggs care about _who_ you are, not what you are and what you look like. Human or Faunus, boy or girl, your chances are the same."

Weiss paused and leaned back from the podium. "I understand if some things I've said made you concerned. It's only natural, and if I was told these things at your age, I would have run the other way. There is no shame in that. It's a lot to ask of you at such a young age. The dragon may choose the Rider, but the Rider must make themselves available first. If you don't want to be up for consideration, you may leave now."

At first, no one moved. Then one person on an aisle seat in the bleachers stood up and walked down. More and more people followed his example. Humans and Faunus left in droves. In the end, less than a quarter of the original crowd was left in the arena. Weiss visually scanned the remaining faces. It looked like she didn't scare off the wrong people. Some of these kids looked like tough guys that used force to get their way. Others looked like they had nothing left to lose. The smallest group stared with wide eyes at the cases on the stage. These were the kids that Weiss hoped the dragons chose… Then again, she did have a history of judging people on looks and ending up being completely wrong about them.

"For those of you remaining, you will be brought up row by row to the eggs." Weiss walked around the podium and opened each case. The wide eyed group leaned forward and scooted to the edges of their seats while most of the others either remained passive or had a wicked look in their eyes. Maybe she wasn't wrong this time. She looked at the front row. "Miss Rose, Mr. Xiao Long, would you like to be our ushers?"

The father and daughter looked at each other, then stood up. They moved to either side of one of the rows and let people up. This time, most people had at least a little interest in Ruby, with either high-fives or hugs, or both. As soon as the first student made it to the eggs, all prior judgement disappeared. Weiss would protect those eggs with everything she had. Nothing was happening to those eggs under her watch.

* * *

 **Everything is going right for a change. It feels so weird. Eh, crap's got to hit the fan at some point. (Looks at current chapter)... Well, if history repeats itself...  
**

 **One more serious thing... If anyone here goes/has gone/knows someone who goes to JSU, or just plain anywhere around Jacksonville AL, the Herd's prayers are with you. There isn't a lot out there right now when I'm writing this, but it doesn't sound good.**


	16. Old and New Faces

**Just like A Rose's Scales, this fic hit 100 favorites between chapters 15 and 16. History is funny like that I guess. Thank you all for sticking around for something I had no idea I would be working on two and a half years later.  
**

* * *

Weiss looked over her company's latest reports on her Scroll. It looked like public opinion had risen for the SDC, and so far, it looked like profits were following that same trend. Also, production of solar-powered Scrolls had started, with advertisements going live in two days. It looked like things were going well for her company.

A bark came from her side and the cushion beneath her dipped to the side. Weiss looked at the culprit and smiled. "Do you need something, Zwei?" She took a hand off her Scroll and rubbed Zwei's head. "Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" Zwei yipped and crawled onto Weiss' lap. The CEO sighed. "Zwei, don't get too comfortable, I have to leave in a few minutes." Zwei normally listened to anything anyone told him, but this time, he laid on Weiss' legs and closed his eyes.

"There could be worse things that like you," Yang said from behind Weiss. "Cardin could have asked you out."

Weiss shivered then looked over her shoulder. Yang sat at the kitchen table and leaned on an elbow. "Don't put that image in my head," Weiss scolded.

"If that happened, I'd give that guy a one-way ticket to the moon, but I don't think he'd make it."

"And the world would celebrate." Weiss paused. "Are you going to be coming with us to Alagaësia today, or are you staying here?"

"Nah. I'm gonna stay here and keep an eye on things. I know you're going to Du Weldenvarden first and I could stay there, but someone needs to keep Viki company." Yang faced the table in front of her. "That, and we should probably have some Riders here in case something happens here."

"There is that. At least the frequency of attacks has gone down." Weiss looked up at the projector. It currently showed a story of about a small attack on the walls of Armen. It looked like some of the Grimm were getting dumber.

Viki and Aaron cheered on the couch across from Weiss. "Nice job, Viki." Aaron took a hand off his Scroll and stuck the palm of his hand toward Viki.

"Your Charstoise did most of the damage." Viki completed the high five. "I just made the final hit."

Weiss cocked her head. "Pokécre? When'd you start playing that together?"

"Yesterday," Aaron said. "We're learning this together. Ruby and Yang let us use their games."

"You better treat my team with respect!" Yang called. "I raised them with love and performance-enhancing drugs."

Aaron lowered the Scroll. "Wait, what?"

"It's Vitamins. Don't worry about it."

The house's front door open and Ruby stepped in. "Yes, thank you, Mr. Suzuki," she said into her Scroll. "Do not worry about the Grimm. We will be providing security ourselves, either literally, other teams we know, or squads of androids and Paladins. Your crews will be safe the entire process. I can promise you that… I will be leaving the Kingdom today on business, so I'll stop by the site when I get back… That is perfectly okay. I'll see what I can put together today…. Thank you again, bye."

Ruby put her Scroll away, then jumped in place. "Good news, guys! I found a company that will build our place in the mountains. Construction's starting as soon as they can get the site surveyed and plans drawn up. Yang? Could you escort them?"

"Sure thing." Yang stood up from her chair. "Where and when do I meet them?"

"Anytime today if you're able. Suzuki Construction on 65th Ave. They have their own Bullheads, so you won't need to fly yourself anywhere."

"Got it. Cerise? Could you give me a ride?"

 _There is no problem,_ Cerise said. _I should be back here before Weiss returns from Signal._

"Speaking of which," Weiss looked at the time on her Scroll. "I should probably get going." She moved to stand up and Zwei jumped off her lap. "It's the last day at Signal. Fingers crossed that at least one of the eggs hatches."

"Two hatching in two weeks? That would be amazing!" Ruby stepped out of Weiss' way as the latter walked to the front door. "Hurry back afterward. It could be a little late in Ellesméra."

"Will do. You know if... dad's going to be supervising today?" Like Yang suggested in Atlas, Weiss had started calling Taiyang dad. It felt and sounded weird at first, but it was growing on her. Nobody minded, Taiyang least of all.

"I don't think so." Ruby shook her head. "I think he said he has a meeting with a new instructor being hired from Bullworth."

Weiss nodded at her partner. "Thanks anyway." She left the house and walked to Saphira's side. "Any sign of Nalia and her hatchling?"

 _Not yet._ Saphira laid on the ground. _I think she's still teaching him how to hunt._ She snorted. _I believe you would call him a momma's boy._

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not for a wild dragon." Weiss climbed her dragon's side and checked the cases hooked to the saddle. All were secure and all still held their precious cargo. "We're good, Saphira. Let's hit the skies."

 _Hold on._ Saphira jumped into the air and angled toward Signal. _If we have time in Alagaësia, we need to fly together, away from everyone else._

 _I couldn't agree more._ Weiss rubbed her dragon's neck. _I'm sure Masters Oromis and Glaedr won't mind too much. We need some flight time together._

 _All the other dragons have told me how I can make you feel how I do while flying. I would like to try that when we have the time._

 _I think I've heard Ruby and Yang talk about that too. They say it's one of their favorite things to do with their dragons, though I guess it's the other way around with Yang and Halcyon now._

 _I suppose so._ Saphira paused. _You have said that I will need to be able to fight Grimm. When will you let me fight them?_

Weiss stopped rubbing Saphira's scales. _That's not up for me to decide. Ask Nalia and Cerise. I've seen you spar with Paladins and my Summons. I know you're ready to fight them in the field, but it's not me you need to convince._

 _Thank you._ Saphira flew over Signal and dove for the arena. She settled down on her usual spot beside the building. Weiss dismounted and unhooked all the cases. Her dragon watched the cases with an intensity that hadn't been seen before. _I have a good feeling about today._

Weiss looked at the cases in her arms and hands. "You think one of them could hatch?"

 _Maybe… I just have a feeling.  
_

"Well then," Weiss smiled at the cases, "let's not keep these hatchlings waiting." She left her dragon's side and pushed her way into the arena. The wood floor was pretty much empty except for a mat laid down on center court. Hopefully that would catch any egg fluid from the hatchlings.

Weiss set the egg cases on the stage and opened them. The bell rang, and the Rider leaned against the stage. She pulled out her Scroll and continued going through the most recent business reports. Students filed into the arena and formed their own groups. As usual, some grouped together to study, others walked to the center of the stage and low level sparred, others played games on their Scrolls, and a couple sat away from anyone else doing their own things.

The bell rang again, and Weiss lowered her Scroll. "Attention everyone!" she called. All noise in the room stopped. "This is the last day these eggs will be at Signal, and none will return for another year. If you are not chosen today, you may return next year if any eggs are different than these. If not, thank you for your interest in becoming a Dragon Rider." She leaned against the stage again and the students went back to doing their things.

Weiss pulled her Scroll up again. As she watched, a new report came in, labeled 'Dust Robbery.' That didn't bode well. She opened the email and it held the projected losses, along with security camera footage. The video showed the outside of a convoy of three tractor-trailers on a highway in Mistral. At first, nothing looked out of the ordinary. Then a trio of Air Sailors positioned themselves above them. Several people in White Fang uniforms dropped from the transports…

 _Wait a second._ Weiss paused the video and stared at one of the hijackers on the second trailer. The image was too distorted to tell for sure, but that person should be in a Vale prison. She sent a reply asking for an enhanced version of the second trailer. _Saphira, have I ever told you about Adam Taurus?_

 _You have._ Saphira growled and the floor shook. _You believe that this man is him?_

 _I only know of one person in the White Fang that has a sword like that._ Weiss closed that email and sent one to her team's contact in the Vale police. _If it is him, we have a major problem._

"Uh, Miss Schnee?" one of the students said.

Weiss looked over her Scroll and down at the student. "Yes?"

"A few of us are having problems with our homework. Could you help us out?"

"Of course." Weiss pushed herself off the wall and followed the student to the studiers. On the first day, she offered her assistance with any homework the students had. Quite a few of the students took full advantage of that. Weiss never gave away the full answers, but led the students in the right direction, like she did with Ruby during their first year at Beacon.

With the students' history questions answered, Weiss returned to her position by the stage. She pulled her Scroll out again and opened the requested email. The second trailer in the convoy now took center screen with much higher definition. The hijackers dropped onto the trailer and Weiss suspicions were confirmed. Adam Taurus slashed into the cab of the second truck. Another email came in and Weiss opened that. According to the Vale police, Adam was still in prison. Weiss forwarded the security video as proof he wasn't.

Weiss shook her head and leaned her head back. She took a deep breath and stretched her mind out as far as she could, trying to find her partner. Ruby could speak with anyone on Patch if she was there. Weiss needed to see if she could do that herself. Eventually, she found her leader. _Ruby, we have a problem._

 _Weiss?_ Ruby sounded and felt surprised. _What's going on?_

 _Adam Taurus is out of prison._

Ruby didn't answer right away, but her thoughts darkened. _What? How?_

 _I don't know, but he just led an attack on an SDC convoy in Mistral. Vale police still think they have him. I had to tell them he was out._ Weiss opened her eyes and focused on the students in the arena. Her partner should be able to keep up the connection.

 _Dang it…_ It felt like Ruby had a different phrase in mind. _I'll get a message to Blake. She knows him better than any of us. Hopefully he's not working with the largest part of the White Fang._

 _Blake knows what she's doing._ Something moved in the corner of Weiss' vision. She looked at it, but didn't see anything. Probably just a student throwing something. _She'll have the friendly part of the White Fang rallied in no time._

 _I know._ Ruby sighed. _I just wish the world worked more in our favor. We've been kicked around so much lately._

 _It could be much worse. People could actually try to claim the bounties on our heads._ Something moved again, and this time Weiss saw what it was. She stiffened and straightened. _Please tell me I'm not seeing things._

 _Weiss? What's going on?_

The purple egg shook in the pads. A high-pitched squeak came from it. _Tell Cerise she's about to be a mother._ Weiss pushed herself off the stage and walked to the purple egg. "Everyone, quiet down and gather around the mat." She picked up the egg. It squirmed in her arms, but Weiss kept it steady. She turned around and faced the bulk of the arena. "One of you is about to be chosen."

All students in the area dropped what they were doing and gathered in a circle around the mat. Weiss walked to the center and set the egg down. It chirped again and began shaking on the ground. Weiss walked backward to the edge of the mat. She felt Saphira using her eyes.

A piece broke off the egg, and Weiss had to pinch herself to keep herself from freaking out about the new baby. Slowly but surely, more pieces broke off the egg. White claws attached to purple scales pushed and pulled the shell apart. A tiny purple head with eyes matching her scales stuck out and squeaked at the world. A few of the students squeaked themselves and pointed at the hatchling. Weiss knew exactly where they were coming from. She did the same with four others.

The hatchling stepped out of the egg. Just like her mother, the hatchling's tail was long compared to the rest of her body. She blinked and looked back at what remained of her egg. She pounced on it, shattering the rest of it. _This one's playful,_ Weiss told Saphira.

 _It appears so._ Saphira hummed. _If her Rider is just as energetic, Ruby and Cerise may have a little trouble._

 _Or they'll mesh perfectly._ Weiss smiled down at the hatchling. The purple baby snapped her head to the only Rider in the room. "Welcome to Remnant, little one."

The hatchling chirped at Weiss then turned her head around to face those surrounding her. She stopped halfway around. Her ears and wings stuck up and she chirped again. She jumped off her egg and trotted to the circle of people. Weiss followed he hatchling's walk. It looked like the lucky one was one of the ones who almost never grouped up with anyone. A young dog Faunus girl… with one black ear and one red. Weiss covered her mouth and tried to cover a squeal. The card Violet made Ruby years ago sat on the mantle in the house, open for all to see. It looked like Violet was going to be right.

Violet blinked and looked between Weiss and the hatchling with her mouth open. The current Rider nodded. "She's yours. I won't lie, this will hurt, but it's only for a few minutes."

The Faunus' ears dropped and her body slouched. "How much?"

Weiss blinked. "It felt like I was in a vat of molten metal and encased in dry ice at the same time. But what comes after is the most wonderful thing I've ever experienced."

Violet nodded. "Okay…" By that point, the hatchling was standing at Violet's feet, jumping and yipping like a puppy greeting it's human. The Faunus knelt down and reached out a hand. The hatchling jumped up and her snout hit her new Rider's hand.

Violet screamed and fell to the side. Weiss shot a hand out and formed a low powered repulsion glyph under the girl. The Faunus hit, but she wouldn't be feeling it afterward. Other students screamed and backed away. The hatchling looked at the glyph beneath its feet and pounced on one of the points of the snowflake. Weiss would have continued playing with the young dragon, but she had something else to worry about.

The older Rider walked to Violet's side and knelt down. She put a hand on the new Rider's shoulder. Violet probably wouldn't be able to feel it right now, but she would when her pain flash ended. The hatchling jumped onto Violet's chest and nestled her head beneath her Rider's chin. She was playful, a cuddler, and bonded to Violet Calrow. Ruby and Cerise were going to squeal.

After a few minutes, Violet relaxed. She breathed like she just ran a marathon, but that was expected. She opened her eyes and her head lolled to the side. The hatchling raised her head and squeaked again before nuzzling her face into Violet's. The new Rider flinched, but didn't scream. She reached a hand to her dragons back and started petting her. The hatchling raised her back and purred.

"Violet," Weiss whispered. Violet turned her head to Weiss. The elder Rider smiled once more. "Congratulations, Rider. Something tells me Ruby is going to be _very_ happy to see you next time you meet."

* * *

Aaron set his Scroll down and sighed. Vale police just confirmed it. The Faunus in Adam's cell was not Adam. He wasn't even a bull Faunus. The police said they were going to look into when exactly Adam got out, but considering no one knew he was gone, it could be quite a while for them to know when it happened, who was involved, and how it happened. This could be a problem.

The floor shook beneath Aaron's feet. _Aaron,_ Nalia started, _what's going on? You were so happy when I left._

 _One terrible thing, one wonderful._ Aaron looked out the window. Nalia lay outside, with her hatchling laying by her head while eating a deer. _Adam Taurus has escaped prison._

Nalia's visible pupil shrank to a slit. _What?_ Her eye narrowed and she peeled her lips back. _How?_

 _We don't know, and he's been out long enough to get to Mistral and organize an attack on SDC shipping._

Nalia's claws dug up the ground. _If I did not have a hatchling waiting for me on the other side, I would stay and track that-thick hide down myself. With what we've done to his part of the White Fang, he will be out for revenge… My hatchling can't defend himself from a Beowolf pack. I don't want any of them coming after him._

 _I can't agree more._ Aaron sighed. _So glad Yang, Velvet, and Vert are staying behind now._

 _Does Blake know?_

 _Ruby's trying the mirror._ Aaron stuck a thumb over his shoulder. _Considering she hasn't come back down, she made it through._

 _Blake has a set mirror?_

 _No. Hopefully no one was using the bathroom or changing._

Nalia paused. _You said there was something good that happened?_

 _Is Cerise back yet?_

Nalia raised her head and looked around the yard. _No. Where is she? She knows we're leaving._

 _One of her eggs hatched. Weiss didn't say to who._

 _Oh._ Nalia closed her lips. _Well, it looks like we both have hatchlings to look after now… I am even more glad that we have some of us staying behind._

 _Yang's calling CFVY and JNPR… though only Ren and Jaune are active on JNPR._

 _Not Pyrrha?_

 _She's pregnant. Humans can't fight while pregnant and have nothing wrong with their baby._

Nalia snorted. _How are any of you two-legs still alive?_

 _Here, Dust. Alagaësia, magic._

 _Fair points._

"I got through to Blake," Ruby called from the top of the stairs. She walked to the bottom before speaking again. "She said she's on her first trip to Mistral with a few volunteers of her own. They're probably going to meet up with SSSN."

"Any word from Cerise?" Aaron asked as he stood up.

"She's keeping me out of her head… but she's the happiest she's been since she laid her eggs a year ago." A small smile formed on Ruby's face. "It's kind of infectious, and I'm having a hard time not running to her side or pouncing on anyone in this room."

Aaron looked around. "We're the only ones here… oh."

"Yeah, that, and you're the first one I've seen." Ruby slumped and held her head in her hands. "I'm going to go from this to speaking with Queen Islanzadí. Ooohhhh, that's gonna be a thing."

"You've done something like this before."

"Yeah, when the emotions came from me. Have you ever tried to tell Nalia to calm down when she's excited in one way or the other?"

Aaron looked out the window at his dragon. "Depending on her mood, I'd either be ignored or pinned beneath her."

"Sounds about right." Ruby cocked her head. "Cerise is almost back. You all packed?"

"It's all right here." Aaron picked up a backpack and swung it over his shoulders. "Nalia and I will only be there a few days if all goes well. I won't need much."

"Then there's Weiss who's going to be there for a month flying all over the place ferrying eggs." Ruby shook her head. "That's either going to be a pain in the butt, literally, or fun."

"With Weiss, it could be both." Aaron walked to the front door and opened it. "Ladies first."

"Such a gentleman." Ruby elbowed Aaron on her way past. She looked to where her dragon landed. "How was your hatchling?"

Cerise hummed and her pupils filled her entire eyes. Her ears, wings, and back rose. _She's beautiful! She's just the friendliest bundle of joy you'll ever meet. Such a cuddler. Very talkative too. She's got my tail and Vert's wings. And guess who she hatched for?_

Ruby crossed her arms. "Who do I know that goes to Signal? There's Violet and no one…" She released her arms. "No… Violet?"

 _Yes, Violet!_ Cerise stomped on the ground. _She's happy too, holding onto my hatchling like a puppy. That'll change of course, but let her have that. Something tells me my hatchling will grow up fine with it._

Ruby bounced on the balls of her feet, then stopped. "Don't get too excited, Ruby," she told herself. "You can be overly happy for her later. Get in the frame of mind needed when addressing the Queen of the Elves."

Aaron turned to the other side of the yard where Saphira landed. Weiss had already dismounted and was walking over alongside her dragon. "And how'd the rest of the day go?"

"The usual, except for that footage I got." Weiss shook her head. "What's the plan for that, anyway?"

"Focus on our current mission," Ruby started, snapping back into her leader voice, "then form a plan when we have more information. With what Blake just told me, he has to have something planned for us." Something beeped and Ruby pulled her Scroll out of her pocket. "And if we don't leave now, we'll be late to meet the Valan delegation."

"We know who we're meeting?" Aaron asked as he approached Nalia.

"A council member, historian, and a Bullhead pilot. Beyond that, I don't know. We're going to have to teach them all the elven introduction and a few other etiquette things, but they should do very well… I hope."

"If they're on the council, they should be able to understand."

Ruby mounted Cerise then shrugged at Aaron. "There's Ozpin, who I'm _really_ hoping for, the commander of Vale's military, and two career politicians. We have a fifty-fifty chance here."

"I'll have to take your word for it. I'm still used to dealing with the Kings and Queens of Alagaësia." Aaron looked toward the house. Viki and Yang walked out of the house, both of them moving toward their blood siblings. "Are you sure you'll be okay without me here?" Aaron asked when Viki stood by Nalia's side.

"I'll be fine." Viki nodded. "I've got Yang to keep me company and teach me. I like talking to Halcyon too."

"I'm sure if you ask, they'll take you for a ride." Aaron looked toward the shed where Yang's motorcycle rested. Ruby was able to get Halcyon connected, but not able to do anything just yet. "I think you'd like it."

"Probably not as much as flying with you or Ruby, but yes." Viki reached up and grabbed one of Aaron's legs. "Take care, brother. I hope you are able to regain your strength."

Aaron reached down and grabbed Viki's hand. "I can tell you the same thing. Do not be afraid to try new things. You have people here who care about you. I look forward to hearing more good stories from you when I return." He let go of his sister's hand and Viki backed away.

Nalia hummed at Viki, then stood up. _Ready to fly… and see my other hatchling._

Aaron looked at one of the saddlebags. _And you, Irolon?_

 _Of course,_ Irolon hummed. _I only wish I could see my hatchlings with my own eyes._

 _We all do._ Aaron looked up again. Nalia had walked to Cerise' side, with her hatchling following her mother. Saphira joined them as well. All dragons had their Riders mounted.

Ruby turned around in Cerise' saddle to face the other dragons and Riders. "We're going to meet the delegation on the banks of North Fork River on the Beacon cliff side. Let's fly." She leaned forward in her saddle and Cerise kicked off the ground. Nalia and Saphira followed right behind them.

They stuck on their normal course toward Beacon. The Aerial Corvette that hung over the city when the Riders first returned to Remnant now rested near the south of the city, freeing most of the air over Vale to civilian traffic. The flight took a little longer than expected with a couple Bullheads getting in the way, but they made it over the city in good time.

The head of the river came into view, along with a Bullhead in Vale's colors sitting beside it. As the dragons flew closer, Aaron saw two people standing by the transport. They got more clearly defined as time went on. It looked like Ruby was right for one of them, but Aaron didn't see the other one coming.

Nalia landed on the river's beach and knelt down. Her hatchling yelped before crashing into the edge of the river. Aaron shook his head and dismounted on the opposite side of his dragon. Nalia walked toward her hatchling and pulled him out of the river. The Rider returned his attention to the two-man delegation.

Cerise landed closer to the Bullhead and Ruby dismounted. The leader of the Riders approached the delegation. "Oz, Doctor Oobleck, it's good to see you two again."

"The feeling is mutual, Ruby." Ozpin nodded. "I was glad to hear your call."

"And Ruby, please," Dr. Oobleck waved an arm in front of himself. "We're colleagues now. You do not need to call me Doctor every time we meet."

"If Yang was here," Aaron stopped by Ruby's side, "I'm pretty sure she'd take the risk of calling you professor."

"I am sure she would." Dr. Oobleck nodded. "Please do not do so yourself."

Ruby turned her head to Aaron. "You feeling confident in your magic, or no?"

Aaron shook his head. "Not a chance, not without anyone's help."

"Okay." Ruby looked past Aaron. "Weiss? You know the spell?"

"I will get to it," Weiss said.

 _I will not let her miss anything,_ Saphira added. The blue dragon escorted her Rider to the river. Unknown to them, that wasn't the problem. They were new to magic, and likely would be drained after the spell's casting. Since Umaroth wanted to keep the secret of the Eldunarí, and despite Ruby's constant pleading, Weiss and Saphira wouldn't have extra strength.

Nalia's hatchling trotted in front of his mother and shook his scales off. He looked up at the professors and cocked his head. Ozpin raised an eyebrow at the hatchling. "Well, this is a surprise."

Seconds later, the hatchling growled and lowered his body. He dug his claws into the sand beneath him. Nalia growled as well and stamped a foot in front of her hatchling. The purple dragon closed his mouth and stared wide-eyed up at his mother. He hung his head and wings and wrapped his tail between his legs. Nalia snorted. Then faced Ozpin and Oobleck. _My apologies. He is not bonded to a Rider, so he is more aggressive than the rest of us._

Ozpin nodded. "That is understandable."

 _I will make sure he does not attack anyone, nor any livestock, nor pets._

Ruby cleared her throat. "Oz, Barty," Oobleck raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything, "while those you'll be meeting on the other side speak Vytalian… somehow, the expected greeting to the elves is a little more complicated and needs to be carried out in a certain way…"

While Ruby taught the professors the traditional elven greeting, Aaron looked at the Bullhead. It was smaller than the ones first brought to Alagaësia, but those were military models. This one didn't look like it had any weaponry at all. Then again, this did look like ones the council used. They typically wouldn't go anywhere where they needed weaponry. Hopefully they had enough fuel. That grew to be a major problem after Urû'baen.

"…And that's about it," Ruby finished. "We're ready to leave when you are." She turned toward Cerise, but stopped halfway. "Oh, and Barty, there are no coffee beans in Alagaësia, so no coffee. Sorry."

Oobleck stared at Ruby with a blank look. "Why would I be sorry? I cannot stand the taste of coffee."

Aaron and Ruby exchanged a look, then back to Oobleck. "B… but, your thermos?" Ruby gestured at the container.

"This?" Oobleck held his thermos out. "Depending on the day, it's either tea, hot chocolate, or apple juice, though judging by what you have told Ozpin and what Ozpin has told me, two of those will not exist for several centuries on the other side."

"O…kay." Aaron shook his head. Things were still surprising him. _Nalia, I didn't know that before, did I?_

 _No. We did not._ Nalia blinked. _How? He's more energetic than Ruby and old Nora put together._

 _I got no clue._ Aaron mounted his dragon and looked toward the river. Weiss still knelt at the water's edge, with nothing happening in the water. She must be taking her time.

A few minutes later, the water swirled and Weiss stood up. "It's ready, and it's draining me and Saphira pretty fast."

"Then let's go." Ruby jumped onto her dragon's back. "Let's get in there." Cerise jumped forward and into the portal.

Aaron looked back toward the Bullhead. Its engines spun to life and it lifted off the ground. The Rider waved at the transport, then Nalia jumped into the portal herself with her hatchling right beside her. He kept staring behind him even after they went through. The Bullhead came through at an angle, and Saphira took up the rear. Soon after the dragon's tail passed through the portal, the gateway closed.

 _Kirtan,_ Nalia said, _or at least the forest south of it._

Aaron faced forward again. Du Weldenvarden sprawled out in front of them. A little beyond the tree line, a few dozen trees rose above the rest, showing where the city of Kirtan rested. _We might make it to Ellesméra before nightfall._

 _ **If**_ _my hatchling and Saphira can make it._ Nalia turned her head to the pack leader.

Before she could say anything, Ruby's voice came over Scroll radio. _"We're landing in the city. We'll see if Saphira and Nalia's hatchling are able to fly to Ellesméra today. If not, we'll stay the night and leave in the morning. If that's the case, I'll get in contact with the Queen and say we won't be making it today. Shadeslayer out."_

Nalia snorted. _We're starting to think alike, and we're not the ones courting each other._

Aaron shook his head. _Irolon and I thought the same things back then. These connections happen._

 _You may have a point. There's probably some things that happen around Cerise and Vert._

 _Maybe, except that the dragon's personalities only match their own Riders… Then again, shared experiences._

Nalia lowered her head. _No one should share those, or even have them._ Her hatchling looked at his mother and warbled something that she seemed to get. Aaron stayed out of it.

The dragons dove toward the city aiming for the largest clearing in the trees. Cerise and Nalia landed side by side then cleared the area. The hatchling again crashed into the ground. Flying, he could do. He just couldn't land.

Aaron dismounted Nalia, then flipped his Scroll to Ruby. The other Rider caught it, then used the borrowed Scroll as well as her own to guide in the Bullhead. The transport hovered above the clearing, then slowly touched down. As soon as the Bullhead was on the ground, Saphira swooped down and landed beside it. Her legs shook like trees in a hurricane.

"Saphira's in no shape to fly," Ruby announced. "We're staying the night."

Saphira growled at Ruby. _I can fly. Ellesméra is not far at all._

 _If your legs cannot support your weight,_ Cerise stepped forward with her lips peeled back, _your wings will not carry you any distance._

"She's right, Saphira," Weiss said as she slid off her dragon's back. "You're in no shape to fly, and neither am I." She leaned against her dragon's side. "That was a workout."

Saphira looked at her Rider, then snorted. _It appears you are correct._

"Aaron?" Ruby turned to her boyfriend. "I'll go explain the situation to the delegation. You find Lord Fíolir and do the same. I hate dropping in unannounced like this, but until we get interdimensional communication going, it's what we have to do." She blinked and looked away. "I don't think I ever expected to say something like that and be serious about it."

"Ten years ago, did you think you'd have a dragon?" Aaron asked.

"Nope." Ruby smiled at Cerise. "I guess in this case, I like being proved wrong."

Aaron nodded. "I'll go find Lord Fíolir. I'll be back when I can." He turned around and walked into the city proper, ignoring the stares from most elves. Then again, that wasn't hard. They were all fixated on the dragons or the Bullhead. Elves were surprisingly easy to entertain in that way.

* * *

 ***sigh* Anyone remember back to when I said I knew who one of Cerise' eggs was going to and it was a face-desk? Yeah. It happened. Still have to reveal the face-concrete wall and pun one. I haven't written that yet, and I don't think it's coming up anytime soon... And I just finished up with chapter 30 yesterday...  
**


	17. Returns

**Just when I think winter's over, the sky dumps another load on me. I mean, I like the cold better than heat, but come on! Make up your mind...  
**

 **Oh, and there's this.**

* * *

As the trees of Ellesméra came into view, Nalia hummed high and loud. _We're so close! s_ he told her Rider.

Aaron shook his head and patted Nalia's neck. He expected something like this. _Don't worry. I'm sure your hatchling is just as eager to see you._

 _That's going to be hard._ Nalia turned her head to her hatchling, rumbled something at him, then put on a burst of speed. She nearly winged Cerise as she passed.

 _Nalia!_ Aaron gripped his dragon's neck, bracing himself against the now erratic flying. _Is this necessary?_

 _Yes! You expect me to believe that if you had your own younglings, you would not try to get to them as soon as possible?_

 _I wouldn't know. I'm not a father._

 _So don't judge!_ Nalia jerked her head from one direction to another.

 _Aaron, you okay up there?_ Ruby asked.

 _Yeah. Nalia's just a little excited to see Fírnen._

Ruby's amusement filtered through their link. _Well, it's a good thing Gilderien already cleared us for entrance. Here's hoping Fírnen likes Nalia._

 _Hopefully. I don't want to see depressed Nalia again._

Nalia stopped over the center of the city and spun in a circle. _There's one way to find my hatchling._ She raised her head and released a roar that could have shattered most glass in Vale. If Aaron didn't have wards to protect his ears against that kind of volume, they would be ringing for days… That probably hurt quite a few elves on the ground.

Another roar came from the forest below, but not nearly as powerful as Glaedr's. Nalia snapped her head toward it and roared again, this time much quieter, and happier. She dove toward the other roar. It looked like it came from Tialdarí Hall, which made sense since Arya was Fírnen's Rider.

Nalia slammed feet first into the ground but kept her wings raised. She closed her mind to her Rider, but her base emotions still leaked through. Aaron freed his legs, then dismounted his dragon. A green dragon stood in the doors of Tialdarí hall, with an elf standing right beside him. Arya and Fírnen. It had to be.

Fírnen walked down the steps toward his mother. Nalia closed the distance. They met at the base of the steps and looked each other over. Fírnen was barely the size of one of Nalia's legs. The color of their scales was exactly the same, except for the scales near Fírnen's paws which were almost white as the spikes on his back, just like his father.

A squeaky roar came from above. Nalia's other hatchling soared down and crashed into the ground beside his family. Fírnen jumped back and stared at his brother. The purple hatchling pushed himself to his feet and looked at Fírnen. The brothers circled and sniffed each other. After two full rotations, they crouched and barred their teeth. Growls escaped their jaws.

Nalia added her own to the mix. Her children silenced and looked up to her. The mother stared at each of her hatchlings before jerking her head to the open area next to Tialdarí hall. Both her children ran for that area. But when Fírnen passed his mother, he looked to the sky and his ears and wings stood up.

Aaron followed the dragon's gaze to the squadron coming in for a landing. Or more specifically, the blue dragon in the group. Saphira landed and stared back at Fírnen. She raised her own wings and ears and cocked her head… Aaron knew that look. He'd seen it on Nalia when she first saw Irolon, and on Cerise quite a few times after the Battle of Beacon and before they mated... Aaron shook his head. He didn't know how humans courted, much less dragons.

Cerise landed next to Saphira and the Bullhead on the far side of the clearing from Tialdarí hall. Ruby and Weiss dismounted their dragons, and Ozpin and Oobleck left the Bullhead. They exchanged a few words, then the whole procession walked toward Aaron. Arya also made her way down the steps of Tialdarí Hall and made it to Aaron first. She brought two fingers to her lips and Aaron did the same. They made the traditional elven greeting with Arya speaking first.

After that, they lowered their arms. _"Welcome back to Ellesméra, Master Aaron,"_ Arya said.

" _It feels good to be back."_ Aaron nodded. _"This city always soothes my mind."_

 _ **My apologies,**_ Nalia told Arya. _**My other hatchling is a wild dragon. He will be more aggressive than any others. I can assure you, he is a natural flier, but he has not had a successful landing yet.**_

Arya laughed and turned to where the two young dragons were sparring each other on the ground. _"It is no trouble. I believe he is the only wild dragon that has hatched, unless any more have hatched in your land or Ilirea."_ She faced the incoming procession from the other dragons and the Bullheads. She put two fingers to her lips again and proceeded with the greeting with everyone. Arya looked pleasantly surprised when Ozpin and Oobleck knew the greeting as well.

When all the introductions were finished, Ozpin stepped forward. "My apologies, but I'm afraid that my colleague and I have exhausted all we know of your language, but I am told you speak the human language."

Arya nodded. "Of course. All in the Queen's court do so as well." She looked over those assembled. "Follow me. I will take you into the court." She and walked back up the steps. Halfway up, she looked to the young dragons. "Fírnen?" Seconds later, the bonded dragon flew to his Rider's side. A little after that, Nalia's other hatchling crashed into the wooden steps ahead of Aaron. He growled at the steps, then fell back to his mother's side.

They all walked into Tialdarí hall. The opposite end of the room held the seats for the elven court and the Queen, and all were filled. The white raven Blagden stood on his perch by the Queen's side. Ruby and Cerise walked to the front of the pack and stopped a few dozen feet in front of the throne, bringing the entire procession to a halt. Queen Islanzadí stood from her throne. The leader of the Riders brought two fingers to her lips and spoke first. The Queen of the elves returned the gesture.

After that, Ruby took a step back and held her right straight out away from her body. "Queen Islanzadí, may I introduce Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy, and Council Member for the Kingdom of Vale."

Ozpin stepped forward and gave Islanzadí a polite bow. They made the traditional greeting again before continuing. "Your Majesty," Ozpin started, "on behalf of the Kingdom of Vale, I thank you for allowing this delegation to speak with you, and stay in this city. It is an honor to have this opportunity."

"Ozpin," Islanzadí said, "the Riders from your land speak highly of you. If the tales I have heard from Ilirea and Dras-Leona are true, the warriors you train would be among the best warriors of the humans and elves." She held out a hand toward Ozpin. "The first time these Riders visited this city, I learned this is a common greeting in your land."

"That it is." Ozpin nodded and took Queen Islanzadí's hand. "But I am afraid most interactions between Ruby Shadeslayer and myself have mostly involved the situation in our homeland, and I know very little of this land."

"I can say the same. Every time these Riders were here, other matters took precedence." Islanzadí turned to Oobleck and raised two fingers to her lips. The history teacher did the same. When the greeting was complete, the Queen asked, "And you are?"

Oobleck gave a respectful bow. "Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, at your service. I teach history at Beacon Academy. I have been asked by the Vale Council to observe the people here so we can better know each other, with your approval of course."

Islanzadí nodded. "I can see the wisdom in this. However, one man cannot be in multiple places at once."

"Bringing one observer was the safest choice for now," Ozpin said. "We did not know how or if we would be welcomed here, and the tenuous link between our land and ours made the rest of the council worry that we would not be able to stay in contact with our observers. Naturally, this uncertainty won't bring many volunteers."

"It might not in the future, either." Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "This won't be an easy fix, and it could take a while until any of us can focus on that. We've got so many problems on Remnant we need to take care of first. Then there's the fact we have no idea right now if it's even possible to communicate between here and Remnant. Well, _here_ here is impossible due to the wards around the forest. Maybe not elsewhere."

"I see." Islanzadí returned to her throne and sat down. "Now, Ozpin, I trust you are here to discuss more than just your scholar visiting."

"Indeed I am." From there, Ozpin and Islanzadí went on to discuss more things, mostly on how these meetings typically go on either side. A scholar exchange was brought up, and it sounded like it was going to happen, but that was the only thing that Aaron found interesting.

A while into the negotiations, Aaron caught Ruby staring at him. Her smile was her normal, camera/diplomatic smile, but Aaron noticed the tugs on her lips, the sway in her stance, and the light in her eyes that signaled her excitement. _Ruby, you're interested in this?_

 _Well, yeah!_ Ruby locked eyes with Aaron. _This isn't as cool as first contact with aliens, but come on! The first diplomatic contact between Remnant and Alagaësia! I'm taking so many pictures with this thing._ She winked her right eye, then she faced the throne again. _Oh my gosh._

 _You're starting to sound like Weiss._

 _Maybe. I should probably thank her at some point._ Ruby paused. _Did you catch the looks Saphira and Fírnen gave each other?_

 _Yeah… We should probably let Weiss in on that._ Aaron and Ruby extended their minds to the other member of their team.

Weiss flinched, but otherwise didn't react. _This better be important. At least one Rider should pay attention to what's being said._

 _You have a point,_ Ruby started, _but I wanted to make sure you saw something._

 _Saw what?_ Weiss faced Ruby, and irritated expression forming on her face.

 _How Saphira and Fírnen looked at each other?_

 _Of course, I saw that. I felt it. Who am I to judge who my dragon likes?_

 _That's not the point,_ Aaron said. _If you two aren't careful, you can be brought into the mix._

 _And none of us have figured out how to block our dragon's emotions when they get… ready to make eggs._ Ruby managed to keep a straight face, but her cheeks burned red.

Weiss dropped her irritated look and blinked at Ruby. _So, you're saying I could end up attracted to Fírnen?_

 _More like Arya. I almost asked Velvet out a few times when Cerise and Vert first got together._

Aaron snapped his head to his girlfriend. _What?_

Again, Ruby's face stayed neutral, but Aaron felt the mental wince. _Sorry. You should know the only reason I didn't was because Cerise noticed what was going on. After that, I wouldn't dream of it… and I don't like women that way in the first place._

Aaron stared at Ruby a little longer, then faced the negotiators again. _Anyway, Weiss, you could get attached to Fírnen and vice versa, like how Cerise and Nalia are around me and Ruby._

 _Oh._ Weiss shrugged. _I guess there could be worse side effects, but thank you for telling me about this. Neptune and I are getting back together when I return, and I don't want things to get in the way of that._ She paused. _Ruby, did you ever think about communication between here and Remnant before now?_

 _Kind of, but not really. There's been so much to do. Interdimensional communication isn't exactly on the top of the list._ Ruby blinked. _Geez, all this interdimensional stuff isn't sci-fi anymore. Anyway, there's no science behind it, and moving to here and speaking with people here are two very different things._

 _Fair enough._

Islanzadí rose from her throne, making all the Riders focus back on her. "Ozpin, should the rest of your council be willing, the elves will give Vale our friendship and our support. We do not turn our backs on our allies. As long as Grimm threaten your Kingdom, we will help keep them at bay."

Aaron couldn't hold back a smile. He wasn't sure exactly how it happened, but it sounded like the first interdimensional alliance was formed… _Ruby may have a point here._

"Let us celebrate this new alliance, Alagaësia, and Remnant together for the first time." Islanzadí clapped her hands and rose petals fell from the ceiling. Apparently that was the Queen's celebration of choice. "I will see that a feast is prepared in your honor." She walked down from her throne and past all the Remmartians.

Aaron moved to follow the Queen, but Ruby grabbed his arm before he made two steps. "Something wrong?"

"No, but if there's time between now and the feast, I want you to find Oromis, find out if he knows if something like what happened to you happened to anyone before. If not, maybe he can think of something that we haven't. The sooner we get an idea about this, the better."

"Agreed." Aaron nodded and looked at Nalia. "Might as well get going now."

Nalia snorted. _Maybe he can help with your memory too._

"Hopefully." Aaron and Nalia walked out of Tialdarí Hall side by side. There weren't as many elves outside this time as there was the first time the Remmartians visited, but they were scattering as their Queen reached the bottom of the stairs. She must have already made her announcement.

Aaron mounted Nalia and they took off for the Crags of Tel'naeír. _You know Nalia, we don't have to head right back here after we meet with Oromis._

 _Want some time with me,_ Nalia turned her head back, _or away from the attention?_

 _Why not both?_

Nalia hummed. _That works for me._

* * *

Sun took in a deep breath as he stepped off the airship. "It's so nice to be back in Vale."

Blake smirked at her fiancé. "Missed the city after being in Menagerie?"

"I haven't spent any real time here since the Vytal Festival tournament. Otherwise it's been Vacuo City and Mistral, and you know how both of them are."

"Smells like crap all the time, and filled with racists about halfway down the mountain." Blake shook her head. "Come on, we've got to get to Patch. My Bullhead's in a garage just south of here." She lead the way out of the airfield and into the concourse. The place was packed as usual, and most people looked like they didn't have a care in the world. The air itself felt fear-free, and no armed guards were visible in the crowd. Much better than Menagerie.

Then came something Blake wasn't expecting. This was her first time out of Menagerie since Sienna Kahn stepped down. There wasn't any press in Mistral, but word must have gotten out that the new High Leader of the White Fang was on her way to Vale. Just outside the secured section of the airfield, dozens of reporters swarmed and cameras flashed everywhere. This wasn't what she needed to face.

Blake stopped behind the security checkpoint and pulled out her Scroll. She dialed Velvet and brought her Scroll to her ear. A ring and a half later, the line clicked. _"Blake, you're back,"_ Velvet said.

"I am, and I hate to ask this, but can Vert carry three people?" Blake looked over the swarm of reporters again. "I don't want to have to navigate Vale with all these people on me."

" _It shouldn't be a problem… Three?"_

"Sun's here too. We'd like to get to Patch without these reporters tearing us to pieces."

" _Okay. We'll be there in five."_ The line clicked again and Blake lowered her Scroll.

"You're gonna have to face them eventually." Sun crossed his arms. "Why not now?"

"I have a speech in mind, but I'd like to say something about Adam and other rogue elements." Blake shrugged. "Right now, all our information we have came from Ruby, and it sounded like she didn't know much, and it sounded like she and Weiss are back in Alagaësia, so we've got nothing right now. I'd like to have something to give them."

"Point." Sun looked back into the crowd. "Let me guess, I'm your bodyguard for this portion?"

"Until we get in the air. Then you're back to being Sun."

"Fine with me." Sun smirked. "I know she's probably not going to be here, but I can't wait to see Ruby's reaction to us."

"It's going to be interesting." Blake nodded. "If you can't wait, I'm sure we can stop by JNPR's apartment and Nora can freak out… if she can exert herself that much." Sun winced and looked away.

Neither of them said anything for a while as people from their airship and others filed past them. A few minutes later, a green dragon landed on the other side of the concourse from the Faunus. There was no way around that. "Okay, Sun." Blake pushed herself off the wall she leaned against. "Let's run the gauntlet."

Sun nodded, then pushed the glass door to the concourse open. Blake was swarmed as soon as she stepped out the door. She paid them no mind as she and her fiancé pushed their way through the reporters and camera flashes. The mob of people stayed around them all the way through the building. But as soon as they stepped out the other side, Vert growled at the mob and the reporters dispersed.

Velvet waved from on top of her dragon's back. "Welcome back to Vale." She reached an arm down.

"Nice to see a friendly face here." Blake took the offered hand, and her friend hauled her up onto the dragon's back. "For whatever reason, I wasn't expecting that."

 _Do not worry, Blake._ Vert hummed and turned his head around. _There won't be any of these people in the air. Well, there will be, but not surrounding you._

Blake stared at Vert as she pulled Sun up as well. "You're in a good mood."

 _Why wouldn't I be? One of my eggs hatched three days ago._

"Oh." Blake smiled at the new father. "That's good to hear."

"Uhh, Velvet," Sun started, "is this a bad time to say I've never flown a dragon before?"

"Why are you telling me?" Velvet asked. "Vert's the one flying."

 _Fly as aggressive as I can? You got it._ Vert faced forward again and extended his legs.

Blake tapped one of Sun's legs. "Just hold onto me, and you'll be fine." Sun did as he was told, and Blake wrapped her own arms around Velvet. Thus secured, Vert walked into a more open area before jumping away from the airfield.

As they flew over the straight, Velvet looked down and stiffened. She turned her head back, revealing a huge smile on her face. "You two are engaged?" Vert turned his head back a little, then faced Patch again.

"Yeah. The day I got back to Menagerie." Blake smirked. "Caught him just as he bought the ring."

"Saved me from making a cliché proposal too." Sun gave a nervous smile. "Still, it was awkward, to say the least."

"Well, congratulations, and my lips are sealed." Velvet faced forward again.

As Patch drew nearer, Blake dipped her head, then faced her fiancé. "Sun, you should probably tone it down when we get to Yang's house. I don't know if the Yang we're going to see down there is the one you're used to, or the one that's depressed. The same with Viki. I think Ruby's made some improvement with her, but it's not easy to erase a lifetime of servitude."

Sun nodded. "Got it. Just tell me to shut up if I go too far."

"Will do." Blake looked off Vert's side. Signal lay a few hundred feet beneath them. It wouldn't be much longer until they touched down in front of the Xiao Long cabin. The expanded clearing around the house came into view. No dragons currently laid there. It still hurt knowing that the one Rider in the house lost her best friend. Halcyon was a great guy.

Vert touched down in the yard and settled on his belly. Sun slid off Vert's side first, followed by Blake and Velvet. The front door opened and Yang stepped out. Blake prepared for the worst. "Hey, Yang," she called.

Yang threw her arms up. "About time you got here. I got Shake 'n Steak delivery, and the stuff's getting cold." She smirked as she approached her partner. "It's good to see you again, Blake." She brought the Faunus into a tight hug.

Blake returned it right away. "Good to see you, too." This definitely wasn't depressed Yang.

"And Sun," Yang pulled back and faced the monkey Faunus. She put her hands on her hips. "I trust that you've been treating my partner well?"

"Of course." Sun held his hands out in a defensive way. "I wouldn't dream of anything else."

"Good." Yang stepped forward and hugged Sun. "Nice to see you too, monkey man." Sun barely had a chance to return the hug before Yang pulled away. She over at Velvet who just dismounted her dragon. "Where'd you find these two weirdos?"

"At the airfield surrounded by reporters." Velvet shook her head. "They never would have made it to her Bullhead."

"Eeeuuuhh. I can imagine." Yang faced Sun and Blake again. "I wasn't lying about the food. It's sitting out on theeeeee…" She straightened and blinked several times as she stared at Blake's left hand. "Oh my gosh." Another smirk broke out on her face. "So who's the lucky guy?"

Blake raised her left hand, her ring facing her battle partner. "The only guy in this yard."

Yang turned to Sun. "That didn't take long. How'd you do it?"

"Awkwardly after she caught me buying her ring." Sun fake glared at Blake. "You couldn't wait another ten minutes."

"Not my fault you chose a time that I couldn't control." Blake paused and looked at her teammate. Yang was happy. Too happy. "Yang, are you okay?"

"Never better!" Yang turned in a hop to face Blake. "Why do ya ask?"

"Uhh…" _How do I say this without bringing her down?_ "You weren't exactly in the best shape when I left."

"Oh." Yang's shoulders slumped, but the light never left her eyes. "That. I've had to get used to this. It's hard having someone else in my head again."

Blake straightened and took a breath. "Weiss did it?"

Yang laughed and faced Blake. Her eyes said everything. "Why don't you ask the test subject yourself?"

Another mind pressed against Blake's, one she hadn't felt in a long time. _It's good to see you two again,_ Halcyon said. Blake brought a hand to her head, then looked at a gold box on Yang's belt, with a darker gold making an 'H' on it. What looked like a netcam was strapped on top of that.

"Wait, what?" Sun brought a hand to his head and looked around the yard. His eyes stopped on Blake. "I thought you said he was dead?"

 _Technically, I still am. Weiss made the final blow on me, thus making be one of her Summons. My Aura was preserved, so now I'm in a position similar to Penny. And yes, I asked Weiss to finish me. She did not kill me in battle._

Sun's shoulders dropped and his mouth hung open at an angle. "That's not even magic. That's science."

Yang laughed. "Imagine how Aaron and Nalia feel. And in case you didn't know, Aaron is back up, but with a bit of memory and muscle loss." Her smile changed meanings. "He's off and on, but Ruby's been by his side the whole time…" She shook her head. "I know they just started dating a few months ago, but one of them could propose any day."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

Yang opened her mouth, but closed it just as quickly. "Nope. I can't say how I know. They'd all kill me. And I may not be exaggerating there." She shook her head and her smile disappeared. "I know why we called you here. We've got a problem, and we need to fix it. I've got a few things set up inside. We can eat while talking." She turned toward the house and walked toward the front door.

"What can you tell us right now?" Blake asked, following her partner.

"We're calling in favors all over the place. Vale, Mistral, the SDC, and a few of my less savory… acquaintances. Still, other than the footage from the convoy, we've barely gotten anything. Vale PD did find something interesting the night Adam escaped. He had someone on the inside. They got her on video." Yang pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Blake followed right after her partner. One other person sat on the couch. Blake recognized the face, but nothing else. "Viki?"

Viki looked up from her Scroll and smiled at Blake, a real one with nothing else behind it. "Hi, Blake." She stood up from the couch and walked over. "Did you have a nice flight?" She hugged Blake as soon as she got close.

"Yeah." Blake hesitantly returned the hug, not believing what she was seeing and hearing. "We made good time. And how are you doing?"

"Great." Viki pulled away and she kept her smile. "Before she left, Ruby started teaching me how to get a… what did she call it, a diploma?"

"Already?" Blake blinked. "It took me years to get mine."

"It's a start," Yang said. "It's going to take years, just like us, but Viki's a fast learner."

Viki's head dipped and she shivered. "Unfortunately. I had to learn fast to survive in Dras-Leona." She shook her head. "But now I'm using that to fight back."

"And to kick butt in video games." Yang sat down in the recliner. "She's branching out of builders and can take me and Ruby in Pokécre. She's got a dang good team built up in only a few weeks."

Viki nodded at Yang. "I'd offer to help with what you're doing, but I still can't read that well yet." She looked past Blake. "I don't believe we've met yet." She walked past Blake and up to Sun. "I'm Viki Sarasdaughter, Aaron's sister." She held out a hand.

Sun looked at Blake, then back to Viki and took the outstretched hand. "Sun Wukong. Blake's fiancé."

Viki cocked her head. "Fiancé?"

Sun's eyes flicked to Blake, then back to Viki. "We're getting married soon."

Viki rose on the pads of her feet. She smiled between Blake and Sun, much like Ruby would do when holding herself back. "Then I wish you two all the happiness in the world." She backed away. "I will let you get to work." She turned around and walked up the stairs and disappeared into the hall.

"She's better than I expected." Blake sat down on the couch.

"It's like having another Ruby, except less hyper." Sun sat next to Blake.

"Yeah." Yang shook her head. "I've noticed that too. I don't think Ruby's going to like it when she notices. She wants Viki to be her own person, not a duplicate of her."

 _I am not so worried,_ Halcyon said. _I believe Viki will grow out of this phase soon. She just needs time to develop on her own._

Blake nodded. "Once the training wheels are off, she'll be fine." She paused. "Yang, you said you had a video?"

"Yeah." Yang took out her Scroll and hit a few buttons on it. The projector turned on and displayed an image of a prison block with a play button in the center. "Watch the officers and the cell three gates down." She played the video.

A few officers walked around the prison block. None of them stopped at any cell. That is, until something flew out of one of the cells. An officer picked whatever it was up and approached the cell. Her arm disappeared for a second inside the cell, then retracted. That had to be something.

The officer turned in the direction of the camera, and Blake scowled. That wasn't an officer. "Ilia."

The other two in the room faced her. "The name's familiar," Yang said.

"She was a friend in the White Fang. Both of us followed Adam to Vale. She wasn't as fanatic as some people, but I guess it was enough." Blake sighed. "I hoped she got out after Beacon."

"And now she's a problem." Sun shrugged. "At least we know who we're dealing with."

Yang disconnected her Scroll from the projector. "What's her last name? I asked Raven to help look for whoever this is."

"Amitola." Blake paused. "You call your mom by her first name?"

"My mom was Summer Rose. Raven's… I don't know yet. Somewhere between business partner and friend." Yang typed on her Scroll, then set it aside. "Would anyone in your part of the White Fang know where to find her?"

"Maybe. I can ask around, but no guarantees." Blake leaned back on the couch. "So, the search begins."

"I guess so." Yang's Scroll vibrated. She picked it up and flicked the screen. "That was fast. Raven says don't put Ilia's name out there. If she thinks she's hunted, she'll go to ground."

"Sounds about right." Sun nodded. "Why'd you bring Raven in on this in the first place?"

"She initially tracked down the Nevermores when no one else could. Besides Neptune, she was the only one with detective experience that we could contact and we can trust. Neptune's with Mistral police, but he's not on the case, and there's nothing he can do in the system that can get him reassigned."

"Well, you got a real detective now," Sun smirked. "I have a few connections in Vale and a lot more in Mistral. I'll see what I can do."

"Good to know." Yang sighed. "But Ruby might not be happy about me bringing in so many more people. If I'm reading the stuff I'm getting from city hall right, that's a lot of paperwork."

"She can handle it," Blake said. "She's faced down countless Grimm and Galbatorix. She can take some paperwork."

Yang smirked. "Try telling her that."

* * *

 ***enourmous foghorn noise* THE _SS SAPH_** _ **Í**_ ** _RNEN_ IS READY TO SET SAIL! *****enourmous foghorn noise***

 **Yeah... I only ship under certain circumstances. In this case, all of the following must be true: 1) It must be canon 2) It must be believable 3) The couple separates for some weird reason (eg: I must go face someone who bested Ozpin by myself! I'll kiss you then shove you in a rocket locker). So there's only three thing total I ship: Arkos, Saph** **írnen, and one from Star Wars Legends in the X-Wing series that I don't think has a name.  
**


	18. Intro to Remnant

**Remember when people were upset that in the show Raven used ice instead of some other element to fight Cinder because ice isn't around in springtime... It looks like the middle of February outside my dorm right now... Snow, you're outstaying your welcome here...  
**

 **Geez, these beginning authors notes are just turning into rambling... ah well.**

* * *

Ruby crossed her arms as she looked at what she wrote. For now, she was happy with the introduction of her book. Weiss said it wasn't a good idea to start with that, but oh well. There was something on paper, literally. Thankfully Ruby's bionic eye recorded everything she wrote, otherwise she'd have to write it all again when she got back to Remnant. That didn't sound like fun.

The treehouse shook as Cerise landed behind her Rider. _The others are assembled and ready to go._

"Thank you." Ruby folded up the paper and put it on a shelf on her desk. It should be safe there. She pushed herself away from the desk and looked around the small library that made up her study. "I'm gonna need to fill this place with all sorts of books from Remnant. Until we get CCT coverage here, if we ever do, books are all we got."

 _And how's your book coming?_

"The introduction is done, but nothing else is. That'll come when I have the time."

Cerise snorted. _So in ten years?_

"Something like that." Ruby stood up and walked to her dragon's side. "Ready to get back to your hatchling?"

 _Of course._ Cerise hummed and her pupils dilated to fill her whole eyes. _I wonder if she's chosen a name. Violet has to have at least suggested a few._

"Probably." Ruby mounted her dragon. "I'm just worried Violet is treating her like a pet."

 _It won't damage her, I don't believe. Look at how you raised me and how I turned out._ Cerise jumped out of the treehouse and flew toward Tialadrí hall. In the clearing in front of the building, those going to Remnant were gathered. Over the past two weeks, Ruby and Cerise escorted the Bullhead and the Remmartian delegation to Ilirea, Aberon, and Tronjheim. For Ruby, the only parts of the trip that were bearable were the feasts at each location and the time she spent with Cerise. Otherwise, it was all politics and names that she'd have to rely on Cerise' near perfect memory to remember. How could Ozpin survive be so comfortable with all those ambassadors, especially when some of them were coming to Vale? Better question, what did the Alagaësians think of the Bullhead?

Cerise touched down in the clearing beside the Bullhead. Saphira was the only other dragon there, but Ruby saw Aaron and Arya speaking with Weiss and Yaela. Where were their dragons?

Ruby dismounted her dragon and walked over to the other Riders. Weiss looked past Aaron and locked eyes with her partner. "Ruby, you're here."

"More than I can say for three dragons." Ruby joined the circle and made a point of looking around the clearing. "Where are Fírnen, Nalia, and her other hatchling?"

Aaron jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Nalia's teaching her hatchlings how to fight."

Arya ran a hand over her right arm. "Her other hatchling scratched Fírnen a little while ago, and I haven't felt anything since."

"How bad?" Weiss asked.

"Fírnen may have lost some scales and skin, but he will be fine."

"You might want to heal it before we go to the other side," Ruby suggested. "If I know anything about dragons, Fírnen will want to make a good first impression."

"Actually, there has been a change in that plan." Arya turned to Weiss.

"Arya will be helping me courier eggs to the cities in the Broddring Kingdom and Surda," Weiss said. "This will help more people get introduced to the eggs faster, and it will give all of us some valuable flight time. Depending on how many cities we can visit in a day or two, we should be able to reach all major cities in four weeks, taking into account the two weeks we give to prospective Riders."

"Sounds reasonable." Ruby nodded. "You going to be okay here on your own?"

"I've got Saphira." Weiss smiled at her dragon. "We haven't had much time just the two of us."

"What about your company?"

"I've left it in good hands, meaning someone I trust on the board of directors and not my brother."

"Why would you not trust your brother?" Yaela asked.

"You likely don't have the time." Weiss shook her head. "There are so many things wrong with Whitley, I don't know where to begin."

 _Start with saying he only cares about himself and Lien,_ Saphira growled. _Everything and everyone else is expendable._

Weiss gave a sideways nod. "Sounds about right."

Three shadows passed over the clearing. Ruby looked up. The three missing dragons circled overhead. Nalia landed in on the other side of the clearing as it was the only space available, and her hatchling crashed neck first into the ground. Fírnen landed right behind his Rider and laughed at the other son of Nalia. Arya knelt beside her dragon and started healing his injury.

Ruby turned between the two young dragons and settled on Fírnen. "Everything alright?"

 _He is a good fighter for one so young,_ Fírnen growled, _but he is a brute._ Nalia growled from across the clearing and Fírnen winced. His mother must not have taken kindly to that statement.

Ruby looked back to the hatchling. The young purple dragon growled and the ground and tore up a section of dirt. He snorted at the dirt before returning to his mother's side. There, rubbed his side against Nalia's front right leg. Ruby heard the purring from where she stood. "A brute, and a momma's boy."

 _He is a wild dragon,_ Nalia said. _I would be worried if he wasn't this aggressive._ Fírnen growled and looked away from his mother. Ruby thought he was embarrassed.

"We're all here now," Aaron said. "Should we get going?"

"Ye… no." Ruby looked around the clearing once more. "I think we're missing one person." She turned to Cerise. "We told her to be here now, right?"

 _We did._ Cerise raised her head and looked around. _I figured she would be excited._

"Same here."

"Who are we waiting for?" Yaela asked.

As if on cue, Rhunön stepped out of the trees. "Speak of the Grimm." Ruby waved at the master swordsmith.

"Rhunön?" Arya asked. "She rarely leaves her forge."

"Yeah, well," Ruby held her arms out to the side with her palms up, "I kind of said I'd show her around a Remmartian workshop if she showed me how to forge weapons the way she does. She did, now I need to uphold my end of the bargain."

Aaron looked over his shoulder at Rhunön, then faced Ruby. "Does Ozpin know about this?"

"I cleared it with him on the flight to Ilirea. We're good." Ruby looked around the area once more. "And if no one needs to leave for whatever reason, we're good to go." She walked away from the Riders and Yaela and approached the Bullhead, where the Alagaësian delegation waited.

Ozpin stood closest to the Bullhead with Lord Däthedr standing beside him. Barty was nowhere to be seen, but that was expected since he was going to be staying in Ellesméra for a good time. The newly entitled Lord Terrance Barst represented King Deynor for the Broddring Kingdom. Prince Rulf Langfeld, son of Queen Marelda of Surda, represented the Kingdom to the south. King Hrothgar's sister Vardrûn of Dûrgrimst Ingeitum... _That's not a mouthful at all..._ represented the dwarves.

Lord Däthedr looked away from the group and at Ruby. "Shadeslayer, are we prepared to leave?" The other members of the Alagaësian delegation looked at her.

"We are." Ruby faced Ozpin. "If the Bullhead is fueled, we are ready to head to Remnant."

"I assisted the pilot myself." Ozpin nodded. "We will be able to fly to wherever you need to make the portal to Remnant."

"Okay then. Tell your pilot to follow Cerise. There's a lake not far from here that I've been using to leave for Remnant."

Lord Däthedr stiffened. "Your spell works in the forest?"

"To be fair, I don't want to risk coming here that way. But with how the spell works, in a sense, we're not leaving the forest. I don't know how that works, it just does. If this is a problem, we can fly to Isenstar lake to go through."

The elf stared past the Rider and his eyes lost focus. After a while, he looked back at Ruby. "The nearby lake is fine for now, but you may find yourself unable to cast it in the future."

"That is fine with me." Ruby took a few steps back. "I'll see you all on the other side." She turned around and walked back to the other Riders. She retook her former spot in the circle. "We're all set. Let's get in the air."

Aaron nodded. "I'll see you at the lake." He walked to his dragon's side.

"Excuse me, Riders," Yaela started, "I must board the Bullhead." She gave a polite bow, then backed away and jogged to the Bullhead.

"Good luck, Ruby." Weiss stepped forward and hugged her partner. "Odds are you'll need it more than I do."

"Maybe. But I'm spending the next few days on the couch and depressurizing." Ruby pulled back and shook her head. "So many people, and quite a few of them wanted something from me."

"Welcome to my world." Weiss punched Ruby's shoulder. "Hopefully I'll have a new Rider or two for you when I get back to Remnant."

"Fingers crossed." Ruby did as she said, then backed up toward Cerise. "See you when you get back." She turned around and climbed up her dragon's side.

" _Shadeslayer,"_ a familiar voice came from below the Rider.

Ruby faced it and blinked. _"Rhunön? There's space in the Bullhead."_

The elf shook her head. _"Not for me. Däthedr and I, how should I put it, don't get along well."_

Ruby turned away and stared at the back of her dragon's head. _I'm not the one who could be carrying an extra person._

Cerise stared at Rhunön, then shrugged. _She will not throw me off._

" _Okay."_ Ruby reached a hand down toward Rhunön. _"I promised to show you around a Remmartian workshop. Might as well get that taken care of as soon as possible."_

" _I look forward to seeing it."_ Rhunön grabbed the hand and Ruby pulled her up.

Cerise stood up and snorted at Saphira. The younger dragon snorted back, growled, and lowered her head to the ground. Cerise raised her head, then jumped into the air. _That will keep her thinking,_ she said.

"What did you tell her?" Ruby asked.

 _Saphira has wanted to spar with a real dragon and not a Summon for a while. I just told her that when she returns, I will give her that opportunity._

"Really? How do you think she'll do?"

Cerise gave her Rider the best smirk she could. _I will make her eat her tail if I go all out, which she'll likely want me to. But it will be a learning experience for her._

"That's good to hear." Ruby returned the smirk. "Which beatdown will be worse, you against Saphira, or you against Nalia?"

Cerise' smirk disappeared. _Saphira doesn't have combat experience with things that aren't Summons. I hatched into combat. Nalia laid around in a cave for years. I will be able to best Nalia before Saphira can best me._

"If you say so." Ruby turned her head around. Nalia flew a few dozen feet behind Cerise with the Bullhead right behind her. Ruby focused on her boyfriend. _Aaron, did you and Oromis figure out how the curse works?_

Aaron took a while to answer. _No, but we made some progress. I'm not completely cut off from Nalia anymore. We can send thin streams of energy to each other._

 _It's not perfect,_ Nalia said, _but it's better than we've been in months. I'll take it._

 _You were right, Ruby. We needed someone else to take a look at it._

 _Groupthink… not quite, but it's the same principle. Spend enough time around the same people, you'll start to think and act like them. With all due respect to the Eldunarí, and I know at least some of them are listening in, they're starting to fall into that category._

 _I guess… like how I've gotten into video games and sports._

 _Yeah…_ Ruby smiled. _Football season starts in a few weeks, doesn't it?_

 _Pre-season anyway._

 _Glad Weiss is out of the house. But we might want to tone it down for Viki. Don't want to scare her._

 _That would probably be best._

 _Agreed,_ Nalia said. _You two, Yang, and so many others get too excited about people throwing balls around._

 _You weren't saying that when the Krakens made the playoffs two years ago._ Ruby laughed to herself and faced forward. Their destination appeared through the trees. Cerise dove for the close bank of the lake and the other fliers followed. Her Rider dismounted and walked to the lake.

Ruby knelt down by the water and cast the spell. The lake swirled and turned purplish black. The Rider stood up and faced the fliers. "We're good to go. Nalia? Lead the way." The green dragon jumped forward and into the portal while Ruby remounted Cerise. The Bullhead hovered over the portal before nosing down into it. With the others out of the clearing, Cerise jumped into it and the skies above Beacon.

As soon as her dragon's tail passed through the portal, Ruby cut the energy flow. Up ahead, Nalia curved down toward the docks at Beacon with the Bullhead right behind her. Four figures stood at the docks, one of them being Glynda… _Geez, it's so weird being on a first name basis with my professors._ She shook her head and focused on Aaron's back. _Hey, you've got this. I'm taking Rhunön to a workshop._

Aaron turned back on Nalia's saddle. _You're not coming here?_

 _You have about as much influence with the Council as I do, meaning only Ozpin will listen to us._

 _Are you going to let me in on what you're doing?_

 _Not yet, but maybe someday soon. I need to know that this will work first._ Ruby pat Cerise on the neck. Her dragon turned away from Beacon and flew toward the city.

" _Are we not going with the others?"_ Rhunön asked.

" _No."_ Ruby turned her head back. _"I am taking you to a workshop that I don't want the others knowing about."_

Rhunön raised an eyebrow. _"You have dark secrets?"_

" _It's a secret, but it's not exactly dark. I'm not sure how elves handle surprises, but this is supposed to be a pleasant one. Like I said, I don't want anyone else knowing about this."_

" _You have me intrigued."_ Rhunön looked out into the city. _"Humans built all this?"_

" _Humans and Faunus. The city of Vale used to be more like the human cities in Alagaësia, but that was a few centuries ago. Now it's one of the largest on Remnant. I wonder how the others are handling this."_

" _Däthedr and Yaela will be quietly impressed. The others will not be able to understand what is around them, especially the dwarf."_

" _Yeah. I don't think she'll like that the dwarves have been outmatched in construction."_ Ruby looked off Cerise' side to the city below. Cerise was coming up to their destination. Ruby pulled out her Scroll and pulled up the right app. The hangar doors on the roof of the building retracted into their bays and Cerise dove for the now open building. The dragon landed in the center. The doors on the roof extended back out and crashed back together.

" _What is this place?"_ Rhunön asked when she dismounted Cerise.

Ruby switched back to Vytalian. "This is an old SDC maintenance building. It was decommissioned a few weeks ago when they fazed the transports this place housed out of their fleet. Weiss set this up for me before we left for Alagaësia this last time." She slid off her dragon's back and faced the elf. "Sorry. I know you're not the biggest fan of talking in this language, but quite a few of the things here don't have a translation to the Ancient Language yet."

Rhunön nodded. "I noticed in the books you gave me." She looked around the building. "There is a workshop in here?"

"Technically this whole building is a workshop." Ruby held her hands out to gesture around the entire building, and particularly the upper catwalks and manipulator arms. "This place used to work on airships the size of some of Surda's transport ships. Compared to what's out there, the ships that were in here are small. If this place had the right materials, it could take apart one of those ships and put it back together in a few weeks."

"Impressive." Rhunön paused. "But I do not see why I am here."

"It's because I need your help on... hopefully one project." Ruby walked toward the ground level components workshop. "It's the biggest one I've thought of, but not so big to fill this place." She walked into the workshop. "Oh, and this is where the workers here repaired things on the ship. All their tools are stored in that cabinet." She gestured to the cabinet in question. "Another gift from Weiss."

Rhunön opened the cabinet and her shoulders dropped. "So many tools."

"I've heard that a blacksmith's worth is tied to their tools." Ruby crossed her arms and leaned against the workbench. "Those aren't even the specialty ones, the workers took those when they left… except I think the CNC is still here. We'll be using that a lot once I figure out how to use it. Those tools are just the ones that you can get at some of the higher end shops. Mass produced too."

"You do not make your own tools?" Rhunön sounded shocked.

"I get that you're used to that, but some of these tools would take years to make by hand, and then there are more where you physically can't build them yourself. It's computer stuff. I think I gave you a book on that."

"You did." Rhunön paused. "You said you wanted my help with a project?"

"I do." Ruby connected her Scroll to the projector on the workbench. "I call this one Project Drake." She hit a button on her Scroll and the projector turned on.

Rhunön approached the workbench. "What is this?"

"A gift." Ruby looked over the rough schematics of Project Drake.

Rhunön stared at the schematic and nodded. "I see."

"Hopefully full sized. Right now, I don't know if the technology exists to make this work on such a big scale. I'll try to make it work, make the technology myself if possible. If not, we make this smaller and we add Project Wyvern onto our workload." She tapped something else on her Scroll and the more flushed out schematics for Project Wyvern appeared. "I know the technology for this is there. Things like this normally take years to design then build, but I've drawn this up since I returned after giving you those books. This is going to be so much more efficient than anything out there right now. It'll let us keep up with the Grimm, and just about everyone else."

"Even Nalia?"

"It's not even a competition, and she won't be happy about that."

Rhunön stared at the schematics a little longer then shook her head. "I do not see why you need my help. It sounds like you have this planned out."

"I'm asking for your help because you can do things with metal very few others can. From what I've seen and heard, you're the best blacksmith Alagaësia has ever seen. I want your help to make sure these things don't break apart and put people's lives in danger, and to make work on them go faster. The sooner these things are completed the better."

"Are you sure you aren't letting your emotions cloud your judgment?"

Ruby jerked her eyes to the side, then back to Rhunön. "That's all this is. Like I said, these are a gift."

"I see." Rhunön faced the schematics again. "Tell me what I'm seeing here. Most of this is unfamiliar to me."

Ruby tried to keep her smile down, but she didn't know if it worked. "Okay then." She changed the function on her Scroll and the projector to physical manipulation and zoomed in on one part of Project Drake. "This is the basic hydraulic system. Right now, this is scaled up from my arm and leg, but I'm sure there're more efficient ways to do this…"

Ruby went on to explain every last detail in her two projects. She had to explain the technology behind most parts, but she didn't mind. Rhunön acted like she absorbed everything. She made a few comments and suggestions on a few parts, which Ruby made the changes on the spot, but otherwise remained silent. Ruby also made a few alterations when she heard something out loud and it didn't sound right. Overall, Ruby thought both her designs had improved significantly.

When she finished, Ruby looked at the time on the projection and straightened. She'd been pouring over her schematics for five hours. "I think Vale's council will be done with the Alagaësian delegation now." She pulled open one of the drawers on the workbench and pulled out an access card. "This is to get into the building. There's a black panel by the door on the east side of the building. Hold this up to that and the doors will unlock, but will only stay so for ten seconds before locking again. The same goes for leaving the building. But if we want to keep this a secret, try to make sure you aren't followed."

Rhunön took the card. "I shall endeavor to remain hidden."

"That is all I ask." Ruby walked away from the workbench and to the hangar space. Cerise was sprawled out on the floor, with her wings forming a velvety carpet on the concrete. "Comfortable?"

 _I wish._ Cerise growled as she stood up. _I've been trying this whole time to get a little sleep._

"You could have asked me to open the roof." Ruby elbowed her dragon's belly.

Cerise looked away from her Rider. _I am too used to being in the Beors…_

"You'll get better." Ruby climbed Cerise' side, then reached a hand to Rhunön. "We'll take you to your hotel. I got the info from Aaron while I was talking about Wyvern's power core." Rhunön took the offered hand and the Rider helped the aging elf up. Ruby hit the button on her Scroll to open the roof again. Once the doors were open enough, Cerise jumped through and into the dusk sky. Ruby closed the doors soon after as well.

"If I may, Ruby," Rhunön started, "I may not understand why you want to build either of those projects, but whoever will be receiving them will be receiving weapons of the highest quality."

"I try. I think she'll like them too." Ruby clamped her lips together. She might have just given it away.

"I see…" Rhunön didn't say anything else.

 _Why does it matter if Rhunön knows?_ Cerise asked.

 _We know how the Eldunarí feel about these things. We don't know about the elves. Yaela might be okay with it, but the others? I'm not so sure._

Cerise snorted. _You may have a point._ She dipped her head, then the rest of her body followed. Ruby looked at the building ahead of her. It looked like the Alagaësians were staying at one of the five-star hotels near the south fork of the river. Hopefully they liked their stay. Weiss once got RWBAY a few rooms for the team at a hotel in Armen about a year ago while on mission, and it was nice… almost too nice.

Her dragon landed on the roof of the hotel's parking ramp and settled down. Rhunön dismounted Cerise and looked at the building. "The dwarf will be jealous indeed."

The door to the hotel opened and Yaela stepped out. She jogged to Cerise side and beamed up at Ruby. "Your description of this place did not do this city justice. This is amazing."

"Well, this building is a five-star hotel." Ruby shrugged. "I'd be worried if this place wasn't amazing." She paused. "And in case you haven't been told yet, I think I overheard Ozpin say that he'll try to get Scrolls for everyone that came here."

Yaela's smile widened. "I would very much like that." She faced the other elf. _"Come, Rhunön. I will show you to your room."_ The two elves left Cerise' side and entered the hotel.

As soon as they disappeared into the building, Ruby sighed and slumped forward in her saddle until she was laying on her dragon's neck. "Cerise, take me home. I'm exhausted."

Cerise snorted and jumped off the parking ramp. _Who knew doing nothing could be so draining?_

"I was doing things, just those things were trying to get out of any nets the nobles tried to throw at me. I need to spend time away from people."

 _Should I be offended?_

"You're fine, the other Riders are fine, everyone who stays at our house is fine. I just want to have a glass of chocolate milk… or five, eat popcorn or more chocolate, and just not think about work for a little bit. Maybe tomorrow I can go Grimm hunting or something fun like that."

 _Well then, just enjoy the flight, Gem. Let me worry about right now._

"Cerise, have I ever told you how much I love you?"

 _Not in the past five hours._ Cerise hummed and turned her head back. _Have I ever told you I wouldn't choose anyone else over you?_

"Not in the past five hours." Ruby wrapped her arms around her dragon and closed her eyes. The flight to the house on Patch wasn't long, but it was enough. They didn't need to get anywhere in a hurry, they didn't need to guard anyone, and there was no danger. This was so nice… with her luck, Ruby half expected the Grimm Attack sirens to blare.

After too short of a time, the clearing of the house came into view. Cerise glided into the yard and set down beside Nalia. Ruby dismounted her dragon but kept a hand on her Cerise' side. "I might stay out here with you tonight."

 _Really? I thought you would want to sleep in your own bed._

"I was by your side the past few weeks because I had to be. There's a difference between being forced to and wanting to do something."

 _Agreed._ Cerise nuzzled her face against Ruby's, then nudged her Rider toward the house. _Now go get your comfort food and be with your family. I'll wait here._

"You don't need to tell me twice." Ruby walked toward the house and pushed the front door open. A Huntsman detective show was playing on the projector. As expected, Aaron and Yang sat on the couch with her dad's recliner sitting empty. But Blake and Sun on the loveseat wasn't expected at all. "Oh. This is a surprise."

All eyes in the room turned to Ruby. Sun gave Ruby a small salute. "Hopefully it's a good surprise."

"It is." Ruby leaned on the couch behind Yang and Aaron. "How's Menagerie?"

"In better shape than when I got there." Blake shrugged. "I didn't want to leave with all the Grimm attacks, but quite a few more Huntsmen have come to help, not all of them are Faunus."

"Really? What do people think about that?"

"As long as those humans don't cause trouble, there's no problem."

"Considering they would have to deal with one of us or her dad," Sun started, "I don't think any of them would think about causing trouble."

"That's… one way to look at it," Blake agreed.

"And how are things with the White Fang?" Ruby asked,

"Okay for the most part. Very few Faunus have problems with me succeeding Sienna, at least they haven't said so to my face. Right now, we're looking at reorganization and a name change. White Fang just has too many negative connotations right now."

"Makes sense. What abooouuu…" Ruby blinked as she stared at Blake's left hand. A diamond ring wrapped around her ring finger. The Rider jerked her gaze to Sun's left hand. He had a nearly identical ring on. "Guys…" Ruby looked between the two Faunus. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Sun and Blake exchanged a look. "Are we forgetting something?" Blake asked.

"Nah." Sun shook his head. "She doesn't need to know we're engaged."

"EEEEEEEE!" Ruby used her Semblance to run around the couch, then tackle-hug Sun and Blake, lifting the loveseat off the ground and almost tipping it over. "You two make such a great couple! You'll be so happy together! I hoped you two would get together soon."

"Ruby…" Sun croaked, "breathe…"

"Sorry." Ruby backed up and rubbed her bionic arm. "I don't know my own strength when I get excited."

"I noticed." Sun massaged the right side of his neck.

Blake chuckled. "Sun, if you're marrying me and working with us more often, you're going to need to get used to that."

"As long as I'm not choked to death I don't have much of a problem with it."

"I have been waiting so long to say this," Aaron started, "Yang, pay up."

Yang groaned. "I hoped you forgot about that."

"It was five minutes ago. Not a chance."

 _You should have listened to me, Firecracker,_ Halcyon said. _I can be right about your sister too._

"Yeah. You can."

Ruby groaned. "I was the subject of a bet again?"

"Only because you were making bets about me my first year here." Aaron shrugged. "It's only fair."

"True." Ruby sighed. "Well, I guess we're just waiting for Ren and Nora, Velvet and Yatsu, and Weiss and Neptune to get together."

"You're right about two pair." Yang smirked.

Ruby's jaw dropped. "No!"

"Ren proposed yesterday. I'm sure I would have heard Nora's shriek from here if she didn't have to hold back."

"Mmmmmm!" Ruby held in a shriek of her own. "So much good stuff!"

"Calm down, Ruby." Blake held an arm out toward her teammate. "You don't need to have an aneurysm."

"Right, right." Ruby took a deep breath, then let it out. "Is Viki around?"

Aaron stuck a thumb toward the kitchen. "She's making hot chocolate for herself."

"I introduced it to her a couple days ago." Yang crossed her arms. "I may or may not have gotten her addicted."

"There could be worse things to be addicted to." Ruby left the living room and walked into the kitchen. Viki stood right beside the microwave. "Hey, Viki."

"Ruby." Viki took her eyes off the microwave and turned to Ruby. "I thought I heard you."

"I'd be worried if you didn't." Ruby hugged Viki before turning to the cabinets. "How's it been around here?"

"It's been nice." Viki opened the microwave and took her mug out. "Yang showed me this and-l" she gasped and a second later something crashed to the floor.

Something hard and something liquid hit the back of Ruby's legs. She looked at the floor. Viki dropped her mug and it shattered, making the hot chocolate spread across the floor. "Viki, you ok… Viki?"

Viki stood frozen in place, she wasn't even breathing. Her head jerked up, and she looked at Ruby like a deer in the headlights. Her whole body started shaking. She straightened up and clasped her hands in front of her. "I apologize Mist… Ruby. I have broken one of your father's mugs." A single tear ran down from her right eye. "Punish me how you see fit."

Ruby's jaw dropped and her sight grew watery. As far as she knew, this was the first time Viki had fallen back since she pulled out. "Viki, what happened?"

"I did not have a good grip, and it-"

"I don't care about that." Ruby stepped into the mess on the floor and cupped Viki's cheek. "I'm not going to hurt you. No one here will ever hurt you."

"But… I…"

"Was it intentional?"

"No… I would never."

"Then there's nothing to worry about." Ruby smiled and used a thumb to wipe the tears from Viki's face. "It was an accident. Everyone makes those. I broke I don't know how many things in here when I was a kid."

"So… you're not…" Viki's whole body slumped.

"I'm not angry. I'm not going to hurt you."

Viki started sobbing and dipped her head. Ruby took another step forward and brought Viki into a hug. She didn't say anything, she just rocked Viki from side to side and rubbed her back. After a while, Viki returned the hug. "Thank you, Ruby."

"Anytime, Viki. Anytime."

Viki pulled her head back and locked eyes with Ruby. "I have heard Blake and Weiss call you sister before. Can I… do the same?"

Ruby nodded. "I've always wanted to be a big sister." Viki dipped her head again and leaned onto Ruby's chest. "That goes for just about everything. I'll help you with anything you need. Homework, job searching, flower picking, anything. If you need a wingwoman for finding a boyfriend someday, just ask. Of course, I'll protect you from just about everything. Grimm, bad decisions, ex-boyfriends… I'm told two of those go hand in hand."

She pushed Viki away a little and brushed even more tears of her new sister's face. "I'll take care of this mess and make you a new cup. Go out and watch some shows with the rest of the family." Viki nodded and turned toward the living room. She took a big step and Ruby gasped. "You're bleeding!" Viki had a large gash on top of each foot. Ruby knelt down in front of Viki and held a hand over the wound. "Waíse heill." The wounds sealed and stopped the flow of blood. "Ryðja." The blood on Viki's foot, along with the hot chocolate, cleared itself and disappeared. "There. Now you're good."

"Thank you, again." Viki nodded at Ruby then walked into the living room.

Ruby sighed and pulled the garbage can out from under the sink. The bag should hold up. Cerise hummed outside. Her Rider looked up and out the window. A large red eye looked in. _How is she?_

 _I'm not going into her head… but I think she's good._ Ruby cast a spell and lifted the shattered mug over the garbage. She cut the energy flow and it all fell in. _You heard that I have a new sister, right?_

 _I did. Your family grows._

 _Yeah._ Ruby cast a similar spell to drain all the remaining hot chocolate down the sink. _I hope dad doesn't mind too much._

 _Nalia said he wants you to move out soon. He likes everyone you've brought here, but the ins and outs are getting to him._

 _I can see that._ Ruby prepped another mug of hot chocolate for Viki and threw it in the microwave. _Hopefully Yang made some progress on that… but I won't worry about that today._ She waited for the microwave to ding, then brought the mug out to the living room. Viki now leaned against Aaron's side, resting her head on his shoulder. Ruby walked to her side and set the mug on the end table by the couch. "Here you go, sis."

"Thank you." Viki's eyes were red, but she had a light smile. She grabbed the cup and carefully took a sip.

Ruby nodded and walked to her dad's recliner. First come, first serve. She sat down and leaned back. It was a _nice_ chair.

 _Ruby?_ Aaron mentally said. Ruby flicked her eyes to her boyfriend. _Thank you._

 _She's my sister now. Everything I can give, she can have it if she needs it._

* * *

 **I'll say it now so I (hopefully) don't have to say it again. I will neither be confirming or denying what Projects Wyvern or Drake are. If you ask... Spoilers ;)  
**


	19. Old Yet New Faces

**Wow... I only have a month and a few days left of college left (and a summer internship, but all classes will be done). One one hand, no more research projects that I don't like or I'm not getting paid for! On the other... I'm going to have to learn how to adult... That scares me.  
**

 **In the past week, someone started a TV Tropes page for the series. Add another thing to the list I didn't think my readers would do. It's under the title 'A Rose's Scales' and still being worked on, but it looks like anyone can edit... or not. I didn't know the website existed until a few months ago. I could just be rambling. Still, a big thank you to** **Pikanet128 for starting it up... I swear, the similarity in our usernames is not intentional.  
**

* * *

Ruby backed away from Bumblebee and ran a hand over her forehead. She faced her sister. "Yang, go ahead and plug Halcyon in."

"Will do." Yang drew the artificial Eldunarí from her belt. She stepped up to her motorcycle and opened the new compartment just under the handlebars. "Here goes nothing." She lined up the slots on Halcyon with the nodes in the motorcycle. It clicked in, but nothing else visually happened.

Yang knelt down in front of her motorcycle and stared into the camera. She also stretched her mind out to the bike. Instead of just concentrated on one area like all other times, she felt Halcyon's Aura all over the bike. At least that was working right.

"All readings are how they should be." Ruby said. "Did it work?"

The tiny camera blinked, then like an eye, it moved in all directions before focusing on Yang. _Well, I can see a Sunny Little Dragon in front of me,_ Halcyon said. Yang smacked the front fender. _And I can feel._

"Really?" Yang scratched underneath one of the mirrors.

 _Yeah… Oh yeah. That's nice. It's been too long._

Ruby curled her lips in separate directions. "I think the engine should have revved there."

"It can't rev if it's off," Yang said. But she had to admit, a nice rev there would be a good substitute for a hum.

"True." Ruby nodded. "Halcyon? Can you try to start the engine?"

 _I can try, but I can't really move anything._ A few seconds went by in complete silence. _I can't feel it. I don't even know what to feel for._

"I can help with that." Yang sat on her motorcycle and grabbed the handlebars. She brought up a leg to kick it into gear, but Halcyon interrupted by mentally humming. The Rider looked at the still open Eldunarí compartment

 _It feels so good to have you on my back again.,_ Halcyon told only her.

Yang smiled at the device that held her dragon, then rubbed the right-side pane of her motorcycle. _It's good to be back here too. We're going to have to go riding sometime._

 _Beacon Speedway?_

 _You know it._ Yang hadn't indulged in that speed rush since sophomore year, and that was to shut some 'manly men' up. She kicked on her bike and the engine purred to life.

 _Oh!_ Yang felt her bike wobble and the engine hiccupped, but it kept running. _That felt… weird._

"New limb?"

 _Something like that, and the engine starting in the first place._ The handlebars tugged in Yang's hands. She let go and the head over her motorcycle turned on its own accord. _I can move my head._

"You should be able to move everything that isn't involved in keeping Bumblebee running." Ruby stepped away from the workshop computer and the workbench and kicked the motorcycle's kickstand. "Can you try to bring this up?"

 _I think so._ As Yang watched, the kickstand sprung up. _I think that worked._

"It did." Yang pat the handle bars. "Can you try to move forward?"

 _I'm… trying._ Yang felt the strain her dragon put out, even though it was only mental. _I am meant to have four legs and two wings, not two wheels. I don't know what to do with these._

"How about I take you for a ride for a change?" Yang rubbed the motorcycle's side. "Give you a chance to feel around this thing. Maybe if you're comfortable enough, you can take over."

Halcyon mentally hummed and the engine revved. _I'd like that._

"It's settled." Yang got off her motorcycle and picked her helmet off the workbench. She stopped herself before getting back on and turned to her sister. "This should hold up on the highway around the island, right?"

"My equipment would hold up if you drove head on into a semi." Ruby shrugged. "Bumblebee is a different matter. But with Halcyon in there, I'd think you should be fine."

"What are you saying about my driving?" Yang put her hands on her hips.

"It's a coin flip whether I want to ride with you or Uncle Qrow."

Yang smirked. "So that's how it is. I'll have to remember that when you get your license." She mounted Bumblebee and fit her helmet over her head. "You going to be here when you get back?"

Ruby shook her head. "Maybe, maybe not. I'm heading out to see Violet in a few minutes. I've already missed quite a bit of mentor time, and I don't want to miss any more. That, and Cerise wants to see her hatchling again. I wonder if she's picked a name yet."

"Would anyone mind if I dropped by for a bit? I'd like to meet the hatchling."

"Well, you're going to be coworkers someday. Might as well start networking." Ruby's mouth hung open and her arms swayed at her side. "Oh my gosh. Did I really just say that?"

"You're turning into an adult, Rubes. Get used to it."

"Maybe." Ruby shook her head. "Get out of here. Let Halcyon get used to this."

"Don't need to tell me twice." Yang leaned forward and rubbed the right side panel of her bike. "Ay you, we'll be taking this nice and slow to start out." She straightened out on her bike and gently turned the throttle. The bike rolled out of the shed and Halcyon yelped. "Easy, Halcyon. We won't be going fast. I know what I'm doing."

 _I know. I'm just usually not the one being taken somewhere… and I'm feeling so many parts move that I've never had before. Every bit of this is new for me._

"I'd say use whatever I have, but you need to feel what's going on here. If you need me to pull over so you can catch your breath, just tell me." Yang drove her motorcycle through the yard and onto the road outside her house. For once, she didn't automatically speed to several miles over the speed limit. "Feeling anything yet?"

 _I think I might be starting to, but nowhere near enough to the point of taking control._

"Got it. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride." Yang ran into a little bit of traffic before driving into town, but for once, she was fine with that. It gave Halcyon a little more time to get accustomed with the motorcycle. He would need to learn how to stop and go after all.

Yang drove through all of downtown Patch before driving onto the island highway. There, she allowed herself to go faster than the normal speed of traffic, but still not weaving in and out of cars… maybe Ruby had a point.

Halcyon hummed in Yang's head. _I've missed this feeling._

Yang smirked. _I've missed riding like this._ She stretched her mind out in front of her and she didn't feel what she was looking for. _There's no cops ahead of us, and there aren't any speed cameras on this road. How about we crank this up?"_

 _Yang, isn't that illegal?_ It didn't sound like Halcyon was too worried.

 _With the top speed on Bumblebee, oh yeah. That's one heck of a ticket if not jail time._

 _What would your father and Ruby think?_

 _I won't tell if you won't._

Halcyon hummed. _Well, I suppose it couldn't… wait. How populated is this road today?_

 _There's quite a few up there today. Why?_

 _If I am remembering right, people know your motorcycle. What happens if someone records us speeding like that?_

Yang stiffened, then sighed. _Dangit. Looks like we're relegated to the Beacon Speedway for now._

 _I am still fine with this. I've missed the wind on my scales. This… fiberglass will have to do._

 _Hey, Ruby said she'd try to get you hooked up to the Bullhead. Then you'll have steel, not to mention a few big guns at all times._

 _I guess. Then I'll be able to fly again._

 _Keep looking on the bright side. That's what you've been telling me for the longest time._ Yang kept driving, and she exchanged quite a bit of banter with her dragon, just like they used to when flying long distances. It felt so natural. Yang didn't know how much she missed it until then. She added so many more puns and playful insults to the mix after that. Halcyon didn't comment on his Rider's mental status, and Yang didn't mention the single tear running down her cheek. She _really_ missed this.

When they made a full lap of the island, Yang took the off-ramp back into town. She purposefully found a red light and stopped behind it. _Think you're ready to give this a shot?_

 _I… think so._ Yang felt the handlebars twitch in her hands. _Where to?_

 _Signal. Let's introduce you to another baby dragon._

 _Believe me, I want to, but don't we want to keep me a secret?_

 _Violet's one of us, and Ruby is her hero, literally. She can keep a secret if Ruby asks. Hopefully the hatchling will too._

 _Then let's go._ The handlebars twitched again. The light turned green. _Here we go…_ The throttle turned in Yang's hand. The bike moved forward and Yang took her feet off the ground. While she had her hands on all the controls, Halcyon was doing all the work. It wasn't the smoothest or straightest one block drive, but it was good. Better than Yang's first drive.

At the next light, Yang pat her motorcycle's side, not caring who saw. _Nice job._

 _That was different._ The handlebars jerked back and forth in Yang's hands, like Halcyon shook his head. _At least that wasn't hard to do._

 _Think you can make it to Signal?_

 _Definitely… As long as I don't fall over._

 _I won't let you fall._ The light turned green and Halcyon drove through the intersection. _We've got to take a right up here._

 _Here it goes…_ Halcyon pulled into the turn lane, then turned onto the new road. Bumblebee tilted on its own to help with the turn. Yang kept down the urge to fight the tilt, and Halcyon fully made the turn on his own.

 _You_ _ **are**_ _the bike, and you've never ridden this one before._

 _I stand by what I said._ Halcyon continued to drive, and Yang never interfered with her dragon's work. She made a few comments, but that was it. If anything, Halcyon improved as the blocks flew by. After a while, Yang switched from suggestions to encouragement. He had this… He knew how to drive a motorcycle after only a half hour of being driven around Patch.

 _Halcyon, you can't think faster, can you?_

 _I…_ Halcyon paused and the bike wobbled. _Maybe? I don't know how I'm doing this well either._

 _Well, Penny was flesh and bone first and now she can think as fast as a computer. Maybe that could be you too. We're going to have to ask Ruby about this._

 _I would not mind that. I could have all of Remnant's puns in my head at the same time._

 _Hey! That's my thing._

 _I thought it was Summer's thing._ Bumblebee's engine revved a little more but its speed stayed the same.

They turned another corner and Signal Academy lay ahead of them. Yang stretched her mind forward to find her sister and Cerise. _Looks like they're in the field to the west of the main building. There's a parking lot right there._

 _Got it._ Halcyon drove the bike into the parking lot and an open space by the field. Ruby, Violet, and Cerise stood in the field, with Cerise having a splotch of purple on her snout. The engine revved once more before shutting down. _My stars. That hatchling is cute._

 _Hey! You called something cute! I didn't think I'd hear you say that._ Yang took off her helmet and set it on the seat. _Think you can keep people from dragonnapping you?_

 _I'll manage. If you could bring that hatchling over here without looking suspicious, I'd like that._

 _Will do, big guy._ Yang walked away from her motorcycle and toward the small group in the field. "Hello!" she called and waved.

Ruby and Violet looked her way. "Hey, sis." Ruby waved back.

The hatchling raised her head off Cerise' snout and chirped at Yang. She jumped off the red dragon and trotted to close the distance, her tail raised like a happy cat. She stopped by Yang's feet and looked up at the Rider. Her head cocked to the side and a high-pitched hum burst from her throat. _Like you._ Her voice sounded like a woman in her twenties. She rubbed her side against Yang's legs.

"Friendly little girl, aren't you?" Yang continued to walk toward her sister, trying not to step on the hatchling.

"I don't think Orchid's met anyone she doesn't like." Violet smiled down at her dragon. Orchid left Yang's legs and rubbed against her Rider's.

"She's acting like a cat the size of a golden retriever." Yang shook her head. "And I thought Cerise was a friendly hatchling."

"Yang," Ruby started, "sit down. You'll see why in a second."

"Okay." Yang shrugged then did as she was told. Orchid hummed again, then crawled onto Yang's lap. She hummed and rubbed her body up and down Yang's chest and face. She licked Yang's face like it was coated with steak sauce. Yang laughed and hugged the hatchling. "Yep. I think Orchid just passed Cerise for the friendliest hatchling ever." Orchid hummed even more and wrapped her neck around Yang's, using her new vantage point to lick the other side of Yang's face.

"Orchid is just a big cuddlebug." Violet sat on the grass as well and held her arms open. Orchid raised her ears and head and chirped again. She jumped off Yang, somehow not scratching her, and pounced onto Violet. She wrapped her wings and neck around her Rider. If Yang thought she was getting the royal treatment, what was Violet getting? The hatchling purred loud and hard enough to be felt through the ground. Orchid licked almost every inch of Violets face, only avoiding the eyes and mouth. She wriggled around, rubbing as much as her body against her Rider as possible. If there was a comparison, it was a dog welcoming a soldier home times ten.

"Dang." Yang stood up but never took her eyes off the adorable sight in front of her. "Where can I get one of these?"

"She's not for sale." Violet stood up, and Orchid adjusted herself so her Rider was cradling her. Considering her size, that was saying something. Yang looked at Violet's arms they weren't quite twigs, but Weiss had more definition these days.

"So how are you liking Signal so far?" Yang crossed her arms.

"It's… high school." Violet shrugged. "I'm doing my best in my 'class' classes, but I'm really liking the ones that teach me to be a Huntress."

"And she's doing great in her initial combat training," Ruby said. She faced Violet and put her hands on her hips. "You've had enough of a break. How about we show her?"

Violet nodded, then set Orchid down, much to the hatchling's displeasure. She pulled her twin tonfa from her back. "Orchid, stay with Yang. Keep her company." Orchid's ears and wings rose again and she rubbed her sides against Yang's legs.

Ruby walked to Cerise' side and pulled a pair of tonfa of her own from the saddle. She spun the weapons around in her hands as she walked away from the clearing's other inhabitants. "Okay, Violet," Ruby raised her weapons, "try to land a hit on me."

Violet nodded, then charged Ruby. She was fast for a thirteen-year-old, but nowhere near fast enough to hit Ruby. She tried so many different things, attacking in two different areas at once, both tonfa at the same place, and alternating strikes. Ruby blocked everything her trainee threw at her, barely even moving her legs. But Violet never gave up, and had some impressive endurance for someone her age.

"You're Rider's pretty impressive, Orchid." Yang looked down, but the cuddly dragon wasn't there. The Rider froze up and jerked her head around the clearing. She found the hatchling trotting toward the parking lot, or more specifically, a motorcycle parked right by the field. _Halcyon, you're about to have a visitor._

 _I see her,_ Halcyon said. _She touched my mind about when the other two started their spar._

 _Hopefully Orchid can keep a secret._ Yang jogged over to her motorcycle. Just before she got there, Orchid started sniffing Bumblebee. Judging by the squeaks and mumbles she made, she was confused. _Why don't you end her confusion and say hi?_

Halcyon mentally hummed. _Hello, little one._

Orchid jumped back, then squeaked and jumped onto Bumblebee's seat. She curled up there and started humming once more. _Like you,_ Orchid said.

 _I like you too. You're cute._

Yang rubbed Orchid's back, and the hatchling leaned into it. "Like my bike, do ya?"

Orchid looked up at Yang. _How dragon?_

 _That's… a long story,_ Halcyon said. _Either Yang or I will tell you when you are older. But please, speak of me only to Violet, or another dragon or Rider._ Orchid lowered her head and resumed her humming.

The bell rang at the top of Signal's central building. End of class. "Orchid, I think you'd better get back to your Rider." Yang nudged the hatchling back toward Violet. Orchid jumped off Bumblebee's seat and glided about a quarter of the way to the others. The newer Rider had returned her tonfa to her back and was talking with Ruby. Any conversation was brought to a halt by Orchid pouncing on her Rider's back. It looked like Ruby laughed and the young pair walked back toward the school.

Yang rejoined her sister. "I didn't see much because Orchid had to say hi to Halcyon. She still doing good?"

"She's getting better," Ruby nodded. "I actually had to move my legs this time around."

 _Then there's Orchid._ Cerise hummed. _I do not think many people will not like her… But I do wonder how she'll fight. Will she have the heart to do it? I wonder if she has the heart to do anything to hurt others. That is fine for humans and Faunus, but that could be a hard life for a dragon._

"We'll find out when she gets older," Yang said. "We thought you were the cutest thing on the planet and treated you like Zwei your first week out of your egg. Look at you now."

 _But I did not act like a puppy and a kitten combined._

Ruby put a hand on the side of her dragon's head. "With you and Nalia training her, Orchid'll be kicking butt with the rest of them."

Cerise snorted. _There is that._

Ruby faced Yang. "We've got to get to the mainland. I've got a meeting with Ozpin."

"Any chance you can bring me and Halcyon over there."

 _Sure. More driving time?_

"Something like that, yeah."

Ruby crossed her arms and gave Yang a small glare. "Beacon Speedway?"

"Halcyon misses the wind on his face." Yang shrugged and held her hands palm up. "How can I deny him that?"

Ruby sighed. "I guess I have to get the Bullhead hooked up. Just don't crash, okay? I don't want to put you, Bumblebee, and Halcyon back together."

* * *

 _Are you sure this is the best idea?_ Cerise asked her Rider.

Ruby watched as her sister sped out of the main gate to Beacon. "She hasn't wrecked yet. With Halcyon in there, something tells me she'll be extra careful."

 _Maybe._ Cerise nudged Ruby toward the tower at the center of Beacon. _Go meet with Ozpin. I'm going to see if anyone's working on our place in the mountains._ She jumped over her Rider and over Beacon.

Now alone, Ruby walked across the campus she loved. A few students roamed about, and a few of them waved at Ruby. Most of them shared at least one year at the school with her, so seeing her around wasn't unexpected for them. Some of the first years gawked though. They would need to get used to it. She'd be in and out for several years.

Halfway across the courtyard, Ruby saw someone she didn't expect to. Pyrrha walked across campus toward one of the lecture halls. Ruby jogged up to her friend's side. "Hey, Pyrrha!"

The redhead faced the Rider. "Ruby. What are you doing here?"

"I've got a meeting with Ozpin. What are you doing here while you're…" Ruby gestured at Pyrrha's belly. There was no visible evidence, but the life growing inside Pyrrha was growing in strength.

"I'm not going on a mission if that's what you're thinking." Pyrrha shook her head. "Since Barty is going to be in Alagaësia for the foreseeable future, and a few other professors are retired, Beacon is short staffed. I just interviewed for the combat instructor position."

"Really? How'd it go?"

"Considering I'm on my way to meet with Glynda about her plans for the next few weeks, I would say it went pretty well."

"Well, then congratulations!" Ruby pat Pyrrha on the back. "If you need anyone to come in for demonstrations, just give me a call."

"That's a few people now that I can call on."

A time notification appeared in Ruby's bionic eye. "Oh! I'm going to be late." She took a few steps back. "Could you tell Jaune I'd like to speak with him about something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"A book that I might legitimately try to write someday." Ruby turned around and started jogging toward the tower. She hated being late, especially around Ozpin or any of the Riders. Of course, the elevator took a long time to reach the bottom of the tower. But once inside, it was always fast. Ruby composed herself inside in case whatever this was about was professional in nature.

The elevator doors opened to Ozpin's office. The headmaster sat at his desk with a stack of papers in front of him. "Hey Oz. You called?"

Ozpin looked up from his work. "Ruby. Yes, please, come in."

Ruby stepped into the room. "This about the delegation?"

"Yes, and no. Since we are waiting on Aaron, I will refrain from speaking on those topics."

 _So, this is business._ "Needed the two highest ranked people in the Riders?"

Ozpin hesitated. "In a sense. But I do have one thing that I can take care of now."

"And that is?"

Ozpin pushed one of the buttons on his desk. A hologram of the new dorm appeared over it. "Normally we have names for new buildings before construction starts. That was not the case here. I do not expect an answer now, but one of the ideas that was discussed in board meetings was Halcyon Hall."

Ruby let her arms hang limp at her side. "Oh. Well, I guess I'll have to run that by Yang. I honestly have no idea what she'll say."

"That is to be expected." Ozpin closed the hologram. "I would be worried if you answered for your sister."

Ruby nodded, then something outside caught her eye. It looked like Nalia was flying in from the west. They'd get to the meat of this meeting shortly. "So, Pyrrha's the new combat instructor here?"

"Indeed she is. Glynda's skills are better suited for teaching more academic classes, and as that's where the largest gap was, she will move there. I have every confidence in Pyrrha's ability to run the combat classes."

"She taught Jaune how to fight, and gave my team a few suggestions over the years. And she's good with people too. I don't think very many people will give her a hard time. She will do great."

Ruby and Ozpin continued to make small talk until the elevator opened and Aaron stepped inside. "Ruby, you're here too?"

"Yeah. Apparently Oz needed the two heads of the Riders." Ruby faced Ozpin again. "Now could you tell us why you called us here?"

Ozpin sighed. "In my last meeting with the Alagaësian delegation, I learned that they all had seen your episode of Mellen. Some of them are… not thrilled to say the least."

Ruby slumped her shoulders. "Something tells me you don't mean my attitude at the beginning."

"If only it were that simple. The representatives of the dwarves and Surda are wondering if you should be leading the Riders."

"Probably with colorful language than that." Ruby shook her head.

"That's their problem." Aaron crossed her arms. "I'd like to see them charge into the Citadel like Ruby did, or a horde of Grimm, or one the size of a mountain. Besides anything related to the Nevermores, I haven't seen anything that can scare her." Ruby refrained from rubbing the back of her neck, and she hoped her face didn't turn red.

"There is no one in here you need to convince." Ozpin raised a placating hand. "However, I would recommend not approaching those representatives."

"What about Barst and Däthedr?" Ruby asked.

"They appear to be supportive of you."

"They know what we're capable of," Aaron pat Ruby on the back. "That makes a difference."

"Were you expecting this?"

Aaron shrugged. "There was the possibility none of them would be approving of you. No one in Alagaësia likes those they see as cowards. I guess Barst and Dathedr recognized your actions were running toward the fight, not away."

"Thanks, Aaron." Ruby gave her boyfriend a smile, then faced Ozpin again. "I take it there's something else. You could have just told us that on a Scroll call."

"There is one more thing, one that I should have told you when you returned from Alagaësia the first time." Ozpin stood up from his desk and walked to the window. He clasped his hands behind his back. "I'm afraid I have been lying to you from the beginning. Ruby, some of this your mother hasn't even heard."

Ruby and Aaron exchanged a look. "What's this about?" Ruby asked.

Ozpin turned around and looked directly at Ruby. "This is very important and sensitive information, so I would appreciate your discretion in this."

"That depends." Ruby crossed her arms. "My team has had a terrible history with secrets. On more than one occasion, that's gotten at least one of us hurt."

"If anyone is at risk from this information, it's me." Ozpin paused. "Just as you are the Winter Maiden, I am the Wizard of that story."

Ruby scrunched her eyes. "What?"

"In a sense, I am the current incarnation of the Wizard, yet I am the Wizard."

Aaron shook his head. "You just repeated yourself."

"I can understand your confusion. But my continuation is not the same as the Maidens."

Ruby continued to stare at Ozpin, then shrugged. She sort of figured that the Wizard from the story of the seasons had a similar background. "Okay. You're the Wizard. I take it you have abilities like the Maidens?"

"Yes, and no. I used to be capable of great feats capable of destroying armies like the Maidens, but now my power is diminished. The greatest feat I have accomplished in the past several decades was granting Qrow and Raven the ability to turn into birds."

"What?" Ruby cocked her head. "Mom said that was Qrow's Semblance."

"She never believed in bad luck."

"That actually makes more sense that anything else." Aaron shrugged. "Raven's portals are her Semblance. She'd have two if turning into a bird was one of them."

Ruby's shoulders slumped. "I guess..."

Ozpin nodded. "I was so powerful centuries ago, I had the opportunity to kill Salem. Unfortunately, back then I thought brute force was the only way to win, and she outsmarted me, and mortally wounded me. Because of my failure, I was cursed by the Gods. I cannot truly die until Salem is killed."

"You speak of this like you were there," Aaron said.

"In a sense, I was. My continuation is different from that of the Maidens. Over the centuries, I have established that I enter the mind of a like-minded male. Unlike the Maidens, whom I granted their abilities to a century later, my mind and the mind of my host fuse into one over time, but my mind is the dominant, and thus most aspects are mine."

Ruby blinked and brought a hand to the side of her head. So many people said she was just like her mother. "That's not what's happening with me, is it?" She loved her mom, and she was happy that she got to spend more time with her, but fusing? Takeover? That didn't even happen between dragon and Rider. Her heart beat faster in her chest.

Ozpin shook his head. "When I gave the first Maidens their abilities, I made sure to not let that happen. I called my situation a curse for a reason. No, the previous Maiden resides in the current Maiden's unconscious, slowly giving the host training through dreams, or when they find me or other Maidens, speaking to them while they're awake. After a while, they fade away. I am honestly surprised your mother has been with you as long as she has."

Ruby took a deep breath. "I guess we're both stubborn like that."

"Why are you telling us this?" Aaron asked.

Ozpin sighed. "Because I am not going to live forever. I have not noticed any trend in where my mind goes after I die. I need people I can trust to find me, and more than likely help me build up strength."

"I don't like this, Oz." Ruby grimaced. "Two minds existing in the same head is one thing. I've got that with Cerise and my mom. But complete takeover? I've felt that. It isn't pleasant to say the least. This… it's too much."

"I have thought the same thing many times over the years, and I would have ended it many lifetimes ago if I could have. But it is not up to me."

"And what happens when Salem dies?" Aaron asked.

"Then the curse should be lifted, and I can finally pass into the next life. Ruby, I know how you despise that line of thinking, but when you have lived and died as many times as I have, you may understand why I think this way. I have come to terms with it, and will welcome it when it finally comes."

Ruby shook her head. "If and when you die next, I'll tell the Riders to keep a lookout for you. If we kill Salem before that happens, oh well. If I tell anyone about this, it's Oromis and Umaroth. If I report to anyone, it would be those two." Aaron glanced her way, then back to Ozpin.

"Of course." Ozpin nodded. "I wouldn't ask you to keep this from them."

"Well if that's it, we have other things we need to get to." Ruby turned around and walked back to the elevator. She waited for the elevator doors to open, not paying attention to what Ozpin said. That was unlike her, but oh well. She needed to get out of the office.

As soon as the doors opened, Ruby stepped inside and hit the button for the ground floor. Aaron walked in and the doors closed behind him. After the elevator fell for a few seconds, Aaron put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "What happened in those last few seconds?"

Ruby sighed. "Possession… Like what happened in the Vault of Souls. Who knows how many people he's taken over?"

Aaron nodded and grimaced. "I'm not a fan either. But it's not up to us, and it's not up to him."

"Why do you think I didn't freeze him where he stood?" Ruby shook her head. "I don't have to like what's going on to deal with it. We now have another reason to take out Salem. If she's gone, the cycle ends. That can't come soon enough."

* * *

 **Something good, something cute, something that's a reminder of something terrible. All in a good week's work.  
**


	20. Sea of Thieves

**Everyone else is saying we need to find Elsa and arrest her, I'm saying find the Winter Maiden and put her behind bars... or suppress her Aura. I'm guessing Remnant has that kind of tech to keep Huntsmen behind bars. My point, enough with the snow! My hometown got about two feet dumped on it over the weekend...  
**

* * *

Ruby stared at the sky above Patch and tapped her foot. Weiss was already two weeks late, and when Ruby went to Alagaësia a week ago to check up on her, she said she'd be back today. Especially with what they just learned about the White Fang, she _needed_ to get back. The more Huntsmen they had on location, the better.

She checked the time on her bionic eye. They had an hour before they _had_ to leave for the intercept. If they waited that long, they'd be pushing it. If Weiss wasn't back in a half hour, Saphira would have to stay behind. They wouldn't have time to get her in her armor and jets.

"Hey Blake?" Ruby turned around and entered the Bullhead. "We picking up Saphira's IFF yet?"

"Not yet." Blake gestured at the Bullhead's radar. "We've got nothing but civilian airships for miles around. We're in the clear for when we leave."

Ruby nodded. "Sun? You comfortable on that turret."

"As I'll ever be." Sun pulled the control stick around and the screen in front of him changed accordingly. "Just point and shoot…" Sun sighed. "These are people we're going to be shooting, not Grimm. That's what's got me worried."

 _If the message was right, there will be plenty of Grimm there too._ Ruby faced the center console. "Halcyon? You feeling everything?"

"I am." Halcyon's voice came through the cockpit speakers as well as directly into Ruby's head. "I am still not sure if me being in the Bullhead is the best idea."

"You're going to need to feel your way around this thing during combat eventually. Might as well do it now." Ruby left the Bullhead and looked at the outside of the crew compartment door. The new logo of the dragon Riders was recently painted on both sides. It showed the head of a white dragon with a pair of swords behind the horns, and tree branches sticking out behind the jaw, all enclosed in a blue circle. Yatsu was quite the artist, and now it would appear on just about everything the Riders owned. Hopefully people would recognize it as a symbol of hope, and not anything else.

Ruby shook her head. She was getting distracted. She looked around the yard again. Cerise and Nalia wore their full armor, guns and all. Saphira's lay in order by the house. Aaron stood by Nalia's side, adjusting the various plates. Yang leaned against the side of the house in her own armor. But they were missing their informant. "Yang?" Ruby walked over to her sister. "Where's Raven?"

"Trying to wrangle Qrow into all this." Yang shrugged. "Uncle Qrow could be anywhere. She'll be back when we have to leave."

"Good, because until Weiss gets here, she's the only one who knows where this ship is."

Vert's roar filtered over the trees. Ruby faced it as the dragon flew over the outer tree line. He landed and trotted up to Ruby, a scowl on his face. _No luck._

"They don't believe us," Velvet said from her dragon's back. "That, or they don't want to risk war with Atlas."

"Only one of those makes sense." Ruby shook her head. It _was_ an Atlas freighter at risk after all… Then again, the only other things they knew about the freighter were who owned it, and that it had something valuable enough onboard to warrant a hijacking.

Nalia's hatchling ran into the yard, chasing a butterfly. He jumped in the air and swatted at it, missing it by inches. Since he was about the size of a compact car, he created a huge divot in the ground when he landed. Ruby still hadn't figured him out. He was extremely aggressive around anyone who wasn't at the house on a regular basis and could take out Grimm with ease, but he did things like that and rolled onto his belly whenever Velvet or Ruby approached him. He still hadn't chosen a name either, despite speaking limited Vytalian. At least he listened to his mother.

Speaking of which, Nalia growled at her hatchling. He faced his mother and growled back. The exchange continued for about a minute, and it ended with the young dragon leaving the yard with his tail dragging on the ground. Nalia snorted and faced Ruby. _I apologize again. He wants to help, but he will only slow us down._

"We need to get him at least into the mountains too." Ruby shook her head and faced the newest hole in the ground. "Dad's getting annoyed with these."

Nalia snorted. _I_ _agree that he should get in the mountains, but if your father has a problem with my hatchling, he will have to take it up with me._

"Ruby!" Blake stuck her head out of her Bullhead. "Weiss and Saphira are back. They're about a mile south of here."

"Got it." Ruby faced south and stretched her mind that way. _Weiss, Saphira, get back here quick._

 _What's going on?_ Weiss asked.

 _We've got a problem, and we need to leave within the hour._ Ruby kept staring south, then large spot of blue flew in front of the clouds. Saphira dove into the yard and stayed by the trees. Weiss dismounted her dragon and walked toward her partner. Ruby met her halfway. "You being here makes things a whole lot easier."

"What's going on?" Weiss looked at where her dragon's armor laid in the grass. "How bad is it?"

"Long story short, one of your freighters is being targeted by the White Fang. We tried calling it in to your security, but they said they have enough menon board. But from what Raven's said, unless the _Vytal_ is providing escort, it won't be enough. It's in a CCT dead zone for another eight hours, so we can't get a message out of it."

Weiss stiffened and put on her no-nonsense business face. "Do know which one?"

"The biggest one there is, the _SDC Saint Nick."_

Weiss' shoulders relaxed. "The _Saint Nick_ is as close to a battleship as a civilian ship can get. It should be fine."

"Raven intercepted a message from Adam Taurus to someone named Yuma about the attack, telling him to expect Grimm assistance. Specifically, completely black Grimm. Ring a bell?"

"That changes things." Weiss pulled out her Scroll. "I'll get a manifest. There has to be something onboard to attract an attack."

"If there's nothing out of the ordinary, a shipload full of Dust and a civilian battleship could be enough." Ruby faced Saphira. "Can you fight with your armor."

Saphira barred her teeth. _I can fight in anything._

Cerise growled and walked up behind Ruby. _This is no time for hubris. This is real combat against Grimm more intelligent than any you have faced, against Faunus with Dust weapons that are more dangerous than any Grimm. I want an honest assessment of your skills before you fly into combat._

Saphira lowered her head to the ground and clawed up the ground beneath her. _You all want me to fight, yet hold me back at every chance. I_ _ **am**_ _ready, and I will prove it today._

 _So that's it? You want to prove yourself?_

Saphira's pupils shrank to slits. _Don't test me, Cerise. I can prove myself right here, right now._

Cerise raised her head and snorted. _You just did. Get in your armor. We fly when you are ready._ She turned around and walked away.

 _Is that it?_ Saphira took a step forward.

 _Enough!_ Cerise snapped her head back. Her pupils were now slits, and every one of her teeth showed through her lips. She let loose a growl that Ruby never heard before from her dragon and it made the Rider's skin crawl. Cerise and Saphira exchanged growls a little more, but the younger dragon's were much less confident. She also retracted her outstretched leg, and even took a few steps back from the angry dragon. Cerise gave one more growl before walking to the side of the Bullhead.

Ruby stared after her dragon. That was… new. Weiss walked up to her side. "Is Cerise okay?" she asked.

"I… don't know. But I think Cerise just made herself the Alpha."

"Dragons have Alphas?"

"They do now. Unless Nalia or Glaedr has something to say about it, Cerise just claimed it." Ruby shook her head. "You get that manifest?"

Weiss nodded. "I'll go through it while you get Saphira her armor."

"If something seems out of place, it's probably that." Ruby walked back toward the house and motioned for Saphira to follow her. The dragon did, but stayed silent. The Rider looked for two others. "Aaron, Velvet, we're on armor duty."

Saphira laid down beside her armor and the three Riders proceeded to armor her up. Not even Cerise stayed as still as Saphira was when getting her armor on. Something told Ruby that this wasn't normal for the dragon. As a rule, dragons only liked being still while asleep or stalking prey. Saphira was doing neither. Ruby would have to talk to Cerise about what she said.

When Ruby mounted one of the jets on Saphira's side, she heard a familiar whirring sound. She turned around to see Raven and uncle Qrow standing in front of Raven's portals. Ruby walked up to them. "So you two are joining us?"

"Yeah." Qrow nodded. "We can't have these guys getting a hold of that much Dust."

" _If_ that's what they're after." Raven crossed her arms. "There are plenty of less defended ships out there that could give them enough Dust for a few months. Unless they plan on using the _Saint Nick_ as a mobile headquarters, they could easily get the same amount of Dust off three other ships."

"They might not be after Dust alone." Weiss said as she walked up beside Ruby. "The ship is only carrying three quarters its capacity in Dust, the rest is classified by the Atlas military, above my clearance. Considering that's my ship, that's saying something." She looked between Ruby and Qrow. "I've been out of the loop for a few weeks. Is there something going on in Vale?"

"No." Qrow brought a hand to his chin. "This is news to me. Oz hasn't asked for anything and the military here has the Grimm under control for most of the Kingdom."

"It can't be Knights or Paladins," Weiss said. "I've been able to see all of those before."

"The Vale underworld isn't expecting anything either." Raven shook her head. "Not that it would be expecting anything that large. And yes Weiss, despite your company's best efforts, a lot of it ends up in the hands of criminals."

"So either Atlas is planning on declaring war on Vale," Ruby started, "or there is something Ironwood is sending Ozpin that neither of them want us knowing about." She sighed. "None of this is making sense, but we can't let the White Fang get their hands on the ship or its cargo."

"We're ready over here!" Velvet called. Ruby turned her head to the house. Saphira stood in her full armor and flexed her wings.

Ruby took a deep breath. "Mount up! We're leaving." She faced her Uncle and Raven again. "You two might want to get in the Bullhead." She smirked as she backed up. "And mom might be dead, but she's got my eyes on you two." The Rider pointed at her eyes, then to her mom's teammates. "If you two have slipped since she last saw you, she won't be happy."

Raven and Qrow shared a nervous smile. "I guess we'll have to work together," Raven said.

Qrow nodded. "Just don't go off on your own again."

Ruby turned around and jogged toward her dragon. She jumped up to the saddle and grabbed her helmet on the way. As soon as she fit it over her head, it connected to the CCT and the HUD blinked to life. Ruby waited for the other Riders to mount their dragons and the Bullhead's doors to close before speaking. "Comms check. Shadeslayer standing by." One by one, all Riders, dragons, and non-bonded Huntsman reported in. "Okay, fliers. Let's hit the skies."

Cerise jumped out of the yard and curved north. The other dragons and the Bullhead flew in a V-formation behind her. _I've got the ship on my HUD,_ Cerise told Ruby. _I can lead._

 _Then do so._ Ruby leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her dragon. "Riders, lean forward. Dragons, crank up your speed." She felt the wind increase around her as Cerise slowly sped up to over two-hundred miles an hour. Ruby could take that speed sitting up with wards, but it was a waste of her energy and the Dust that powered her dragon's jets.

 _Cerise,_ Ruby started, _what was that with Saphira?_

The dragon mentally growled. _If we weren't about to go on mission, I would have put her in her place then and there. She should not question orders right before a mission. I can't coddle these new dragons, and you can't treat all new Riders as family. It won't work if the dragons and the Dragon Riders are to make a comeback._

 _I know, but don't you think that was a little much?_

 _No. And neither should you. Saphira is not a hatchling. What would you do if one of your Riders stepped out of line before a mission?_

 _I… wouldn't be happy and bring them in line as fast as possible._

 _And that is what I did. I'm sure the Eldunarí would probably say I was too soft._

 _Point._ Ruby refrained from looking back at the spot behind the Eldunarí. It no longer contained nearly a hundred of the dragons. Most of them now hid under Beacon, hiding with and protecting the Relic. It was one of the most secure spaces on Remnant, and would be until a new Vault was carved out under the keep being built on the mountain in the Emerald Forest. Now only ten flew with each of the Riders, except Weiss and Saphira, and most of them only spoke when spoken to. It was so much nicer than having Umaroth in her head almost 24/7.

 _Ruby, I know you don't like acting like that, but it comes with your job. You will have to get used to it._

 _I know… hopefully it won't be a common thing._ Ruby shook her head, then lifted it to see where they were going. There was nothing but ocean, clouds, and birds ahead of them. This was going to be a long flight, but since she was going into combat, she didn't want to distract herself.

A few hours of monotonous flying later, Cerise growled. " _We're approaching the coordinates,"_ she announced through her translation band. _"Whiskers, is there anything on radar? I'm just seeing ocean."_

" _Scanning."_ Blake stayed silent for a while. _"That's a negative. I'm seeing nothing on radar."_

" _Snowflake here,"_ Weiss started, _"according to the log the ship's captain filed in Atlas, the_ Saint Nick _should be here. Since she's not, she's off course somewhere."_

" _Do we have a way to track it?"_ Qrow asked.

" _The message didn't say anything about a delivery point,"_ Raven said. _"It could be anywhere."_

" _So we've already lost my ship?"_ Weiss asked.

"Maybe not. Riders, dragons, lend me your strength." Ruby reached out to all those she mentioned and prepared to draw energy from them. She cast a spell to find metal, and kept expanding the range. If she didn't have anyone to help, she could have only felt for a mile around, if that. Now, she thought she could search an area larger than the Bullhead's radar.

Of course, Ruby felt all the metal among her squadron first, then there were ships on the ocean floor, but no spots were as large as the _Saint Nick._ Then she felt a large concentration to the west. "I've got something big several miles west of here. It could be the _Saint Nick._ Let's go." Cerise banked left, with the rest of the squadron following suit.

" _Shadeslayer,"_ Aaron called over their comms, _"what's the plan when we get there?"_

The tactical side of Ruby's brain kicked into gear. "First, Snowflake will call the ship. We need to see if they are still friendly, and if they are, warn them of the impending attack. If the ship is already hostile, all dragons will stay in the air. Big Green and Ocean, take anything in the sky. Meadow and Wolf's Bane, clear the deck, and if they do have Grimm with them, watch the waves. Jackrabbit and Snowflake will stay outside with the dragons. Whiskers, you're on aerial duty as well, and you call out any more bogeys on your radar. Everyone else is on deck. Birds, watch each other's backs. Street Rat, you're with me. Blondie, you're our switch hitter. Pay attention to calls on comms and go where needed. Does everybody copy?"

" _Reading you five-by-five good buddy,"_ Yang said. Ruby rolled her eyes. That was technically right, but the Riders weren't military.

" _I've got your back, Shadeslayer."_ Aaron said.

" _We'll keep the skies clear,"_ Sun chirped. _"Geeze, you guys take this-ow!"_

" _Communication discipline,"_ Blake said. _"We copy, Shadeslayer. We'll keep our eyes open."_

"Keep us updated." Ruby focused on the horizon and zoomed as far as she could, but if the radar on the Bullhead couldn't see it, there was no way her eye could.

About when Ruby expected, Blake spoke on the comms again. _"We've got contact. Surface level, over a thousand feet in length. It's not squawking."_

" _That's standard procedure if the captain and crew expects pirates or if they're carrying large amounts of military tech,"_ Weiss said. _"We shouldn't jump to conclusions."_

"Snowflake, contact them as soon as we get into range." Ruby once again scanned the horizon for the ship. Her bionic eye picked up something and labeled it as the _Saint Nick._ She reached for Máni Bláto to use her scope, but shifted her reach to Crescent Rose. She might as well field test her original weapon's new function. She brought the weapon up and looked through the Scope. If only the magnifiers in her eye and the scope worked together better.

When they got to the point where Ruby could see the ship with her natural eye, the comms clicked. _"Condor to_ SDC Saint Nick, _do you copy?"_ No one responded to Weiss. _"I say again, this is Weiss Schnee to the_ SDC Saint Nick _broadcasting on an open channel, do you copy?"_ Again, no answer. "SDC Saint Nick, _answer if you are able or prepare to be boarded."_

This time someone answered. "SDC Saint Nick _responding to Condor,"_ a female voice said, _"we weren't expecting to see anyone out here, much less you."_

" _Understandable. What is your condition? We have heard reports of pirates in the area."_

A drawn-out silence came after Weiss' statement. _"We are aware of this, Miss Schnee."_ The woman's voice shook. _"We have heard the distress calls of two other ships. We diverted course to avoid the area."_

" _We've picked up no other ships since we left CCT range,"_ Blake said on another channel.

" _That is why we are here,"_ Weiss continued. _"We are ready to provide additional security until you arrive in Vale._

" _Yes! We are-"_ The line went dead, cutting off the virtual cheer.

" _Something tells me we're too late,"_ Aaron said.

"I'm thinking the same thing." Ruby trained her weapon and her eye on the bridge of the cargo ship. She still couldn't make out anything inside. "Everyone, get ready."

" _Miss Schnee,"_ a voice Ruby didn't expect to hear started, _"this is Captain Bradford onboard the_ SDC Saint Nick. _We do not require any assistance against pirates. My forces and the ship's automated defenses are more than enough to take on any pirates."_

" _Bradford?"_ Yang asked. _"We haven't heard from him in a while."_

 _I'd rather not think about the last time I saw him._ Ruby shook her head. She didn't need to think of that village right now.

" _Captain Bradford,"_ Weiss continued. _"I was unaware that you were onboard."_

" _That is classified information ma'am. You were not available to brief on this mission, thus you did not need to know."_

" _I do not like not knowing what is on my ships."_

" _Miss Schnee, I am sure General Ironwood has explained your company's relationship with Atlas' military. I know I have explained what I could when you were last aboard the_ Vytal."

 _I've never asked him that,_ Weiss mentally told the squadron. _That's Bradford's call for help. "Indeed, but that does not mean I have to like it."_

"Everyone, ready your weapons." Something caught Ruby's eye beneath her dragon. She looked down, but saw nothing. She refocused on the bridge.

" _You do not have to,"_ Bradford continued. _"You just need to follow Atlas law."_

" _Of course. Just one last thing; is Adam Taurus onboard?"_

After a few seconds of silence, a third voice came on the line. _"Do not approach, Dragon Riders. All crew onboard are being held at gunpoint. On my word, they will all be executed."_

 _Aaron, locate all gunmen onboard and keep track of them. If they try to shoot, put them to sleep._ Ruby entered the channel with the ship. "This is Ruby Rose. I can put everyone onboard to sleep with two syllables, then take what I need to know from your heads, and then some. You and all your men onboard will surrender when we touch down."

" _Anyone that is scared of a mountain does not scare me,"_ the man said. _"My men and our allies will cut you down before you get close."_

 _Watch out for Grimm,_ Ruby mentally called. _Something tells me they're going to be the smart ones._ The bridge of the _Saint Nick_ finally came into focus. Eight people were on the bridge, one of them had a standard issue Atlas rifle aimed at five others, the other held a knife to Bradford's neck. The one with the knife had a radio in his other hand, and had a pair of bat wings on his back. Ruby took aim at the wing on the right. "Drop the knife, or you lose a wing."

The bat Faunus scowled. _"Make me."_

"You asked." Ruby pulled the trigger, but felt no recoil. A beam of solid red light shot out the end of Crescent Rose. It reached the glass protecting the bridge instantly and burned a hole through that and the right wing of the Faunus.

The hostage taker dropped his knife and released Bradford. The soldier grabbed the knife, then stabbed his assailant's neck. He grabbed at something on the Faunus' belt, pulled off a pistol, and shot the other gunman on the bridge several times. The Faunus fell to the ground with only one hole in his head.

Bradford grabbed the radio. _"I appreciate the support Riders, but this ship is crawling with White Fang and a new type of all black Grimm. They're smarter than the rest."_

"We've dealt with them before, Captain. We'll help clear the ship." Ruby closed that channel, then looked to the water again. This time she saw something massive beneath the waves. She stretched her mind down there but felt nothing. "We've got Grimm coming from beneath us. If you're dropping off on the ship, do so now."

Cerise angled for the center of the _Saint Nick_ and started slowing down. Nalia flew up alongside her and did the same. As they approached, several guns on the ship opened fire. Both dragons executed evasive maneuvers, but never diverted from their course. _A bit of a rough ride,_ Aaron mentally called.

 _Could be worse,_ Ruby said. _We could be flying through a hurricane._

 _True, and I could be like I was a month ago._

 _Still, try to leave most magic to me. You have a count on how many White Fang there are?_

 _About twenty, then there's somewhere around fifty others, soldiers or crew._

 _My previous orders still stand. You can do that, right?_

 _I won't even need to draw energy from Nalia for that… but I will to keep going._

A screech filled the air, like one Ruby last heard in the Beor mountains, though much less painful. A trio full black Sea Dragons rose in a plume of water on the other side of the ship. _I already like these things better than Fanghur._ Ruby ejected her spent laser magazine and loaded another. She took aim at the Grimm in the center and fired at the dead center of its forehead. Another beam shot out the barrel and through the Grimm's head. The Sea Dragon's wings stopped and it fell from the sky. The Rider ejected that magazine and loaded one with Burn Dust. _Fawn over my baby later. Fight now._

Saphira, Vert, and the Bullhead flew past the other dragons and started firing their chain guns at the remaining Grimm. These Grimm lasted a little longer than the one Ruby shot, but they still fell in seconds.

Cerise and Nalia killed their engines. They slowed down and once they were over the ship they flared their wings and stopped a few dozen feet above the top deck. Their Riders dropped to the deck and readied their original weapons. The Bullhead circled around and filled the space the two dragons left open. Two birds flew out and Yang dropped down to another part of the deck. The birds flew toward the bridge, transformed into humans, and landed on the catwalk just outside it. Besides all this, there wasn't any gunfire apart from the Bullhead and the dragons.

Ruby stretched her mind out to cover the top deck. There were only two White Fang soldiers there, and Yang was dealing with both of them at the same time. Out over the ocean, a few more Sea Dragons appeared and even a Kraken emerged from the ocean. Despite all this, only one thought crossed Ruby's mind. "A, B, C?"

"One, two, three." Aaron looked out over the ocean. "That Kraken could be a problem if it decides to sink us, but Nalia and Cerise and Vert should take it. Everything else we've seen isn't too bad."

"No doubts with them." Ruby looked toward the superstructure of the ship. "Let's clear this ship out." She ran toward the superstructure with Aaron right on her heels.

They made it to a door into the ship without encountering Grimm or White Fang. Aaron pushed his way in while keeping Redemption in front of him. "I'm not used to not feeling where my opponents are."

"That's how I was initially trained." Ruby stepped inside and looked around the hallway. At the moment, the hall was big enough to allow her to use Crescent Rose to her fullest extent. Everything _was_ bigger in Atlas, after all. "Stay with me, and I'll make sure the Grimm don't kill you."

"Duly noted." Aaron drew his compacted V4 and extended it to its submachine gun form. "Something tells me we won't get swarmed."

"Probably. Where's the largest concentration of crewmen?"

"This way." Aaron ran down the hall to the right and Ruby followed. The latter listened for anything other than Aarons and her footsteps. Normal Grimm weren't silent in the slightest. These ones she had no idea. She didn't hear any in that warehouse in Vale until they were right on top of her…

Part of Ruby wanted to stop and think over that whole event, another wanted to focus on the current mission, yet another wanted to turn around, jump on Cerise, and fly as far away as she could. The Grimm there named most of the parts of her True Name. What if they figured out the rest? They had time.

A trio of gunshots brought Ruby out of her funk. A black Beowolf lay on the ground with three holes in its head. Two more stood in the hall. Ruby raised Crescent Rose and shot the one on the right down the throat. Aaron stabbed Redemption through the other's chest.

He turned back to face Ruby. "You okay? You were a little late there."

"Yeah. I was just… watching our backs."

Aaron stared at Ruby, then nodded. "Later. Got it." He faced down the hall again and continued forward.

Ruby brought up a hand and slapped her face. _Don't think about that. Stay focused. If they did know it, they would have used it. Stay focused. People need your help here. Stay focused._ Cerise likely didn't have time to say anything because Ruby heard nothing from her soulmate.

 _We're here,_ Aaron thought to Ruby. He pressed up against the wall, and held Redemption at the ready. Ruby set up on the other side and switched Crescent Rose to rifle form. Aaron left the wall and kicked the door open. He walked inside and opened fire. Ruby followed him and shot at the two other White Fang soldiers in the room. They fell with one bullet each, but no holes in the chest. On the other side, Aaron stabbed one of the White Fang through the chest. He pushed the Faunus off his blade. No more hostiles rose to challenge the Riders.

Ruby focused on the former hostages. They looked like a mix between regular crew and Atlas soldiers. The Rider found two soldiers with officer bars on their armor. "Grab their weapons and protect this group," she ordered. "Stay here until you get the all clear from Captain Bradford."

"Yessir!" one of the officers said. She stood up and grabbed one of the rifles.

"Aaron, let's go." Ruby turned around and walked back to the hall. Something growled from the side and pounced at Ruby. She caught the Creep on her bionic arm. "You jerk." She flipped her hand to gun form and shot the Grimm in the chest. The Creep released Ruby's arm and slumped to the floor. The Rider shrugged the arm and ran diagnostics. It didn't look like anything broke.

"The others are spread across the ship," Aaron said as he rejoined Ruby. "It will take too long going to each one together."

Ruby nodded. "Promise you won't die on me out there on your own?"

"I promise. I do not want to have to explain to Nalia how I died."

"Neither would I." Ruby smirked, but it faded as she looked back at the room they just came from. That was Aaron's first kill since waking from his coma. "You're not going to add another scar, are you?"

Aaron blinked and faced the room. His grip on Redemption faltered. "I... didn't even notice."

Ruby didn't like the sound of that. "When I see you again, I better not see anymore on your arm. I _will_ check." She paused. "Good luck." She turned around and ran down the hall while she expanded her mind to cover the whole ship. It felt like there were quite a few White Fang and crew members on the bow of the ship. She could get there faster than Aaron.

Ruby found some stairs and ran down them to a floor labeled cargo hold. She pushed open a door and cargo containers filled the entire space in front of her. She didn't feel any White Fang in the area, but that didn't mean there wasn't any Grimm. She kept an eye on her surroundings with a finger on the trigger as she ran through the ship.

" _Blondie to Shadeslayer,"_ Yang's voice came over the comms, _"I think I figured out why the White Fang is still here."_

"Shoot," Ruby said.

" _They had a few guys working on their transports. It looks like engines on both Bullheads were blown to pieces when they came in. They couldn't go anywhere, and something tells me they don't trust the Grimm enough to take them out."_

"But that doesn't explain why this ship hasn't been sunk by anyone, asset denial and all that."

" _Captain Bradford to Shadeslayer,"_ the soldier said over comms, _"from what I have gathered from these now deceased Faunus, they wanted to survive, and to deliver this ship's special cargo."_

"What is the cargo?"

" _That is above my clearance. I am merely assigned to protect it."_

"Well where is this cargo? It's probably crawling with White Fang."

" _It is near the bow of the ship, surrounded by Knights and Paladins. According to internal surveillance cameras, all members of the White Fang are or were holding the crew hostage. But I have no eyes on the package, nor connection with the automated defenses."_

"Expect large numbers of Grimm going forward. Got it." Ruby ran toward a door in the wall ahead of her. On the other side, White Fang held guns at more crew members. The Rider body checked the door, knocking it off its hinges. The metal fell on top of one of the Faunus, and Ruby used the back of Crescent Rose to knock out another, then kicked the legs out from under a third. All White Fang soldiers had lost their weapons in one way or another. Ruby kicked those weapons to the former hostages. "Stay here and wait for the all clear."

She focused on the door opposite the one she entered through. On the other side, she felt nothing, not even a rat. There were most likely Grimm on the other side waiting to tear her to pieces. Too bad Ruby was ready to do the same to them… Actually, there was one life force on the other side, but it was faint.

The Rider pushed the door open and saw… nothing. No lights glowed in the space, and in the area illuminated by the break room, there were no containers. Ruby stepped in and closed the door behind her. Her helmet automatically ticked on night vision. Now she saw the mangled wrecks of dozens of Knights and Paladins. Further up the ship, dozens more Grimm, the largest of which being an Arachnii, surrounded a single crate about the size of a horse.

Ruby reached to her belt and grabbed Máni Bláto. She fully extended her Brightsteel scythe. The Rider flourished both her weapons before striking the tips of both into the steel floor. "Hey you!" Most Grimm diverted their gaze to their future assailant. "You're not welcome aboard SDC ships. On behalf of my partner, I have to ask you to leave."

"We are not leaving this ship," one of those Grimm growled, "and neither are you."

 _Alagaësian_ _Grimm. Right._ "I beg to differ." Ruby pulled her scythes out of the floor and pointed them behind her. The walls behind her should be bullet proof. She pulled both triggers, and the recoil flung her forward. The Rider swung her scythes in front of her, the blades forming a large pair of scissors. An Ursa Major was in the path of Máni Bláto's blade and it was cut in half without slowing Ruby down. A second Ursa Major was caught in the center of the giant scissors. This time it was only cut halfway through and stopped Ruby. The Huntress pulled her weapons apart, bisecting the Grimm, and killing a couple of Beowolves that stood too close.

Ruby held both her weapons parallel to each other in front of her. She glared at the Grimm through her helmet, daring them to approach. A couple of Creeps jumped at her, and the Rider swung Crescent Rose once and cut them both in half. She was acutely aware of the Arachnii behind her, but she had several Grimm to go through first.

"You are dead, Kingkiller," a Beowolf said in front of Ruby. She rewarded that Grimm with decapitation.

"You just do not know it," something behind her said. Ruby pointed the barrel of Máni Bláto back and pulled the trigger. The recoil made her spin like a top. She held her weapons out as far as she could, and felt her weapons cut through at least five Grimm apiece.

"Funny. The only ones that are dying are you." Ruby jumped toward an Alpha Beowolf and cut through its midsection with Crescent Rose, then moved to a pack of Creeps and slid under them. The blades of both weapons cut all their legs off. Ruby popped to her feet, then used her Semblance to cross the path she just took. Her weapons cut the rest of those Grimm in half. She faced the remainder of the Grimm, which were down to about half of their original number. "How did you all get here, anyway? Riding on one of those Sea Dragons, Lancers, or the Kraken?"

"That is none of your concern," a deep voice boomed, and it sounded like it came from the Arachnii. "You will not live long enough to care."

"I think you're forgetting who I am." Ruby pointed both weapons behind her again and pulled the triggers. She flew toward the head of the Arachnii and hooked her weapons in between its mandibles. The Huntress pulled the triggers again and she flew toward the ceiling. She planted her feet there then pushed of and landed near the center of the remaining Grimm, crushing a Beowolf beneath her. Ruby looked back to the headless Arachnii. It's head actually fell from the roof as the Rider watched. _That was for you, Yang._

"We know who you are Kingkiller," a Beowolf said before it received a Dust round to the face.

"We know _exactly_ who you are," an Ursa growled.

Ruby froze in place and the heart rate monitor turned on in her bionic eye. _No…_ That same Ursa started saying a word in the Ancient Language. Before it could get out the second syllable, Ruby let her Maiden Magic flow. A veritable hurricane roared to life inside the ship. All Grimm flew toward the hull. Some died on impact, two when the crate they originally surrounded slammed into them, the rest died when Ruby made the temperature around each of the remaining Grimm drop so far and so fast that they turned to ice themselves. The Maiden cut that energy and all Grimm fell to the ground. Some of them shattered on impact.

 _Ruby!_ Cerise called. _What's wrong?_

 _Are there still Grimm out there?_ Ruby tried to keep her head steady.

 _Yes. A wave of Griffons accompanied another Sea Dragon._

 _Kill them… kill them all… not one escapes._

Cerise didn't answer right away. _Okay. I'll keep them from you._

Ruby shook her head and walked to the one crate in the room. Whatever was in there caused this whole thing. It looked like it cracked open at some point. The Rider took a look inside, and took in another sharp breath.

It was what looked like a cryopod… with Pruma inside. Of everything Ruby expected, that wasn't it. Did they know it was Pruma in here, or did the White Fang just find the hole in the manifest… But it was the Grimm doing this. How did Salem know? Something popped into Ruby's head, but she didn't like what it meant. "We have a leak…"

Ruby shook her head and pushed Pruma's cryopod back into the crate. She closed the crate and sealed it as best as she could. James would have some explaining to do. The Rider started walking away, but something on the crate caught her eye. She looked at it and her legs turned to jelly. It wasn't her True Name, but it was way, way, _way_ too close for comfort. "Kill all the Grimm… Kill all the Grimm…"

* * *

 **There's actually some combat for once. It's been way too long... and there's going to be more gaps in the future too...**


	21. Looking to the Future

**I have a confession to make. After two and a half years of writing at least one chapter per week of an average of 5,000 words long, I'm starting to get burnt out. I might be taking a break from writing this in the coming future. You guys won't notice for a while because, well, I'm currently working on chapter 37, which if I'm counting right, takes this to August 14. It's been too long since I've read actual books and not fanfics, or spent time in my favorite video games... or actually done work for an actual book.  
**

* * *

"That's the last of the White Fang," Aaron said over the comms. "Bradford, do we have eyes on any more Grimm?"

" _That's a negative,"_ Bradford said, _"but there aren't cameras everywhere onboard. Some of my men have already secured our makeshift armory, and the automated defenses are now working in our favor._

"Copy that. Big Green, how are the skies?"

"We are clear," Nalia said. Aaron still felt weird hearing his dragon instead of her being in his head. "I lost my engines and Saphira took a few hard hits, but we're all still in the air."

"Good to hear." Aaron paused. Ruby had been off comms for a while. "Shadeslayer, have you secured the package?"

" _I have."_ Ruby's voice shook. _"There were quite a few Grimm, but they're all dead. I'm coming back up."_

Aaron looked toward the bow of the ship. He stretched his mind there until he found his girlfriend. _You need help?_

 _Yeah, but… later, when we're all together._ Ruby closed her mind.

But Aaron still had time to feel what Ruby felt. She was terrified, barely able to function. The last time that happened was in the Vault of Souls when the Eldunarí essentially took over her body… _What happened to you?_

" _Everyone who has been to Alagaësia,"_ Ruby spoke again, _"meet at the transport pad at the back of the ship. We've got problems."_

"On my way." Aaron started walking toward the rear of the ship. _Nalia, is Cerise giving anything away?_

 _She yelped and flew over the front of the ship when the last wave of Grimm arrived,_ Nalia said. _I thought she was going to tear the hull open. I will not ask any further._

 _I wouldn't ask you to. Ruby told me to wait for everyone else._ Aaron shook his head. _I do not want to go back down that path._

 _None of us do. I'll see you on deck._ Nalia diverted her attention elsewhere.

Aaron heard a growl behind him. He spun around and raised Redemption. A Beowolf impaled itself on the weapon. The Rider raised his sword and cut the top half of the Grimm in two. He stared down the hall. No more Grimm came forth, but the one Beowolf confirmed there were still more on board. "Street Rat to Bradford, I was just ambushed by a Beowolf. There are more around here somewhere."

" _Copy that, Street Rat,"_ Bradford said. _"I will let my men know."_

Aaron slowed his pace and kept both Redemption and his V4 pointing forward. Anything coming from in front of him would be cut down, either by blade or bullets. He heard footsteps up ahead. He stopped and prepared to open fire. Then three Atlas soldiers rounded the corner and Aaron lowered his weapons. He stood to the side of the hall and the soldiers filed past without even acknowledging him.

A little while later, Aaron found a staircase and walked to the top deck. He stepped outside and looked around. Grimm corpses littered the deck, none of them were dissolving. At least the Kingdoms would be able to study them, unless they just took a long time to evaporate.

All dragons and the Bullhead were already on the transport pad. Yang leaned against the Bullhead's side talking with Blake and Sun. Weiss stood by her dragon's head while Velvet knelt by Saphira's belly. Aaron walked over to the latter group and focused on Saphira. "How'd your first taste of real conflict go?"

Saphira grunted, then winced. _I lost count of the Grimm I killed. It was a good fight._

"She's not exaggerating." Weiss pet her dragon's snout. "She handled herself amazingly in the air. It looks like fighting against my Summons did her well… Until that Sea Dragon came along.

Saphira growled, and Velvet snapped her head around. "Saphira! I told you to not do that! You'll make your injuries worse."

 _That Sea Dragon came at me from below,_ Saphira continued. _It hit me with its tail and sent me into the ocean._

"And broke five of your ribs." Weiss' voice shook. "You're lucky you didn't lose a wing, or worse."

Saphira shifted her head. _But you were not injured._

"And I'm grateful you protected me from that hit, but that doesn't mean I don't have to worry about you." Weiss scratched behind one of Saphira's ears. From the way those two looked at each other, something had to be passing between just them.

Cerise raised her head from the deck and raised her ears. _She's here._

Aaron turned his head toward the superstructure of the ship. Ruby walked across the deck with purpose. At first glance, nothing looked wrong. But as she got closer, Aaron noticed how jerky Ruby's movements were. They weren't quite robotic, but they were still bad. She had her business face on, but her jaw was tenser than it should have been.

Ruby looked at each of the uninjured dragons. "Can we get a wall?" Nalia, Cerise, and Vert arranged themselves to stand in a triangle. All Riders, plus Sun and Blake walked inside the triangle. The dragons extended their wings and folded them around everyone else, including Saphira. Ruby raised her head and chanted a silencing spell. When she was done, she rested an arm across Cerise' snout, which looked like she was pulling Cerise closer. "We've got a problem. Multiple, actually." She looked at the only one in the group that hadn't been to Alagaësia. "Sun, you-"

"Ruby," Blake interrupted, "I know you don't like secrets, neither do I. Something tells me some things here are going to be a somewhat common thing."

Sun looked between Blake and Ruby. "If this is going to be a problem, I can leave." Sun stuck a thumb over his shoulder.

"No." Ruby held up the hand that wasn't gripping onto Cerise snout. "I understand. Just some of this will need a little more explaining." She took a deep breath. "First off, Alagaësian Grimm are here, in large numbers."

"I want to say I'm surprised," Aaron crossed his arms, "but I'm not. You saw how many of them were in that dead kingdom. We were lucky to get out of there alive."

"We can't feel them with our minds either." Ruby nodded. "That gives these Grimm a major advantage over us."

"I tried using magic on a few of those Lancers that showed up," Yang started, "nothing that I sent their way made them flinch."

"Welcome to Remnant," Blake said. "Now you're on the same level as the rest of us mortals."

"For the most part." Ruby shrugged. "But from the amount and the size of them, Salem has to be producing them here."

"Hold on a second," Sun shook his head. "Salem? Producing? What's going on here?"

"In short," Blake started, "Salem is a Shade, a type of powerful magic user in Alagaësia. She can only be killed if her heart is destroyed. She created the Grimm, and functions as their Queen."

"Oh." Sun blinked. "Well, that's the scariest thing I've heard all day."

"You haven't heard everything I have to say." Ruby paused. "Anyway, with how many of these Grimm we fought today, I'm guessing these Grimm will be more commonplace around Remnant. Vale police managed to keep the last bunch under wraps, but unless we drop all Grimm on deck into the ocean, there's no way we can get rid of this many Grimm. Then again, it was Vale that wanted to keep them secret. We don't."

"What's so special about these besides color?" Sun asked.

"They're smarter for one," Aaron said. "I haven't seen how smart, but these things can set up some good ambushes."

"And they can talk." Ruby's voice cracked on the last word. She shook her head. "Horror movies got their voices right, I can tell you that much. And if some people don't expect to hear a Grimm talk, just that's enough to ambush a Huntsman."

"So who will break this news?" Weiss asked, "the Riders, or the SDC? This _is_ my ship."

Ruby looked to the side, then back to Weiss. "Joint press conference? I _was_ attacked by these things in Vale." She put on a small smirk.

Weiss returned the gesture. "Fair enough. We can discuss the specifics later."

"Right." Ruby paused. "Second, and the main reason I called you all here, I found out what the special cargo was. It turns out for whatever reason, Ironwood decided to put Pruma on a ship to Vale."

Aaron stiffened and all the dragons growled. "What?" the Rider spat

"Are you kidding me?" Yang took a step forward, her eyes red. "Why the heck?"

"She's not _out_ out, is she?" Velvet asked.

Ruby shook her head. "She's still frozen, thank God, but the crate holding her broke open. At the same time, we're lucky she didn't shatter. I'm sure that could happen too."

"I'm out of the loop again." Sun threw his hands up. "Who or what is Pruma."

 _A traitor,_ Nalia growled. _She was one of the thirteen Forsworn to betray the Dragon Riders and follow Galbatorix._

 _She is lucky she is not dead now,_ Cerise growled. _But we need her alive. Her being frozen is the best we can manage._

Sun sighed. "Let me guess, magic?"

"Yes." Weiss nodded. "I wasn't there, but I believe I know the ins and outs."

"I can explain it better," Ruby said. All eyes turned to her.

 _Are you sure?_ Aaron asked his girlfriend.

Ruby faced Aaron. _I can trust Sun. If he's going to be helping us, he needs to know most of our capabilities… and I don't want Blake to keep another secret from him on my behalf._ She faced Sun again. "You ever hear the story of the seasons?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything." Ruby held out her free hand palm up. Her eyes glowed and an ice ball formed in her hand. "I am the Winter Maiden."

Sun's shoulders sagged. "Uhhh… what?"

"I froze Pruma and another Forsworn solid." The ice ball disappeared from Ruby's hand and she let the arm drop. "I can do much more than that, but right now that's all you need to know, and we don't want this to become common knowledge. Like, _never_ tell Neptune."

"He's getting better… kinda." Sun smiled uncertainly. "Okay, not really, but what's the big deal."

"When a Maiden dies, the power goes to the last person in her thoughts, if it's a young woman. In other words, it would paint an even bigger target on my back than there currently is. The other three Maidens too if word gets out."

"Who are the other three?"

"That's for them to reveal, not me." Ruby shook her head. "Back to the subject at hand, there were no White Fang around her crate. It was all Grimm." She faced her actual sister. "By the way Yang, don't go down there. There's a dead Arachnii."

Yang shivered. "Noted."

"Anyway, most of the Grimm in that space were on or around the crate. Some were trying to lift it, others trying to open it. The closest members of the White Fang were guarding a bunch of crewmembers."

Aaron quirked his eyebrows. "So, it was the Grimm that were after the package, not the White Fang?"

"It's looking like it. Bradford said he didn't know what was in the crate, and he was guarding it." Ruby looked around the group. "I get the feeling the Grimm knew _exactly_ what was in there."

"I don't like what you're saying, Ruby," Yang said.

"Neither do I. But those Grimm were too deliberate on the whole thing. There were dozens of them in there, some of them kept working while fighting me. I don't want to jump to conclusions here, but that's what's stuck in my head. When we interrogate the remaining White Fang, we'll know what's going on. Right now, I can't think of any other reason there was only Grimm around that crate."

"How would they know?" Velvet asked.

"Salem's probably telepathic. I really, _really_ hope it's that one… or else we have a leak." She looked around the group. "I probably don't have to ask this…"

" _Never,"_ Aaron swore.

" _Not a chance."_ Yang crossed her arms. The dragons said their own versions of no.

"I can't swear like they can," Blake started, "but I wouldn't dream of it."

"I've only told General Ironwood," Weiss said. "My office was sealed, magically, physically, and electronically. No one could hear what we said."

"So I have to talk with him about multiple things." Ruby wrapped her free arm around herself. "Let's hope it's Salem being telepathic. I don't want to think about a traitor on our end. We've already dealt with one bunch. We don't need another."

"Anything else down there?" Yang asked. "Merlot crawl out of whatever hole Atlas put him in?"

"I wish." Ruby's whole body slumped. Her arm on Cerise' snout pulled the dragon in closer. Water covered her eyes as she looked over her team. "One of the Grimm clawed something onto the crate… eight words off of my True Name."

Aaron let his shoulders and arms go slack. _Not again._

Cerise yelped and used her head to pin her Rider against her belly. Ruby now wrapped her arms as far as they could go. Yang pounced over and grabbed one of her sister's hands. Aaron walked over as well and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. Weiss also approached and put one of her hands on top of Yang's

"They didn't try to use it, did they?" Aaron asked.

"One did." Tears now ran freely down Ruby's cheeks. "It didn't make it past the first syllable. I froze them all after that." Ruby shook her head. "I mean, the first word was right, another was out of place, there a few synonyms, and the rest were no where close. But the fact that they're trying and have anything right at all is a problem."

"How do we stop them?" Weiss asked. "I mean, how do we stop them from using it?"

"As far as I know, we can't." Ruby's head dipped. "She could figure it out from the other side of Remnant and use it. Something tells me I don't have to be in the room."

"We do what we did in the Citadel," Aaron said. Ruby stared at him eyes begging. "Change your True Name, they can't use it against you."

"How? Most things I don't want to change, and the others I can't! I can't change how scared I am. I don't want to lose _who_ I am. She'll win."

"What if she's just trying to scare us?" Yang asked. "What if she feeds off fear like the Grimm?"

"They were eight words off. If it's intimidation, it's only for now. They'll use it later."

 ** _Then we know what scares Salem,_** Nalia growled. Ruby lifted her head, but the group around her stayed focused on her. **_What out there could threaten her? Any one of the four Maidens could send something into her heart. Riders have blades that can pierce most wards. You have already killed a Shade. You inspire so many people across the Kingdoms and Alagaësia. Negative emotions run from you. Ruby Rose, you are_ the _threat to Salem. If she is trying to intimidate you, how scared is she?_**

Ruby stared at Nalia, then the ghost of a smile graced her face. "Thanks, Nalia." Her head dipped again. "Still… they're so close. What can I do to…" She blinked and turned her head backward, toward Cerise' saddle.

Aaron looked that way as well. He didn't see what drew Ruby's attention away. All that was there was one of the cross pins that Ruby used to wear… _Oh._ Aaron didn't understand why Ruby and Yang believed something like that, but considering the circumstances, he wasn't about to get in the way.

Ruby took her gaze off the pin. "Yang?" She flipped one of her hands over. Aaron stepped away before anything else could be said or done. He didn't need to hear what was said. It looked like Weiss was thinking about the same thing as she walked back to her dragon.

Aaron looked at the others under the wings. Saphira had her head raised and ears drooped while she stared at Ruby. Velvet once again worked on Saphira's injuries. Sun and Blake stood where they originally did but faced away from Ruby. Based on how Sun's tail was coiled on the floor, he wasn't a fan of Ruby's state either. He looked over his shoulder with a grimace. That confirmed the Rider's thoughts.

 _Thank you for saying that, Nalia._ Aaron pat his dragon's snout.

 _Someone had to._ Nalia's eyes focused on her Rider. _If she is going to lead the Riders, she needs to get this in check. We cannot have her being scared of Salem if we're fighting her._

 _Agreed, for more than one reason._

 _You are going to be closer to her than I will. Keep an eye on her. If she falls down that hole again, pull her out by whatever means necessary. I don't imagine either of you will protest._

 _What would Cerise think about this?_

 _She is blinded by her love for her Rider. Most of the time, that is not a problem, but she will not be able to make informed decisions regarding Ruby. I will be making those for her, whether she likes it or not. In this case, I again do not think she will mind this arrangement._

 _Hopefully._ Aaron turned around and faced Ruby again. She and Yang were holding each other's hands with their heads bowed. Aaron suspended his judgment on this. If it helped Ruby get through this, it was alright. _I am certain she will be okay with almost any idea we have that will help Ruby._

The sisters separated and Cerise moved her neck away, freeing Ruby. "Well, that's all I got." Ruby rubbed her bionic arm. "You're all free until we reach port, unless Bradford or whoever wants us off the ship now."

"Why is Bradford the Captain here, anyway?" Yang asked.

"He isn't the captain of the ship," Weiss said. "He wasn't on the manifest. I'm guessing he was just the officer in charge." She cocked her head. "I think I read that he's getting his own ship soon, but don't quote me on that, especially since I don't think that's supposed to be public knowledge."

Nalia, Cerise, and Vert retracted their wings, bringing down the wall. Ruby straightened up, and the only things that stood out about her mental state were her red eyes and the salt lines on her cheeks. Vert fluttered his wings. _Could a few of you get my armor off? I want to get more flight time on my own wings._

"I got ya." Yang walked over to Vert.

"We're going to work with the soldiers clearing the ship." Blake drew Gambol Shroud and checked the magazine. "We might as well be useful."

"That," Sun jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the Bullhead, "and we're almost out of ammo on the Bullhead. Did you guys refill it since you've been back."

"No." Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "We've had other priorities."

"I'm going to wherever the soldiers are holding the White Fang." Aaron took a few steps. "We need to know what's-"

Ruby grabbed his left arm as he passed. "Actually, I need to speak with you a little more."

Aaron faced his girlfriend. The look in Ruby's eyes said this wasn't going to be about work. "Alright."

Ruby released Aaron's arm and faced her dragon. "Cerise, a wing please." Cerise covered Nalia's and her Rider in a wing. "First off, shoulder. Now." Ruby pointed at Aaron's right arm.

Aaron rolled the sleeve up, exposing the self inflicted scars. "None are new."

Ruby stared at the arrangement and nodded. "Good. We don't need more of us going through emotional breakdowns." She slumped her whole body and she locked eyes with Aaron. Her lower lip trembled. "Aaron…"

"I… might not be the best one to help you right now." Aaron gestured to Cerise wing and beyond. "Yang knows what she's doing. I don't."

"None of us know what we're doing when it comes to that." Ruby leaned forward and rested her head on Aaron's shoulder while she wrapped her arms around him. "And… you're a better teddy bear."

Aaron blinked and returned the hug. "I'll take that as a compliment." He paused. "Is there anything specific you need from me?"

"Don't leave." Ruby tightened her grip. "And… listen."

"I'm all ears."

Ruby sniffled. "I'm scared. Like, Citadel scared. You know why. It's in my True Name… I don't want to be a slave. If Salem finds it, that's exactly what would happen to me. If she does… is there really no way other than changing my True Name to break free?"

"Not that I can think of. You'd have to ask Umaroth."

"But… what about a friend knowing and using it?"

"That person and Salem would be vying for control. That person might break you from Salem's control, but you'll be under their control."

"That's better than Salem's." Ruby pulled away and looked Aaron in the eyes. "Could you-"

"No." Aaron fervently shook his head. "I will not do that to you."

"Aaron, please!" Ruby's knees bent, but it didn't look intentional. "I don't want to be Salem's slave. I don't want to be _anyone's_ slave. But you've already sworn you'll never use my True Name against me. I would much rather have someone I love and trust have control over a Shade.

Aaron wanted to say no. What Ruby was asking for went against everything they've been fighting for ever since they met. Not only that, but that's exactly what Ruby was afraid of in the first place. But at the same time… he saw why Ruby was asking for it. Aside from the obvious personal reasons, it was also tactical. They wouldn't have their strongest person turned against them. "What would you have me do?"

Ruby looked away for a second, then locked eyes with Aaron again. "Whisper my True Name to me once a day. Hopefully that will keep me out of _her_ reach."

Aaron suppressed a grimace. He didn't like that, but he already said yes. "Do you want me to start now?"

"No!" Ruby jerked her head from side to side. "I've… had enough of that for one day."

"Okay. Just tell me when you want me to stop." Aaron paused. "About how you're going to try to change your True Name…"

"I know what you're going to say." Ruby waved her arms in front of herself. "That what I believe is impossible, that I should grow up. Please don't. From the little bit Cerise and I have pieced together about the time I was kidnapped, it gave me the strength to keep going. The same thing with quite a few other situations over the years."

"I wasn't going to say that." Aaron shook his head. "I was going to say that if you want that to change your True Name, you're going to need to go all out. You can't do anything in halves. If you go about it for the sole purpose of changing your True Name, I doubt it would work as intended."

Ruby's lips trembled again, but this time they curved upward. "Thank you." She leaned forward and hugged Aaron again.

"You're welcome." Aaron returned the hug. He hesitated before making his next move. As far as he remembered, this would be his first time starting something like this. He turned his head and he kissed Ruby on the cheek. "I love you. If something is important to you, it's important to me."

Ruby returned the favor. "I love you too." They stayed like that for a long time, not even swaying in place. Ruby's breathing slowed down and leveled out. Aaron was surprised Cerise was completely silent. She wasn't even humming. She had to be mentally soothing Ruby, right?

After a while, Ruby pulled away but grabbed Aaron's hands. "Thank you, Aaron. I needed that."

"You've done the same for me." Aaron nodded. "I just wish I didn't have to return the favor."

"Same." Ruby released Aaron's hands and took a step away. "Now I just need to compose myself." She brought her hands up to the sides of her head. "I'm not exactly happy with Ironwood, but I won't be able to get that across if I look like I've just seen a Geist. So glad I don't wear makeup."

"It sounds like you're starting to think like a politician."

"I know. I hate it." Ruby shook her head. "These thoughts won't go away."

Aaron thought he knew how to get Ruby out of that state. "Looks like you got your modifications to Crescent Rose done."

Ruby dropped her hands and her smile widened. "Kinda, sorta, not really." She grabbed the weapon from her right side and extended it to scythe form. "I've got the basics done. This is just a proof of concept. One shot and then a reload isn't really my style. This was the first time I've tested it on Grimm of that size. I honestly didn't expect it to work that well, but I'm not complaining. I just need to figure out how to make the ammo more efficient without compromising power. Efficiency has never been something I've been good at. That's one thing that I _didn't_ get from mom." She paused. "And I'm rambling."

"How's it work?" Aaron knew he'd be in for one heck of a lecture, but if it got Ruby in the right frame of mind, it was worth it.

Ruby's mouth formed an 'O' then curved upward, almost to her eyes. She jerked her head toward her dragon's head. "Get someone to tell us when we're in CCT range." She focused back on Aaron. "You might want to sit down. This is going to take a while." Aaron did as told as Ruby popped out of Cerise' wing tent. She stepped back in with a small tool kit. She sat down across from Aaron and started unscrewing the receiver. "Here's where the magic happens. Not literally, but you get the idea…"

Aaron tried to follow along with what his girlfriend was saying, and when that didn't work, tried to look interested in what Ruby said. That didn't work either, so he focused on his girlfriend's face. Ruby was in her element. There were very few things that made her happier. Her face glowed, and it wasn't because of her Maiden Magic. Even though they weren't bonded, Aaron felt that some of Ruby's happiness was leaking out and infecting him.

After who knew how long and so many mechanical parts being explained, Ruby sat back and brushed a hand over her head. "Well, I think that's everything." She pulled her Scroll out of a pocket and sighed. "No CCT coverage. Can't call Ironwood yet."

"Don't ships have stronger connections?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah, but the CCT dead zone is huge over the ocean." Ruby shook her head. "For all I know, it could be at least a day until we get into range. If it's like that, we'll fly home tonight and I'll make the call, if Captain Bradford things the ship is safe."

"It's a plan." Aaron stood up and offered a hand to Ruby. "How about we rejoin the others and have a mission shakedown?"

"Sounds good to me." Ruby took the hand and Aaron hauled her up. "We haven't done one of those since before we went to Alagaësia, have we?"

Aaron shook his head. "Not since we cleared out that Ursa den near Armen."

"It really _has_ been a while." Ruby patted Cerise' belly. "We're done here."

Cerise retracted her wing and brought her head around. She hummed and nuzzled her Rider's face. Her tongue flicked out to lick Ruby's cheeks several times. She took her eyes off Ruby and focused on Aaron. Her pupils filled most of her eyes. _Thank you._ She pushed her head forward and brushed it against Aaron's head. Cerise kissed Aaron a few times too. It felt weird coming from a dragon that wasn't Nalia, heck, it felt strange coming from anyone, but it was starting to feel right.

"I think she likes you." Ruby elbowed Aaron in the stomach.

"It's always nice to have a dragon's approval." Aaron pet Cerise' snout, and she leaned into it.

Ruby looked around the landing pad. "Looks like everyone else is gone." Aaron looked around as well. Saphira was the only one on the landing pad, and she was asleep. Not even Weiss was by her side.

Aaron faced the superstructure of the ship and stretched his mind out that way. "Looks like everyone that can fit in there is in the ship. I don't know what happened to Vert and Nalia."

"Vert said he wanted to get some flight time without his armor, so that's probably where he is."

"Point." Aaron traced the sky to where he felt his dragon. "I think Nalia is with him just in case."

"That, and it's always nice to have some backup, especially when backup's family." Ruby started walking backward to the door into the ship. "Shall we go regroup with the rest of our team?"

"I think we shall." Aaron fell into step beside Ruby and they walked together into the ship. They walked up a few levels to where Aaron felt the rest of the team. About halfway there, Aaron rubbed the back of his neck. "Ruby, I know this is out of nowhere, but did we have… I think you call them pet names, for each other?"

Ruby cast a glance at Aaron, then shook her head. "No. We weren't at that point yet. But…" She dipped her head. "I know the situation was the best, but when you woke up from your coma, you were calling me Ru. I… kind of liked it."

Aaron hesitated. "Well Ru, how about now?"

Ruby fully faced Aaron. It took a few seconds, but she smiled. "I think I still like it." She grabbed Aaron's hand and they kept walking.

About a minute later, they made it to the place the rest of the teams were in. Aaron let go of Ruby's hand and pushed open the door to a conference room. The rest of team RWBAY, Velvet, and Sun sat around the table. Yang looked toward the door. She stood up and rested her palms on the table. "Aaron, is Ruby okay?"

Aaron stepped to the side and Ruby walked in. "I'm fine, sis," she said. "I was just a little shaken up."

"That was more than 'a little' shaken up."

"True, but I _am_ fine now. I had Cerise and Aaron to help me out. I'm pretty sure mom was in there to."

"Mom?" Sun sighed and crossed his arms. "I'm not even gonna ask."

"Long story short," Ruby sat in a chair at the head of the table, "my mom was the Winter Maiden before me. She's in my head, and we can talk to each other." The leader of the Riders looked around the room as Aaron and Yang took their seats. "Now, before we get into the mission shakedown for this one, Weiss, I believe you were on one yourself over the past month."

Weiss nodded. "I was, and it was very productive after Arya and I left Du Weldenvarden."

Aaron straightened in his chair. "Does that mean…"

"More Riders?" Ruby leaned forward.

"Three more." Weiss nodded. "Two humans, one elf. They're from Aberon, Therinsford, and Osilon."

"I take it Arya's the one who stopped in Osilon?"

"She dropped the eggs off, yes. The elves introduce themselves to the eggs differently than the humans. Since no sane elf would think about harming a dragon or an egg, they distribute several among their cities."

"That's great!" Ruby chirped, but her smile slowly turned into a grimace. "Ehhhl, I'm gonna need to figure out that paperwork." She shook her head. "A few questions, what are their names, have their dragons chosen names yet… and do you have pictures of the cuties?"

Sun snorted, but it sounded like he tried to hold it back. "Are you going to call them cuties all the time?"

"Cerise said it was okay. But it's really going to depend on the dragon. Orchid is completely fine with Violet calling her a cuddlebug."

"And it's true." Yang nodded. "Violet needs to invest in a sign saying 'Danger! Overly Friendly Dragon! You WILL Be Cuddled!'" That got some laughs from everyone in the room.

"To answer your questions," Weiss started when the room quieted down, "when I left, no dragons had chosen their names…" She pulled out her Scroll, pushed a few buttons, and the projector in the center of the table activated. "…and yes, I have pictures of all of them. Saphira and I would have been back two days ago if we didn't stop in Therinsford to meet two of them.

"Speaking of them…" Weiss slid a finger across her Scroll. A young boy sat in a field with a teal hatchling sitting beside him and Alagaësia's equivalent of a Mistrili Shepard. The boy's clothes were tattered with several patches sewn on. He had a staff laid across his lap. The horns on the hatchling's head were off white and completely straight. Its wing membrane was a few shades darker than its scales.

"This is Rowan Doranson. His family breeds sheep and sheers them for wool. Rowan acts as their shepherd. His parents say he is great at his job, and personally, I don't think I have met a kinder ten-year old. I saw him in the fields. He was so gentle with his family's herds, and lit looked like he was teaching his dragon to be the same." Weiss paused. "I know the rules are different between here and village life in Alagaësia, but he just turned ten a month before. He's three years too young to be entered into any combat school."

Ruby nodded. "Umaroth and I had a long debate over this. How young is too young? It's a lot lower in Alagaësia. Boys all over the Broddring Kingdom and Surda are trained to fight at ten years old to defend their homes from wolves and bandits. This is just expanding on that, and very rarely will anyone younger than fifteen be sent into a combat situation if not ready."

Weiss nodded, then flicked a finger across her Scroll. The projector image changed to a male elf with a tree bark brown dragon drinking out of a pond at his feet. Like most elves, he had no blemishes on his skin, and his clothing blended into the surroundings. The hatchling's legs were almost comically long, and from the angle of the picture, his belly scales shifted to the color of sand.

"This is Aithlin of house Carrona. He's an elven equivalent of a carpenter. He says he's not very good, but I'm guessing he's either being modest or comparing himself to other elves. I've seen his work, and my father might have commissioned something from him. He's twenty-five years old, which I have since learned is normal for elves bonding with dragons. Before elves were introduced to the elves when they turn twenty. So, Arya was very early. Personality wise, he's… polite, like all other elves to dragons and Riders. I don't think he's realized quite yet that he's one of us."

"There were quite a few elves like that on Vroengard," Aaron said. Something grabbed his right hand underneath the table. He flicked his eyes to it, then the only person on that side of him. Ruby was smiling at the projection, but not one of her 'it's so cute' smiles. This was more reserved, hopeful.

"His dragon is a curious one," Weiss continued. "Climbing all over the place, sniffing everything, grumbling at every animal that he doesn't eat. I think it's trying to speak with them."

"Not bad. And the third pair?"

Weiss winced as she flicked her Scroll. This time the image was in a building. A slightly older boy sat at a grand wooden table in an expensive looking white jerkin. His brown hair was short and well kept. He had a snarky smile on his face. The pearly white dragon was eating meat off a metal plate. Its eyes were ocean blue and the spikes on its back were nearly an inch long. It had a leather collar with a gold tag around its neck.

"This is Avrart Krisson. If I had to describe him in a word, I'd say… Whitley."

Some of the pressure disappeared from Aaron's hand. "That bad?" Ruby asked.

"I only met with him for a week and a half before his dragon hatched, and two days afterward, but yes. His father owns the largest brewery outside the Beor Mountains. It supplies all taverns in Aberon and even some other cities and villages. He acts like money is power, and anyone who has less than him is beneath him."

Yang laughed once. "He's in for a wakeup call when Oromis trains him."

"There were times in those days where I wanted to take him to Atlas to shut him up." Weiss shook her head. "He doesn't know respect either. He barely paid attention to anything I said because I wasn't his father and because I'm a woman."

"Please tell me his dragon's female," Blake said.

"She is, so that might help. But what I'm worried about is that Avrart is treating her like a trophy pet, not a dragon. She could either grow up lazy and pampered, or a jerk like her Rider."

"I don't know," Sun said. "You turned out pretty alright. All you need to do is lock the guy in a room with Ruby for a while and he'll straighten out."

"If it were that simple," Ruby said, "I'd do it. The problem is Weiss was open to change in the first place."

"If anyone can straighten him out," Aaron started, "it's Oromis. He's dealt with both human and elven nobility. He's turned them from… _that_ into upstanding Riders."

"Hopefully." Ruby shook her head and released Aaron's hand. "To bring the mood back up and to stay on the topic of young dragons, does anyone want to see something adorable?"

Everyone in the room looked at Ruby, confused. "What?" Yang asked.

"I should have showed you all of this a lot sooner. Weiss, can I have the projector?" Ruby took out her Scroll and laid it on the table."

"Okay?" Weiss closed her Scroll and the projector flickered to standby mode.

"I took this on my last trip to Alagaësia. I honestly forgot I took it." Ruby slid a finger across her Scroll. A new image appeared on the projector.

Aaron leaned back in his chair and smirked. This one showed Nalia and her two hatchlings sleeping together in a pile. Nalia curled around her two hatchlings, with Fírnen laying his head over his mother's neck, and the other hatchling laid his head over Nalia's snout. The two brothers covered each other with their wings. "Nalia, I knew I had it in you."

 _What about me?_ Nalia asked.

 _Use my eyes._ Aaron felt his dragon do as he suggested.

 _Who took this?_ Nalia asked. Judging by the other reactions in the room, she asked everyone.

"That would be me, Nalia." Ruby raised a hand and leaned back in her chair. "And no, I'm not deleting this."

 _I wasn't going to ask you to._ Nalia mentally hummed. _I want this to get out. So many people on Remnant see us as killing machines. I'd like them to see this side of us._

Ruby blinked and her smile disappeared for a second, then it returned even stronger. "You got it! But I think they'll figure out dragons' more sensitive side when Orchid matures." Ruby leaned forward and rested her arms on the table. "Now, mission shakedown. Who wants to go first?"

* * *

 **Oh, yeah, Infinity War comes out this week... HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPE!  
**


	22. Mine Your Own Business

**Infinity War... Anyone else miss Schwarma yet? #Thanosdemandsyoursilence  
**

 **Nothing else to say until the end author's note, so lets get to this.**

* * *

Weiss looked over the few dozen eggs in front of her. Every color of the rainbow was represented, and then some. She needed to take one of them to replace the one Orchid hatched from. At the moment, she had no official system. She thought in the future she'd try to give the older eggs a chance before the newer ones. But since all eggs were at least thirteen years old, it didn't matter too much. So for now, her choice was based purely on which color she thought was the prettiest. It was down to a sparkly white or a baby blue.

"Saphira, which do you think?" Weiss looked straight up at the ceiling of Beacon's Vault. Her dragon was somewhere on the surface… but no response came. The Rider sighed and rubbed the side of her head. There had hardly been a moment she didn't have her dragon in her mind since they got back to Remnant. She was getting used to it, and she missed not having Saphira there.

She shook her head and picked up the baby blue egg. Weiss cradled it while she brought it to the padded briefcase on the other wall. "Hello there. My name is Weiss Schnee. I will be taking care of you until you chose your Rider." She put the egg in the case, then walked toward the elevator with the case by her side. "You're going to meet my dragon. Her name is Saphira Bjartskular, and yes, her scales live up to the name."

Weiss entered the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor. She smiled at the egg in the case. "We're taking you on a trip. Right now, we're going to Mistral. Tomorrow, you will be introduced to the entirety of Sanctum Academy. One of them could be your Rider. But don't choose too quickly. Take your time. Make sure it's _the_ one you want to spend the rest of your life with. Just ask Saphira."

 _What about me?_ Saphira asked. Apparently they were back in each other's range.

"Just telling the new recruit to ask you how good of a decision you've made in choosing me."

Saphira mentally and likely physically snorted. _That remains to be_ seen. Her voice was playful rather than condescending. _Weiss, while you were down there, Vert and Velvet arrived. They are going to be joining us in Mistral._

Weiss sighed in relief. "Good. That makes another part of our trip a lot easier." The floor numbers on the elevator's panel started to light up. Weiss straightened up and put on her best business face. After all, she was just speaking with Ozpin about a few special components that need to be replaced in the CCT. She most certainly didn't have an egg in a briefcase.

The elevator doors opened and Weiss stepped out into the CCT lobby. Several students walked around, but Weiss didn't pay attention to them. She had a schedule to keep. She left the building and searched for her dragon. Saphira sat off to the side in the courtyard, and Vert and Velvet stood nearby.

Weiss walked to her dragon and faced Velvet. "You two ready to fly?"

"We are." Velvet nodded. "But, honestly, I'm not entirely certain on what you want me to do."

"I'll explain in the air. We're burning daylight. I'd like to be in Anima before the normal workday there ends." Weiss climbed her dragon's side and pulled her refit helmet over her head. The HUD flicked on right away. It was so nice of Ruby to fix that. Weiss also secured her arms and legs to the saddle. She wouldn't be flailing around… and the way she had the restraints situated for a long flight, it was like she was hugging her dragon

As soon as Velvet was secure on Vert's back, Saphira jumped off the ground and angled east. She flapped her wings a few times before the jets on her sides took over. She straightened her wings and the braces on the front locked them in place. Weiss turned her head back as far as she could. Vert and Velvet flew a few dragon lengths behind Saphira.

"Sorry about back there, Velvet," Weiss said into her helmet's radio. "The manager at the mine we're going to doesn't know we're coming. I'd like to keep it that way."

" _Surprise inspection?"_ Velvet asked.

"Yes. This particular mine has had the most worker complaints both when my father was in control of the company and since I have taken over. I understand it takes time to implement my changes, but the complaints have gotten worse. I think it's time to check on their progress."

" _And I'm here because…"_

"Most of the complaints are from Faunus. I'd be an idiot to think most Faunus trust me or like me, but from what I've seen and heard, they love you and Vert. They'd listen to you, and hopefully tell you everything that's wrong with the place."

" _So this is continuing with… I'm assuming you don't call it the Schnee Purge?"_

Weiss winced. That had so many negative connotations. "Yes. As far as I can tell, I no longer have any of those in support of my father's old policies as heads of departments. Now it's time to move to the rank and file. If only I could do something about the board." She shook her head. "Anyway, if we find any criminal activity there, we're going to have a representative from the Mistral City Police Department there with us to take the suspects in."

Saphira snorted. _She has ulterior motives. She just wanted to see her boyfriend again._

Weiss felt her cheeks go warm. "Well, there's that too. Don't tell me you don't want to meet Neptune."

 _I do, just not for the same reasons you do._

" _Don't worry, Weiss,"_ Velvet said. _"I won't tell anyone."_

 _I can't promise the same,_ Vert said. _Cerise and Halcyon are going to want to know._

"Cerise and Ruby, I don't have a problem with. Halcyon… I've actually missed him making jokes at all of our expense. Yang, not a chance."

 _You'd deny your own sister the knowledge of how your relationship is going?_ Vert sounded shocked.

"Who are you, Halcyon?" Weiss glared as best as she could at Vert.

 _Do not worry, Weiss,_ Saphira soothed. _If Yang gets too bad, I'll drive her off._

"Thank you." Weiss sighed. "What's our ETA?" Weiss jumped when the thing she just asked for appeared in front of her eyes. It looked like they'd make it to the mine at about 4:30 Mistral time. "Is this what Ruby felt like when she got her bionic eye?"

" _I take it the time just appeared in your helmet?"_ Velvet asked.

"Yeah." Weiss shook her head. "But I don't think she knew how to turn hers off for a few weeks."

" _We've got the time,"_ Velvet said. _"Could you fill me in on what exactly I should be looking for."_

"Some things should be obvious, like rights violations, but here are a few things that aren't so obvious…" Over the next few hours, Weiss explained some of the intricacies of the SDC that everyone should abide by, and anyone that violates them should be terminated. At the same time, some of those were only up to the supervisors, who according to the paperwork were all human. Even after she explained everything she could, there was still plenty of time left in the flight. Weiss decided to pull a Ruby and put on a movie for the remainder of the flight. Ruby and Yang were really started to get to her.

About halfway through the second movie, Saphira curved in the air. _We are almost at the mine, Little One. The time for distraction is over._

 _Thanks for the heads up._ Weiss ended the movie and shook her head. She needed to call Neptune to get his location. She stared at the contacts portion of her HUD, and since her helmet ran off of eye motions, it opened. She scrolled until she found Neptune and blinked.

The line ran three times before it clicked. _"Detective Neptune Vasilias."_

"Hey, Neptune. It's me."

" _Hey, Weiss. I take it you're just about here?"_

"Yes. How far away from the mine are you?" Weiss probably could have located Neptune with her mind, but she never felt him like that before. That could take way too long and too invasive.

" _I'm about a mile down the road from it in my car. Just waiting for you."_

Weiss stretched her mind forward as much as she could. She found the large concentration of people that had to be the mine. A fair distance away, which she thought was about a mile, a single person was motionless and alone. That had to be Neptune. "I see you. We'll be there soon." Weiss ended the call and her dragon angled toward the single person.

Saphira's engines wound down and her speed plummeted. Once she reached a manageable speed, the bracing on her wings unlocked and she flared them to slow her down further. She groaned but kept flying forward.

"Something wrong, Saphira?" Weiss asked as she freed her limbs from their restraints.

 _A dragon's wings are not meant to stay in that position for so long._ Saphira growled. _I do not envy Vert._

"None of us do. Stretch out a little when I'm in the compound. You'll have a few days to recover."

 _I am fine. I could fly for hours like this._

"Saphira," Weiss said in what she thought was a mom's voice, "do I need to repeat Nalia's and Cerise' lecture?"

A half growl, half whimper escaped her lips. _No, you do not._

"Good, because I could expand on that." Weiss looked past her dragon's head. A two-lane highway ran through the trees. A single car sat on the side of the road. Saphira dove for the car and landed right behind it. Vert and Velvet stayed in the air.

The right side door opened and Neptune stepped out. Instead of the combat outfit Weiss usually saw him in, he wore a simple black detective's jacket and slacks. But nothing covered up his blue hair. "How was your flight over?" he asked.

"Uneventful." Weiss freed her legs and slid off her dragon's back. "We made good time, and no Grimm came our way."

"Good to… hear?" Neptune stared past Weiss.

Saphira growled and stepped past her Rider. Her eyes were narrowed as she glared at Neptune. She looked the detective up and down. _My Rider has told me about your... tendencies when you first courted her._

Neptune straightened up and locked eyes with Saphira. "That was the old me. I wouldn't dream of doing anything like that now."

 _That may be so, but if you hurt my Rider in any way, I will do the same to you tenfold._

"If I hurt her, I will have betrayed her, and I would deserve anything that you want to do to me."

Saphira snorted smoke at Neptune. _You are right._

Weiss rested a hand on Saphira's side. "Okay Saphira, you've made your point." She faced Neptune, who was brushing the smoke and soot out of his hair. "Neptune, follow us to the mine. I'll likely have to get you in. Once there, I'll let you do what you do. You're the detective. If there's some lawbreaking going on, I want those people out."

"Got it." Neptune ran a hand through his hair and a bunch of black specks popped out. "Anything else I need to know?"

"Right now, no. But I do have a question. How did you stare down Saphira like that? Very few people can take a dragon growling at them." Saphira growled again to accent Weiss' point.

Neptune's arms fell to his sides. "I was preparing to face your father. From everything you said about him, it sounded like he just saw you as propaganda. I would much rather face someone defending you as a person rather than a possession." Saphira's growl silenced. "Like I've said before, you've got some good people looking after you."

Saphira grunted then stepped back. _Maybe he's not terrible,_ she told her Rider.

 _I could have told you that._ "See you at the mine."

"Got it… One more thing." Neptune grabbed one of Weiss' hands. "It's been a while since we've talked. You okay?"

Weiss hesitated. "I'm better than I used to be, but I'm not 'okay' just yet. We can talk after we're done here."

"Okay. I'm going to hold you to that. See you there." Neptune released Weiss' hand and returned to his car.

Weiss climbed Saphira again, and her dragon jumped into the air. She rubbed her dragon's neck. _What did you think of him?_

Saphira turned her head back. _He is not what I thought he would be. He believes everything he told me._

 _So you approve?_

 _I do not know. People don't change that much._

Weiss sighed. _I guess I haven't told you much about how I was before Beacon._ Saphira blinked, then faced forward again and followed the road. Vert fell in behind Saphira.

About a minute later, they arrived at the gate to the mine. All kinds of heavy machinery rested and drove around on the other side. Just from this cursory look, Weiss spotted one major health and safety violation. Several people were walking in and out of a mine with little protective gear. She was a little too far away to see if they were humans or Faunus. Either way, that was unacceptable.

Saphira dipped her head and dove for the entry gate. If they followed procedure, anyone now scheduled to work at the mine would be kept out, unless they were officers with a warrant or Huntsmen fighting Grimm in the area. Neptune and Velvet didn't fit those qualifications. But they _were_ there with the CEO of the SDC.

The dragon landed and Weiss dismounted. The guard at the gate speaking with Neptune looked up and froze. He may never have met Weiss, but the CEO's face had been all over the news recently. "M… Miss Schnee. I don't believe we were expecting you."

"I would be worried if you were." Weiss approached the guard. "Detective Vasilias, Rider Scarletina, and the dragons are with me. They will need access to all facilities here, as well as the authority to speak with any and all staff here as they please."

"Oh… of course. I'll… get them the right badges." The guard disappeared into his hut. A few moments later, he emerged with several cards. He handed one to Neptune, then the rest to Weiss. "Here you are, Miss Schnee."

"Thank you. Now, which way is it to the manager's trailer?"

The guard pointed to the right. "It's the first trailer to the right of the parking lot. You can't miss it."

"Thank you again." Weiss turned to Neptune. "Could you give me a ride over there?"

Neptune stuck a finger to the back seats. "Hop in. But if you get in back there, it's locked from the inside.

Weiss opened the door and sat inside. "I guess you'll have to be a gentleman and let me out. You _were_ your team's closest thing to a gentleman."

"I try." Neptune drove into the dig site. Saphira took off behind him. "You know, Saphira really is beautiful. Recordings don't do her justice."

"Flattery will get you everywhere around a dragon." Weiss looked out the window at her dragon. "And yes, she is."

"Almost as beautiful as her Rider, Snow Angel."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "One, that's cheesy. Two, don't let her know you said that. Brightscales are particularly defensive of how they look."

"Is that why Halcyon got so…" Neptune shook his head. "Sorry. I shouldn't have brought him up."

"Yes, it is, and you're fine." Weiss paused. "You've gotten better at keeping secrets, right?"

"If you think it's important, yes."

"Halcyon's not completely dead. He's now in a situation similar to Penny."

"Really?" Neptune looked over his shoulder. "How?"

"That's… a long story. One we can have after we're done here."

"There's a lot of things we need to discuss after this then." Neptune pulled into a parking space near a trailer that had the word 'Management' painted on the side. He stepped out of the car and opened Weiss' door. "Need anything else?"

"No. I'll do what I need to, you do the same." Weiss looked to the sky. Both Saphira and Vert glided to the ground next to the trailer.

Velvet jumped off her dragon's back. "I need anything here?" she asked the other Rider.

"You'll need this." Weiss handed over the badge. "Other than that, you're free to go. If anyone gives you trouble, let me know."

"Got it." Velvet nodded and walked past Weiss.

The CEO walked up to the trailer's door and pulled it open. Inside, there were quite a few people working on various tasks, and none of them appeared to notice Weiss. Then one of them turned around and locked eyes with the Rider. She straightened up and elbowed the man next to her. The man turned around and tensed up. "Miss Schnee. This is a surprise."

"I should hope so." Weiss pulled out her Scroll and pulled up a few files. "The reason I am here is not the most pleasant. This site has received the most complaints per worker in all of Remnant. Since I am needed in Mistral for other matters, I decided to see this site for myself. I also have two associates doing the same to speed the process and to get as much information before the workday is out." She looked at the man who appeared to be the manager. "I trust this won't be a problem."

After a moment's hesitation, the man nodded. "They should not have a problem. We have nothing to hide. I assure you, the complaints leveled at this dig site have no basis in reality."

"I will be the judge of that. I want a tour of the operation, and a full explanation of all day to day tasks here."

Another hesitation. "Of course." He gestured around the room. "Of course, this is where all the management happens…" He went on to explain all positions in the room and those in them, without disturbing anyone in there. But Weiss noticed early on that there were no Faunus in the room. That in itself didn't mean anything, but it would be good to see if anyone in positions of power anywhere on site were Faunus. Velvet and Neptune would be able to get more out of individuals.

The manager lead the way out of the trailer and toward other parts of the site. From there, things started going downhill. Looking around, both humans and Faunus looked depressed, but the Faunus had it worse. Not very many people were wearing safety gear, but the few who were told another tale. Humans had full sets of safety gear, helmets, gloves, vests, goggles, among other things. No Faunus had everything, and none of them had the reflective vests. Weiss noted that on her Scroll. She also checked everything the manager said on official reports, and all logs that were kept on site. Quite a few things didn't either match the reports or logs

Along the tour, Weiss saw Velvet and Neptune speaking with various people, with both of them sticking mainly to their own species. The humans speaking with Neptune were more relaxed. The Faunus with Velvet were jittery, constantly looking over their shoulders. Other Faunus just walking around glared at Weiss, either behind her back or openly. As much as she didn't like it, she understood. It would take a long time to gain their trust, if she ever did.

Eventually, the site manager led Weiss to the open mine. Here, Weiss concerns about safety hear earlier were well founded. The humans had everything, the Faunus had bits and pieces, and there were more than twice as many Faunus than humans. That did it. "Tell me, why are people being sent into the mine without proper safety equipment?"

The manager stiffened. "We had a fire two days ago in one of our supply facilities yesterday. We needed to make some sacrifices to keep up with our quotas."

"I believe SDC policy and Mistral law are very clear. Safety is never to be compromised for the sake of anything else." Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Any reason why humans are the only ones in full gear?"

"The safety equipment is distributed on a first come first serve basis since we are running low."

Weiss pulled up the duty roster on her Scroll. "And all humans are here an hour before any Faunus." She stared at the manager again. "Is there anything else you're not telling-"

The ground shook beneath Weiss' feet. Seconds later, a muted boom came from the mine entrance. She stared into the unnatural cave. Large rocks fell from the ceiling. People started running out by the dozens. Weiss stretched her mind inside to see what was going on. The workers were scared for their lives. Something told her that wasn't a controlled explosion. In a Dust mine, that wasn't good. Some kinds of natural Dust were extremely volatile. Depending on what they found in there, things could get ugly fast. _Velvet, you seeing this?_

 _I am,_ Velvet called. _I'm on my way._

 _Saphira, keep an eye on the manager. I might need to go in._

 _Be careful,_ Saphira growled. _I do not believe I will fit in there._

 _Hopefully you won't be needed._ Weiss walked to the opening of the mine. She ran through all the wards she had in her head. Quite a few were added in the month since the _Saint Nick._ The ones that would be necessary were the ones keeping her lungs clear of any debris and the ones that prevented her from being crushed. Those should be enough, but did they have enough energy put into them?

Velvet jogged up to Weiss side. "There are quite a few people in there," she started, "but there's so much rock here I can't get a good count."

"You have more experience as a Rider. What do we do?"

Velvet looked to Weiss with her mouth open. "I, uh… sorry. I don't come up with plans."

Weiss shook her head. "You're fine. You are definitely the better healer. Stay here and help people as needed. I'll go in and start getting people out." She jogged inside the mine, avoiding the people running out.

At first, most people were fairly clean while running away. But as Weiss moved further in, so many people became covered in dust, and a few people were even bloodied. But these people were either walking out by themselves or being assisted in some way. There could very well be people who could do neither. After the flow of people stopped, the lights strung on the walls were shattered or not working for unknown reasons. She created a platform glyph above her, not so much for protection, but for the light it naturally gave out.

She walked around a corner and stopped in her tracks. Some parts of the roof had caved in, and an arm stuck out from beneath the rubble. Weiss extended her mind to the rubble. The Faunus in there was alive, and awake. Weiss sent her glyph into the top of the collapsed rock. That should keep it from collapsing even more. She knelt down and grabbed the hand. The Faunus squeezed back as if his life depended on it. "I'm going to get you out of there." He probably couldn't hear, but there was a chance.

While still holding the man's hand, Weiss stuck a hand out and summoned her knight. It appeared before her then started removing the rubble several rocks at a time. Eventually, the Faunus was revealed lying face down in the rock, with one ram horn on his head while the other lay a few inches away on the rock. He slowly raised his head and blinked several times. "What…"

"Stay still," Weiss interrupted. Her knight kept removing the stone. "You're still pinned. I'm going to get you out of here."

The man grimaced. "Screw you Schnee." He jerked his hand away.

Weiss' jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"You weren't supposed to be here." He smirked. "But I guess you'll be dead soon enough."

"White Fang?" Weiss suddenly wished she took Myrtenaster from Saphira's saddle.

"Who else?" The criminal laid his head back on the rock. "That was a Burn Dust vein. That was only a small portion. The rest will follow soon."

Weiss stiffened. She knew the implications. "How big is the vein?"

"We don't know yet. We only found it two days ago. But it's big."

The knight lifted the last rock of the Faunus' legs. Weiss stood up and faced the man's hands. She didn't have anything to restrain him, but she did have magic. "Kala." The criminal's hands froze together in ice cuffs. Weiss faced the ceiling and cast the same spell. The cave-in froze in place, and it didn't take as much energy as she expected. Weiss removed her glyph and the ice held. She faced the Faunus again. "I need to see if anyone else survived. I'll come get you later." She turned around and ran further into the mine, her knight right on her heels.

The smell of detonated Burn Dust filled the air and grew stronger as Weiss continued. There were people alive in there, but their life forces were weak, and they were in pain. The Rider walked into what she thought was the blast site. People were scattered everywhere, humans and Faunus. There were more bodies in the area than minds, and several of the minds were fading fast. Weiss didn't have the time or experience to save all of them, especially with the Burn Dust vein ready to blow at any time. She had an idea, but those conscious in the cave wouldn't be fans, and neither would those on the surface.

Weiss put both hands out in front of her and concentrated on her Semblance. A dozen glyphs appeared on the ground, one for every mind and body she could see. A Beowolf rose from each one. All the conscious people in the room screamed, but the Huntress paid them no mind. Each of her Summons picked up a person or a body, except one Beowolf and her knight which were digging out the last person.

As soon as the last screaming person was in a Summons' arms, all Beowolves ran away from the blast site, and Weiss and her knight followed. They only paused long enough for the knight to pick up the first Faunus. Weiss didn't feel the minds of anyone else in the mine. Hopefully that was because they all got out, not because they were all dead and there was nothing to feel.

About halfway to the exit, the timer on the Dust Vein ran out. The floor shook and rocks fell from the ceiling. The sound and shockwave hit Weiss a moment later. It knocked her off her feet and it was as loud as a jackhammer pounding in her ear. She turned her head back, and the tunnel behind her had a red glow. Typically, one Dust mine blew up spectacularly each year for one reason or another. It looked like that's what was happening now.

Weiss pushed herself off the ground and sprinted forward. She created speed glyphs ahead of herself, and then her Summons when she caught up. With their increased speed and Weiss creating new glyphs in front of them as they ran, they made it to the exit in less than a minute. The Huntress ended her line of glyphs just before the mouth of the cave. Her Summons walked out and set their charges on the ground by the dragons.

"Saphira!" Weiss yelled. "Clear the area! This mine's going up in smoke!" She turned around and faced the glowing cave. "When you're not doing that, lend me your energy. I'm going to need it."

 _What are you doing?_ Saphira asked.

"Making it so everyone here doesn't burn to death." Weiss swiped a hand in front of herself, creating several repulsion glyphs that crossed the entire width and height of the cave. This would test if her Aura was back to levels before she was kidnapped. It wasn't ideal, but it was the hand she was dealt.

The fire itself rounded a corner and burst toward Weiss. It impacted against the glyphs and swirled around. Weiss felt the drain on her Aura. Her feet slid across the ground as the fire pushed against her glyphs. She increased their size and the glyphs cut into the rock around the tunnel. She stopped moving backward as the extra leverage kept the fire in place.

Just as the virtual eruption was weakening, Weiss heard something crack above her. She looked up and her jaw dropped. The cracks spread along the ceiling, and rocks fell off parts of it. That's when she noticed some flames leaked through where glyph met stone. All that built up pressure needed somewhere to go, and it looked like it was going through the cracks made by her glyphs.

Weiss stared back at the inferno in front of her. There was still enough pressure and fire in there to cook anyone and anything outside the cave. She couldn't drop her glyphs. But if she didn't move, the ceiling would likely collapse on her. The choice was obvious. "Saphira, you're going to have to dig me out."

 _No!_ Saphira roared. _Get out of there!_

More cracks came from above Weiss. "I don't think that's an option anymore." A huge rock fell to the side of Weiss, then one hit her back. It knocked her all her breath out and forced her to the ground, but she still kept her glyphs up. She gasped in as much air as she could as the roof collapsed around her. One of the rocks hit the back of her head, then crashed her forehead against the ground. Her head rang and it hurt like hell, but her Aura and wards held. It didn't help her refill her lungs either. She felt intense heat on her back…

Her eyes widened. _Saphira! Please tell me you got everyone out._

 _I did, and Velvet's holding the fire back._ Saphira's fear and anger rolled off her. _But you aren't going to hold me back when I get to you._

 _I don't intend to._ Weiss tried to move anything, but she couldn't move anything but her fingers and toes. _And… could you get here quick? I can't move._

Weiss felt her dragon growl. _I will, but then you are listening to me._

It took about a minute more, but the heat on Weiss' back disappeared. Another minute after that, Velvet entered her mind. _Weiss, are you okay?_

 _I'm fine, but I can't move._

 _I have to say that's good to hear. Saphira's freaking out here, and I didn't know for sure. Everything's too hot to get close right now._

 _Just get me out of here! I'm in the middle of it! Just freeze it! I've had enough of not being able to move an inch._ Weiss blinked. She didn't know where that came from… but then it hit her, and then her heart beat faster, which really didn't help the fact she hadn't caught her breath. _Oh gosh. Keep it together Weiss. Don't go back there._ She felt Saphira pour more of her mind into her Rider's, but it wasn't enough.

After an agonizingly long time, Weiss felt the weight on her back shift. A little after that, it disappeared completely. She moved her hand that was pinned back there, and someone grabbed it and held it in both of theirs. The weight on the back of her head disappeared and she turned it around. Velvet tossed the rock to the side while Neptune held Weiss' hand. "You okay, Weiss?" Neptune asked.

"Been better, been worse." Weiss pushed herself off the cave floor. She tried to stand up but Velvet held her down.

"Weiss, bear with me," Velvet started, "where are we?"

"I'm not concussed, Velvet. My wards and Aura held up."

"Weiss…"

"Do this later. I have to face Saphira." Weiss pushed Velvet's hands off her shoulders and stood up. "Also, this." She took a step forward and hugged Velvet. She did her best not to shake. "Thanks for getting me out of here. I don't think I'm as bad off as Vert, but…" She tightened her grip.

Velvet pat Weiss' back. "I… you're welcome."

Weiss released Velvet then jumped on her boyfriend. She hugged Neptune even tighter. "Thanks for being here. That… wasn't pleasant."

"You're welcome, but… as bad off as Vert?"

"Another of our long discussions." Weiss pulled away and faced the exit of the cave. Saphira stood just outside pacing, with her eyes fixed solely on her Rider. Weiss composed herself as best she could, and she hoped her recent fear didn't show on her face. With how people acted in Atlas, she couldn't show any weakness. But her young dragon being overprotective, that was something that people could know.

As soon as Weiss stepped out of the cave, Saphira pounced on her Rider. She used one of her paws to pin Weiss to the ground and growled in her Rider's face. _You lecture me about going into situations I cannot control, but you do the same._ A low growl escaped her throat. _Every time you are away from me, something bad happens to you. You are not invincible, you cannot beat everything that comes your way. You are not leaving my sight until we are back with your team or your personal guards that we know will protect you at all costs._

 _Saphira, I understand what you are saying… but could you at least give me my arms?_ Saphira's growl stopped for a second, as she rearranged her toes to not pin Weiss' arms. _Thank you. And Saphira, it's my job to protect those who can't defend themselves._

 _But you can't do that if you're injured, or worse!_ Saphira's growl returned. _You cannot run off on your own and take on the world. So many people you know are willing to help you. Why won't you let them?_

 _Here, it was a matter of size._ Weiss raised a hand and brushed the underside of Saphira's jaw. _Trust me, if you could have been by my side in there, I would have taken you in a heartbeat. I love you, Saphira. There's no one else I would rather have by my side in battle._

Saphira closed her lips and grunted. _At least you see reason._

Weiss nodded as best she could in her position. _Now I know how Ruby felt._ She paused. _Saphira, how about this: instead of me staying in five-star hotels while we're here, I stay with you wherever you are?_

Saphira snorted. _Yes. I will hold you to that._

 _I'd be worried if you didn't. Now can you let me up? I have a mess to clean up._ Saphira took her paw off her Rider and Weiss stood up. The CEO turned to where her employees were gathered just outside the gates to the site. She picked out the management of the site and scowled. She had some firing to do.

* * *

 **Iceberg, one of the least popular ships in RWBY. But at the same time, it makes sense in a way similar to how canon Pyrrha saw Jaune.**

 **On a more serious note... I didn't think I'd be making this post, but after what happened recently, I have to. I learned after uploading last Tuesday someone in my marching band took his own life over the previous weekend. I didn't know him, but he was in the band, so he's family. If any of you are depressed and having similar thoughts, don't keep them to yourself. Talk to someone. Parents, siblings, friends, counselors, anyone. There are online chat rooms for this too. You matter. Your problems matter, no matter who you are, what you look like, how you think, or where you live. Don't brush them off because you may be 'better off' than other people. There is only one of you in the universe. Take you away, the world is a lot darker.**


	23. Bullworth

**8 AM finals SUUUUCCCKKK! One yesterday, one tomorrow... at least that will be the end of that for me pretty much for forever. I'm graduating college on Saturday!* (Well, I have an internship this summer, but everything else is done) Got myself a bunch of Mrs. Fields cookies to celebrate. As always, for me, finals week is promising to be relaxing as a whole.  
**

 **One last thing, I've (finally) given** **Alagaësian Grimm some proper names in the same vein as Lethrblaka. With the context clues, I'm sure you can figure them out.  
**

* * *

The sound of metal clashing rang through the air as Ruby through up a last-minute block. "These guys are good," she grunted.

"What'd you expect?" Aaron asked as he slashed through his next opponent before jumping to the next one. "These guys are special forces. I'd think that they should be more than a match for us."

"Wait a second," Viki turned to Ruby,"we're not fighting real people here, are we?"

"Of course not." Ruby shook her head, then focused back on screen. Her character jumped over Aaron's and sliced an enemy threatening Viki. "It's all AI, like everything in Pokécre."

"Thank you." Viki sighed. "There are just so many things here that I don't understand."

"You're picking things up faster than I am." Aaron took a hand off his Scroll and pat his sister's back. "It took me almost two years to understand Flicrosoft Word."

"Then there's Yaela," Ruby started. "She said she's going through the net to figure out how to program. She's adjusting great here." Her Scroll started buzzing in her hands, making the game pause with her character upside down. She sighed and looked at the caller ID. The screen read 'Ozpin' making Ruby grimace. "One sec guys." She stood up from the couch and walked away.

 _Still wary around him?_ Ruby glanced at her dragon's eye through the window in the room.

 _He kept the fact that he's a parasite from us. I don't exactly trust him much anymore._

Cerise shifted on her feet. _That may be, but you should still answer the call._

With another sigh, Ruby put the scroll to her ear. "What's up, Oz?" Upon hearing this Aaron glanced away from the screen and back at Ruby but didn't say anything.

" _Miss Rose, I am glad you answered."_ Ozpin spoke quickly, a stark difference from his normal calm. _"The city of Bullworth has just sent out a distress call. A level seven beacon. The Riders are the only ones who can get there before the entire city is overwhelmed. Please tell me you are in Vale."_

Ruby messed up her face. "At best, we're three hours away. There's nothing in Armen or Plymouth?"

" _Nothing that they can send. Most of the military is further east than here on a training mission. Only a few fighters can reach Bullworth in decent time, but they would not be able to stay for long."_

Ruby shook her head. Of course, they were. Then again, that was probably Salem's plan. "Aaron and I are on Patch. We can leave as soon as we arm up. Tell them they have two Riders incoming." Aaron stood up from the game and gave Viki a quick hug before pushing past Ruby and running out to the dragons.

" _Only two? Where are the others?"_ Ozpin's voice came out with a little bit of worry.

"Weiss and Velvet are in Mistral, Violet is too young, and Yang's on mission in Vacuo." Ruby followed Aaron out the front door.

" _I see. Miss Rose, are you sure Mr. Benson is able to fight?"_

Ruby stopped walking, taken aback by the question. "He served well on the _Saint Nick,_ two _months_ ago _._ He'll be able to handle this." She pulled the scroll away from her ear and hung up. She slid it back into her pocket as Cerise and Nalia approached from around the house towards the shed.

"What do we got?" Aaron asked as he pulled the mat holding his dragon's armor out of the shed.

"Level seven attack on Bullworth, and we just happen to be the closest people that can do anything." Ruby pulled up a stat sheet on Bullworth's defenses as she pulled out Cerise' armor. "They're rated for a level five attack. They'll be able to hold off a fair bit, but we're heading in hours later. I guess it's up to us to make sure Bullworth doesn't turn into Vale's Mantle."

Cerise snorted. _That's because Vale knows it's okay to publicly ask for help. We could take Mantle in a day if Ironwood just asked us._

 _Except Atlas politics are more confusing than Vale's._ Nalia growled as she laid by her Rider. _The people there think more about themselves than anyone else._

"Agreed." Ruby pulled Cerise' headpiece off the pile. "But our focus right now is Bullworth. We can talk about this after we get in the air. Or not. I'm having enough problems with Vale's council."

There wasn't much more talk while the Riders armored their dragons. They skipped out on the chainguns to save time and to have more speed in the air. About twenty minutes later, both dragons were in the air and had their jet engines spun up to full speed.

When in the air, Ruby pulled up a live feed on her HUD. VNN had something in the area with a camera on it. For the moment it looked like the walls were holding. Dozens of military-grade Bullhead transports and Bullance fighters spitting fire toward the ground, with several more chasing Nevermores and Griffons across the sky. From this view, it looked like the city's defense rating was wrong.

Then the camera tilted like the vehicle it was attached to banked. A Griffon came out of nowhere and slammed into the camera. The feed cut off to black and white static. Ruby searched for another view and found one on Vox. This view showed a trio of Goliaths attacking the walls of the city, with one of them not having a speck of white anywhere. This time, there were fairly few Bullheads in the air. "They've got Stórrvendi attacking the walls. I've only seen one, but that doesn't mean there aren't more." As she watched, a Nevermore took an engine off one of the Bullheads, making the transport fall from the sky. It crashed into one of the regular Goliaths. The creature just shrugged it off and slammed its tusks into the wall again.

" _Just what we need,"_ Aaron drawled, _"smart Grimm."_ He sighed. _"Do we have a plan?"_

"Not yet. I need more intel." Ruby froze. She was starting to think like a soldier too. _Can I just go back to being a kick-butt team leader?_ She shook her head and called up a few more news feeds, as well as a defensive map of the city. They'd be in a CCT dead zone in a few minutes, and they wouldn't get the connection back until they reached Armen. She needed as much intel as she could get. Everywhere that she saw a weakness or strength on the walls or in the air she marked on the map. Of course, the area around the Bullhead factory was the most secure followed by the city center. But a good chunk of other places had at least one red dot.

When all feeds cut off, Ruby started putting the information to use. The north side of the city was the best off, but with the ocean right there and the coastal cannons that was expected. The south-west had the most red markers and no greens. If a breach occurred it would likely be there.

She had as much recon info she could get without a CCT connection, but she needed one more thing. "Aaron, I know I defended you to Ozpin earlier, but how are you with magic?"

Aaron didn't answer right away. _"Better than I was on the_ Saint Nick, _but I still can't pull that much from Nalia or the Eldunarí. In a prolonged fight, using it would be a bad idea."_

Ruby nodded to herself. "Either way, you're a better healer than I am. Find out where they set up a triage center and help out there. Irolon, how far away can you keep sending energy to Aaron?"

 _We haven't attempted to transfer energy over a distance,_ Irolon said. _It could be less than a mile, it could be the full city._

"Whichever it is, Nalia, stay inside that range and protect the civilians. Cerise and I are going to attack the Grimm head on. The walls are likely going to be breached by the time we get there, pretty substantially too. We'll work on clearing the city and repairing the wall. If we need any help, we'll call for backup. We good for now?"

" _We are,"_ Aaron said.

Nalia growled. _It's been a while since I've fought without my guns. This will be a nice change of pace._

 _Glad you think so,_ Cerise snorted. _Make sure you're just as deadly without them as you are with them._

Most of the rest of the flight continued in silence. An hour in they reached the point where they should have been in range of the Armen relay, Ruby picked up nothing from Bullworth. No news station, no police or military broadcasts, not even civilians live streaming the attack. That couldn't be good. Either the relay in Bullworth was down, or there was no one left to do anything. Both VNN and Vox said the military was three hours out. At the dragon's current speed, that meant they needed to hold out for an hour once they reached the city. Still, a lot could happen in the two hours it took for the dragons to arrive.

An agonizing amount of time later, Ruby's HUD flashed the words 'APPROACHING BULLWORTH.' Cerise powered down her engines as they flew over a nearby mountain. Ruby sat up in the saddle and her breath caught in her throat. Bullworth was barely recognizable. Fires raged throughout large parts of the city as a black mass of Grimm poured through the broken wall. The CCT relay near the center of the city lay across the tops of three other buildings. The Bullhead factory was mostly intact, but several buildings appeared to have collapsed. At least the Stórrvendilay on its side with several large holes in its head. There was no sign of the other Goliaths either.

Both dragons hung in the air for a moment before Ruby brought up her comms. "This is Rider One broadcasting on all frequencies searching for Bullworth command. Repeat, this is Rider Ruby Rose. Who's in command here?" She keyed them off and waited through the static looking over at Aaron in worry.

" _Bullworth command to Rider One,"_ her comms came out through the static. _"Repeat. Acknowledge contact."_

Ruby gave a sigh of relief. "We hear you. Good to know someone's still alive."

The static held a moment. " _I am speaking on behalf of Captain Bower of the city defense. The Grimm have breached our walls and our Huntsman team bought us enough time until now. We've lost contact with command in the city center, and our eyes on all walls except the north are blind. We need to contain the Grimm currently in the city and plug the bottleneck."_

Ruby gave a nod as she responded. "Understood. I am sending Rider Two into the city. He'll help with triage and Dragon Two will secure the area." She looked over at Aaron and Nalia. "Do your things." She locked eyes with Aaron through both their helmets. _Please be careful,_ she thought. _Don't strain yourself._

Nalia snorted as she dove for the ground. _He will be, otherwise he is answering to me._ Ruby gave a small smile as their minds disconnected as she felt Aaron's small spike of fear of having to deal with an angry dragon.

Ruby drew Máni Bláto and checked the ammo. _Full mag, Cerise. Let's go._

Cerise roared and pinned her wings to her side. She flared them just enough to angle her fall toward the breach in the wall. Ruby aimed her weapon past her dragon's head and began firing at the largest Grimm before they entered the city. Cerise released her wings and skimmed the ground, her claws ripping Grimm apart and slowing her down at the same time. She landed just outside the breach and opened her mouth. An inferno burst out of her maw, cooking all Grimm alive before killing them.

The Rider jumped off her dragon's back and sliced the head off a Beowolf that got too close to her dragon. She drew Crescent Rose as well and flourished both blades. Ruby checked the space behind her for any people and saw nothing but rubble and more Grimm. She faced the oncoming horde and pulled Crescent Rose' trigger. The Huntress flew forward, already spinning. The centrifugal force pushed her arms out, turning Ruby into a bladed tornado. She didn't know how many Grimm she killed before her first scythe met an Ursa Major. The blade still cut halfway through. One solid tug later and the Grimm was bisected.

"Cerise! Clog the breach! I'll hold them back." Ruby hooked Máni Bláto around the head of another Ursa and pulled the trigger, cutting its lower half off. She swung Crescent Rose around and stabbed the point into the Grimm's head. The Huntress pulled her weapon back and stared down the rest of the Grimm. "Be quick. I don't want to hold them off alone for an hour."

 _I'll find something if I have to melt the CCT relay._ Cerise took off with a screaming Creep in her claws.

Ruby retreated to the gap in the wall. Cerise could have stood there with one wing fully extended. With the wall being nearly a hundred feet tall, it was going to take a lot to seal the breach. The Rider stretched her mind out to the surrounding area. There were no people anywhere near her, just Grimm. She didn't have to hold back. She let her Aura flow and her eyes glow. No Grimm would make it past her.

The Maiden waved her natural hand in front of her. Massive ice spikes formed on the ground outside the wall, the largest the size of Ursai, but she could make them bigger if needed. Ruby turned around and faced the creatures inside the city. There were quite a few of the Alagaësian Grimm in the city, mainly Myrkrgarm mixed in with the rest of the Beowolves. All monsters growled at the Rider, only inching forward. "You're the ones that wanted a fight." Ruby swung her scythes around her and jammed both into the rubble behind her forming an 'X' with the barrels. "Come and get me."

One of the Creeps up front charged. Ruby stared at it. "Kala." She didn't need to use the Ancient Language to freeze the Grimm, and she didn't put any energy into it. But she did use her Maiden magic to freeze the Creep solid. If fell to the ground and shattered on impact. "Who's next?"

The mass of Grimm rushed Ruby. The Huntress backflipped, but let go of her weapons with their back point pointing in the air. She grabbed her weapons on landing and aimed the business ends at the monsters. Ruby pulled the triggers of both weapons. Hot Dust spat out of each and tore through several Grimm apiece. She kept up the fire until both magazines emptied.

Ruby pulled the scythes from the ground and waded into the mass. She didn't pay much attention to where her blades went with the exception of keeping them off debris. Every swing of a scythe killed at least three Grimm. Ruby spun herself and her weapons so fast nothing made it close. There were a few times she had to jump over debris or a decaying Ursa. With those she flipped in the air, swinging her scythes beneath her.

A few minutes of Grimm slaughter later, Cerise flew overhead with a boulder more than twice her size. She was strong, but there was no way she could fly with that much weight beneath her normally. How much were the Eldunarí lending her? Help or not, Cerise dropped the boulder into place.

The Maiden swung her left arm in front of her and created several ice spikes. She swung it back and all spikes flew out and buried themselves in Grimm, killing all in the area. "Watch my back!" Ruby called as she jumped away from the debris pile. She dug her weapons into the ground, let them go, and faced the pile. The Rider threw her arms out in front of herself. She called on both sets of magic, in addition to the energy from the Eldunarí tied to Cerise. "Thrysta." The rubble of the wall slid across the ground and each other and filled the gaps between the boulder and the rest of the wall. The bottom portions filled out first, with the concrete heading toward the top taking more time and energy to fit into position.

"Melt it!" Ruby yelled as the last concrete chunk fell into position. Cerise landed on top of the wall. She opened her mouth and released a concentrated column of fire on the chunks closest to her. It took a long time to melt, and Ruby felt herself tiring. Worse yet, there were still Grimm in the city. She could hear them clawing at the ground. If she lost concentration, there was a good chance chunks would fall, reopening gaps.

A Beowolf's growl came from her right. Ruby grimaced and switched her right arm to gun form. She couldn't aim without losing her focus. Single shot weapons weren't good for spraying and praying, but it's what she had to work with. She stuck her arm out and fired three times, on the third she heard a Beowolf yelp before it crashed to the ground. She had to hope she killed it.

Then an Ursa walked around a building by the wall. It growled at Ruby and charged her. _Cerise, I'm going to have to let the chunks fa-_ A gunshot rang out from behind her and a chunk of the Ursa's mask chipped off. It roared at where the shot came from, and another Dust round flew straight down its throat. _Never mind._ "Whoever's behind that gun," Ruby yelled, "keep doing what you're doing." She was answered by another gunshot and the moans of a dying Beowolf were silenced.

Cerise jumped to the other side of the breach and breathed fire on that as well. The first section didn't look solid, but it stayed in place. Ruby took her effort off that section and focused it where Cerise was working. Even though her use of magic had decreased by half, it still drained her. The number of gunshots increased, and the sniper fire turned into assault rifle fire. No Grimm made it to the Rider. She _really_ needed to thank whoever was behind that gun.

Cerise eventually closed her mouth and looked down off the wall. _This should hold for now. I'll work on the base, then help elsewhere._

Ruby sighed and she cut all flow of energy. With that done, she felt the drain on her Aura and energy. That took a lot out of her, but she still had work to do. She looked up at the building she thought the gunfire came from. She jumped and fired Crescent Rose behind her to give her a boost. The Rider flew up to the sixth story and pulled herself onto the apartment's deck.

A soldier in battered Vale military armor stood on the other side of the deck with a standard issue V4 aimed at the ground below. She pulled her weapon back over the railing and saluted the Rider. "Ruby Rose, it's good to have you here."

"I wish I didn't need to be here." Ruby sagged against the wall and searched for the insignia and nameplate on the soldier's armor. "Thanks for the assist, Sergeant Cullen."

"Happy to help ma'am." Cullen's arm whipped back to her side. "It looked like you had other priorities."

Ruby nodded and looked into the apartment. "You're the only one out here. Get separated from your squad?"

The Sergeant shifted on her feet. "A Griffon jammed its face into one of the engines of the Bullhead pulling us off the wall. I don't know what happened to the rest of them."

"Got it." Ruby pushed herself off the wall. "I can get you back to a controlled area, let you regroup with your squad." She walked into the apartment proper.

"With all due respect ma'am, you can't give me orders." Ruby turned her head back and stared at Cullen. "This is my city. I was born, raised, and trained here. I know this place like the back of my hand. I know the procedures. They'll pull back to the city center or the factory and wait until reinforcements to send out hunting parties."

The time until the military arrived appeared in Ruby's right eye. "Reinforcements are a half hour out."

Cullen snorted. "Fat lot of good that'll do for the people that will be dead in five minutes. We need more soldiers out here fighting than they're willing to send. I can still fight, and there's a weapons shop two buildings down. I was never officially ordered back, so I won't be defying orders."

Ruby stretched her mind to Cullen's. There was no way she could convince the Sergeant to leave in any decent time. Instead, the Rider nodded. "Frequency nine-eight-point-five. That's our comms setting. If you get in trouble, you'll have a Rider or dragon come for you." She jumped off the balcony and dropped to the ground, crushing an Ursa on landing. She reloaded her weapons before running down a street.

"Rider One to Bullworth Command, the southern breach is secure. How copy?"

" _We copy, Rider One,"_ the same voice from before said. _"Breach is sealed. But we have a new problem. We have a group of Arachnii approaching our position in the factory. They're climbing over the walls and our Bullheads can't kill them fast enough."_

Ruby sighed. That was on the exact opposite side of the city. "On my way." She activated her Semblance, running through the streets and slicing Grimm in half before the even knew she was there. Her path carried her past an intact and manned military blockade, but she didn't slow down. They had their situation covered.

 _Need a lift?_ Nalia asked.

Ruby stopped between a couple low rise buildings and looked straight up. Nalia flew overhead. _I do. A straight line is better than running through this mess._ The Rider collapsed both her weapons. She used her Semblance to jump to the top of one of the nearby buildings, then onto one of Nalia's legs as she passed. _How's securing the safe zone going?_

 _Well enough for me to join you here. Aaron even found a new friend._ Nalia snorted. _Considering Cerise isn't with you I'm guessing she's still at the wall._

 _You guessed it._ Ruby faced their direction of travel. Dozens of Arachnii crawled over the wall. The Huntress extended Máni Bláto to rifle form and pointed it at the factory. _So glad Yang isn't here._ She blinked and looked at Nalia's head. _Aaron found a friend?_

 _I didn't think you'd be jealous. I think you'll like her._

Ruby's jaw dropped, then she raised it. _A little girl?_

 _Yes, in a way._

 _I hope that means you both want whoever this is to be a pleasant surprise._ Ruby raised Máni Bláto with one arm and looked down the scope. _You ever carry Aaron while he fired from a leg?_

 _Yes, but something tells me your weapons have a little more of a kick._

 _Just a bit. Don't be surprised if I go flying off._ Ruby took aim at the Arachnii climbing on the factory proper. She fired and the recoil jarred her off Nalia's leg. The Huntress drew Crescent Rose while in the air and shifted that to rifle form as well. She fired both weapons at the same Grimm, the recoil keeping her airborne. With about half a mag emptied for each, the first Arachnii fell.

Ruby pointed her weapons behind her and fired both at the same time. She flew as fast as a bullet and kicked her bionic leg out in front of her. Her foot caught the head of an Arachnii and she drilled right through. She hit the ground, rolled, and extended her weapons to Scythe form in one motion. Two more Arachnii stared her down. "So glad Yang isn't here."

The Huntress ran forward, her blades trailing behind her facing out. One of the Arachnii tried to step on Ruby, but the Rider sidestepped and Máni Bláto cut the 'foot' off. Ruby swung Crescent Rose up and into the body of the monster. The weapon stuck and its wielder's momentum carried her up and over the creature. She landed on the spider's back and used Máni Bláto to cut the monster's head off.

The dead Arachnii fell backward toward its friend. The live creature opened its mandibles. Ruby fell to her back and angled her blades in a scissors formation. At the right time, she pulled them and cut the mandibles off. She hit the ground and cut off all legs on one side. The monster fell to its right and Ruby stabbed the back of Crescent Rose into the monster's head.

Ruby stepped away from the decaying corpses and searched the walls and courtyard. As she watched, Nalia ripped an Arachnii in half before crushing another one like the oversized bug it was. With those monsters gone, Ruby saw no other movement in the area. She extended her mind out and found the same thing. "You okay, Nalia?"

 _I am._ Nalia jumped and flew over the nearby walls. _This wave is over. We're clear for now._

"I'll pass it on." Ruby brought up the short-wave radio again. "Rider One to Bullworth Command. The Arachnii are gone. The factory is-"

The ground shook. Less than a second later, the closest building exploded. Ruby didn't have time to move before a large part of the concrete wall slammed into her chest. She flew back and the concrete pinned her against the wall. More debris and fire assaulted her. Her Aura and wards drained rapidly but held. At the same time, she lost feeling in her right arm. What couldn't have been five seconds after she hit the wall, debris and fire stopped flying her way.

 _Ruby!_ Cerise yelled. _What's going on?_

 _Explosion at the factory._ Ruby shook her head and looked at the area in front of her. The ground was scorched black and the building that once stood in front of her no longer existed. The Rider tried to move, but she couldn't. _I'm alright, but I'm pinned under some concrete._

 _I've got you._ Nalia landed in front of Ruby. She used a paw to pull the rubble off the Rider.

Ruby leaned her head against the wall behind her. "Rider One to Bullworth Command, there's been an explosion at the factory. Please advise." Silence. "Rider One to Bullworth Command, do you copy?" Again, no answer. "Run diagnostics." A lot of red text ran through her helmet's HUD and her bionic eye… _Oh. That's what's going on._

Nalia picked up the largest piece of concrete and threw it away. Ruby's right arm lay in pieces on the ground. Thankfully both her weapons looked intact. The dragon stared at the arm. _Can you still fight?_

"Probably," Ruby stood up despite her aching back. Her Aura level appeared in her bionic eye. It was barely in the red, but it was still in the red. "Well, as a sniper anyway. My Aura's gone and my comms are fried." She drew her Scroll from a pocket, or rather half a Scroll. "No fixing any of this anytime soon."

 _Are you sure you're okay?_ Cerise asked.

 _I'm fine. Finish with the wall, then help out elsewhere._ Ruby picked up the remnants of her arm and her shoulders slumped. "Nalia, can you hold onto this for me?"

 _Of course._ Nalia laid on the ground.

Ruby climbed up Nalia's side and searched for an empty saddlebag. "Don't tell Aaron about this. I can still snipe. He needs to concentrate on what he's doing." She found an empty bag and put her broken arm inside.

 _As long as you tell him later. Don't forget your weapons._

"How could I forget my babies?" Ruby dropped off Nalia and picked up Crescent Rose. She collapsed it fully, then grabbed Máni Bláto and collapsed it to rifle form. "I'm good. Take me to the tallest building." She jumped onto Nalia's back from the ground, with her weapon pointed off the side.

Nalia jumped out of the factory grounds and angled toward downtown. _I'll let everyone else know that you're out of communication._ She stayed silent at least as far as Ruby could hear. A few seconds later, she faced the one on her back. _Command knows you're out, but they want you to take a look at the transmitter on top of city hall, which so happens to be the building we're going to. That's the reason they lost contact with their commander and… something called an EOC._

 _Tell them I'll see what I can do._ Ruby stared at the ground and tried to aim her weapon, but from her position, her height, and her lack of a right arm, she didn't want to take a shot while flying on Nalia. _Don't tell them this, but my bionic arm was insulated, my natural isn't. I might not be able to work with what's up there._

 _That last part does sound relevant._ Nalia went silent again as she dove for the building.

Ruby stared at the hunk of twisted metal on top. _On second thought, that thing's toast and I don't know enough about towers._

Nalia snorted. _I didn't know I was your Scroll._ She flew above the building and stayed there. Ruby dropped off and ran to the edge of the roof. She rested Máni Bláto on the ledge and used the stone to help steady her aim. If she couldn't work on the comms, she could at least kill a bunch of Grimm.

Ruby searched the ground and buildings nearby for any Grimm and weaknesses in the defenses. It looked like the military and police perimeter two blocks to the south of the building was still secure. People were still pouring through the gates, some on foot, some in cars. Most of their eyes fell on the N1 tanks on the sidewalk. Their worry was understandable. Tanks in the city were never a good thing.

An Ursa Major appeared from a side street and ran for the barricade. A small pack of Ursai followed it. The soldiers and police shouted orders at the civilians on the ground. People scattered and ran for the buildings. Cars honked as they maneuvered around the walkers. Ruby grimaced and took aim at the major. That panic was going to bring in more. She fired and the Dust round flew the distance and plunged into the Grimm's eye socket.

As expected, a Beowolf pack ran in from another side street. The soldiers opened fire, along with the machineguns on the tank. Their low caliber weapons could only crack the bone masks, with the few large weapons finally cutting them down. Ruby headshot three more in the pack before the soldiers finished them off.

Then a King Taijitu slithered around that same corner. At first, Ruby just thought it was the black head, but that was before the other end flew around the corner, also black. The Rider set Máni Bláto aside and drew Crescent Rose. She reached for a laser mag, then realized they were all on Cerise' saddle. _Nalia, we got a_ _Tveirgartāormr._

 _I'm coming, but it might be a tight fit on those streets._

 _Maybe._ Ruby raised her first weapon and aimed at the Grimm's eye… Then she saw the tank's turret swiveling. It lined up with the snake and fired. Dust bounced up all around the tank and the first head exploded. The sound and shockwave hit Ruby a second later. She shivered and fought a smirk. There was something about seeing, hearing, and feeling a tank firing that felt so right. In the time it took for the second head to turn around, the tank reloaded and fired again, the shell punching right through the snake.

 _Cerise, I want a tank,_ Ruby called.

 _How is that practical for us?_ Cerise asked. _On that, how is that relevant to now?_

 _Because we need more big guns._ Ruby shook her head. "Time until military arrival." Twenty minutes in red numbers appeared in her eye. At least that was working. They had some time.

Most of the rest of the time was spent with Ruby moving across the roof of her building, taking shots down various streets. The number of Grimm in the city had decreased substantially. With the hole in the wall sealed, the dragons could focus on keeping new ones out. On the ground, the perimeter slowly pushed out, with Ruby covering groups as best as she could. But there was only one of her, and she could only cover one street out of twelve at a time.

A few minutes later than expected, a trio of Bullance fighters flew over the city. They flew toward the south of the city and disappeared out of sight. Ruby faced where the fighters came from. An aerial corvette flew over a mountain with two large troop transports flanking it on either side… Wasn't the sight of air support supposed to feel great? Weren't cheers supposed to ring out from those on the ground?

Ruby felt none of that. She took her eyes off the reinforcements and looked at the smoking city. How many people died in there because the bulk of the military was extremely out of position? The Rider faced the factory. That one explosion took out more than she thought. About a quarter of the factory appeared to be damaged from that explosion. There went the military's largest supplier… _Salem won this battle._

The Rider shook her head and closed up her weapon. _Cerise, I could use a ride to the triage center._

 _On my way._ Cerise jumped off a section of the wall and flew by city hall. Ruby jumped from the roof to her dragon's back. The dragon turned her head back and stared at the wiry stump of Ruby's right arm. She snarled. _You are lucky to be alive. You should watch yourself._

 _A **building** attacked me._ Ruby raised her stump and grimaced at it. _I don't know what caused that, but I didn't feel any Grimm around there. Either they were the Alagaësian variety or something else did that._

Cerise hissed and faced forward again. _I miss when we could just feel our enemies with our minds._

 _Same here, but this is our world now._ Ruby looked past her dragon's head. A hospital lay in front of them. Cerise landed on the transport pad and her Rider slid off. "Stay in the air. I'm going to help Aaron."

 _I'll tell you if we need support._ Cerise took off and flew toward the nearest wall.

Ruby turned around and walked into the hospital. For the first time that she entered a hospital that way, she wasn't stopped by nurses or security. She stretched her mind to the floors below her to find Aaron. It felt like he was halfway down the building. Ruby found a staircase and walked down to Aaron's level. Once there, she waded into the sea of people. Nurses, doctors, civilians, and security filled the halls. There was barely any space to breathe, much less move. Still, Ruby did her best to heal whatever injuries she saw while passing. She'd be doing that for the next few hours. She might as well start.

After she walked down a few crowded halls, she found Aaron in what was once a waiting room, now filled to the brim with injured people. None of the doctors or nurses were moving very fast, and neither was Aaron. Then Ruby looked at the injured people in the room. None of them looked too bad… Ruby wasn't sure if she was happy for that or wishing there were more. This could be one of those attacks that produced more deaths than injuries.

"Aaron," Ruby said as she got close. "What's the situation here?"

Aaron turned around but it took a second to focus on Ruby. "Oh. It's, uh, better than it was when I first got here. Injuries haven't been as bad the past half hour."

Ruby bit her lip. "Can you take a bit of a break? We need to talk about…" Something moved in one of Aaron's jacket pockets. "What do you have in your pocket?"

"Oh, this." Aaron reached into the pocket and… pulled out a tiny calico kitten. "I had to go out at one point to help with a turned over car. Helped with the people in there, and this little girl walked out from in between a couple buildings. She meowed at my feet, and that was it." As if in response, the cutie meowed and curled up in Aaron's hand.

Ruby covered her mouth with her remaining hand. "Oh. My. Gosh. What's your secret?" She tried to reach out with her right hand, but it was only the stump. Ruby rolled her eyes. "Oh, I was attacked by a building. But later, cute now while we're thinking."

Aaron stared at the stump, then shook his head. "I don't know. I was trained by elves. That probably has something to do with it."

"Probably." Ruby reached out her left hand and pet the kitten. The cutie purred and arched her back into it.

"I'd say we should keep her, but I don't think your dad wants anything else in the house."

Ruby slumped her shoulders. "Maybe Ren and Nora will take her..." She shook her head. "Business. There any room around here that's not being used for this?" She gestured to the room as a whole.

Aaron shook his head. "A broom closet or our heads."

 _Heads it is. The military's here, but the factory is gone._ Ruby crossed her arm and stump across her body. _I think Salem won this round._

Aaron nodded. _I could call the Battle of Beacon a victory. With all this… how much of the city did we lose?_

 _Way too much._ Ruby looked around the room. "How many of these people walked in?"

"Quite a few of them actually." Aaron gazed over those assembled. "Quite a few of these people named a Sergeant Cullen as their rescuer."

Ruby blinked. "I have to say that too. She kept the Grimm of me while Cerise and I were focused on the wall." She looked around the room once more. "She did a darn good job."

"Now we need to do a darn good job. This place is full, and we need to do our jobs."

"Yeah." Ruby nodded. "I go up, you go down?"

"That works. See you when this is all done."

"Yeah." Ruby turned around. More people had filed into the room. "Oh boy. This is going to take a while."

* * *

 **No, I don't plan to be pooping on the military throughout the rest of this.** **Not really a fan of how militarizes and police forces are treated when compared to superheros as a whole.** **I just got to figure out something where their presence is needed where Riders and Huntsmen can't do everything.  
**

 **A bit more IRL thing, I am now on a forced writing hiatus. Forced because I haven't really taken a break from writing this since I've started. I'll still put out weekly updates, but right now Reconstruction is resting at chapter 38 on my backlog. I'll start writing with this again in the beginning of June at the earliest.**


	24. Taking the Fight to Them

**I am now done with college and I an back home! Starting my job where I might as well be paid to write on Friday and starting my internship hopefully next week. After that... I'm going to need to figure out how to adult. That's not going to be fun.  
**

 **Also, I'm working on something different over on Spacebattles. No release timeline on that, but I'm guessing in the next two weeks. Unfortunately with the way it's being done, it will probably have to be a Spacebattles exclusive.**

* * *

The city of Mistral loomed in front of the Bullhead. Blake checked the waypoint Weiss left her the day before. Their destination was an old SDC warehouse in the industrial section of the city, or more like the landing bay right next to it. She wasn't the best flier, but she'd landed in tighter spots; the Dragonhold on top of Tronjheim came to mind.

Then again, she wasn't the one flying. Blake faced the center console. "Halcyon, how's your precision landing?"

A blue hologram of Halcyon appeared between the pilot and copilot seats. "I'm not the best." His voice came over the craft's intercom. "I can land this in large open areas, but I'm not comfortable with landing in hangars yet, especially when they're this small."

"You're still better than Amor." Yang pat the console. "Has he landed without crashing yet?"

Halcyon shook his hologram's head. "I do not believe he has, at least when we left."

Blake shook her head. Last time she saw Nalia's hatchling try to land, he ended up nose diving into the dirt. "I'm not even sure if he's improved."

"He'll get it eventually." Yang leaned back in her chair and brought both hands behind her head. "You'll get this too. You're practically a URSC AI now."

"I just need to be able to do hundreds of things at once and in a fraction of a second. No pressure."

"If Ruby knew more about programming, I'm sure you'd already be there."

"But in the meantime," Blake grabbed the control stick, "I'll take it from here." The stick tugged on her hands, meaning Halcyon relinquished control. Something popped into her head and she bit her lip. "Halcyon, I don't think I've asked yet. I know Ruby has this think about control. You're not in the same boat, are you?"

The hologram faced Blake and all of Halcyon's limbs stilled. "I thank you for your concern, but it is not necessary. While I do not like my situation, I know it's necessary until I can control every aspect of this vehicle., and any others I may pilot." His holographic wings loosened. "It also helps that those I love and trust are the ones guiding me."

"You're welcome." Blake curved the Bullhead around and it came to a stop above the small hangar. She turned on the landing camera. The hangar doors retracted into the roof of the building. "Halcyon, pay attention. You'll learn this soon enough." Blake turned her head back. "Sun, we're going in for a landing." She turned back and focused on landing. Vert was the only other thing in the hangar. Blake eased the Bullhead down into the building, slower than she'd normally do so. She hoped that would help Halcyon learn her actions. As soon as she felt the transport touch down, she powered down the transport.

Yang opened a panel and took out Halcyon's core. She flicked the new switch on the side. Blake thought that was the one to connect to the netcam hiding in Yang's jacket. Yang stood up and turned to the crew compartment of the transport. "Now let's go take out your ex."

Blake grimaced. "Don't call him that. I would very much like to forget that part of my life." She followed Yang out of the cockpit, then out of the Bullhead. Velvet stood by a door to the rest of the building. Sun had already joined her and they had already kicked off a conversation.

When the partners got closer, Sun nodded at Yang. "Halcyon's getting to be a better pilot. I wasn't scared for my life most of the time."

 _Oh, ha, ha,_ Halcyon said, back to using telepathy. _Maybe next time I can do a few barrel rolls while you're goofing off and not buckled in._

"That's a real threat, Sun," Yang warned. "He'll do it when you're least expecting it."

"At least we know he hasn't changed," Velvet laughed.

"There is that." Blake faced the Faunus Rider. "Now what's this about having info on Adam?"

Velvet's smile disappeared and she nodded. "Neptune's got the information, and it sounds like we need to act before nightfall. Come on." She turned around and walked into the hallway.

Before she made it two steps, Weiss and Neptune sprinted out of a side room. "Change of plans!" Weiss yelled. "I just heard from Saphira. The White Fang is moving out now."

"I knew those guys at the station were too loose-lipped," Neptune grumbled.

"You're one to talk Neptune," Sun said.

"Save it." Blake turned around and sprinted to her Bullhead. She hooked a hand around the crew compartment door and swung into the cockpit. She brought all systems online while she waited for everyone to board. Outside, Velvet jumped onto her dragon's back. Vert then jumped out of the hangar and into open air. Blake made the Bullhead follow as soon as the engines were spun up to the lowest possible lift power. The engines complained, but they got the Bullhead out of the hangar. Blake rotated the engines and made her flier follow Vert.

Yang entered the cockpit and reconnected Halcyon to the Bullhead. The whole craft twitched and the engines cycled, but it stayed in the air. "Sorry about that," Halcyon said through the speakers. "Had to get my bearings."

Blake turned her head back. "Weiss, where are we even going?" She turned on the Bullhead's radio so Velvet could listen in.

Weiss stepped into the cockpit and pointed at the coast. "Fly below the cliffs if you can. Saphira's following in the ocean."

"Will do." Blake nosed the Bullhead down. Up ahead Vert dove and skimmed above the ocean. After Blake leveled out the transport, what Weiss said finally registered. _"In_ the ocean?"

"Dragons are good swimmers. Saphira's had plenty of time to learn. That, and they won't expect a dragon attacking from the water."

"Her scales _are_ ocean blue." Yang shrugged. "What are we looking for on land?"

"Saphira said they're driving in the SDC trucks they stole." Weiss shook her head. "Who would suspect the White Fang would drive those?"

"Likely with all identifying marks removed or changed." Blake looked at the cliff top above her. "Either Adam has changed his tactics while in prison, or he's not the one leading this portion. I'm not sure which I'd prefer."

"What are they carrying?" Yang asked.

Weiss turned her head back. "Neptune, it's your intel."

Neptune traded places with Weiss. "I don't know what's in those trucks for sure, but from what I've heard at the station, the White Fang might have already moved most of the Dust from those trucks offsite. They could be moving troops, machinery, heck, they could be moving their entire operation. A lot of stuff could fit in those trailers."

"So don't riddle them with Dust rounds as soon as I see them," Halcyon said. "Got it."

Blake pulled up a map of Anima's coastline. She tried to pick out a good ambush location, away from most civilians. She spotted one about ten miles south of the city. "Here's where we'll make our move." She sent the map to Velvet.

" _I got it, and I like it,"_ Velvet said.

"I take it you got a plan?" Halcyon asked.

"I do. Halcyon, your aircraft." The stick twitched in Blake's hands and she faced the map again. "Here's what I got so far…" She continued to explain the basics of her plan. Some things came to her while she was explaining. Is that what happened to Ruby? Probably, only she likely didn't have as much of a plan before she started.

After Blake finished, Weiss nodded. "That could work."

"Where'd you learn to come up with things like that?" Yang asked.

"The few times Ruby let me head a mission…" Blake winced as she looked at Weiss. "And I helped plan the attack on the train that Adam and I hijacked."

Weiss waved a hand in front of herself. "Water under the bridge. With how many times you've saved my life over the years, we're even."

"Thank you." Blake faced the map display again. "Let's get a move on and beat them there." She pushed the throttle to near max and the Bullhead shot forward. The transport passed Vert, but the dragon still kept up with it. At one point, Saphira stuck her head out of the water before she dove again.

Blake didn't slow the transport down until the ambush location was in sight. She pulled back on the throttle and brought the Bullhead over the cliff. Large trees and curves around the mountain prevented the trucks from seeing them down the road, but one sedan on the road almost swerved into the nearby forest.

Once over the trees, Blake set the transport down in a cramped clearing, with Vert touching down nearby. Blake grabbed Gambol Shroud from the rack behind the pilot's seat. "Halcyon, you're in control. Think you can keep this thing in the air on your own?"

"I might take a few trees with me, but I can get this thing airborne." The engines on the Bullhead revved, then calmed down to their lowest level while still running.

Blake followed everyone else off the Bullhead and into the forest. All Huntsmen stacked up behind different trees just off the highway. Blake was between Weiss and Neptune, with Sun and Yang on the far edges. Velvet had to be near the road, ready for her part.

"I think they're about two minutes out," Weiss said. "That, or we passed a fully loaded bus or two on the way here."

"Well, since we've got some time," Neptune looked at Blake then Sun, "congrats on your engagement."

"Thanks." Blake nodded at Neptune. That's all she could manage at the moment. "We actually have invitations in the Bullhead. I should probably let my dad know that the ceremony and reception are happening at the desert overlook." She heard Weiss groan at the word 'desert.'

"You brought wedding invitations to a battlefield?"

"We're Huntsmen." Sun shrugged. "It's a habit."

"Weiss brought a full wardrobe everywhere we went in Alagaësia."

"So did you," Weiss shot back. "Everywhere the Bullheads went, we took everything."

"She's also the only one who brought heels," Yang added from beside Weiss. "I still don't know how you can fight in heels."

"I still don't know how you can fight without getting your hair caught in anything." Weiss shook her head. "Just get ready. They're almost here."

About a minute later, Blake's sensitive ears picked out a few trucks when there were no others on the road. She tightened her grip on Gambol Shroud and raised her weapon. "I hear them." She poked her head around her tree and looked up the road. Only a few beat up sedans and pickups drove on the asphalt. Then a trio of SDC semis drove around another cliff and into view. No cars were in front of them, but there were a few driving in the opposite direction. They had to do this clean, or some poor civilian would have a close up of the grill of a several ton truck. It was Velvet's call.

A little up the road, a blue wireframe spike strip slid across the northbound lane and into the southbound in front of the trucks. All trucks passed over no problem, then the front truck blew a tire. It swerved into the opposite lane and slowed to a stop a few dozen feet past Blake. The other trucks were forced to stop behind the jackknifed semi.

Vert roared and jumped in front of the first truck. Saphira did the same but behind the procession. She was joined by Velvet, who held Eld Moi in one hand and a copy of Aaron's V4 in the other. Those hiding behind the trees stepped out and aimed their weapons. Bullhead engines spun up in the trees. Soon after, wind blew down from directly above as Halcyon piloted the transport over the semis and hovered over the ocean.

Neptune stepped in front of the rest of the line. "Members of the White Fang, step out of your vehicles with your hands up. You are surrounded. There is no way-"

An ice wall formed in front of the Huntsmen on the ground. Less than a second later, gunfire poured out of the trailer of the second truck, and the cabs of all three. Blake looked to her left. Weiss had Myrtenaster stabbed in the asphalt. "Thanks for the save," Blake said.

"Most people are in the second trailer," Weiss pointed at said location through the ice. "There's very few in the first, and only one in the last. Know of any tactics like this?"

"Maybe. It's similar to something Adam did before. Yang, Sun, Weiss, center trailer. Neptune, take the rear. I'll go up front."

"Sure you don't need backup?" Sun asked.

"If I'm right, those in front won't be the most experienced in combat." Blake walked toward the front of the ice wall and pulled her katana from its sheath. At the moment, the gunfire from the second trailer appeared to be sporadic. She wouldn't be walking into a kill zone. "Let's do this."

Blake jumped around the ice wall and sprinted for the front truck. The gunners in the cab redirected their fire, but Blake managed to avoid the rookie aim. She didn't even need to use her shadow clones as she hopped, skipped, and dodged out of the way of the bullets. She raised her pistol and shot the lock on the door of the cab. As expected, the door swung open.

The Huntress jumped onto the side of the truck and pulled the driver of the truck out. He didn't have time to scream before he hit the ground. The other Faunus in the cab leveled her rifle at Blake. The Huntress pounced on the criminal, knocking her against and through the other door. Blake landed on top of the woman, and she heard the breath leave her target's lungs.

"Vert, look after these two." Blake stood up and jogged to the back of the trailer. She double checked the ammo in Gambol Shroud. Ice Dust, just like she wanted. The Huntress rounded the back of the truck and aimed her weapon at the cab of the second truck. Only Yang was in there, and it looked like she was somehow binding one of the criminals' hands. There were definitely times when magic came in handy.

Blake faced the trailer of her truck. She pulled the lock off one of the doors, then yanked the door itself open while ducking. A few bullets flew over her head, but not nearly as many as the second trailer. She heard Ember Celica fire once, and someone screamed inside her trailer, and the amount of gunfire decreased by about half. Blake readied her weapon then stood up. She took aim at the only other gunman and fired one shot. The rifle in the dog Faunus' hands froze solid, along with most of his arms.

"Nobody move!" Blake jumped into the trailer. Five people stood in the trailer, not counting the one Yang laid out. "Anybody tries anything, you get frozen to the ground." All criminals held their hands above their heads. It looked like Blake was right. All these people were noncombatants the White Fang employed. "Now that we understand each other, all of you outside. Move to the other side of the road and do what the green dragon tells you to do. If you do that, no one else needs to be hurt today."

One by one, the Faunus filed past Blake and left the trailer. Vert growled outside, and considering there wasn't anything else, the prisoners were cooperating. Once the last criminal was out of the trailer, Blake looked around the space. There were a few laptops lying around, with even more paper and binders and a pair of filing cabinets near the front of the trailer.

Blake took a cursory glance at some of the papers lying around. One with the words "Necessary Sacrifice" at the top caught her eye. That was something Ilia used to say. She must have had a bigger part in the White Fang than Blake previously thought. The Huntress picked up that piece of paper and read it over.

It became less and less appealing as Blake continued. It looked like this was Ilia's plan, and it was a diversion. If the trucks made it to their destination, it would be better than expected. If not, this part of the mission would be complete if the White Fang kept the riders away from…

Blake's eyes bulged out of her head. She looked at the estimated time for the real attack to be complete, then checked the time on her Scroll. It looked like they had twenty minutes to make it to the outskirts of Windpath.

She jumped out of the trailer and ran to the back of the next one in line. "Yang! Weiss! We got to go!"

Yang dropped from the cab and Weiss walked around from the back of the trailer. "What's going on?" Weiss asked.

"They're going after Vernal."

Weiss and Yang exchanged a look, then Yang waved at the Bullhead. "Pilot, get down here," she said into the mic on her jacket. "We need to get to Windpath yesterday."

"Coming in hot." The Bullhead curved around and lined up at the cliff edge. Blake, Weiss, and Yang jumped in.

Neptune ran around the rear trailer and to the side of the Bullhead. "What's going on?"

The Bullhead pulled away from the cliff. Weiss leaned out the side. "I'll tell you later. But we have to go right now."

"Get in!" Halcyon ordered. "We need to move now." The Bullhead banked and turned north. No dragons followed. At first, Blake wondered why Saphira wasn't coming, then she saw that the dragon didn't have any of her armor on. She wouldn't be able to keep up. But she _was_ glaring at the Bullhead. Judging by the wince on Weiss' face, Saphira wasn't happy.

Blake shook her head, walked into the cockpit, and sat in the pilot's seat. "That was some nice flying, Halcyon. Think you can make it to Vernal's ranch?"

"I have the map in here somewhere…" Halcyon paused. "Still working on the doing multiple things at once thing, but I got it."

"Good. I'll try to get a message to Lionheart." Blake started searching for Professor Lionheart's number on the Bullhead's radio.

"He's in a meeting Blake," Weiss called from the crew compartment.

Yang groaned as she fell into the copilot's seat. "Is it just me, or has he been in a meeting or away from the Kingdom every single time we've been here."

"Sun and I met with him briefly during the layover between the ship from Menagerie and the flight to Vale." Blake shrugged. "He was nice, but distracted." She found Lionheart's number and hit the call button. It rang several times but went to voicemail. Blake smacked the console in front of her. "Does anyone have Vernal's number?"

"On it." Yang pulled out her Scroll and hit a few buttons on the screen. Then she held between the seats. It rang five times but also went to voicemail. "Damnit. Is there anyone else we can trust at Haven?"

"Can we just call the police?" Blake asked.

"Not a chance." Yang shook her head. "If she wants to keep her powers a secret, she can't use them in front of people. I don't know what her Semblance is, but I do know for certain she can't pass off what she can do as our kind of magic. I'm surprised Ruby's been able to keep her charade up as long as she has."

"Would Ruby or Ozpin know who to call?" Halcyon asked.

"Probably." Blake took out her own Scroll. "I've got Ozpin. Yang, take your sister."

"I thought she was all of our sister now." Yang still brought her Scroll to her ear.

Blake dialed Ozpin's number then mirrored her partner. This time it only rang twice before it was picked up. _"Headmaster Ozpin."_

"Oz, it's Blake. The White Fang is going after Vernal."

A chair creaked on the other side. _"Are you sure?"_

"Positive. We have just over fifteen minutes to get there, but we're more than that away. We can't get in touch with Lionheart or Vernal. Do we have any friends in Mistral?"

There was a long pause on the other side. That wasn't a good sign. _"No one that is close. It is up to you."_

Blake shook her head. "Tell me something I don't know."

" _Vernal may have the power of a Maiden, and she is a fighter, but she fails to take the whole battlefield into account when in a fight. She will be overwhelmed if outnumbered and surrounded."_

"Which the White Fang is known to do. Thanks for the tip. Just hope we get there in time." Blake hung up and returned her Scroll to her pocket. She looked over at her partner.

Yang held her Scroll away from her head and she winced. "Yeah. I know. Halcyon, any way you can speed up?"

"Military Bullheads aren't built for speed," Halcyon growled, signified by the engines grinding for a second. "I'm going as fast as I can, which even with Ruby's modifications, won't be fast enough."

"You hear that, Ruby?" Yang paused. "Yeah, I know. I'll let you know what's going on as soon as I can." She ended her own call and sighed. "Ruby is _very_ not happy, in more ways than one. Sounds like the only thing going right in Bullworth is the relay's back up. She wasn't happy that I interrupted in the first place. Now, she's about two degrees away from getting her poker face."

"Saphira had a few words for me too." Weiss rubbed the back of her head. "Could you keep me safe so Saphira doesn't kidnap me or keep me pinned under her paws?"

"Still overprotective?" Blake asked.

"Yeah. But I'm guessing she's like both of your dads." Weiss looked between Blake and Yang. "She's like that because she loves me and doesn't want anything bad to happen to me. I'll take that kind of protection over my father's any day."

"Hopefully we can give something similar to Vernal." Blake looked at the map on the center console. They were still quite the distance away. "I think this is when Ruby would tell us to focus up."

"But remember her little speech before Urû'baen?" Halcyon asked.

Blake shook her head. "Yeah, that's Ruby. We could really use her help right about now."

As Blake hoped, the rest of the flight continued in silence. Nothing rose to meet them, but no calls from Vernal or Lionheart came either. The time also ticked by, and it passed the time listed on the sheet back in the trailer. She should have taken it and dealt with whoever was investigating later… She suddenly wished she had a photographic memory. The sheet may have said Spring Maiden on it at some point, and that could put so many more people in danger.

Smoke rose over the trees directly ahead. Blake stiffened and pulled up a map. By the look of it, the smoke came directly from where they were going. "We're too late."

"I'm not feeling any minds up ahead," Yang said. "Not even any animals."

"Those new Grimm could be there." Weiss drew Myrtenaster. "I'm not letting them get the drop on me."

Yang cocked her gauntlets. A small flame poked out of the right one. "If there are any, we'll get the drop on them. Literally."

"Then let's get to it." Blake stood up and walked into the crew compartment. She joined Weiss standing by the open door, and Yang joined a second later. The Bullhead soared over a clearing, but it was covered in smoke and fire. A once large house lay in ruins, with half of it blown into the yard. An Air Sailor lay in pieces on the far side of the ranch.

"Oh my god…" Weiss breathed.

"You sure there's no life down there, Yang?" Blake asked.

"I'm sure," Yang growled. "It looks like Vernal put up one hell of a fight."

"Hopefully she made it out." Blake jumped out of the Bullhead and dropped to the ground. She drew Gambol Shroud but didn't ready her weapon. There weren't any Grimm around yet, but they could come. She jogged over to the downed airship first. There were a few bodies in White Fang uniforms outside of it. Blake didn't bother checking for pulses. She trusted Yang on this.

The inside showed more of the same. Several dead bodies were scattered inside, some with burn marks, some with cuts across vital places, some with large pieces of metal inside them. At least there was no doubt that the White Fang was behind this.

"Blake!" Weiss called. "Get out here!"

"On my way!" Blake burst out of the Air Sailor with her weapon drawn, but let her arms drop when she found her teammates. Yang and Weiss stood near the house, the former running her hands through her hair. The Faunus jogged up to them and gasped at what she saw.

Vernal had a massive stab wound right to the heart. Her head lolled to the side with her eyes still open.

"Damnit." Blake took out her Scroll again and redialed Ozpin. She didn't wait for him to say anything before speaking herself. "Vernal's dead. The White Fang likely has the new Spring Maiden with them."

* * *

Salem tapped her fingers on the table as she waited for her field operative to report in. She had been waiting for an hour, which was unlike Ilia. She always reported in when expected before. What had changed?

The Seer in front of Salem twitched and its surface swirled. Salem straightened as the image if Ilia formed. A new burn on the entire right side of the Faunus' face caught her eye. "You have been injured."

Ilia grunted. "That'll happen when you take a volcano to the face." She brought up an ice pack and held it in front of her burnt skin. "The Air Sailor crashed too. But I'll live. It'll take a lot more than that to kill me."

"The fact you are alive says enough. Your mission was successful."

"It was." Ilia raised a hand and her eyes glowed red. Wind kicked up around her, making the Seer on her side wobble. "But right now, this is all I can do." Her eyes returned to their normal state and the wind died. "I'm not exactly sure how to pry information out of Vernal right now, but I'll do it."

"Excellent. For now, lay low. Do not draw attention to yourself. Train yourself and get as much information from your predecessor as possible. When the time is right, I will send Watts to pick you up."

"Got it." Ilia took the ice pack off her face. "But what do we do about Adam?"

Salem raised an eyebrow. "You were the one who was so adamant about freeing him."

"Maybe, but he's lost sight of the big picture. I thought he was the way forward years ago, but after taking command for just as long.. he's blind. He's too focused on revenge on Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long. While that's good for what you want done, it's not good for us. I'm lucky I've gotten my own following in the White Fang, or some of the operations you've wanted done wouldn't make it off the drawing board."

"Is he a problem you want eliminated?"

"He wants to kill two heroes of the Faunus out of spite. I can't allow that, even if one of them is a human."

Salem rubbed two fingers on her chin, then smiled. Watts reported in earlier that his newest project was a success. Considering one of Ruby Rose' weapons, it could prove more damaging than a death. "I think I have a way to mitigate both of our problems…"

* * *

 **Not much to say about this, but I do have something to say about my upload schedule. Depending on the times of my internship, uploads may have to be pushed back until Wednesday mornings. You'll still get one every week, just don't panic if you don't see this in your inbox next Tuesday.  
**


	25. The Council

**Last Thursday, I uploaded a collab omake on Spacebattles on my thread 'A Rose's Scales.' Basically DovaRuby meets Rider Ruby. Unfortunately, it needs to stay as an exclusive over there... for now at least.**

 **Anyway, back to this.**

* * *

"You sure you don't want me there?" Aaron asked as Ruby brushed her hair.

Ruby sighed. "I do, but you know less about Remnant's politics than I do." She set her brush down and turned around. "That, and you and Coco may need to work damage control sooner rather than later. I don't think I'm going to make a lot of friends with some of the things I have to say."

"I can think of quite a few Eldunarí who aren't happy with you." Aaron paused. "And to be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of one of the things either, but I can see why you think it's necessary."

"Yeah. I think I'm going to shock the world with that one." Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "It's not every day people ask for that kind of thing." She paused and smiled at Aaron. "Thanks for supporting me in this."

"It's going to help the Riders. I'd do anything to help with that." Aaron returned the smile. "I'll try to have something ready for you here in case the politicians overwhelm you."

"Ozpin is on the council. As much as we're not getting along right now he'll hopefully help." Ruby walked toward Aaron and the couple exchanged a quick kiss.

She tried to pull away, but Aaron grabbed her arm. "I haven't said it today," he whispered. "Do you still want me to?"

Ruby stiffened and her head drifted away. Aaron asked the same thing every day after the _Saint Nick,_ and Ruby always took a long time to answer. "Do it." That was her answer every time too.

Aaron hugged Ruby and positioned his head so his mouth was right by her ear. He started to whisper his girlfriend's True Name directly into her ear. Ruby shivered and her Aura flared red, and that stuck around for a few seconds after Aaron stopped speaking.

They stayed like that for a few seconds before Ruby pulled away. "Well, at least someone I trust can help me."

"Hopefully it never comes to that."

"Wish me luck." Ruby turned around and walked out of her room.

Aaron followed her through the house. "I thought you didn't believe in luck?"

"Eh. When it comes to politics…" Ruby held her hands out palms up. "It's certainly not my skill that allows me to get stuff done."

"You'll do fine. You always do."

"I'll crash and burn eventually. It better not be today." Ruby pulled open the front door but stopped before walking outside. "Oh. Weiss said the brightsteel should be here today. It sounds like they're going to drop it off. Could you take whatever it comes into the shed?"

"Of course." Aaron nodded. "Anywhere in particular?"

"Not on Bumblebee. We don't need Yang and Halcyon angry at us." Ruby stepped outside. "See you later!" She walked to her dragon's side and jumped up. Cerise jumped out of the yard and flew to the mainland.

Aaron closed the front door and turned around. He froze when he saw Yang smirking at him from Taiyang's recliner. "Still getting cozy around my sister?"

"Yang," Aaron sighed, "that was just two professionals talking about a council meeting."

"The words, maybe." Yang's smirk grew. "The looks you gave each other told a different story."

Aaron shook his head as he turned on the projector. "How long are you going to be like this?"

"Until you two mutually agree to end it or make it permanent." Yang brought her hands behind her head. "Knowing you two, neither is going to happen for a long time."

"Well," Aaron paused, "most human marriages in Alagaësia were arranged. Few were based on love, but I believe that those couples only courted each other for a few months."

Yang's smirk disappeared and she blinked. "Usually guys ask their girlfriend's dad for their girlfriend's hands, not their girlfriend's sister."

"That's not what this is." Aaron fervently shook his head. "I'm just saying I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Oh. In that case," Yang's smirk returned, "you aren't so different from any other guy on Remnant. None of them know what they're doing at any point."

A door opened upstairs. A few footsteps later, Viki appeared at the top of the stairs. "Yang? Could you help me with something?"

"Sure." Yang left her chair and walked up the stairs. "Computer trouble?"

"Yeah." Viki led the way down the hall and out of sight.

Aaron looked at the clock on the wall. The council meeting didn't start for another half hour. So he turned the projector to the news channel Ruby said the meeting should be on. At the moment, it was discussing some of the latest decisions and scandals of the council. When the scandals were discussed, Aaron shook his head. How could some people be so thick-headed, and how did anyone find out about these in the first place? The latter was more disturbing in some cases.

Right at the top of the hour, the projection changed to a live look inside the council chambers. Ruby sat on a bench in front of four raised desks where the council members themselves were. The head councilman brought the meeting to order in what Aaron had to describe as something that he would expect out of a meeting of Alagaësian Lords, not Remmartian politics.

After that was done, Ozpin leaned forward on his desk. _"Thank you for joining us, Miss Rose,"_ he said. _"I know your organization does not normally participate in politics."_

" _Only when we are directly impacted by the decisions made by the councils, which is the case for both matters today."_

" _Indeed, they do,"_ General Quartz Hanson said. _"I can assure you, Miss Rose, that the plans for a dragon prison were not meant to intimidate anyone in your organization. We all know what your dragons have done for the people of Vale, and Remnant as a whole. The facility itself is a contingency plan. With you recruiting more Riders and letting wild and thus feral dragons roam our lands, we need a place to hold them in the event they turn rogue."_

" _There are those among us, and those across the Kingdom, who see other motives for this facility,"_ another council member said. Up until this point, Aaron hadn't bothered to know the woman's name. He wasn't sure if it was needed yet either. _"This could be seen as Vale's military overstepping its bounds to restrict a legal Huntsman organization. It has happened before. Once one gets too powerful, at least one Kingdom seeks to control it or dismantle it. Most times in history that this has happened, it was established after the fact that there was no reason to be worried. The facility proposed would present a constant threat to your organization, and I do not believe our new allies in Alagaësia would be thrilled if this facility was built."_

" _I understand your concern,"_ Ruby nodded at the councilwoman. _"I have studied the history of these events since I first heard about the leak. I've heard people's arguments both for and against it. I've studied the plans themselves, and spoken to all current Riders on Remnant about the measures. We argued at length about the existance of such a place existing at all, but we all agreed on one thing. If the prison was built with its current design, it would only hold dragons and Riders who want to cooperate."_

There were murmurs in the council chamber, but Aaron just nodded at the projector. The building was flimsy, built to hold something as strong as a Deathstalker, maybe a Goliath with some reinforcement. But the only dragons the prison had a hope of holding were those under a year old. If all went well in the future, those dragons wouldn't leave mature dragons' and Riders' sight.

" _I am not boasting either,"_ Ruby continued. _"A dragon the size of Cerise would have no problem using her strength to force her way out. Her claws could tear right through that. Not to mention her fire. That would be without unlocked Aura. With Aura, the place might as well be made of plastic. Add to that the fact that most dragons have some level of claustrophobia, they would try to escape fearing for their lives._

" _The section for Riders is even worse. The normal Aura canceling fields and bracelets would do nothing to stop our magic. Any Rider could break out whenever they wanted to, contact their dragon in the other cell, or with people on the outside. As it stands, if this facility was built, without any technical or magical reinforcement, the Kingdom of Vale would be wasting millions of Lien on what equates to an inconvenience at worst, and a timeout facility at best."_

Most council members exchanged looks, but it looked like Ozpin smirked. Hanson returned his attention to Ruby. _"And what would you have the Kingdoms do in case any dragons or Riders decide to attack civilians?"_ Aaron grimaced. This part he and Ruby had a lengthy discussion turned argument over. Ruby won.

" _We are willing to work with the Kingdoms to find a technological solution to keep a dragon or Rider contained. Until we get enough Riders, which could take a century until we get to the point I'm talking about, we won't be able to respond to any major problem with a dragon or Rider quickly. Until that point, the Kingdoms may need to hold either of them for some length of time. We do have ways to restrain Riders and dragons ourselves, and we would like to see to their containment ourselves."_

Aaron straightened in his chair. He hadn't heard that last bit. That he was completely fine with, but he could see why all council members but Ozpin grimaced. The head councilman leaned forward. _"Crimes committed in this Kingdom are punished in this Kingdom."_

" _How do you plan on restraining an angry, flying, twenty-ton, fire-breathing lizard without killing it, and how do you plan on keeping it restrained while it is fighting like a cornered animal trying to break out of whatever you're keeping them in?"_

"Go, Ruby," Aaron whispered.

" _That brings us to our next topic,"_ the head councilman growled. _"You and your Riders have immense strength, so much more than any other individual Huntsman. How do we know you aren't taking advantage of the civilian population of all Kingdom's and their militaries?"_

Now _this_ would be a problem. That question popped up around Aaron's second year as a Rider but disappeared quickly. He doubted that it would just go away here. From what Ruby's said, the Kingdoms have had similar discussions about those with telepathic Semblances in the past. No major restrictions went through, but they got closer to being passed with each time through a council.

Before anyone in the council said anything important, the doorbell rang. It looked like the brightsteel was in. Aaron stood up and walked to the door. He opened it and sure enough, a large brown box about half of Aaron's height lay on top of the doormat. A postman walked away from the house with a dolly trailing behind him. "Thank you!" Aaron waved at the man. The postman raised his free hand, then kept walking.

Aaron returned his attention to the box in front of him. He bent down to pick it up. As soon as he got his fingers underneath it, he wished Nalia was back from training Amor and Orchid. He still hadn't gotten all of his strength back from being in a coma. Yang could probably do this no problem, but Ruby asked him, not Yang. Also, Yang was helping Viki with something… but that was a while ago. Viki probably wrangled Yang into a game.

The Rider shook his head and stood up, taking the box with him. Aaron waddled toward the shed across the yard. He managed to hook fingers around the door handle and pulled it open. He set the box down on Ruby's workbench, making everything else on it jump. Aaron wiped a hand across his head and walked back to the house. Hopefully that would be enough for several Riders' swords.

Aaron stepped back inside and stared at the projection. He froze mid-step. The camera focused on Ruby and there was none of the usual light in her eyes. Before she had a polite diplomatic smile, even when the council members reacted to her proposal to contain rogue Riders. Now, she wasn't smiling, with not even a hint of curved lips. Nothing was curved down in anger either. She had her poker face on.

The problem was Ruby Rose only had a poker face when she was mad enough to call in a level two Grimm attack all by herself and she didn't want other people to know. Aaron had only seen this twice, once when an Atlas officer suggested using a large group of Faunus as bait, once when he went off plan on a mission and allowed a small horde of Grimm into the village they were defending. Aaron would much rather face Ruby when she's screaming in his face over this calm façade.

A door opened upstairs, then Yang and Viki appeared at the top of the stairs. "Aaron, we're heading ou… something wrong Aaron?" Yang asked.

"Possibly." Aaron gestured at the projection. "That face look familiar?"

Yang looked at the projection and winced. "Oooooooh. How'd that happen?"

"I don't know. I was taking her brightsteel to the shed. She was fine before that."

"What's wrong?" Viki looked between Aaron and Yang.

"You can't tell," Yang started, "but Ruby's furious. She could look at Grimm right now and they'd run away."

"It's not pleasant to be on the receiving end of that." Aaron shook his head.

"You want to come with us? Give Ruby some time to cool off?"

"I can't. I said I'd be here in case anything went wrong there."

Yang's wince intensified. "Aaron," she put a hand on Aaron's shoulder, "may God have mercy on your soul."

"For once, I have to agree. Just don't take too long to get back."

"Actually," Yang glanced at Viki, "we've planned a few things after her haircut too. It's probably going to be you and Ruby for a bit."

"Unless Nalia gets back from training the other two early." Aaron shook his head. "This won't be easy."

"Probably not." Yang grabbed Viki's hand and pulled her toward the front door. "And we're leaving before she can get back." She pulled open the door but stopped before stepping outside. She faced smirked Aaron. "Just because the two of you are going to be here alone does not give you the right to get freaky with my little sister." Her smirk gained a wince.

Aaron stared at Yang. "What do you mean by that?"

Yang's smirk disappeared and her jaw dropped. "Oh my gosh. You don't even know that.." The edges of her lips curved upward. "Yep. You're good. Let the countdown begin." She pulled Viki out the door without saying another word.

Aaron shook his head then faced the projection. At the moment, it showed Ozpin with his mouth closed staring at the other councilmen, who were arguing amongst themselves. He turned his gaze to Ruby and nodded at her. Ruby returned the gesture but did nothing else. "What does she do to relax?" Aaron asked himself. He had a few ideas, but would it be enough?

A bark came from Aaron's feet. He looked down at the one dog in the house. "Can you help at all Zwei?" Zwei looked at the projection. His ears drooped and he ran away. "Great. Zwei's scared of Ruby. This really _is_ a problem."

He shook his head and turned up the volume on the projector. Aaron then walked into the kitchen and searched for where the cookbooks were kept. He was out of his element with this. Most of the cooking he knew how to do involved things he or Nalia recently killed, microwaving soup, or mac and cheese. Ruby's favorite things were none of those. But Aaron was going to make his best attempt at them.

As he worked, Aaron tried to listen to what was going on at the council meeting. Things were not improving. The council members, minus Ozpin, were arguing and accusing each other, Ruby, and the Riders in general of various things. How was name calling and finger pointing politics? How'd that get anything done? At one point, Ruby asked the council to get back on track. She, Ozpin, and the general had about two minutes of polite conversation before the other two ruined it again. Aaron shook his head. There were times when he wondered why Remnant switched away from monarchies to councils. If anyone in the Alagaësian delegation was watching this, they were probably wondering the same thing.

After a while, Aaron heard the council meeting come to a close. That meant he had about ten minutes to make final preparations. The oven was still warming up, so he left the two sheets of cookie dough sitting on the kitchen table. He walked into the living room and turned off the projector. It was just showing the aftermath of the meeting anyway. He closed the blinds on all the windows in the room. The less likely that people see Ruby's inevitable breakdown, the better. Aaron also searched the rest of the house for anything that could make Ruby happier in a short time. He found a candle that smelled like strawberries in one of the cabinets and lit it. Maybe that would do it. He set it on the coffee table in front of the projector.

Aaron walked back into the kitchen and he felt the floor shake beneath him. Considering there was only one shake, it was Cerise. The Rider put the cookie sheets into the oven and looked around the kitchen. He didn't leave anything out that would give away what he did. If all went well, hopefully Ruby wouldn't tear his head off.

The front door opened and Aaron stuck his head outside the kitchen. Ruby stood in the doorway with that same blank expression as before. She looked at Aaron, then back into nothing. The door swung shut behind her. Both of her hands whipped up and grabbed her hair. She leaned her head back and slouched her body. "Ugh! I HATE politics!" She walked over to the couch and flopped over the armrest. A muffled scream came from that direction.

This… was actually preferable over the alternative. Aaron cautiously approached the couch and looked over the side. His girlfriend was facedown in one of the pillows with her arms pulling at it as well. Her scream still filtered through the pillow. "Ruby? You feeling okay?"

Ruby raised her head and pulled the pillow away. "How can anyone be like that? We've done _nothing_ since Cerise hatched to hurt the people here. Now people think we're spying on them? Where did this come from? What court case? And Councilman Davies was the one to bring it up! Um, I'm sorry, weren't you defending the KSA five years ago?" She looked up at Aaron with rage in her eyes. She looked away just as fast and took a deep breath. "Sorry, Aaron. I know none of this was your fault, but I'm kind of not happy with the council at the moment. Oz was the only sensible one there. Everyone else. How could they…" She pulled the pillow back to her face and screamed again, though this time wasn't as strong as before.

Aaron walked around the couch and sat down beside Ruby. He pat her back, and thankfully that didn't get any negative reaction. "Just… let it out."

Ruby lifted her head off the pillow and turned it sideways. "How much did you watch?"

"I saw everything up to one of them accusing us of taking advantage of just about everybody. Then the brightsteel arrived and I missed the rest."

"So you just watched the productive parts. Great." Ruby rolled her eyes. "Everything went downhill when Davies said that telepathic abilities shouldn't be enough for probable cause, so we wouldn't be able to arrest anyone we find with our minds. Then Ellison just _had_ to up the ante and suggest that the policy be retroactive."

Aaron straightened up. "You're kidding."

"I wish. If that somehow passes, all the Nevermores I tracked down in the city go free, and so many more that the whole team has tracked down get out too. Is Ozpin the only one there with a brain? If any of the rest of them do, that part will _not_ become law. We're not the only telepaths in the Kingdom either. How many of their arrests will disappear? Oh, and General, after what you allowed to happen in Bullworth, you don't get to lecture me or _anyone_ on common sense.

"Ozpin actually proposed something I'd be fine with. He said if we stop any sort of violent crime, we're good. Any others we'd need a warrant. That's what we do anyway. We can't pick out nonviolent stuff anyway. It just blends into everything. But noooo. Davies said no exceptions."

Ruby went on to complain at what sounded like everything that was said at the meeting. She kicked her legs behind Aaron and flailed her arms around. She spoke faster and louder as time went on. But the feeling of her emotions said that she was calming down. Maybe she needed this. She buried her face in the pillow one more time. She curled her legs back, clenched her hands and arms around the pillow, and screamed her loudest yet.

After that, her legs lowered back to the couch and her whole body relaxed. It looked and sounded like her breathing slowed down as well, though it was still had and heacy. Still, Ruby didn't raise her head. Aaron rubbed a small circle on Ruby's back. "Feeling better, Ru?"

Ruby turned her head while still on the pillow. "Much… I needed that. I'm still not happy, but I'm a lot better. Sorry if I scared you."

"All is forgiven. You didn't hurt yourself, or anyone else." A timer dinged in the kitchen. "And that would be the oven." Aaron stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

"Oven?" Ruby asked.

"I promised I'd have something ready for you if something went wrong at the meeting." Aaron grabbed an oven mitt from the counter and opened the oven. "I'd say that qualifies." He pulled out the cookie sheets and set them on the stovetop. The cookies themselves didn't look too bad. They certainly weren't all black.

"Wait… strawberries and cookies?" Ruby poked her head into the kitchen.

"Well, the strawberry smell is from the candle out there." Aaron gestured toward the living room. "But I'm sure there's some in the fridge."

Ruby looked back into the living room and sniffed. "Oh. I didn't notice that before." She looked back at Aaron and a small smile graced her face. "You really were trying to make my day."

Aaron shrugged. "I'm trying. The day's not over yet." He paused. "Well, Yang is out with Viki for what sounds like the afternoon and your dad's at Signal for a while. We have the house to ourselves for a while. So…"

"We get the big projector." Ruby's smile widened. "Scrollflix and Chill?"

"If that's what you want."

"I'm going to change out of this." Ruby gestured at her formal attire. "If I'm not back down here by the time you're ready, how about something fluffy instead of violent? I need some time with more pleasant thoughts." She disappeared from the kitchen. From the sound of her steps, she jogged up the stairs.

Aaron used a spatula to move half the cookies onto a large plate, the other half to a cookie rack. He grabbed a carton of strawberries from the fridge and the plate and walked out to the living room. He set them on the coffee table and looked upstairs. It didn't sound like Ruby was out of her room yet. He sat down and turned on the projector. Might as well get Scrollflix ready.

As soon as he got the menu up, Aaron heard a door open and close… Then another door opened and took a while for it to close. Ruby appeared at the top of the stairs in her pajamas… and one of Aaron's jackets slung over her shoulder. She also had her Scroll with her. "Not planning on going anywhere else today?"

"Not a chance." Ruby shook her head as she slid her arms through the jacket sleeves. "I've had enough of people today." She sat on the couch beside Aaron and reached for the remote. "You have something in mind?"

"This was your idea." Aaron handed the remote over.

"Thank you." Ruby took the remote and navigated to the Hisney section. "Haven't seen Wrangled in a while."

"You know, if Yang ever wanted to get into acting…" Aaron started.

"…They wouldn't need to give her hair extensions." Ruby giggled as she hit the play button. She set the remote to the side and leaned against her boyfriend. Aaron freed his right arm and laid it across Ruby's shoulders, making her wiggle in closer.

Ruby occasionally reached for cookies and strawberries throughout the movie. But about twenty minutes in, the whole plate went with the cookie she grabbed. "Uh, did you move these directly from the tray to the plate?"

"Yeah… Is that a problem?"

"Kinda. They're sticking to the plate."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't know."

"Don't worry about it." Ruby kissed Aaron on the cheek. "They'll all still be gone by the end of the movie." Her Scroll buzzed and she jumped. "Oh. Sorry. I'm expecting something from Rhunön." She picked it off the coffee table and checked a few screens. "Looks like the SDC shipment we were expecting came in." She clenched a fist and pumped it. "My projects can finally progress!"

"When are you going to let me in on what you're building?"

"When there's something substantial to show. Right now, it's all just a few pieces of curved metal." Ruby looked at Aaron's lap, then the empty space on the couch next to her. She shrugged, then pulled her legs up to the empty space and laid her head and shoulders across her boyfriend's lap.

Aaron stopped himself from jumping. "Comfortable?"

"Very." Ruby nuzzled in closer and turned her head to face the projector. At the same time, Zwei walked into the room and barked. He trotted over to the couch, jumped up, and settled down on Ruby's stomach. "Hey, Zwei." Ruby idly pet her dog's back.

Aaron had a problem. He couldn't move without disturbing Ruby, and she couldn't move without disturbing Zwei. From the look of it, Ruby couldn't reach her snacks either. Aaron thought of something that might make the situation better for at least one of them. He focused on the food holders on the coffee table. "Adur." Both the strawberry carton and cookie plate floated off the table.

Ruby groaned and stretched her arms out. "Aaaaron. Those are mine…"

"I know." Aaron set both things to the end table to his left and picked up one of the strawberries. "I just thought it would be easier for you this way." He held the strawberry over his girlfriend's head.

Ruby's mouth formed an O, then a smile. "Yep! This works." She opened her mouth and Aaron started feeding her. She hummed happily and smiled up at her boyfriend. "Aaron," she reached an arm up and cupped one of his cheeks, "thank you."

Aaron returned both gestures. "Anytime." Ruby pulled her hand back and snuggled in closer, not even looking at the projector. Aaron rubbed his girlfriend's head, neck, and shoulder. Now _this_ felt right.

* * *

 **Is this how relationships work? I don't know. I'm pulling from TV and other things. Also, this chapter shows why I don't deal with politics much...  
**


	26. Old Wounds

**Well, heat knocked out the power yesterday, severe thunderstorm rolled through my area last night and scared the living crap out of me... I'd say I want a dragon nearby, but their wings vs the wind and hail we had... nope. I don't want them to be hurt for me.  
**

* * *

Ruby looked over her shoulder as she walked down the now familiar dark alley. No one on the sidewalk looked her way. Good. She didn't need anyone blowing her secret. The presents' recipients would undoubtedly search this place out and blow the secret sky high.

The alley opened into a wider area and the old repair facility loomed in front of Ruby. She walked up to the ID scanner and held her Scroll up to it. The door buzzed and Ruby pushed it open. The frame of Project Wyvern was really coming together. Most of it was welded or bolted into place and just missing its paint. The guts were another matter. There was barely anything inside the custom molded metal. No one wanted to use the same systems as a Bullhead, for multiple reasons. It wouldn't work for a fixed-wing craft, especially one like this.

"Rhunön, I'm back." Ruby walked around the shell of Wyvern and stopped. Yaela stood next to Rhunön. If that wasn't odd enough on its own, Yaela wore jeans and an orange Vale Krakens T-shirt. It looked like she had taken pretty well to Remnant. Both elves turned around and faced the Rider. "Oh. This is a surprise."

"My apologies, Shadeslayer," Rhunön started, "but we have to admit that we weren't making progress with the wiring and programming. I called in Yaela to help with this."

Yaela grabbed her right arm with her left. "Now that I see this, I don't know what help I can be. I've only just started with programming."

Ruby had to agree with Yaela. She had more experience than the elf just from working on her bionics over the years. "What have you been working on?" the Rider asked.

"I've actually just finished one. The driver for Lord Däthedr allowed me to work on one of his vehicles. I've seen a lot of articles on the CCT about self-driving cars, and I decided to try it out myself."

That… was unexpected. "Like an RC toy car, or a full-sized, carry people kind of car?

"Full-sized. It looked like so many people were trying to make them work, but few were successful."

Ruby blinked, not believing what she was hearing. "And… did it work?"

"Well, it hasn't crashed yet."

"With or without one of those radar things on top?" Ruby hooked a hand at a ninety-degree angle and made a circular motion with her index finger.

"No, just using cameras onboard, ones that were already there and new ones I installed, and a CCT connection. Why all these questions?"

Ruby looked past Yaela to the other elf. Rhunön shrugged. "I would not have asked her here if I did not believe she could help."

"Got it." Ruby refocused on Yaela. "You must have the memory of a dragon and think as quick as a computer. It's taken some of the largest companies on Remnant years to get this far with those spinny radar things, the SDC included. If what you just said is true, you made yourself equal to them in a few months."

Yaela blinked. "Oh. Well, that was not my intention. I was just testing myself."

"I'd say you're doing pretty good." Ruby took out her Scroll and searched for the address for the garage/hangar rented for the Riders' Bullhead. "Our Bullhead is here." She showed the address to Yaela. "I'll put you into the system from here. If you want, if it doesn't interfere with your observations, and if you can keep a secret, you're on the project."

"Thank you, Ruby." Yaela smiled then returned to the computer on the workbench behind her. "I will finish what I'm doing here, then I believe I will go there."

Ruby nodded, then walked to where she kept project Drake. On the way, she thought about how useful a computer programmer could be for the Riders on Remnant. Yaela could make a self-driving car, she had to do wonders with other stuff, right? Ruby shook her head. The Riders weren't just made up of dragons and Riders anymore. She wondered what Umaroth thought about that. She hadn't spoken to him for a while. Hopefully he wouldn't mind, and at the same time, hopefully not many more non-Riders would be affiliated. That caused a whole lot of problems and paperwork… She still hadn't filled out what she needed for the new Riders in Alagaësia. That needed to change sooner rather than later.

Her Scroll rang just before she entered her other workshop. Ruby checked the caller ID and blinked. Aqua Calrow? Was Violet calling from home? The Rider answered the call and brought her Scroll to her ear. "Rider Ruby Rose. How can I help you?"

" _I am sorry to bother you, Ruby,"_ Aqua started, _"but I'm worried about Violet."_

Ruby turned away from the entrance to her separate workshop. "What's going on?"

" _I might be overthinking this, but Violet always calls at seven o'clock at night, give or take fifteen minutes. Now it's almost eight and she's not answering her Scroll. I called Signal and the woman I talked to said she attended all her classes."_

 _Cerise,_ Ruby called, _did Aaron or Nalia have anything planned for those two?_

 _Not that I know of._ Cerise paused. _I just asked Nalia. She said that nothing was planned._

" _I know I'm probably being overprotective,"_ Aqua continued, _"but after what happened all those years ago… I can't help but worry."_

"I don't blame you. Those kinds of thoughts still haunt me." Ruby faced north and stretched her mind out as far is it would go in that direction. She should be able to search the whole island of Patch from where she stood, but the north shore would be fuzzy. After a few seconds, she found what she thought was Orchid's poorly shielded mind, but no Violet. Orchid was mad, unreasonably so, but right underneath was a mountain of concern and love. Violet had to be alive. There was no way Orchid could be so calm if not. "I think I have an idea of where she could be, Mrs. Calrow. I'll see if I can find out what's going on."

" _Thank you, Ruby. If this turns out to be she lost her Scroll, I'm sorry I've bothered you."_

"It's no bother. I'll let you know when I find out anything." Ruby ended the call and walked to the main exit to the hangar. She turned her head to where the two elves worked. "I've got to head out. There's a problem on Patch." Both elves nodded at her, without saying a word.

Ruby left the hangar and looked straight up. _Cerise, I'm coming to meet you._ "Adur." Her feet left the ground as she shot upward. When she cleared the hangar, Cerise was only a hundred feet away. She slowed and Ruby cut the energy to the spell keeping her airborne. The Rider landed on her dragon's saddle and leaned forward. _You felt where Orchid was, right?_

 _I did._ Cerise half growled. _Orchid is troubled. I don't know what caused it._

 _You were attached to my side for quite a bit when you were her age. Any guesses?_

 _A general one. Something happened to Violet and Orchid is trying to protect her._

 _That covers so much area I think I have to agree._ City gave way to water as Cerise flew. Ruby kept her mind in the general direction that she felt Orchid, without disturbing the dragon. But even when Cerise flew over Patch, Violet still wasn't there. It wasn't until they were within a mile of Orchid that Violet's mind reached Ruby's. Violet's mind was also shielded, but even worse than Orchid's. She was sad and scared, but not in such a way that there were Grimm nearby.

Cerise flew around the small mountain at the center of Patch. A purple light shone from a cave halfway up. Orchid poked her head fully out of the cave but kept silent. Cerise curved toward the young dragon and dove for a relatively smooth spot of the mountain. She touched down and Ruby slid off her dragon's back. They walked side by side to the cave Orchid stood in.

The purple dragon didn't move _from_ her spot, but she moved _in_ it. Her tail twitched all over the place, her wings flailed, her legs stomped the ground, and her neck flexed and relaxed repeatedly. Only when Ruby got within a dozen feet did Orchid move from her spot. _I am glad you two are here._ Orchid nuzzled her snout against Ruby's head, then Cerise' shoulder. _My flower is wilting, and I don't know how to help._ She started to turn back to the cave.

"We need to talk with you first," Ruby said, not moving an inch.

Orchid faced the Rider, her pupils a bit thinner than they were seconds ago and her back teeth barred. _Can this wait? Violet has needed help for hours._ There was venom in her mental voice, a first for the normally sweet and cuddly dragon.

 _Then she can wait a little longer,_ Cerise said. _This concerns her._

Orchid's lips met and her pupils dilated to normal size. _Are you sure it can't wait until after you speak with her?_

"I'm sure." Ruby nodded. "After we're done talking with her, you are going to need to apologize to her."

 _Apologize?_ Orchids eyes grew to their largest. Her wings and ears drooped, and the rest of her body stilled. _What did I do? I didn't want to hurt my flower. I just want to keep her safe, happy, and loved._

"That isn't the problem." Ruby reached out a hand and brushed Orchid's cheek scales. "What you did to show it is."

 _I understand the need to take your Rider out of danger,_ Cerise started, _but you need to be careful where you take her._

"Patch isn't clear of Grimm. There have been multiple attempts to clear the island over the years, including some by us. The Grimm are gone for a few days, but they keep coming back. We don't know how or why. Our best guess is that there are spawning pools beneath the island somewhere."

 _The area around Signal and the city are generally clear because of the police and Huntsman presence. The north coast is only lightly patrolled around the ring highway. This is closer to there than the regular patrols._

"The Grimm here aren't strong, most don't even have their bone plates. But there's a lot of them, and can swarm if not dealt with quickly."

 _Both you and Violet are inexperienced. You may have put her in more danger coming here._

Orchid yelped and jumped back. She lowered her head to the ground. _I didn't mean to do that. I love my Flower. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her._

"Twin Falls is safer, and patrolled by Huntsmen. You won't have to worry about Grimm there."

 _But Grimm aren't the only problem here,_ Cerise continued. _Violet's mother has been trying to contact her for a while. With what they both went through years ago, her mother is worried sick._

"You're well within CCT range, but all this rock is disrupting the signal. You've cut Violet off from the others that love her."

Orchid's legs gave out and her wings spread out on the ground. She whimpered, coming as close to sobbing as a dragon could get. _I didn't mean to. I wanted to protect her from those people._

Ruby stiffened. Those people? That could very well render everything she just said irrelevant. "What people?"

 _A group of humans from Signal._ Orchid peeled her lips and her pupils narrowed to slits. _Those boys made my Flower cry. They said things that I will not repeat. I needed to get Violet away from them as fast as possible._ Her pupils dilated to normal size and she closed her lips. _I guess I put her in more danger._

Ruby forced herself to relax. Racist bullies were actually a step up from the alternative. "You didn't know." She approached the young dragon and scratched behind Orchid's ears. "Of all the problems to have, caring about your Rider too much is far from the worst. Violet's lucky to have you. I know you won't do this again."

Orchid pulled her head back and flicked her tongue across Ruby's cheek. She nuzzled the Rider's head again with a quiet hum. She turned to Cerise and offered the same to the older dragon.

"Well, let's go…." Ruby stopped as she stared at the two dragons. Judging by their changing expressions, they were having a conversation just between the two of them. At one point, Cerise peeled her lips back and narrowed her eyes, with a soft growl coming from her throat. She nodded at the younger dragon. Orchid narrowed her eyes, but the way her lips parted didn't have the same effect as Cerise. Her growl wasn't as intimidating as Cerise' either. The red dragon's face leveled out and she snorted. She raised her snout at the cave. Orchid turned around and pounced inside.

Ruby stared at her dragon. "What was that?"

 _She needs to be able to protect Violet,_ Cerise said. _The first thing to do is intimidate those threatening her. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm going to need to teach a dragon how to be intimidating._

"They're going to be counselors?" Ruby walked into the mouth of the cave.

 _At least Orchid will be. It's too soon to tell for Violet._ Cerise settled down outside the cave as it was too small for her to follow.

"I've got to agree there." Ruby faced into the cave. As she walked deeper, the night vision in her bionic eye kicked on. "Naina." A red light appeared over her head as she kept walking.

After about a minute in the cave, Ruby found the young pair. Violet sat on the ground, with her head and ears drooped and salt stains on her cheeks. Orchid curled her neck around her Rider with her head in Violet's lap, one of her paws holding Violet close to her chest.

"Hey there, little yote." Ruby sat down in front of the young Rider.

Violet lifted her head. Her eyes were red, and not because of the magical light. "I'm sorry Ruby," she choked out. "I know you want me to be strong, to face these things, but I… I…"

Ruby put a hand on Violet's knee. "I know. Orchid told me a little about what happened."

Violet sniffed and ran a hand over her eyes. "Why are people so mean? They called me names. One of them pulled my ear. One of them asked when my heat cycle was so he could… do things to me." She covered her red furred ear with the same arm and hand as before. "I'm not an animal."

Orchid hummed and lifted her head to kiss her Rider's cheek. She then raised her head further and pushed Violet's hand off her ear. The dragon then licked her Rider's red ear, like a mother dog grooming her puppies, only this was more purposeful.

"People are jerks." Ruby nodded. "They will find anything different, whether physical, mental, or ideological and use it as a justification for hate. People that look different are the easiest for them to prey on. If I could get rid of that, I would. But unfortunately, its… I can't even say human nature. I've seen it in all races. Humans, Faunus, elves, dwarves, dragons, they're all capable of it. But we can be better than that. We don't meet hate with more hate. That won't solve anything. I think you're way ahead of me on that.

"I've had my fair share of bullies over the years. Patch East Elementary, Patch Middle, Signal, Beacon, even now. That's with me looking fully human." Ruby tucked her hair behind her pointed ears. "This isn't helping anything. To quite a few people, I'm not human anymore. I think you know what that opens me up to.

"Violet, you're a good person. Kind, gentle, wanting to do whatever you can to help people. In that, we're the same. Don't let others define who you are. If you do that, they win. You have something that they don't." Ruby poked Violet's chest. "A kind and loving heart." Orchid hummed her agreement and kissed her Rider's chin.

"What am I supposed to do if they hurt me?" Violet asked.

"Defend yourself." Ruby let her smile fall away. "If they hurt you, you have every right to defend yourself. As a Rider, it's your job to help others in the same situation. But defense only. The only time to go on the offensive is against the Grimm, and even then quite a few people would see that as defense. And if for whatever reason you can't defend yourself, you've got your biggest fan to protect you wrapped around you right now." Orchid hummed and tightened her grip on her Rider.

"You're a Dragon Rider, Violet. You've got all the others to help back you up. If for whatever reason you don't feel like you can talk with me about something, you've got so many others who are willing to listen… including your mom."

Violet blinked. "Mom?"

"She's worried about you. She actually called me. You didn't call her at your normal time, and you weren't answering your Scroll."

Violet nodded. "Can you fly us home."

"Of course." Ruby stood up and offered a hand to her student. "We'll fly with you all the way home." Violet took the hand and Ruby helped her up. Orchid's head stayed by her Rider's side.

"Thank you." Violet stepped forward and hugged Ruby. She sniffed a few times, but otherwise stayed silent."

Ruby returned the hug. "Anytime, little yote." She scratched behind Violet's red ear. "And by the way, if any other person your age goes after you for being a Faunus, you have my permission to kick their butts in whatever way the situation demands. If it's verbal, prove you're the better person. If it's physical, surprise them. You've got all the Riders backing you up."

Orchid took her head away from her Rider and wrapped her neck around both Riders in such a way that it allowed her to lick the head Rider's face. _Thank you, Ruby. My Flower is feeling so much better now._

 _Glad I could help._ Ruby rubbed the side of Orchid's neck. _Now shall we get your Rider home?_

 _Yes, please._ Orchid freed both Riders but kept her head on Violet's shoulder.

Ruby led the way out of the cave, halting the energy to her red light when natural light poured into the cave. Cerise stood up outside and stuck her head into the cave a little. She hummed as the others approached. She didn't say anything to Ruby, but then again, it probably wasn't needed.

"Let's get going, Cerise." Ruby brushed her dragon's head as she left the cave. Cerise pulled her head out but nuzzled Violet as she passed. Ruby climbed her dragon's back and settled in. She looked over to Violet and Orchid, who were also on top of each other. "How's your saddle holding up?"

"It's still intact." Violet wiggled around in her saddle. "It might need a little repair soon."

"If you need help just ask." Ruby pat her dragon's neck. "Whenever you're ready, Cerise."

Her dragon snorted. _Try to keep up, Orchid. I'm going to test your speed here._ Cerise faced east and jumped off the mountain. Orchid followed, but much slower. As the two dragons flew over the island then the strait, the purple dragon fell farther and farther behind, but it was at a constant rate. It looked like that had leveled out since last time Ruby joined Cerise for a speed test.

A few minutes later, Cerise stopped in the air. Below them and a couple blocks east lay Violet's home. Orchid caught up and looked at the house. She looked back at her Rider, then dove for the ground. She landed in the backyard, and a lone figure stepped out of the building. Violet dismounted her dragon, and her mother was right there to wrap her in a hug. The older woman looked up, then back at her daughter. The two walked into the house, leaving Orchid outside. The dragon stuck her head and neck inside, but the rest of her stayed in the backyard.

Cerise turned her head to her Rider. _Back to the hangar?_

 _No. Home is good._

 _Got it._ Cerise turned around and flew back toward Patch. _Ruby, maybe you should practice what you preach._ Her tone wasn't accusatory in the slightest.

 _I know._ Ruby looked off her dragon's side. _I hope I can get to her before it becomes permanent._

 _I will help you get rid of that, you know._

 _It's what's driven me since we found Violet in that trunk. What would getting rid of that do for me?_

 _It would take you one step closer toward being who you want to be… and that would likely change your True Name too. That would be even less noticeable than what you're trying now._

Ruby blinked. _If I'm trying anything, right now, it's trying to be a better believer._

Cerise snorted. _It's an option._ She faced ahead again and stayed silent for the rest of the trip. But she was right. Getting rid of that _would_ change Ruby's True Name. But… Ruby didn't _want_ to get rid of it. It drove her to do just about everything since she first started fighting the Nevermores. She hated them as much as she was afraid of them. If she gave it up now, what would that make of her? Would she like who she became? She shook her head as her house appeared through the trees. Ruby didn't hate philosophy, but it wasn't her favorite topic.

As Cerise glided in for a landing, Ruby couldn't help but stare at Nalia. The green dragon paced around the backyard, with her hatchling sitting off to the side watching. It took a lot to get Nalia stressed out. What was going on?

Cerise landed to the side of the house and Ruby dismounted. Nalia walked around the house and her eyes fixed on Ruby. _You need to get inside, now._

"Nalia, what's going on?" Ruby asked.

 _This isn't about a mission, this is about you. Go!_ Nalia pushed Ruby with her snout toward the front of the house.

Ruby stared at Nalia, then turned around. If this was a set up to a surprise party, it wasn't exactly funny if Nalia got _that_ into it. She pushed open the front door to the house and stood in the doorway. Her dad, Yang, Aaron, and Viki all stood in a circle just outside the kitchen. "Guys, what's going on?"

Everyone turned to look at her. "Something bad for various reasons." Yang reached into a pocket and pulled out a flash drive. "I got this from Pyrrha today, who got it from Ozpin, who got it from Ironwood."

"What?" Ruby scrunched her eyes and stepped into the house. "Nalia said this is about me. How can something from Ironwood be about me?"

Her dad shook his head. "Apparently it's camera footage from the Nevermore base in the North Sanus Mountains."

Ruby let her mouth drop. Her legs grew weak and her arms hung at her side. Cerise flooded her mind into her Riders'. No one needed to say the exact location. Only one could get them this wound up. "Wh… why?" Ruby stammered. "It… it's been years. Why now and not back then?"

"Like Weiss said, the SDC and the Atlas military were hacked yesterday." Aaron shook his head. "We don't know who did it or how much they got, but this was definitely one thing."

"Pyrrha said this is only a fraction of what they got." Yang wiggled the flash drive. "She was told that this has everything from a few minutes before you were brought into the room to a few seconds after we brought you out. She also said that what the hackers got was unedited."

"So?" Ruby hugged herself and bent her weak knees. "More proof for Atlas to keep those monsters behind bars."

 _You once asked me if it was possible to use magic without speaking in the Ancient Language,_ Nalia started. _We now know that event to be your Maiden abilities._

Ruby looked down at herself. "I use them all the time now. Why can't I pass that off as magic like anything else?"

Aaron grimaced. "Apparently Ozpin has seen it. He thinks that the way it was done leaves no doubt it's Maiden magic, not Alagaësian magic."

"Why do we have this in the first place? It's not like they'll show what happened there on the news. Not without blurring everything out." Ruby fought to keep her body from shaking.

"Because it's your call to make." Her dad crossed his arms. "And… well, you've always said you don't know what you did to help all those kids."

"Ruby," Yang's voice was barely above a whisper. "you don't have to watch what's on here, but some of us do, if only to tell you what's so special about what you did with mom's help."

Ruby stared straight at the ground and she could no longer hold back her shivers. She had the answer to what she'd been wondering for so long right in front of her, but she'd have to watch the worst hours of her life, most of which she was sure it would be better to not know.

 _Gem,_ Cerise hummed. _I will use their eyes and tell you all you need to know._

 _Thanks, Cerise, but…_

 _No! No buts! I will not have you go down that path again!_ Cerise tone alone showed how much she didn't want her Rider to watch the tape.

 _I have to. It's my life. If I need to know what happened to me firsthand._

 _It's already not firsthand! It's a recording! Gem, please don't!_

Ruby slowly raised her head and locked eyes with Viki. The girl's lips trembled and her eyes watered. She lived through that hell her whole life, and likely not drugged through most of it. She could remember everything that happened to her. It wasn't fair that Ruby had a five-hour gap right over her time in the same situation. "When can we start it?"

Aaron's and Yang's jaws drop and they exchanged a look before looking back at Ruby. "You sure?" Yang asked.

"Yes… No. I just… I need to see what happened with my own eyes."

Cerise whimpered in her Rider's head. _Gem… I am not happy with this, but I will keep you from going back down that hole. I don't care what I have to do. If I have to, I'll make them stop it._

 _Please do._ Ruby walked to the couch and was about to sit in the center when she saw Zwei sitting on another cushion with his ears drooped. "Come here, Zwei." Ruby picked her dog up and held him close as she sat down. Yang plugged the flash drive into the projector and sat on Ruby's left side. Aaron took the right side. Both laid a hand on one of Ruby's legs. Her dad stood behind the couch and put a hand on her left shoulder. Viki sat in front of Ruby and leaned against the Rider's left leg.

Ruby felt something coming up from inside her, then she felt a kiss on her forehead even though no one stood in that area. _I'm here too, Gem,_ her mom said. _I see what you do. If you want to talk about anything, I'm more than willing tonight._

 _Thanks, mom._

"Are you sure you want to do this, Ruby?" Yang asked with the remote in her free hand.

"Start it." Ruby hugged Zwei tighter. Her dog whimpered and licked Ruby's chin before settling his own chin on the Rider's free shoulder.

The projector flashed to life and showed the room Ruby was held in. Ruby took a deep breath through the nose and tensed every muscle. She hoped she never saw the place again. There, she was tortured. There, she was held prisoner with a dozen Faunus. But she wasn't even there. It was just all the kids, one of them crying. Others looked like they were asleep.

A few minutes later, two sets of footsteps came through the speakers. Two men entered the room, dragging Past Ruby between them. In the present, Ruby whimpered as she watched herself be chained to the wall. Four friendly hands gripped various parts of her and Zwei licked her cheek.

On the projector, one of the men pointed at Ruby then made an obscene gesture with both hands. "Bastards," Yang growled, squeezing Ruby's leg even more. The other man shook his head and pulled the other one off camera.

A little later, the Ruby in chains stirred. It took a while, but she tugged on her chains. Her head darted around the room and didn't settle on one place until another man walked into the room. Ruby didn't remember much about her time imprisoned, but she could never forget the face or voice of Granite O'Donnell. Her heart beat faster, and she tightened her grip on Zwei. Her dog whimpered, then jumped out of her arms and settled on her lap. "Sorry, Zwei…"

Ruby listened to the monster talk down to her in the past. She didn't remember exactly what he said, but some words like "sold" stuck out. Then he mentioned scaling and skinning Cerise. Past Ruby widened her eyes then narrowed them. Her eyes glowed and snow and wind burst to life in the room…

Ruby dropped her jaw. "Did anyone else see that?

"I saw something in there," Aaron said.

"Going back." Yang rewound the tape to just before Ruby used her Maiden magic, then slowed it down to frame by frame speed. The snow appeared again and formed into the shape of a person. At first, Ruby thought it was her, then a sword formed in the figure's hands.

"Summer," Taiyang breathed.

"Mom…" Ruby's eyes stayed fixed to the screen. The snow figure of her mom raised her sword and slammed it into the monster's gut. O'Donnell flew out of frame, and all snow disappeared. "She did say she helped me do that.'

"If this somehow gets into the public's hands," Aaron started, "we have to figure out how to explain this."

"I'm open to ideas." O'Donnell walked back into frame and Ruby sunk into the couch. She knew what was coming next, and considering how drugged she was back then, that was saying something. She brought her arms up and hooked them around Yang's and Aaron's necks. She pulled them closer as O'Donnell drew his sword. Yang took the hint right away and leaned her head against her sister's. Aaron leaned his head soon after.

The tape showed the monster cutting Past Ruby's arm open and Ruby flinched. _Why did I just watch that…_ Her dad swore under his breath and gripped her shoulder harder. When O'Donnell said… _that_ line, Taiyang didn't hold back the mother variety of the f-bomb.

Then the 'doctor and his assistant' walked in. The 'doctor' set his toolkit down and pulled out the staple gun. As soon as the 'assistant' punched Past Ruby, Ruby clenched her eyes. She couldn't watch this part. But that did nothing to cover her ears. She heard the gun shoot and her screams afterward. A new pressure appeared on her legs. It felt like Viki was hugging them.

Ruby waited until the voices stopped to open her eyes. She had to blink the water out of her eyes. Past Ruby had a new streak of red in her hair coming from the third ear. She convulsed in the chains. There was no rhyme nor reason to her movements. Then she looked straight up, tears mixing with the red. There was only one thing she could have been doing; praying to whoever was listening. She dipped her head, then looked to left before letting her head droop with gravity. It looked like she passed out.

"I think that's when I felt you, Yang." Ruby sniffed and kept her eyes on the projector.

"Maybe." Yang wrapped an arm around Ruby's back. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, sis."

Aaron copied Yang. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I should have been there. I could have taken out that Bullhead with magic and stayed with you."

Ruby did her best to shake her head while sandwiched between two others. "Then you would have been in there with me."

A few minutes later, Past Ruby stirred. She looked around once more at all the Faunus. This is where the gap in Ruby's memory became complete. She didn't remember anything between then and when O'Donnell came back. She didn't think they did anything to her between both times. She looked at the wound on her arm. It looked like she had enough Aura to stop wounds from bleeding, but that was about it.

Past Ruby looked at the chains around her wrists. She yanked at them, this time with concentration and purpose. Next to her, Claret screamed into her gag and shook her head. But Past Ruby kept trying to break herself free. Then she screamed and her back arched. Ruby jumped as she heard the faint crackle of electricity. She was glad she didn't remember that, but then again, it happened during her rescue as well.

After a few seconds, Past Ruby settled down. She sat still for a few minutes and started pulling again, ending with the same result. She tried a third time, only the electrocution lasted many times longer. When she settled down, Ruby thought she saw steam rising off her past self. She shook her head. This couldn't be what endeared those kids to her.

Then one of the Faunus started crying. It sounded like Hazel. Past Ruby looked to the lion Faunus girl. She yelled or hummed into the gag. Ruby didn't know what she tried to accomplish. Hazel didn't quiet down. Past Ruby then leaned against the back wall and closed her eyes. Then she started humming.

Ruby blinked and stared at herself. It sounded like Unending Grace. Past Ruby kept at it for a while. Hazel stopped crying and looked toward Past Ruby. Slowly but surely, all eyes turned in her direction. As soon as the last set was on her, she was electrocuted again, but this time she didn't scream.

When that session was over, Past Ruby looked up, and directly at the camera. She took a deep breath and screamed into her gag. No words were needed. She'd only stay quiet once dead… Ruby blinked. _Is this it?_

When Past Ruby stopped screaming she sagged in her chains. All eyes in the room were still aimed at her. She raised her head and leaned back against the wall. She started humming again, another old hymn. This time, most other kids in the room joined. Shortly after that, Past Ruby was shocked again. The room silenced, without even a scream. Then she started humming again from where she left off. Everyone joined in again.

Ruby sniffed and she felt tears running down her cheeks. A small smile forced its way onto her face. This was it. She was the hope where there was none before. She could tell just from how jerky her head movements were and her facial expressions that she was still terrified, but she was helping all those kids. A tissue pressed against her face. She jumped and turned her head as much as she could toward her boyfriend. Aaron shrugged. "Well, you can't get these from where you are."

"Thank you." Ruby's smile widened and she faced the projector again. Past her continued what she was doing for a while with no more shocks. The songs shifted from basic hymns to a few more popular things as time went on. She made a point to make eye contact with everyone in there, or as best as she could anyway with how drugged she was.

Then after about an hour, Hazel screamed. It looked like she was being electrocuted now. Past Ruby screamed and tugged at her chains. A single rose petal fell from behind her. Hazel stopped screaming and slumped against the wall, but Past Ruby still tried to free herself and screamed into her gag. After a while, Hazel started crying. Past Ruby did the same and dipped her head. Nothing else came from her throat.

But the humming still came back. Past Ruby looked to her right. _Claret_ started up again. Ruby's lower lips trembled. She needed to talk with Claret about all this. Did she get any of the credit with the other Faunus?

Then all noise from the projector stopped. Past Ruby's eyes widened, then narrowed. There were more tears, but what sounded like a growl came from her throat. Granite O'Donnell walked back into frame. He said that Claret had been sold. Past Ruby started screaming again and pulled and jerked to her right, pulling on her chains. Her eyes glowed again and the same wind and snow blew to life in the room.

This time Ruby played it back on her bionic eye. It was her mom again, but she swung her weapon at the monster's neck. The man flew out of frame. He showed back up much faster than last time, drew his sword, and carved a new scar on Past Ruby's arm.

"One. Two. Three…" Yang counted. Ruby looked at her sister through the corner of her eye. What was she doing? When she hit fifteen, Past Yang burst onto the screen and punched the monster into the wall. She picked him up off the floor and threw him out of frame before following. "Fifteen seconds too late." Yang took her head off her sister's.

"You still came, Yang." Ruby pulled her sister back.

"I was right down the hall when that happened." Yang wiped an arm under her eyes.

"I don't blame you, Yang. Not now, and not then." On the projector, everyone in chains was being electrocuted. A little after that, they all sagged, and Past Yang ran up to Past Ruby. "I do remember this a little. You standing there is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I stand by that today."

"If this were literally anything else, I'd tease you so much about that."

"I know. Someday I might welcome it." Ruby didn't say anything the rest of the tape. She just watched Aaron and Yang take care of her and all the other Faunus. She already knew Weiss and Blake were elsewhere in the base doing their own things. Past Aaron, of course, was just treating her like a teammate. But Past Yang was in full big sister mode, talking to Past Ruby, petting her hair, hugging her, and the occasional kiss on the forehead. It was more of the same after the Atlas soldiers arrived. After a while, everyone in the room left, with Past Ruby in Past Yang's arms. The projector shut off soon after.

Ruby sniffed. "I have the best team ever." She kissed both Aaron and Yang on the cheek before pulling them closer.

Both of them turned and brought her into a hug, making a Ruby sandwich. "Anything for my baby sister," Yang said.

"I was just doing my job there." Aaron shrugged while still in the hug. "You'd do the same for me."

The hand on Ruby's shoulder that she nearly forgot about disappeared. "Your team did better than I would have," her dad said. "There would be nothing left of that place."

"I can't blame you." Ruby dipped her head. "I'm glad Atlas blew that place up when they were done with it."

Viki sniffed and gripped Ruby's legs tighter. The Rider looked down at her former charge. Viki's eyes were red and leaked everywhere. "You _do_ know what I've been through."

"Kind of… If you want to join in…" Ruby didn't think she needed to finish.

Viki let go of Ruby's legs, stood up and joined the group hug, forcing Zwei out of the way. Ruby leaned her head forward and touched her forehead to Viki's.

 _Gem?_ _Are you okay?_ Cerise asked.

 _No… I saw it all again. But… I now know what I'm made of._

* * *

 **Finally, some closure on that. And I hope I didn't mess up that bit with Violet... I'm about as white as you can get without being albino. I might be missing something here.  
**


	27. Changed

**So, I cheated my month long break by a few days (I ran out of things to do at my job with a lot of downtime) so I'm back to writing more of this. Honestly, I missed working on this, especially where I left off.  
**

 **Since I forgot to say this last week, the day after I said that the omake collab I worked on would be a Spacebattles exclusive, something was worked out and it's up on FFN with the other writer. I don't think FFN's copyright policies will let me post it here, so if you're interested and don't want to wander over to Spacebattles, head over to** **JessesanMan and his story** ** **Of Elder Scrolls and Huntsmen: Dragon Rose. Give the whole thing a read too, but the collab is in chapter 23.  
****

 ** **Anyway, something different.****

* * *

Weiss bit her lip as land appeared on the horizon. The GPS on her helmet's HUD said that she and Saphira were only a dozen miles away from Menagerie. This wasn't the sparsely populated east coast either. This was Kuo Kuana, the capital of the territory, and supposedly the most overpopulated city on Remnant. Most of them were Faunus, and likely had some very legitimate complaints against her father, his company, and Weiss by extension. This could be bad. She'd likely get the same treatment that Faunus did under her father's policies. Then again, she didn't plan on staying there long.

 _Should we have waited to come with the others?_ Saphira asked.

 _They'll be here in three days,_ Weiss said. _We have work to do before then, if Blake's dad lets us. You'll be fine. I'll just stay with Blake until the wedding. They won't touch me then._

Saphira snorted. _You've thought that before._

 _And you're not going to be far away. It's not like I'm going to be underground or behind a concrete wall. Anyway, we're guests of the Chieftain. They won't…_ Weiss shook her head. _Okay, maybe we should be careful. Being guests of the dwarves didn't stop them from attacking Cerise._

 _Which is why whenever you are in the city I will be right by your side._

 _Thank you, but if all goes well, we shouldn't be in the city long._ Weiss once again searched the saddle for any of her usual SDC snowflake markings. She'd done the same thing one other time in the air and once on the ground in Mistral. All ones that she remembered putting on were covered with the logo of the Riders, with only her personal snowflake on the saddle right in front of her. She was on Menagerie as a friend to Blake, a representative of the Dragon Riders… and the CEO of the SDC for hopefully less than ten minutes.

Saphira flew over the island and flew toward the opposite side of the city. The Chieftain's Manor wasn't nearly as big as the Schnee Manor in Atlas, but it was part of the city, even though it was walled off. From the outside, it looked about as homey as Ruby and Yang's house on Patch. Much nicer than Schnee Manor likely would ever be.

Four figures stood at the top of the steps to the porch. From a distance, it looked like two of them had an extra set of ears on their heads, and another had a tail. The last one had no discernable animal traits, but he was built like a Paladin. This would be Weiss' first time meeting Blake's parents. Then again, it would be the same for the rest of team RWBAY. None of them came to this city on their mission to the east side of the island.

Saphira landed in the yard in front of the manor and Weiss dismounted her dragon. "Get comfortable." The Rider rubbed the side of her dragon's head, then took off her helmet. "I'll find out where you can lay without annoying anyone here."

 _Most of this is grass._ Saphira snorted. _Why would anyone be annoyed?_

"Don't ask me." Weiss grabbed one saddlebag from her dragon's back then slipped it over her shoulders. "You're the one who tried to relax on a golf course once." She left her dragon's side and climbed the large staircase.

Blake walked down the stairs and met her teammate halfway. "Welcome to Kuo Kuana."

"It's good to be here." Weiss and Blake exchanged a quick hug before walking back up the stairs. "The winds were a little rough on the way here, but it was nothing we couldn't handle."

"It shouldn't stop other guests from showing up, should it?"

Weiss shook her head. "Unless they're already on a boat, no. The forecast is clear the rest of the week."

"That's good to hear. I take it the rest of the team is coming later?"

"Three days… I have some things to do here first."

Blake narrowed her eyes. "You still haven't said what those things are."

"They're for your father… and things I need to tell you in person." Weiss and Blake made it to the top of the steps. Sun stood beside Ghira and Kali Belladonna.

Ghira had his hands on his hips and smiled at the newcomer. "Weiss Schnee, welcome to Menagerie." He stuck out a hand toward the Rider.

"It's good to be here." Weiss took the hand that was several times the size of her own. Ghira was a giant in general. If Blake didn't say both her parents were cat Faunus, Weiss would have assumed he was a bear. "Thank you for welcoming me onto your island, Mr. Belladonna."

"Please," the Chieftain waved an arm in front of himself, "you're one of Blake's friends. You can call me Ghira."

"Wow," Sun smirked, "not even I can call him that."

"That's because I'm your future father in law!" Ghira laughed and clapped Sun on the back, nearly knocking him over. "I'd be worried if you called me by my first name."

Kali laughed, then locked eyes with Weiss. "It's good to have you here, Weiss. Blake has told us a lot about you."

Weiss' smile disappeared. "I hope she's told you everything."

Blake stiffened beside her. "Everything?"

Kali looked between her daughter and Weiss. "I don't understand."

Weiss sighed and faced Ghira, who also looked confused. "When Blake and I first met, I'm afraid I was just like my father and my brother. I thought Faunus were all like the ones in the White Fang who attacked my father's company. I thought so many stereotypes were biological fact, and that humans were superior. But that all changed once I got to know Blake and several more Faunus at Beacon. They showed me that pretty much everything I thought I knew was wrong. After what I saw happen in the North Sanus Mountains and Fort Castle, I could never think like that again, and I'm disgusted that I thought like that at all. There are too many similarities between my father's ideology and those monsters'."

During Weiss' confession, Ghira lost his smile entirely and stared at Weiss in a critical manner. When she finished, the Chieftain's smile returned. "It's good to hear you have changed. Blake has told us nothing but good things about you and your team."

"Sorry, I got to ask," Sun started, "was I one of the Faunus that helped?"

"Not really." Weiss shook her head. "You were running from the police when we first met."

Ghira glared at Sun. "What is this about?"

Sun stiffened and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, uh, you see…"

"He was a stowaway on a ship coming from Mistral," Blake said. "But he eventually paid off the company."

"Yeah. I'm not a _complete_ jerk." Sun gave Ghira a nervous smile and a shaky thumb up.

Ghira continued to glare at Sun. "You're going to have to tell me more about your ventures."

"Of course! Not a problem." Sun jerkily nodded his head.

"Good." Ghira diverted his attention back to Weiss. "Blake said you wanted to speak with me about something."

"Two things now. One was added after I contacted Blake."

"Come inside." Ghira gestured to the massive entryway. "This is no place to discuss business." He pushed the doors open and led the way inside. Sun and Kali left down a side hallway while Blake still followed her dad and Weiss. A few hallways and rooms down, Ghira walked into an office. He sat behind his desk. "Please, sit down." He gestured at a chair across from his desk. Weiss took the chair and set the bag by her side. Blake walked around the desk and stood beside her dad. "Now, may I ask what these are about?"

Weiss hesitated. "Both things I need to speak with you about are in favor of different organizations. One of them is the Dragon Riders… The other is the Kingdom of Atlas."

Ghira leaned forward in his chair and Blake's ears drooped. "I thought you said nothing from the SDC," Blake said.

"I run the largest Dust company on Remnant. That gives me a lot of power in all Kingdoms. I think I can use some of my influence to help Menagerie and Faunus as a whole."

"If you are looking to recruit or open operations here," Ghira started, "I do not believe you will be successful. You may be undoing what your father has done, but it will take much longer to regain the trust of the people here."

"I have no intention of opening anything on Menagerie. All such ventures wouldn't be profitable and would be a safety hazard for anyone not native to the island. This actually has nothing to do with the SDC itself." Weiss paused and looked between Blake and Ghira. "I am planning to ask the Atlas council to recognize Menagerie as a Kingdom."

Blake's ears stood straight up and Ghira straightened in his chair. "What do you mean?" Ghira asked.

"Going off the Vytal Accords, Menagerie should have been recognized as a Kingdom years ago. First off, Menagerie was settled nearly forty years ago, well over the twenty-five-year minimum. I do not believe the circumstances of the settling please anyone in this room, but from what I've seen from the air, the people here showed the humans that gave you this island how to make the most of a bad situation. Atlas couldn't keep out as many Grimm as you're able to. Also, if the projections I have seen in Atlas are accurate, the population of Kuo Kuana alone passes the hundred thousand minimum by three hundred thousand, not to mention the other settlements around here. All that's missing is the two-thirds majority vote of the people here."

"Weiss," Blake breathed, "are you serious? Do you know what this could mean for us?"

"I do." Weiss nodded. "More trade options, recognized combat schools and a Huntsman Academy, representation and participation in the Vytal Festival, and as amended in 2120, your own CCT tower, and I'm sure many more things that I, as a human, couldn't understand." She watched Ghira's expression darken. "I know what you're thinking, that the SDC stands to make a huge profit out of this. But that is not the case. The SDC only owns the patent to the software and hardware necessary for transmission. All Kingdoms have built their own towers with their own companies. The SDC only comes in to install the necessary equipment and software when the main construction is done. Also, my grandfather intended the CCT to be a gift to Remnant. He didn't charge anything for their installation, and neither will I."

Weiss took a deep breath. "I know this won't undo everything that has happened to your people in the past, or what's happening in the other kingdoms, but it would give you one place where you're at an equal level with all other Kingdoms. I think this is a step in the right direction. But I'm not a Faunus, and I will not put this forward until I have an answer from you or your people."

Ghira continued to stare at Weiss, then relaxed in his chair. "I have met with council members from all Kingdoms. You are the first one to offer this. I cannot make this decision on my own, for various reasons, but I do thank you for the offer."

"You're welcome." Weiss paused. "Now I have a request from Ruby."

Ghira's smile returned. "What can we do to help?"

"Ruby's kind of the most popular human on Menagerie," Blake explained. "She's a big deal here, even more so after a recording of her episode of Mellen made it here."

"Well, this actually isn't for Ruby herself, or the Dragon Riders." Weiss shrugged. "Maybe the Riders in a few decades, but not in any projected time. We're searching for a place for the wild dragons to hatch and live, and Ruby asked me to ask you if we could include eastern Menagerie as a potential location."

Ghira once again looked confused. "Your team helped with the evacuation of the settlements out there. The Grimm there are numerous. I doubt Atlas could use all their strength to clear a habitable area."

"That may be, but there are those in Alagaësia that we could call on to help. I can think of several elves and a couple of dragons who can help clear land. Their magic gives them several advantages over normal Huntsmen."

Blake cocked her head. "A couple of dragons." She stiffened and her ears folded back. "Shruikan? Can we trust him?"

"We can trust him to do whatever is necessary to protect the well-being of the eggs in his care. He will make sure the eggs have a home and a safe place to hatch."

Blake shook her head and crossed her arms. "Sorry. I'm just a little skeptical about him."

Weiss looked away then back at her teammate. "He's the one who helped me escape."

Blake loosened her arms and her ears returned to their normal places. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. There's no way you fake the feeling of a mind."

Ghira looked between the Rider and his daughter. "I take it there is a story here."

"I…" Weiss sunk into her chair, "…got the Nevermore treatment on the other side."

"Oh. Well." Ghira coughed into a hand. "I assume there is no place for them on the other side?"

"Right. Their former home is irradiated from the battle where all those alive were killed. We have the surviving eggs in multiple places, ready to be moved to a place where they can hatch in peace, and where they can't disturb civilization. Before, they lived on an island the size of Patch. They will not disturb the settlements here. They'll stay along the east coast. Young ones may venture out as they did in Alagaësia, but the elders should keep them in line. You should know, by elders, I mean the dragons already here on Remnant, Shruikan, and one more that survived the Fall."

Ghira nodded. "Any long-term goals with this location?"

"Right now, the headquarters for the Riders is just outside the city of Vale. Ruby says she wants in Kingdom locations to only represent branches. She would like to move the headquarters to wherever the wild dragons are, but it's going to take a long time to get the Riders and resources to make that possible."

"Of course." Ghira paused. "I will think about this, and I will have an answer for her by the time she arrives. But, if you would like to scout out locations while you wait for my answer, you are more than welcome."

"Thank you." Weiss nodded at Ghira then faced Blake. "I have a few things for you too, but… in private."

"Some pre-wedding things?" Blake asked.

"More things from Ruby on behalf of the Riders." Weiss stood up and grabbed her bag. "Some things could become public knowledge in a few days, others she only wants a select few to know about."

Blake shrugged. "Okay. Follow me." She let her teammate out of the room and down the hall.

As they walked Weiss noticed something… different about Blake. Different like… Pyrrha. Weiss pursed her lips as the looked at Blake's stomach. She wasn't showing, so it had to be recent. Blake looked over her shoulder. "Trying to find something?"

Weiss jerked her head back up. "No." She shook her head. "I was just staring at nothing."

"I thought you noticed my bun in the oven." Blake pat her belly.

"Oh good, you know." Weiss released the tension she didn't know she built up. "Ruby told me about how she spoiled it for Jaune and Pyrrha."

"Just don't let my dad know. He won't like that Sun got me pregnant before we were married."

"My lips are sealed." Weiss tripped over her own feet as she faced her teammate. Blake was pregnant. They were going to have a baby on the team. Weiss pulled her lips back and fought the urge to jump on Blake. Even Ruby admitted that her partner liked kids more than she did.

Blake led Weiss into another small office where Sun was looking over several sheets of paper. "Okay, Weiss. We're safe." Blake closed the door behind her. "Now you can freak out."

"Oh my gosh!" Weiss pounced on her partner. "I'm so happy for you! Your baby is going to be so cute! If you need help with anything don't hesitate to ask!"

"Don't worry, I will." Blake returned the hug as best she could with her pinned arms.

"You told her?" Sun asked.

"She found out first." Blake broke free of Weiss' arms. "I had to confirm it before she exploded." She paused. "But Sun, we kind of need the room."

"It's okay, Sun." Weiss held up a hand. "Ruby said you can know these things too if Blake can." She faced Blake. "She doesn't want you keeping her secrets from your husband."

Blake stared at Weiss then nodded. "Okay. So what's this about?"

"A few things, actually." Weiss took the bag off her back and sat in a chair. She reached into the bag and took out four nearly identical badges with the Dragon Rider logo on them, two with red swords behind the dragon's head, two with green. All had the words "Dragon Riders" curved around the top of the logo and "Vinir Shur'tugal" below.

"I'm going to give you both one of these," Weiss continued. "Since I don't think either of you can read in this language, the words on the bottom literally translate to 'Rider Friend,' in relation to something similar to something the elves have. But from my understanding, 'Rider Ally' would work just as well. The ones with the green swords mean we can trust you like any other Rider. They'll give you access to most places that the Riders own and operate, and that you can be trusted to backup any Rider in trouble. Right now, this is just future proofing since the headquarters of the Dragon Riders is currently under construction and it's just going to be the Riders on our team and Velvet for a while. Of course, these are all enchanted so any Rider or dragon can tell a fake.

"The ones with the red swords mean you can be trusted with _all_ Rider operations and secrets. All Riders should give you the respect that they do to Yang, Velvet, me, or any other Rider with years of experience. Well, me in a few years anyway. I'm still a novice, learning mainly from the recordings the others made before we left for Alagaësia."

"But Ruby was very clear, anyone who has the red sword badge _must_ able to defend their minds from attack, and they must swear to never speak about our biggest secrets around the younger Riders and everybody else who doesn't have the red sword badge. From what I've heard, the only people who knew about some of these things were the elder Riders and the Kings and Queens of the elves and humans. Ruby's had to pull a lot of strings and convince a lot of people to allow me to even talk to you about this. She trusts you both with Cerise' life, but this decision is not up to her."

"Not up to her?" Blake asked, sounding a little frustrated. "She's the leader of the Riders. Can't she change it?"

Weiss looked away. "I've already taken the oath I've told you about. I can't say, no matter how much I want to."

Sun looked between Blake and Weiss. "Something tells me that this swearing or oath isn't as simple as placing your hand on a stack of Sibles."

"It's magic," Blake said. "You can't lie in the Ancient Language, so anything you say you're bound to."

"Blake," Weiss continued, "Ruby hasn't mentioned giving one of these to her dad, Qrow, or even Ozpin yet. What's that say about what she thinks of you?"

Blake's shoulders released her tension and she smiled. "Now that sounds like the Ruby I know. What do we need to do?"

Weiss proceeded to test the minds of both Blake and Sun. Blake defended her mind with a crystal-clear image of her weapon while Sun defended his with an old cartoon character. The Rider then coached the other two on how to pronounce the oath. They both said it individually without mispronouncing anything. After they were done, Weiss smiled and handed over both red sword badges. "Welcome to the Dragon Riders."

"Well then," Blake took her badge and looked it over, "I guess I'm important now."

"Now?" Sun elbowed Blake's arm. "You're the top cat in Faunus for Equal Treatment, and you've worked with the Riders for years. You've always been important."

"He's got a point." Weiss laughed, then looked directly at Blake. "There's one more thing I need to ask of you."

Blake nodded. "Go ahead."

"I've taken eggs to all combat schools on Remnant, and I've had help taking them to all human and elf cities in Alagaësia. The only place I haven't gone with the eggs is Menagerie."

Blake's ears stood on end. "Are you asking what I think you're asking?"

Weiss nodded. "There's no chance that I won't be booed out of any gathering I host here. Saphira can't do this on her own. We need someone we can trust to introduce the eggs to prospective Riders. I'm asking you to do that. For the record, I was going to ask you no matter what badge I gave you."

"Weiss," Blake started, "I don't know what to say."

"Say yes, and both of us can get to what we need to. I don't think I have to say this, but as a non-Rider, there's a chance you could be chosen too."

"What about me?" Sun asked. "I never got the chance before."

"If you're around, yes. I'd say you're too old, but elves used to be introduced to the eggs when they turn twenty. Arya was a little early, but I don't think she or Fírnen are complaining."

Blake straightened up. "Weiss, I would be honored to help search for new Riders."

"Glad to hear it." Weiss stood up and grabbed her bag. "The eggs are with Saphira in one of her saddlebags… And speaking of her, she's wondering where she can rest without making any groundskeepers mad."

"That's going to be a challenge. Some of them are pretty picky.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "You should have been there when Saphira was picking out materials for her bed. You don't know picky until you've seen that."

Saphira growled in Weiss' head. _I heard that!"_

* * *

The house that Aaron had lived in for the past several years came back into view through the trees. Nalia lifted her head and turned it toward her Rider. _Good morning, Aaron._ She yawned and shook her head like a dog. _How was your run?_

"Good." Aaron bent over and rested his hands on his knees. "I barely broke a sweat. I think I'm getting my endurance back."

Nalia hummed and her ears raised. _That's good to hear. The less you need my help, the better._

"I still wish we were free to do that again." Aaron straightened and looked around the clearing. He didn't see any purple anywhere. "Where's Amor?"

 _Hunting. I believe he left shortly after you did._

"Really? That's early. What's he hunting?"

Nalia blinked. _You._

Something hit Aaron in the back and knocked him to the ground. It pinned him there, with all limbs trapped. A deep growl came from behind him and hot air hit the back of his neck. Scales pressed against the back of his head, with a few teeth in there too. Considering Nalia hadn't already jumped to his assistance, there were a few options, but one seemed the most likely. "Alright, Amor. You got me."

The growl ended, and the pressure on Aaron's back disappeared. He pushed himself up and turned around. Amor stood a few steps away with a dragon's smirk on his face and his eyes narrowed. The dragon was now larger than an Ursa Major, so it was no wonder her took Aaron down so easily. _Win,_ he said.

"Yes, you did." Aaron shrugged. "You could take out some experienced Huntsmen like that. I didn't hear you coming at all."

 _Congratulations,_ Nalia called. _You outsmarted a Rider._

Amor's ears perked up and he trotted over to his mother. He hummed and rubbed his side against his mother. Nalia bent her neck down and it looked like she was speaking to her hatchling again. Aaron shook his head. The young dragon was almost as confusing as Nora. Wild dragons normally were, well, wild. They did what they want and only listened to their mothers and the elders. Amor added Aaron, Ruby, and Velvet to the list, if only because he liked getting his belly rubbed and compliments from his mother. He could be as ferocious as a Grimm one minute, a momma's boy the next. At least he was never Orchid levels of cuddly.

Aaron pushed the door open and stepped inside. Zwei barked and ran up to meet him. "Hey, Zwei." Aaron knelt down and scratched the dog's head. "Ruby up yet?"

"She is," Yang called from the kitchen. "She's recharging her limbs."

"Thanks, Yang." Aaron stood up and walked upstairs and toward Ruby's room. He knocked on the door before entering. "Are you decent?"

"Just a second," Ruby said. It sounded like she was whispering something like she did every morning and night now. "Amen… You're good!"

Aaron pushed the door open and turned his head toward his girlfriend's desk. Ruby sat in her chair with a black cord coming out of her arm, and her calf. But the third one… "I'll never get used to seeing that cord coming out of your eye. That's wrong on so many levels."

Ruby turned in her swivel chair to face Aaron. The cord coming out of her eye became a certainty over a general area from a side view. She cocked her head and put her hands on her hips. _"You'll_ never get used to it? I have to stick a needle into my eye! If I move too much, it'll try to pull my eye out of my head! Have you ever had your eye try to leave your skull, but have your eye pull your skull with it? I can tell you this much, it hurts like heck."

Aaron winced and rubbed the right side of his head. "I can't say I can imagine that."

"No, you can't." Ruby shook her head, the cord swinging all over the place. "This is the one thing I don't like about my bionics. They need to be recharged. If only I could get better at efficiency." She hung her head. "It's the reason Project Drake is so small."

"Hey," Aaron put a hand on Ruby's right shoulder, "they'll love it. You'll be tackled twice, if not more."

"Probably… Most likely." A machine beeped and Ruby faced her desk again. "Everything's charged." She pinched two fingers around the cord going into her eye and pulled it out. The small hatch over the pupil closed, and the rest of the eye gained the exact coloration of the other one. "So much better." She yanked the other cords out of her arm and leg.

"Anything planned for the day?" Aaron backed up to give Ruby room.

"Just checking in on Pyrrha." Ruby closed the hatches on her limbs. "She's eight months on now. Got to make sure if the baby's coming early, he'll be in a good place."

"I'm going to be looking after the construction workers for the headquarters. They're laying the cable for direct CCT connection, and they want someone who can cover a lot of area quickly. No one wants to be out there more than needed."

"They should be glad they're not digging the tunnel or the new Vault. Thank you, Eldunarí that helped dig the Vault of Souls." Ruby stood up and grabbed both her scythes off her desk. "I told Pyrrha I'd be there in about a half hour from now."

"I'll let you get to it, but first," Aaron stuck a hand out in front of his girlfriend, "it's that time of day again."

Ruby froze up and looked away. "Do it."

Aaron hugged Ruby and positioned his mouth by her ear. He whispered her True Name… but the Aura flare ended early. Aaron blinked. He didn't mispronounce something, did he? He started again, but this time Ruby's Aura stayed level. She squeezed her boyfriend even tighter. Aaron tried once more, but nothing happened once again.

Ruby pulled her head away. Her mouth hung open and her eyes stayed locked on Aaron's. She laughed once and curled her lips up. She leaned her head forward and rested it on Aaron's chest. "I did it. I did it."

"Yes, you did." Aaron rubbed Ruby's back with both hands. "I guess that video last night tipped you over the edge. Salem can't hurt you like that anymore."

"For now." Ruby pulled away. "I need to stay at least one step ahead of her. I need to figure out what exactly changed in my True Name and see if I can change anything else."

Aaron blinked. That didn't sound okay. "Ruby?"

"We can't let anyone control me, for multiple reasons. If I keep changing, no one can control me."

"Ruby, slow down."

"I can't. If I don't keep changing, she can find out who I am. That's already happened once. I can't be controlled like that again." Ruby dipped her head and hugged herself. "Galbatorix was a master at finding people's True Names. Salem's had millennia to practice. How good is she?"

"Ruby, enough." Aaron clamped his hands on Ruby's shoulders. Ruby raised her head and her lower lip trembled. "I don't blame you for being scared. I'm not going to tell you it's not a big deal, or that you should let go of your fear. I can't imagine what you've been through. It's only natural to be scared of that.

"But I will say this. You can't let your fear control you. That will feed the Grimm, and Salem in all likelihood. It has to be what she wants. If you're this terrified, you're not thinking straight. That would give her a leg up on us. It's not just that. You can't live in constant fear, looking over your shoulder at every turn. That's no way to live.

"Your True Name will change naturally over time. I don't know how many times it happened for me since I first discovered it. You don't need to be trying to change it for it to happen." Aaron brushed some of Ruby's hair out of her face and tucked it behind one of her pointed ears. "You're beautiful the way you are right now. You're funny, caring, strong, loving, and so much more. So many people look up to you like I do. No one wants to see you hurt yourself while trying to force something that will eventually come."

"But… if anyone finds out…"

" _If anyone finds out, and has hostile intent, they will have to deal with me, if Cerise or Yang don't get to them first. No one will control you for long."_

One of Cerise' eyes appeared in the window. She hummed and Ruby looked toward her dragon. It looked like they were having a conversation. After a while, Ruby nodded and hugged Aaron again. "Thank you, you two."

"You're welcome, Ruby." Aaron resumed rubbing Ruby's back. "I'm here for you until the end."

* * *

"So as you can see," Watts pointed at one of the pictures in front of Salem, "there isn't much stopping a small attack force from breaking this out from the SDC Vault."

"It appears you are redeeming yourself." Salem nodded at the doctor, then stretched her mind to fill her castle. _Tyrian, come to the Grand Chamber. I have a new mission for you._ She pulled out of her assassin's head before returning her gaze to Watts. "I don't need to remind you what would happen if this mission fails."

For his part, Watts didn't even flinch. "You do not, because this mission will go off without a hitch, provided Tyrian keeps on task. You know how he is."

"He completes his task, and causes more fear and dread than anticipated, drawing more of my Grimm to the area. As of late, his tactics have been more successful than yours."

Now Watts grimaced. "Maybe, but that will change soon."

The doors at the opposite side of the Grand Chamber opened. Tyrian stepped through, standing a little straighter than he normally did. "You wished to see me, my Queen?"

"I do." Salem nodded. "Doctor Watts has provided information to where the cargo we failed to acquire is being kept, and how to take it."

Tyrian bounced on his feet. "Is Pruma really that dangerous?"

"She was a Rider under Galbatorix. The Riders of Remnant did not hesitate to kill the others. There has to be a reason they have her here like they do."

"When do you want us to carry out our mission?" Watts asked.

"All Riders except the one currently attending Signal are going to be in Menagerie for a wedding in three days, and will likely stay for several more. Ilia has assured me Adam Taurus will be attacking the settlements in that time. I expect you two to raid the SDC vault on the same day. Weiss Schnee likely can communicate with her employees using magic. We cannot have them warning each other of either attack until after both have happened."

"Of course." Watts bowed and walked toward the door.

"My Queen," Tyrian started, "the clan chiefs and tribe leaders in Vacuo I have convinced have all reported in. They will rebel on your word."

"Excellent. You may leave." Salem lifted a hand and raised the back of it twice. Tyrian turned around and ran after Watts. Salem relaxed in her throne. For the first time since the Riders returned, it appeared things were going her way. The Rise of the Riders was over.

* * *

 **So many good things have been happening... on an unrelated note, does anyone know if installing a toilet over a fan is a bad idea?  
**


	28. Pre-Wedding Difficulties

**Oh my gosh, all the movie trailers in the past week. Can you say HYPE?! How to Train Your Dragon 3 too! The Light Fury is pretty. Also E3 this past weekend. I'm a little behind on that and I haven't seen much that I'm interested in yet.  
**

 **On Friday, I posted a one-shot of a theory my co-workers and I came up with a while ago. Not sure how likely the premise is, but I like it, and it terrifies me.**

* * *

Ruby stood up in the saddle as the shoreline came into view. _We're almost there, Cerise!_ She bounced as best as she could with her legs secured. _This is it! This is it!_

 _This is it… in two days._ Cerise snorted. _Contain yourself until then? My engines are still winding down._

 _You're going to have to hold me back. My sister is getting married!_

Cerise tossed her head like a dog. _Yang's getting married? This is news to me. Does she know about this?_

 _You know what I mean._ Ruby slapped her dragon's side. _I'm unofficially related to everyone on my team!_

 _Even Aaron?_ Cerise laughed beneath her Rider.

 _Ew! No! I don't want to date a brother…_ Ruby hung her head. _But… maybe we can start the process for something else soon?_

Cerise raised her ears and turned her head enough so her right eye could look at her Rider. _Ruby, did you really just think that?_

 _Like I said, maybe. I'm not ready to ask… for multiple reasons… And no, you may not tell Nalia or Aaron about this!_

 _My mind is sealed._ Cerise hummed. _No one will hear anything from me._

 _Thank you._ Ruby turned her head to the larger green dragon in the formation. _How's Nalia doing with her hatchling staying on Patch alone?_

Cerise' good mood disappeared. _It's not Amor she's worried about. It's the dragons that kept him in control. With none of us there, it's up to the elves and Violet and Orchid to keep him in line._

Ruby bit her lip. _Do you think we should have left more Eldunarí with him?_

 _The three we left with him should be enough. Irolon should be able to keep them all in line._

 _That's good… We probably should have talked about this before._ Ruby turned her head to see the entire formation. Nalia, Vert, and two Bullheads flew behind Cerise in a diamond formation. In addition to the Riders, teams JNPR and CFVY were split between the Bullheads, and Taiyang was on the one with Yang. From the sound of it, this group had all of Blake's guests from outside Menagerie. She never was the most open, but did she really know so few people in Vale?

A familiar roar came from the coast. Ruby searched for the source. Saphira flew above one point on the island. _I think she wants us to fly there,_ Cerise said.

 _You're the lead dragon. Take us where you want._

Cerise snorted and angled directly for where Saphira flew with the rest of the formation following her. As they approached the island, Ruby observed the city below. The pictures Blake showed the team didn't do it justice. From the air, it looked quite pleasant, if a little overcrowded, but from what Blake said, there was more beneath the surface.

Her dragon dove, forcing Ruby to look ahead of her. A mansion sat in a walled off area, but not in an imposing way. Blake and Sun stood side by side with Weiss a little to the right. Cerise landed in front of them and Ruby took off her helmet. "Hey, friends!" She smiled and waved at those on the ground.

Blake offered a light laugh. "Been talking with Penny?"

"Not really." Ruby slid off her dragon's side. "Just a short call yesterday, and it was more business to figure out how to properly maintain Halcyon's Core."

"Is that what we're officially calling it?" Weiss asked.

"It's an idea, and it's less telling than calling it a soul." Ruby approached the three and hugged the soon-to-be husband and wife. "I'm so happy for you two. Thursday is going to be great!"

"Yes, it will." Blake returned the hug then pulled away with Sun. "There's still a few things to do, but they'll go pretty fast with all your help."

"Not to break this up," Sun pointed at the Bullheads, "but there's no refueling station here. Those things have some pretty good mileage or something?"

"Yes, and we brought our own fuel." Ruby pulled out her Scroll and flipped to her flashlight app. "There someplace in here they can land, or would you rather have them elsewhere?"

"Anywhere with just grass or pathway is fine." Blake waved a hand in front of herself. "I've already cleared it with the groundskeepers."

"Except for the northeast corner." Weiss pointed in said direction. "That's Saphira's, and she's been protective of it."

 _Just as you like your bed in a certain way,_ Saphira called from above, _I like mine in another. I would prefer it only be disturbed by me._

"Got it." Ruby held up her Scroll and waved it at the Bullheads. Both transports followed her across the yard to the northwest corner. They landed right next to each other. Yang and Taiyang stepped out of the one with the Dragon Rider logo, followed by CFVY minus their Rider. Jaune stepped out of the unmarked Bullhead first. He turned back and helped a very pregnant Pyrrha out. The future mother still wore her circlet, but everything else was stretchy pregnancy clothes in her colors.

Jaune reached back into the Bullhead and pulled out the wheelchair Yang used to use. Part of Ruby's good mood disappeared. It was hard seeing this. Ren stepped out of the Bullhead carrying Nora bridal style. If only it was just those two being romantic. He set his fiancé down in the wheelchair and Nora gave him a thumb up. The only reasons Ruby didn't break down were because the best doctors Weiss could find couldn't heal Nora's scar, and Nora was making the most of it.

"Blake Belladonna," Yang's voice broke Ruby out of her funk, "your Maid of Honor has arrived!"

"Nice to see you too, Yang." The partners exchanged a quick embrace, then Blake faced Taiyang. "Glad you could make it, dad."

"I couldn't miss one of my daughters' wedding." Taiyang clapped Blake on the back, hard enough to make her stumble forward, their version of a hug. "One down, three to go."

"You've got two dads?" Sun let out a fake sounding huff. "It would have been nice to have one."

"You turned out okay." Blake elbowed her fiancé.

"Don't get me started on all the relationships." Coco crossed her arms and shook her head. "It's like the Dragon Riders are a family business. It's come up more than you'd think when I'm speaking with the media."

"Don't worry, Coco," Ruby said as she joined the large group. "With Violet coming in and all the ones in Alagaësia, it won't be all family for much longer." She sighed. "Then my job gets a whole lot harder."

"Things are calming down at the SDC," Weiss stated. "If you need help when things get rough, just ask."

Ruby nodded at her partner. "Thanks, sis."

Sun looked around the group, his eyes lingering on Nora for a fraction more. "This everyone?" He asked.

"Everyone but Sage and Scarlet." Velvet crossed her arms. "What happened to them?"

"They're already here." Sun shrugged. "Turns out they were on mission for a long time, then settled down off the grid in south Anima. But when they heard I was getting hitched, they had to be here." He smirked. "Scarlet's going to be a mess at the ceremony. He gets so emotional." He shook his head and stuck a thumb over his shoulder. "We got rooms set up for you all in the manor. You all have to share, but hey, at least you're all close." He turned toward the mansion and most people followed him.

Ruby stayed back with Weiss and Blake. "Hey, can I talk to you two for a second?"

Her teammates turned to face her. "This a team thing?" Blake asked.

"In a way." Ruby looked past Blake. No one else should be within earshot. She focused back on her adopted sisters and let her body sag. "Thank you two, so much." She stepped forward and brought them both into a tight hug. She had just enough room to give them both a kiss on the cheek.

"You're… welcome?" Weiss hesitantly returned the hug.

Blake did the same. "What's this about?"

"I've seen the recording about what happened in the North Sanus Mountains." Both of her 'sisters' tightened their grips. "Thank you for getting me out of there."

"How?" Weiss asked. "I've asked Winter about that before. The specifics are top secret. Not even she knows exactly what happened there."

Ruby pulled back and looked between her teammates, though all arms stayed roughly where they were. "The Atlas hack. That was one thing they got. That's out there, and they got some pretty severe intel on me." She made a cold wind blow around them. Weiss relaxed a bit while Blake shivered. "My guess is Ironwood wants us to figure out how to spin this… but I saw every second of my time in that place. I don't think I'd be standing here without your help."

"So… how are you feeling about this?" Blake asked.

"I'm not bad." Ruby shook her head. "I also learned why all those kids look up to me… and Claret, even though she gets a lot less credit than me. I don't know why."

"You're not going to break down, are you?" Weiss squeezed Ruby's shoulder.

"No." Ruby shook her head. "That would have happened while watching the recording or that night. But I had so many people with me at the time, and Yang and Cerise while I was asleep. You two were the only ones missing that day." Cerise hummed at her Rider from where she lay.

Weiss and Blake stared at Ruby a few seconds more, then relaxed. "Are we done with this for good?" Blake asked.

"Unless the Nevermores show up again, yes. We should be done."

Weiss sighed. "Finally."

"You're telling me." Ruby pulled her hands to her sides and stepped back. She focused on Blake. "What badge did you end up getting?"

Blake reached behind her and pulled out the badge with red swords. "The kind that from the sound of it gives me a command position of sorts."

Ruby tried to keep her smile to a more business-like one over the pure happiness she felt. "Great. No more secrets on team RWBAY. Did Sun get the same?"

"Yeah. Same time I did."

Ruby nodded. "Truth be told, I don't want you keeping secrets from your husband for me, especially ones that could get you in trouble."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Sun would find out eventually, whether I like it or not."

"It took so long to get permission for you." Ruby brought a hand to her head. "Sun, I didn't think that would ever happen."

"How's that going to work when you get more Riders?"

Ruby sighed. "I'm going to have to harden my heart. I don't want to have people keep my secrets, but that's the hand I've been dealt. I'm not going to get permission for very many people in the future."

Blake's shoulders fell. "That's the second time you've said permission. Are you talking about Islanzadí or Oromis?"

"I'll explain to you and Sun at the same time." Ruby raised a hand. "The fewer times I say this out loud, the better." She paused. "Another thing I had to get permission for was to forge a Rider's blade for non-Riders. Rhunön finally relented yesterday. Just say the word, and I can forge Gambol Shroud out of brightsteel, or another weapon if you so choose."

Blake stared at Ruby, then a small smirk formed on her face. "I take it that's not your gift?"

"Nope, and I don't have any brightsteel with me so it could be a while. Oh!" Ruby faced Weiss. "But I do have your new weapon on Cerise' saddle."

"Thank you. I may test that out later today."

"You'll have to fill the Dust chambers and…" Ruby winced. "I've made a few color adjustments to the blade since all Riders' weapons match the scales of their dragons." She trailed her foot through the grass. "I thought you'd like it, but now I'm regretting not asking you."

Weiss blinked, then shrugged. "The only reason Myrtenaster was fully white was because my father wouldn't allow anything else when I built it."

"Oh good." Ruby released her built up tension. "I was worried about that." She shook her head to clear it. "Anyway, did you find anywhere on the east coast that would be suitable for wild dragons?"

"Pretty much the entire coastline." Weiss shrugged. "Of course, the Grimm will be a problem no matter where we go on Remnant, but the number has gone down since the villages there evacuated. They will come back if we settle there, but if there are none of the Alagaësian Grimm there, we should be able to clear it quickly."

"Finally, something I can tell Shruikan. He was getting anxious." Ruby faced Blake. "Why don't we go find Sun? I'd like to get you two read in sooner rather than later."

"Sure thing." Blake started walking toward the manor, with the other two following them.

Elsewhere in the yard, Cerise jumped into the air. _Ruby, I'm going to test Saphira. I could be a while._

"Take your time." Ruby faced her partner. "Saphira tell you about her upcoming test?"

"She just did." Weiss nodded. "I doubt Saphira will be disappointed."

"I'm going to test you at some point too." Ruby elbowed Weiss. "Video instruction is no match for the real thing." They reached the stairs and started climbing them.

About halfway up the steps, Blake looked over her shoulder at Ruby. "Weiss said that Sun and I were the first ones to get the badges, not even Ozpin or your family."

"Ozpin's at that level, but he's bound to the Kingdom of Vale and Beacon. He can't officially be a part of the Riders. Dad and uncle Qrow…" Ruby shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, I love them both to death and I trust them with Cerise' life. But they haven't fought by my side for years, or saved my life on multiple occasions. You have, and from what you've said, Sun has done the same for you."

"I don't suppose the same can be said for Neptune?" Weiss asked.

Ruby cocked her head at her partner. "Did you really just ask if Neptune can keep a secret?"

Weiss sighed. "I did, and he still can't."

Blake pushed the doors open to her house and looked around. After that, she faced Ruby. "I'm surprised you haven't noticed yet."

"Noticed what?" Ruby looked between Weiss and Blake. Blake didn't sound too serious, and Weiss was trying and failing to hold back a smile.

"You noticed with Pyrrha right away, why not me?"

"Pyrrha? What does she…" Ruby stopped mid-sentence and mid-step as Blake put a hand on her stomach. She stretched her mind toward her teammate. She felt a little life force growing inside Blake. "Oh." The Rider's own excitement built up.

"Please don't explode in the halls." Blake held her hands up in front of her. "My dad's kind of traditional when it comes to this."

Ruby pursed her lips and nodded. "Aaron's the same way, and that is completely fine with me."

"I'll keep that in mind. Hopefully Sun will stay quiet, not that there's much stopping Aaron from using his mind." Blake pushed open a door to an office where Sun already was.

Ruby moved to follow her teammate, but a hand fell on her shoulder. She faced her partner. Weiss no longer held back her smile. It stretched from ear to ear and her eyes shone like the ocean in the midday sun. _We're going to have a baby on the team!_ she screamed with her mind.

 _I know!_ Ruby bounced on her feet. _And with Pyrrha expecting in a few weeks, can this day get any better?_ She turned around and followed Blake into the room, the door closing behind her.

"Everyone settled in?" Blake asked her fiancé.

"Yeah. They're all in their rooms, and I gave them the basic rundown of what we need to do in the next few days." Sun sat in one of the desk chairs. "I take it we're about to be read in?"

"Yes." Ruby pulled up another chair. "I know some of this may sound a little confusing, but since some of these things could very well end up on Menagerie, someone here needs to know about it. Still, it's not my place to talk about it." She turned her head to where she felt her dragon. "Umaroth, you have the floor."

 _Thank you, Shadeslayer,_ the ancient dragon said. Blake and Sun jumped and looked around. _Know this, you two, this is not information I give out freely. Very few people have ever known about our existence._

"Umaroth?" Blake brought a hand up to her head. "Where have I heard that name before?"

 _My Rider was the elf Vrael. We were Ruby and Cerise' predecessors._

"Ghosts?" Sun jerked his head to Ruby, then stared back at the ceiling.

"Not ghosts." Ruby shook her head. "Dragons, but in a different state of life." From there, Ruby let Umaroth brief her friends on the nature of the Eldunarí, and it also sounded like Blake was the one that Umaroth was trusting on Menagerie with the information, not her father. Ruby felt a pang of guilt about that, but then again, she was doing the same thing with her dad.

About halfway through the normal explanation, Sun's Scroll rang. He swore under his breath as he fished it out of a pocket. He checked the caller ID. "Sorry, it's the station. I got to take this." He stood up and walked away. "Detective Sun Wukong… Yes, I'm here why?" He stiffened up. "What? Are you sure?" Sun ran a hand through his hair. "Shit. This isn't good." He turned around and locked eyes with Ruby. "We've got the Riders here. They should be able to help. Where was this-" Sun jerked his Scroll away from his head. Ruby heard gunshots.

The Rider jumped to her feet. "What's going on?"

"Adam Taurus has been spotted south of the city. I didn't get anything else before shots were fired." Sun brought his Scroll back to his ear. "Hey, what's going on there?"

Ruby faced the city and stretched her mind to her dragon. _Cerise, get back now._

 _On my way,_ Cerise said. _What's going on?_

 _I don't know yet._ Ruby redirected her mind toward the city. There were a lot of people with hostile intent coming their way. "Check that. We're under attack! There are people approaching the manor from all sides." She stretched her mind toward all those under her command. _Red alert! We're under attack. Meet in the foyer._ Ruby looked between the couple. "Sun, you're with us. Blake… I can't stop you, but if you're carrying, I want you nowhere near the fighting.

"That is fine with me." Blake clenched her fists. "Someone needs to hang back and help my parents."

"JNPR will probably help you with that." Ruby left the room and pulled Máni Bláto off her belt. Several sets of footsteps thundered behind her. She pulled open the front door and extended her weapon to scythe form. She looked down the scope just in time to see someone in a White Fang mask walk through the gates. The Rider aimed at the woman's chest and pulled the trigger. The attacker fell backward, but there was no hole in her chest.

"What's going on?" Yang asked behind her.

Ruby turned around to face every able-bodied Huntsman and Huntress in the building. This was an impressive force. "The White Fang is attacking. Without going into their heads, I think we arrived just in time to stop a coup."

"Then let's kick some teeth in." Yang punched her fists together and her gauntlets expanded.

"My thoughts exactly. Sun, what's the vital infrastructure like around here?"

"The police station in the city is also the barracks for the militia and any hired Huntsmen who can't find other housing," Sun pointed to a smoke cloud in the city. "That's them. The rest of SSSN is there now, so they should be in good shape. Of course, Ghira lives here, and this is one of the few administrative buildings on Menagerie. This place falls, the White Fang will have everything. Other than that, there's the power plant east of the city and the local Scroll tower."

"Got it." Ruby stared back into the courtyard, where a bit of a firefight had started between the White Fang and who Ruby thought were the Menagerie police. This place should be in good hands. The Rider faced the group again. "Sun, dad, I know I have no authority over you two, but I'd like you at the police station."

Her dad shrugged. "You're mom's in your head, and she was the boss of me."

"What?" Sun jerked his head toward Tai, then shook it. "Know what, forget I asked."

"Cerise will take you two there. Get going." The two blondes ran past Ruby. Cerise flew over the courtyard, breathing fire on the White Fang below. She rolled over her Rider and something dropped from the saddle. Ruby reached out and caught Weiss' new weapon. Cerise then landed and her two temporary Riders jumped on. Ruby faced the rest of her forces. "CFVY, defend the Scroll tower. Weiss, Aaron, you get the powerplant. You've got an army of your own to work with."

Weiss nodded at her partner and grabbed her new weapon. She turned the weapon over in her hands and nodded. "Thanks, Ruby. This will work well. I'll call you for backup if things go wrong."

"We might not need the army." Aaron shrugged. "They'll probably want the power plant in one piece if they want the island." The temporary partners ran down the stairs to their waiting dragons.

"Haven't used a dragon copy in a while." Velvet rolled her shoulders. "I should be able to get us over there."

"Don't strain yourself, Velvet," Yatsu said.

"Don't worry. I can do it." Team CFVY left the manor, leaving the half sisters alone.

Ruby nodded at Yang. "Me and you, sis. We're going after Adam."

"Fine with me." Yang grimaced. "I didn't smack him around enough for what he did to Blake." She looked to the side. "Halcyon?"

 _On my way._ A few seconds later, the Rider's Bullhead flew in front of the manor and settled down. _Waiting on you two._

Ruby ran down the steps of the manor while keeping her weapon trained on the entry to the courtyard. The White Fang had built a wooden barrier with things taken from outside. Not enough to stop rounds from Máni Bláto. The Rider fired into the squad of White Fang, knocking over or killing at least one militant with each shot. She jumped into the Bullhead and kept her weapon aimed at the White Fang.

But she didn't fire anymore. She focused on the people with holes in their chests and heads. Ruby took the scope away from her eye and brought Máni Bláto back inside. It was getting too easy. She didn't even hesitate. She shook her head. This was a battle. People died. She couldn't save everyone. Not everyone would want to be saved… But she wasn't a soldier. She was supposed to stop people from dying. Using magic for this would end the battle in seconds, but it would be unethical. She'd be playing god, and that was not acceptable.

"Ruby, you okay?" Yang asked. "We need your head in the game here."

"I'm fine." Ruby clenched her eyes, opened them, and aimed her sniper back outside. "You find Adam. I'll snipe." She looked back through the scope and found a group of White Fang near where Cerise fought by the police station. The Rider took care to aim at the Faunus' arms or legs, only knocking them down, or occasionally dismembering them. It was better than outright death.

As the battle drive on, something nagged at the back of Ruby's head, the same thing from the _Saint Nick._ This was too easy. The Grimm were trying to get away with Pruma there. What were they after here? Bring Grimm down on the city? That sounded counter-productive for their end goal. Then again, with Adam back in charge, things could very well change.

"I think I found him," Yang called. She pointed south. "There are only a few other people around him, all of them White Fang."

 _I feel him too._ Halcyon banked the Bullhead and sped toward the south. _Let's end this._

Ruby grabbed the rail just inside the crew compartment and leaned out of the Bullhead. It looked like they were flying toward a warehouse district, or what passed for one in a place with very few imports and exports… _Dang it, Weiss…_ She stretched her mind out that way and found five minds. She never felt Adam's mind before, so she had to take Yang's word for it.

Halcyon flew over the largest warehouse and faced it toward the open cargo doors. The guns turned up but he didn't fire. _You're green to drop. Go! Go! Go!_

"We're not military, Halcyon." Ruby dropped out of the Bullhead and fell the twenty or so feet toward the ground. She rolled and aimed Máni Bláto inside. Just as Yang said, Adam Taurus stood in the center of four other militants. "It's over, Adam!" Ruby yelled. The five inside the warehouse turned to face her. Adam had a jacket that looked like it spent a little too much time at a zipper factory. "There's no way you're getting out of here."

Adam smirked, then laughed. "And who's going to stop me, you two? Someone who's scared of her own shadow and the one who can't protect something several times her size?"

"It worked pretty well the last time we fought." Yang stepped forward, the ignition flame on Ember Halcyon burning. "Remember that? I shattered your arm and your face."

"I'd like to see you do the same now." Adam drew his sword.

Ruby stiffened. The way Adam said that… she whispered a simple spell to see if someone had wards. It felt like Adam had several. It was confirmed. The White Fang was working with Salem. _No magic, Yang._ Ruby drew Crescent Rose and fully extended her first weapon. _He's got wards. Don't know what._

 _Gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way._ "Pilot, no one leaves this building but us."

 _Copy that, Blondie._ The guns on the Bullhead spun up again and it lowered even further.

Adam pointed his sword forward. "Kill them." Two of his grunts drew rifles, the other two ran forward with swords. The riflemen fired, but Ruby caught all the shots on her two weapons.

"Blondie, take Adam. I'll join you after I mop up these guys."

"Got it, Cyborg." Yang ran forward and jumped over the swordsmen before continuing to Adam.

Despite the fact Ruby was using her weapons to block full auto fire from two assault rifles, she could swat the two swordsmen in front of her without taking a hit from anything. As soon as they got close, the Huntress used her Semblance to run to the side. The bullets stopped flying and both swordsmen followed the trail of rose petals to Ruby.

The Rider hooked Crescent Rose behind her and activated her Semblance again. She ran forward and caught both Faunus on her weapon's blade. Ruby stopped and swung her weapon around, flinging the two into a large crate. The wood broke open and dozens of familiar crystals fell out. That would have been nice to know beforehand.

Ruby turned around just in time to block another set of Dust rounds flying at her. For their part, the soldiers stood their ground without shaking or running. These men must have been picked by Adam himself. Too bad they were on the wrong side.

The Huntress continued to spin her weapons around herself, blocking every bullet that flew her way. When one of them stopped to reload, Ruby aimed Máni Bláto at him and pulled the trigger. He flew backward and slammed into a concrete pillar. The other rifleman's weapon clicked. He dropped it and started to draw the short sword on his belt. Ruby ran forward and slammed the blunt side of Máni Bláto into the man's back. He flew toward the other side of the warehouse and into another crate, spilling out more Dust. That could be a problem.

Another part of the warehouse lit up. Yang and Adam had crossed blades, and Yang fired Ember Halcyon, literally. A ten-foot flame burst from the weapon and around Adam's head. Adam pushed away and backed up a few steps. "How's that enhanced eyesight working now?" Yang taunted.

"Nice work, Blondie," Ruby ran to her sister's side. "But reign the fire in. We're surrounded by Dust."

Yang blinked and looked around. "Oops."

"Listen to your sister, human." Adam regained his composure and raised his weapon. It looked like his hair was glowing too. Blake warned the team about that years ago. "It might keep you alive longer."

"Who's kicking whose butt here?" Yang raised Sun's Light. "Surrender, and you might not get humiliated."

"I don't think so." Adam dashed forward and sliced at Yang. The Rider caught it about halfway up Sun's Light. The weapon held for a second, then Adam's red blade cut through. It continued on to hit Yang but just bounced off her stronger wards.

Yang stumbled back and stared at half of a weapon. Ruby did the same, and a new rage built up inside her. Her mother's weapon was just destroyed. She glared at the whackjob behind the action. "You're going to wish you didn't do that."

Ruby yelled and swung both her weapons around herself. Both scythes hit Adam's sword at roughly the same time. Crescent Rose just made sparks, but Máni Bláto cut clean through. The Rider went with the backswing and flipped both weapons around. The backs of the scythes slammed into the terrorist. His mask shattered and he flew toward Halcyon's Bullhead and out the door.

"Don't be stupider than you already are, Adam." Ruby walked toward the terrorist with her weapons at her side. "Surrender. You've got me and Yang on this side, and a Bullhead right behind you. Your main weapon is gone. Trying anything now would be suicide. You've lost."

Adam pushed himself off the ground and raised his head. Half of his mask was destroyed, and one red eye glared up at Ruby. He rose to his feet, then did something Ruby didn't expect. He smirked and _laughed._ "I don't think so, human." He raised his arms and put his hands behind his head. "Arrest me if you want. I might be in jail, but you'll have the bigger problem."

Ruby froze and stretched her mind out to all her allies. _Everyone, look out for anything or anyone suspicious. Adam's surrendering and laughing. This can't be good._ "What are you up to, Adam?"

"The better question is, what are _you_ up to? Attacking and destroying Menagerie's main Dust warehouse doesn't sound like you. What will the Kingdoms thi-" A red beam of light shot over Ruby's shoulder and hit Adam in the face.

Ruby dropped her shoulder and rolled out of the way. She popped up to a knee and aimed Máni Bláto toward where that laser came from. Yang was the only one she saw in that area. There weren't any minds over there either. The Rider looked back over her shoulder. Adam lay on the ground, unmoving. No life force either. "Yang, take care of Adam. I'll go after whoever did this."

Yang ran past her sister and Ruby closed her natural eye. She ran a tracking program to see where the shot came from. A red dotted line appeared in her field of view. Ruby stood up and ran along it, but there were no crates along the way, and no androids before the line hit an untouched stone wall. She felt no other minds in the area either. She wasn't good enough at forensics to search the scene either.

Ruby looked back to where Yang leaned over the body of the dead terrorist. Someone killed Adam when he was surrendering… How did they get laser technology? Unless Atlas made some advancements they didn't want the rest of Remnant to know about, Crescent Rose should have been the only small arms weapon capable of shooting lasers. Adam was laughing before he was shot. What the heck was going on here?

* * *

 **Ohhhh, so _that's_ why you don't mount a toilet over a fan. If it leaks stuff goes everywhere. I'll know for next time.  
**


	29. New Assignments

**I've seen Incredibles 2 twice now. Great movie, I would even say it's… incredible! Aaaaayyyyyy… I'll show myself out and drop this on the way.**

* * *

Aaron shook his head. "There's no footage at all besides the stuff that was leaked to the Mistral media?"

In the mirror, Sun crossed his arms and grimaced. "There's nothing. The manager says the cameras weren't cooperating for the past month. They'd come on for a few minutes, then go off. No pattern. She had to post guards outside. Those guards were found dead in the break room. Then there's the fact that the recording equipment was clawed to hell. The techs here can't get anything out of it."

"Alagaësian Grimm. Has to be. So glad they weren't in the real attack." Aaron faced Weiss in the second mirror. "And the charges?"

"I ran all the serial numbers," Weiss said. "They're all ours, but they were on the convoy the White Fang raided months ago. We couldn't have placed them."

"Not that anyone here thinks you did." Sun shrugged. "You couldn't have been here for what, a half hour? You physically couldn't have set anything like that up."

"At least they didn't detonate." Aaron returned his attention to Weiss. "Any updates with the vault?"

"Unfortunately not." Weiss shook her head. "One second, all androids and guards are doing what they should. The next, they're all dead, shut down, or destroyed… and Pruma's gone. We have no idea where. The tracking spells I put on her are gone. She could be anywhere." She dipped her head. "Then again, I doubt what I can do is anywhere close to what the rest of you can do."

Aaron sighed. "We're going to Alagaësia to bring the news to Islanzadí, Oromis, and Deynor. They'll need to know about this."

Weiss shifted on her feet. "How's Ruby taking this?"

Aaron clenched his fists. "People are saying she's a murderer or otherwise unstable. How do you think she's doing?"

"Most people here know she'd never do that," Sun said. "I don't know how someone else got a laser weapon, but I know Ruby would never kill someone surrendering."

"She'll be happy to know that." Aaron paused. "Sorry for taking you away from your honeymoon for this."

"It's not your fault." Sun shook his head. "You didn't stage a coup against Menagerie." He looked to the side. "I've got to go. The Missus is calling me." Sun walked out of view, and Aaron cut the energy keeping that spell active.

"I've got to go too," Weiss said. "I'm meeting with my head of security and our liaison with Atlas. We need to get this figured out sooner rather than later. Keep an eye on my sister for me."

"Don't worry, I will." Aaron cut the energy flow to Weiss' mirror and left his room. He heard what sounded like a news report coming from downstairs. His shoulders slumped. Ruby was at it again.

Aaron stopped at the top of the stairs and looked into the living room. Ruby sat on the couch hugging her knees, with Zwei resting by her side. On the projector, VNN ran a story on the failed coup. But like all news stations the past week, they always ran the security camera footage of Adam being shot by something that could only be a handheld laser.

"Ruby, why are you still watching this?" Aaron asked as he finished walking down the steps.

"In case something else comes out." Ruby turned her head around. "No luck so far."

"I just talked to Sun. That doesn't sound like it will change anytime soon."

Ruby sighed and rested her chin on her knees again. "I didn't kill him. I'm not a murderer. I'm not unstable."

"Someone set you up, and that same someone wanted Adam dead." Aaron grabbed the remote off the end table and shut off the projector. "If we're going to speak with Kings and Queens, it would not do to have you feeling sorry for yourself."

"I know." Ruby shook her head. "But I need to know what people are saying about me. We're picking up Lord Däthedr and Barst in two hours, right?"

"Yes. We'll need to establish when or if we will pick them up after our meetings."

Ruby shook her head. "Back to politics." Her Scroll rang. She set her legs on the floor and pulled her Scroll from a pocket. "Rider Ruby Rose… Whoa, whoa, Jaune slow down. What's happening?" Ruby's jaw dropped, but it still managed to form a smile. "I'll be right there! Just stay by her side. I'll do what I can when I get there. See you in a few." She closed her Scroll and ran for the door.

"Ruby, what's going on?" Aaron asked.

"Not much." Ruby beamed back at Aaron. "Except Pyrrha's gone into labor! I'm heading to Vale to help out." She jumped and pulled the front door open. She ran outside and jumped directly onto Cerise saddle. The dragon took off not a second later and flew straight for the mainland.

Aaron watched his girlfriend fly off, then reached into his left pocket. His fingers brushed against a box that up until yesterday he did not own. Maybe Ruby would be in the right mood in Du Weldenvarden. Several other steps of the process had already been completed, some of them scared him to no end. All that was needed was the final setup and the action itself.

But now definitely wasn't the time for that. Ruby was off to help bring another life into the world. Aaron wasn't sure about what the process was on Remnant, but among humans in Alagaësia, the only man allowed in the room was the father, or a Rider if something went wrong with the delivery. Ruby was fully capable of helping Pyrrha through it. Aaron being there would be unnecessary.

For the next hour, Aaron watched the continuing coverage of what people thought happened in Menagerie. Not much had changed, except that an 'expert' on VNN said that if Ruby made a laser sniper, it was possible that someone else could do the same thing. But he didn't get much farther than that before the anchors spoke over him.

After about an hour of flipping through the news channels, Aaron left the house and walked to Nalia's side. "Think I gave Ruby enough time?"

Nalia hummed and blinked, her pupils huge. _I think so. I've heard elves can sing a baby into the world in no time at all. Ruby isn't quite that good, but I have every confidence in her._

"I thought so too." Aaron paused. "And… the other thing?"

Nalia hummed and nuzzled her Rider. _I can't say for sure, but I think she'll be super excited._

"Just don't tell Ruby or Cerise about this." Aaron climbed up his dragon's side.

Nalia laughed. _I wouldn't even think of it. That is something they need to hear firsthand._ She jumped out of the yard and flew toward the mainland. _We'll take it slow just in case, let Ruby do her magic._

Aaron smirked. "Are Yang and Halcyon getting to you?"

Nalia's wings hitched for a fraction of a second. _I think they're getting to you. No pun was intended._

 _I thought it was pretty good,_ Irolon chipped in.

 _Of course, you did._ Nalia snorted. _You were in Yang's head for quite some time._ She hummed. _Pyrrha is going to be a mother. She will do great._

 _It's not like she won't have help. She'll have her team, and several others to help out._

"Not to mention a few dragon bodyguards for the baby." Aaron patted his dragon's side.

Nalia looked back at her Rider. _There is that too._ Her eyes diverted to somewhere behind her, then faced forward again. Aaron could feel that his dragon was having a conversation with someone, probably Irolon, but he was not a part of it. He didn't interfere.

Aaron stayed silent the rest of the flight. Nalia landed on the Vale General ramp next to Cerise. The Rider dismounted and descended to skyway level. He stretched his mind into the building to find his destination. He found Ruby, surrounded by all members of JNPR, and the presence that was growing inside of Pyrrha for the past eight and a half months. Aaron couldn't help but smile. Everyone in that room was happy if not downright joyful. It was infectious.

 _Aaron, come on up,_ Ruby said, almost like she was in a dream. _Everyone's here, and he's beautiful._

 _I'm on my way._ Aaron stopped at the reception desk, but that was only for formalities. He climbed the stairs two levels and walked through several halls until he found the room everyone was in. The Rider knocked on the door twice, then pushed it open.

The first thing in the room he noticed was how beautiful was Ruby sitting in a chair, smiling down at a baby in a towel. Her smile spread from ear to ear. She caressed the side of the baby's face. The baby gurgled, and Ruby giggled. She looked up at Aaron. Her eyes gleamed like he never saw before. "Come in and close the door," she said. "We don't want to startle him."

Aaron stepped inside the room and guided the door shut behind him. He finally noticed everyone else in the room. Nora leaned forward on her wheelchair, her elbows on her knees and chin in her hands. Her pursed lips and shaking arms showed just how much energy was built up inside her. Ren held a hand on his fiancé's shoulder and smiled at the baby. Jaune leaned against the bed holding his wife's hand, his eyes directed toward his firstborn.

Pyrrha sat up in her bed, not at all looking like she just gave birth. Her eyes were alert, there was no hint of any sweat, and she was breathing normally. Her eyes were locked on her baby, the biggest smile she had ever sported on her face. "How'd it go?" Aaron asked the new mother.

"Wonderfully." Pyrrha took her eyes off her newborn. "When I first got here, it was… painful, then Ruby walked in and took all the pain away." Pyrrha faced Ruby. "You really do have a wonderful voice."

"I don't know where I got it." Ruby slowly stood up. "I'm sure you heard me sing before Cerise hatched for me." She stepped toward Aaron and stopped by his side. She leaned over and held out the bundle in front of her boyfriend. "See? Isn't he cute?"

Ruby was right. The baby boy had big green eyes, just like his mother. A tuft of his father's blonde hair stuck out of his head. His cheeks had the normal baby chubby cheeks and then some. He shifted his gaze from Ruby to Aaron. His arms and legs shuffled and the edges of his lips twitched up for a second. Aaron brushed his mind against the baby's. He was happy in the way only babies can be.

"What's his name?" Aaron asked as he brushed a finger against the side of the baby's head.

"Rusty," Pyrrha said, "named after my grandfather."

Rusty turned his head toward his mother's voice. He whined and wiggled in Ruby's arms. "I think Rusty wants to go back to his mommy." Ruby walked to the bed and handed Rusty back to his mother.

Pyrrha took her baby back and held Rusty close to her heart. She rocked from side to side. "Did you miss mommy?" She asked the baby. "I missed you."

"Daddy missed you too." Jaune reached a hand out rested his index finger in his child's hand. Rusty's little fingers wrapped around it.

Ruby made a squeaking noise with her mouth shut. Her Scroll rang and she whipped it out of her pocket and covered the speaker with a hand. She brought it to her ear and walked toward the door. "Rider Ruby Rose." She pulled the door open and left the room.

Aaron stood near the back of the room, letting the new parents faun over their newborn. For once, Ren was more talkative than Nora. Then again, if Nora opened her mouth, all her built up energy would explode out. That wouldn't be good for the baby or her. Aaron didn't really have anything to say. He knew how to work around animals better than kids, especially newborns. This was out of his comfort zone, but everyone else in the room was more than happy with this.

The door opened again, and Ruby stepped inside with her head drooped and her lips out. "Our plans have changed. We need to leave now." She looked at Aaron. "There's been a development with Vale's and Mistral's council. They've heard that there's no Grimm in Alagaësia and they want land. Neither Barst or Däthedr liked it. Apparently when they refused, one of the councilmen called Barst a barbarian and Däthedr a pixie. Both of our diplomats want to leave Remnant as soon as possible."

Aaron sighed. "We're going to need to let others in Alagaësia know the spells to get to and from there. We can't be doing this forever."

"I know. It's a pain." Ruby faced everyone else in the room. "Sorry guys, we've got to go."

"Good luck on the other side." Pyrrha nodded on the Riders. "I know how much you two don't like the politics side of things."

"Safe flying." Jaune faced his newborn. "Say bye-bye to Auntie Ruby and Uncle Aaron, Rusty." He raised his baby's arm and made it wave.

Ruby's smile returned and she bent down to Rusty's eye level. "Bye-bye." She gave the newborn a fingers only wave. "See you later." Aaron raised a hand and shook it side to side a little. Then Ruby grabbed his other arm and pulled him out of the room. She continued to pull him through the hospital until they reached a stairwell. Once inside, she turned around and shook Aaron's arm by the elbow. "Aaaarooooon! He was sooooo cute! Why didn't you say more?" It didn't sound like she was accusing him.

"I've had more time with animals." Aaron shrugged as best as he could with one arm being treated like a protein shake. "I've barely had any time with babies, and I definitely haven't delivered any. That is solely a woman's duty in Alagaësia."

Ruby's smile faded for a fraction of a second, then returned in full force. "Well, you'll have a lot of time to work on that with Rusty and Blake's baby coming up!" She released Aaron's arm then walked down the stairs. "Let's go! Onto…" Ruby froze midstep, then her whole body slumped, "…politics. Ugh. I'm done with my free trial of adulthood. I'd like to cancel my subscription."

"I don't think it works like that, Ruby."

"I know. I had to try."

* * *

Ruby was glad she wasn't in the Bullhead with the pilot. Däthedr and Barst were not happy at all. While the elf on the outside appeared passive, even a gentle touch of his mind revealed the fire raging inside. But at least he kept it contained. Barst was raging against just about everything. The Bullhead being loaned from Vale would probably need some new equipment when it returned to Vale. Dealing with them for only five minutes on the ground tempered her attitude from the hospital.

 _I'm actually looking forward to meeting with Shruikan now,_ Ruby told her dragon.

Cerise growled. _You would think Barst would control his emotions. I do not know how long he can keep a diplomatic position if he is like this._

… _So you're saying all I need to do is have a temper tantrum in public and I don't have to do this anymore?_

 _I'm talking about Alagaësian politics. You would fit right in anywhere on Remnant._

 _Unfortunately._ Ruby shook her head and looked at the citadel courtyard in front of her. The giant gates were already open. Cerise, Nalia, and the Bullhead landed in the courtyard. The Riders dismounted their dragons and Barst stepped out of the Bullhead. He wasn't screaming his head off anymore, but his teeth were still bared and his fists still clenched.

A familiar and welcome face walked out of one of the towers. Brom had a few armor plates covering his shoulders and chest, but nowhere else. He also wore a lot more blue. "Are we expecting an attack, Brom?" Ruby asked.

"Nay." Brom shook his head. "But I will be leading an attack on a bandit camp in the next week. I was waiting for you to arrive before setting out with my men." He shifted his gaze toward the Bullhead. "It appears Barst is irritated."

"That is an understatement." Aaron walked up to Ruby's side and crossed his arms. "I will not repeat the things he called Vale's council once we met up with him."

"Brom," Ruby started, "I would like you to hold your departure for a little longer. You will need to know some of the things we're going to tell King Deynor."

"My men are waiting on my word. They will need to wait a little longer."

"Good to hear." Ruby turned around and walked toward the massive gates. The dragons and other Riders followed her. Barst stayed a few dozen feet behind Cerise' tail. At least he knew not to listen in on Rider business. "How have things been here?"

"As well as can be expected. The cities have stabilized, and now accept Deynor's rule. Things are returning to the way they were before Galbatorix seized power. Trade is being discussed with Surda, the dwarves, and the elves. The particulars are still being discussed, but we are expecting the outcome to benefit all involved."

Ruby nodded, thankful that Brom didn't go into further detail. She didn't understand Remnant economics. Everything from Alagaësia would break her brain if she tried to understand. Loud sniffing behind her caught her attention. She looked over her shoulder at the dragons. Both Nalia and Cerise had their snouts raised and turned them in every direction.

"What of the new Riders?" Aaron asked. Ruby returned her attention to the people beside her.

"They are all in Ellesméra training with Oromis," Brom said. "The shepherd and the elf are progressing as anticipated. The Surdan…" He shook his head. "From what Oromis has said in his letters, he resists Oromis' teachings. He treats his dragon like a pet or a possession."

Ruby clenched her fists. "How often did that happen on Vroengard?"

"Very little, and many of those Riders changed their actions and beliefs after spending several months with their dragons. Most of the Forsworn did not treat their dragons like that, with the exception of Yasdal and Glaerun."

"So what do we do about it?"

"Empower the dragon, or make the Rider see how much their dragon means to them. Neither are easy to do."

"If anyone can do it, it's Oromis," Aaron said. "He was one of the better instructors on Vroengard."

Cerise yipped and stomped a foot. Nalia did the same a second later. Ruby stared at the dragons. Both of them held their wings and heads high. Cerise looked down at Brom. _How many eggs have hatched?_

Ruby dropped her jaw and she whipped her head toward the golden doors at the end of the hall. More hatched?

"Two wild dragons have broken free of their shells," Brom said with a smile. "Both in the past month. One male, one female. All signs point to them liking each other."

A huge smile burst onto Ruby's face but disappeared just as quickly. "Have they left the citadel yet?"

"Nay. The Eldunarí that we have saved from themselves are not strong enough to reach outside these walls. Inside, we may keep an eye on them." Brom's shoulders fell. "I am sure you are aware of the problems of raising a dragon in a confined space."

"No fresh air, no hunting, no survival skills." Ruby shook her head. This just advanced the timetable considerably. "Let's meet with Deynor quick, then I need to speak with Shruikan."

 _If it's all the same with you,_ Nalia started, _I would like to see the hatchlings._

 _I would as well._ Cerise hummed.

"Go ahead," Ruby gestured at the doors at the end of the hall. "But leave our problem to me." Both dragons nodded, then walked past the Riders.

"Shall we proceed?" Brom gestured down a side hallway. He walked down it and the Riders followed. The route was the same as it was when the Riders visited before returning to Remnant the first time. It appeared Deynor's temporary throne room wasn't so temporary after all.

They reached the room and Brom pushed the door open. Ruby stepped inside and looked around. New banners and paintings hung on the walls, with torches in between them. Any bare wall space had been painted white. The throne and podium had not changed. It felt much more welcoming now, much better than the dungeon feeling before.

Deynor stood up from his throne. "Ruby Shadeslayer, Aaron Benson, welcome back to Alagaësia."

"Thank you for welcoming us again." Ruby gave Deynor a polite bow. "But we cannot stay long. There is a situation on Remnant that requires our attention. If at all possible, we would like to be back there tomorrow morning. That is why we did not just drop of Lord Barst."

Deynor raised an eyebrow. "What kind of situation?"

"There are two actually, but I believe they may go hand in hand. During an attempted coup in the territory of Menagerie, I fought the rebel leader. He was surrendering, but was killed in such a way that points to me as his murderer."

"If he led a coup, what rights does he have? He should be executed for his crimes." A small smirk formed on his face. "The irony of my words is not lost on me."

"It is not that simple." Aaron stepped forward. "Punishment for crimes is substantially different between here and Remnant. In two of the four Kingdoms and Menagerie, capital punishment is rarely used, and only on the most severe crimes, and after deemed guilty by a jury of their peers. Much like when a criminal surrenders here, they must not be killed. Here, depending on the crime, it could be seen as justice. On Remnant, killing someone with their hands behind their head is murder."

"Someone leaked the footage to the media in the Kingdoms, now people on Remnant have seen someone with a laser weapon kill a defenseless man." Ruby crossed her arms and refused to look down. She hoped her real feelings didn't show on her face or voice. "Until we can clear my name, the Rider's influence on Remnant will be greatly reduced. Even then, it may take a long time for things to recover.

"At the same time this happened, someone broke into the Schnee Dust Company's most secure vault and took Pruma."

Deynor's eyes locked in on Ruby's. "Do you have any idea who?"

"Nothing certain but we have a good guess. The Shade Salem has been trying to kill us since just after we killed Galbatorix."

Deynor sat back down on his throne. "Considering I have not received reports of a large number of former slaves dying, Pruma is still alive."

"But now she is likely with someone with similar feelings toward us," Aaron said. "Having one of the Forsworn working with Salem in the first place is bad enough. But with the curse on Pruma, we can't touch her. We have to hope Salem doesn't have a way to defrost Pruma."

"That's a big question right now." Ruby bit her tongue. Deynor didn't know about the Maidens, and Ruby didn't have the time to read him in. If Salem had the Spring Maiden under her control, Pruma could very well be walking around soon.

"I would send an envoy to Ellesméra now," Deynor started, "but I believe you intend on flying there when we are done here."

"We do, after we meet with Shruikan." Ruby nodded. "Since we have Lord Däthedr with us as well, we would prefer to fly sooner rather than later."

"Of course." Deynor nodded. "I would not keep the elves waiting. I wish you luck in finding and capturing Pruma."

"Thank you, your Highness." Ruby gave another polite bow and so did Aaron. They left the room, and Brom followed after them.

"How could Weiss let Pruma go free?" Brom growled. "She knows what kind of danger the curse poses."

"She does," Ruby agreed, "but she hardly let Pruma be taken. That vault was one of the most secure on Remnant. Most people don't even know it exists, much less where it is."

Aaron clenched his fists. "Weiss took to Viki right away. It wasn't long after that that she thought of my sister as her own. She doesn't want anything to happen to Viki any more than we do. If Pruma dies, there's a good chance Viki does too."

"Which is why we need to get back and start our search for real," Ruby continued. The golden doors loomed in front of her. "But we can't just ignore everything else we do either."

The doors swung inward, and a small yellow streak ran past the opening, followed by a brown one, then Cerise. Ruby stepped inside and stared after her dragon. Cerise growled at the two hatchlings in front of her, but with no menace in the growl or her emotions. The possibly two-week old hatchlings, however, growled back as hard as they could, but they still sounded cute over scary. Nalia snorted off to the side and approached the hatchlings. Both young ones looked to their elder and silenced. Nalia growled and clawed at the ground, and made all sorts of other sounds that only a dragon could understand.

The hatchlings looked at each other, then growled at Cerise. They ran forward and jumped at Cerise' neck. They hooked on with their claws and jaws. Cerise yelped and tried to throw the hatchlings off, but considering she could have used her paws to pry them off in a second, she wasn't trying too hard. After a few seconds of 'struggling,' she collapsed and her tongue lolled out of her mouth.

The yellow hatchling climbed Cerise' back and roared at the ceiling, while brown poked Cerise' snout with a paw and jumped back. He let his ears fall and tucked his wings underneath him. He whimpered and faced Nalia. The elder dragon snorted and clacked a claw on the ground. Cerise took her tongue in and opened her eyes. She stood up and shook the yellow hatchling off her back. The young dragon shrieked as she hit the floor. She hissed at Cerise, but the bigger dragon hissed back, shutting the smaller one up.

Cerise snorted, then looked at her Rider. Her pupils filled her entire eyes. _We're teaching them how to hunt._ She added a mental laugh in there. _They're fast learners._

 _That can't always be expected in wild dragons,_ Nalia said as she watched the hatchlings rejoin each other. _They are run by instinct._ She didn't sound nearly as happy as Cerise.

Across the room, Shruikan lifted his head and looked down at the two hatchlings. _Nalia and Cerise are much better teachers than I am._ He turned his attention to Ruby. _But nature is a better teacher still. They cannot learn and experience all they need to in here._

"I know." Ruby walked further into the room. "That is why I'm here. We may have found a place for the wild dragons to live."

Shruikan's eyes widened and he raised his wings. _Where? How soon can we move the eggs and these two?_

"That's the problem. Yes, it's a savannah and desert area, and it has plenty of caves for the dragons to live in and wildlife and fish to eat, but it's on Remnant. That means its infested with Grimm. We can clear it out once, but they always come back, whether by migration or what we think are spawning pools. We would have to clear out any other place on Remnant, so that's just a given. But this place is one of the most dangerous on Remnant. At the same time, it's also one of the few places I believe dragons could thrive without disturbing any human or Faunus settlements. With the exception of the Grimm, they could live in peace. Some dragons might even like having the Grimm to fight."

Shruikan hung his head. _But since the area has to be cleared, we cannot move there._

"Before we got here, I would have said yes." Ruby turned her head over to where the hatchlings growled at each other. "But with those two, we can't wait." She faced Shruikan again. "After we do what we need to in Ellesméra, we will fly back here to take you and several eggs and sane Eldunarí to Menagerie."

Shruikan raised his head so fast Ruby almost thought he jumped. _Me? Why me?_

"You're the protector of these eggs," Aaron spoke up. "It is your job to protect the eggs, no matter where you are. There are too few Riders to watch over the development of the wild dragons, and we are in our own crisis on Remnant. We cannot do it ourselves, so we are asking you to." Ruby flicked her eyes to Aaron. He went with that quick. They were starting to think alike.

Ruby faced Shruikan again. "Here's the part where things get complicated. Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, which unless you've taken a complete one-eighty in the past few months, you still have a lot built up in you."

Shruikan narrowed his eyes and lowered his head. _Are you asking me to let go of my hate?_ His lips peeled back and a low growl burst from his throat, making the floor shake

"For the dragons, yes." Aaron nodded. "We no longer have time to search for another place. A dragon needs to look after dragons. We cannot ask any of our allies on Remnant to help."

Shruikan closed his lips and diverted his gaze. _I… will try. For the hatchlings._

"Good." Ruby nodded. "You have until we return tomorrow to decide which eggs will come with us and which Eldunarí to take. Until then," Ruby turned around and faced the now wrestling hatchlings. "Look after them, and prepare them for a journey. It's going to be a long flight for them." Ruby walked out toward the door to the throne room, with Aaron right behind her. Their dragons growled and snorted at the hatchlings a little more, then followed their Riders.

When the doors closed behind Ruby, she sighed and let her shoulders fall. "I really don't like being so serious and a downer."

"You're still not used to it?" Aaron asked.

"Being used to it and okay with it are two different things."

"True." Aaron paused. "How well do you think you're going to get along with Rusty?"

That worked. Ruby's excitement built up inside her and she couldn't hold it in. Thankfully there wasn't anyone else in the hall. "We're going to be great friends! I'm one of his godmothers, with Nora being the other one. If Pyrrha and Jaune allow it, I'm going to spoil him so much. He's so cute! We're going to have so much fun! Here's what happened before you showed up…"

* * *

 **Yep, Ruby's good with kids  
**


	30. Answering Questions

**Saw Jurassic World 2 last week. Blue=Best Dino... unless there were dinosaur dragons of course.  
**

 **More RWBY related stuff... Ruby has a Summer Rose color palette in BB Tag Battle, there's a Summer colored Ruby toy coming out in the next RT box... RT, please tell me you're building up the hype for a Summer centric story-line in Volume 6.**

* * *

Ruby sighed as she and Aaron left Tialdarí hall. "Glad we got out of there before Däthedr spoke. I do not want to hear any of that."

"The elves are at least sensible when it comes to these things." Aaron winced. "On the outside anyway. You can never tell when one is holding a grudge until you're stabbed in the back."

"Hopefully he doesn't take it out on us." Ruby shook her head, then called up a memory of something Queen Islanzadí said at the beginning of their meeting, and something that could be a lot more pleasant than giving bad news to a Queen. "Shall we head to the Crags of Tel'naeír?"

Aaron nodded and a smile graced his face. "I'd like to meet our new Riders."

"Dragons too." Ruby nodded at her own when Cerise rose in the clearing next to the Hall. "So many new dragons lately. Do they usually come in waves?"

"Bonded dragons, yes. Eggs were brought out when new Riders become Riders in Full. Wild dragons hatched year-round, but very few at a time. Two at a time is a lot." Aaron's smile turned into a smirk. "You're leading the Riders and you don't know something as basic as that?" He ruffled Ruby's hair.

"Hey!" Ruby ducked out of it and elbowed her boyfriend in the gut. "A year ago I thought all eggs that were still around belonged to Cerise and Vert. It's not like everything else we're doing is going along with what the Order did when you were first with them. I doubt Vrael would go crazy over seeing a puppy roll over or a baby dragon chase a red dot on the floor. Cerise liked doing that."

Cerise snorted as her Rider approached. _You like rainbows, and those are just a trick of light too._

"True." Ruby brushed her dragon's snout before climbing Cerise' side. "Rainbows are pretty."

 _I doubt Vrael made comments like that either,_ Nalia said.

Ruby waited for Umaroth to comment on that, but he stayed silent. "Well, I'd prefer to have more similarities with the people I protect over fewer." She shook her head and faced her boyfriend as he mounted his dragon. "Let's get going." She pat her dragon's neck and Cerise jumped away from Tialdarí hall. Nalia followed right behind.

 _I hope all the dragons are healthy,_ Cerise said.

 _I'm more worried about how they're being treated,_ Aaron thought to everyone. _Remember what Weiss and Brom told us about Avrart?_

Nalia growled. _Oromis can straighten him out. He's had a long time._

 _Months._ Ruby paused. _Wait, has it really been months since we've been here?_

It took a while for anyone to answer. _It has,_ Aaron said. _Nearly five months. Some of the dragons may be able to breathe fire._

Ruby shook her head. _With how back and forth I was starting out, it feels weird to think like that._

 _It's not like we've been sitting around doing nothing._

 _Yeah, but we have very little to show for it. I'm not even close to finishing with Drake or Wyvern._

 _Can you tell me anything about it? You haven't even told me what you're building._

 _That's because I want as many people to be surprised as possible. Just know we've hit a snag. Yaela's programing isn't working with the hardware. Frankly, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. She just started four months ago._

 _She can do better than I can._

Ruby snorted. _Aaron, you can't work PointPower half the time. You're worse than Professor Port with some of those programs._

 _You've got a…_ _ **point**_ _there._ Aaron gave a halfhearted smirk. _No way around that._

 _You just_ _ **had**_ _to emphasize it._ Ruby rolled her whole head. _I guess Yang's gotten to you._ She looked past her dragon's head and toward the ground below. Oromis' hut was about a mile away. In addition to Glaedr, four other dragons stood or lay around the living house. Fírnen faced off against a teal scaled hatchling. The green dragon was nearly twice the size of his opponent, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was the better fighter. Ruby leaned forward in the saddle. _Cerise, hold up here. I want to watch this._ Her dragon compliedand Nalia stopped as well.

On the ground, teal pounced at Fírnen. The bigger dragon batted the smaller away with a forepaw. Teal rolled across the ground, but flipped back over with his back facing Ruby. He ran forward and jumped over Fírnen's next strike. His forepaws stretched for Fírnen's head. He wrapped his forelegs around the older dragon's head and…. bit down on Fírnen's ear.

Fírnen growled and slammed his head and the right side of his body into the ground, pinning teal beneath him. Teal squirmed out and scurried away. He growled at Fírnen, then he looked up. His jaw closed and he raised his head to look directly at the dragons still in the air. Fírnen pounced and pinned the smaller dragon to the ground, teal's neck in his jaws.

Glaedr growled and the two dragons separated. Teal scampered toward the hut, glaring at Fírnen. He then returned his attention to the dragons watching him from the sky. The ancient golden dragon turned to the sky as well. _**Welcome, Riders of Remnant,**_ Glaedr said. _**It has been a long time since we last met.**_

 _ **We've been busy.**_ Ruby pat her dragon's neck, and Cerise glided for the ground. _**Things have not been going well on Remnant. We will tell you and Oromis about that, but we would first like to meet our newest members.**_

 _ **Of course.**_ Glaedr lowered his head to face the other dragons. All four of the young dragons lined up, with Fírnen closest to the living hut. Five figures exited the hut, four stood in front of the dragons.

Cerise touched down and Ruby slid off her dragon's back. Nalia and Aaron repeated the process soon after. The Head of the Ridera looked over her newest… was employees the right word? Whether it was or not, she was now responsible for these Riders' and dragons' actions and well-being. Up until that point, Ruby had only met one pair. It was time to change that.

Before Ruby could do anything, Oromis stepped forward. _"For those of you who have not met them before,"_ he gestured an arm toward the newcomers, _"meet Aaron Benson and Nalia Quickwing,"_ both of them nodded, _"and Ruby Shadeslayer and Cerise Longtail."_ Cerise raised her head and Ruby clasped her hands in front of her. _"These are the leaders of the Dragon Riders."_

All new Riders offered a polite bow, but Avrart appeared reluctant. Their dragons did the same. _"Masters,"_ they said in near unison.

Ruby smiled at the line. _Cerise, Nalia, look after the two that were just sparring. I'm going to speak with each of these Riders._ She approached the Rider closest to her, which just happened to be the only one she knew before that point. They exchanged the traditional elven greeting before speaking in earnest. _"Arya, how have you been?"_

" _I have been well, thank you."_ Arya nodded. _"I believe I have improved my swordsmanship considerably since you last commented on it."_

" _I should hope so."_ Ruby laughed a little. _"That was months ago. I would be worried if you had not improved. If there is time, I would like to see that first hand."_

" _Of course, Master."_ Arya bowed again. _"I will gladly show you how much I have improved."_

" _I look forward to it."_ Ruby was about to move onto the next person in line when she caught some motion in the corner of her eye. It looked like Oromis and Aaron were walking into the hut. They were probably going to discuss the problems on Remnant. That would speed things along.

She reverted her attention to the next Rider in line. He hadn't changed much from the picture Weiss took of him. Rowan was by far the youngest, and his mouth hung open and his eyes were wide. Ruby knew what being starstruck looked like. She'd seen it on several kids over the years, and on herself in pictures taken of her. She brought two fingers to her lips. Rowan spoke first, but he was slow and he had to repeat a few syllables at points, but he made it through. Ruby did her part, then took her fingers away. She didn't want Rowan to make a mistake and hurt someone. "Rowan Doranson, is it?" Rowan nodded. "You aren't comfortable with the Ancient Language yet, are you?" she asked.

Rowan shook his head. "Nay. I have not learned as much as I should have. I am sorry ma'am… I mean Master. I am sorry. I misspoke." Someone later down the line failed to hold back a laugh. Ruby would deal with that when she got to it.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." Ruby put a hand on Rowan's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Learning a new language is difficult. It takes years to get comfortable with it. Don't worry about calling me ma'am or Master either. Where I'm from, both would work. Which you use depends on the situation."

"Of course, ma'am… I mean…" Rowan shook his head. "I will try to remember that."

Ruby nodded, then faced the dragon behind Rowan. The teal beauty's eyes were fixed on Cerise, then diverted to Ruby. The excitement and happiness she put out was infectious. "What's your name?"

 _Moli,_ the dragon hummed, her voice sounding like a girl in her late teens.

Rowan smiled and put a hand on his dragon's front right leg. "She's amazing. I didn't know I could feel this way about anyone." His smile disappeared. "I know the Riders are fighters, and that was explained when Lady Weiss came to my village, but we do not want to fight." Moli looked down at her Rider and warbled something.

"I believe I may have seen that during that fight. Going after the ear is something taught to sheepdogs, correct."

"Yes ma'am." Rowan nodded. "It's so we don't hurt our flock."

Moli slowly blinked. _I do not want to hurt anyone here._ _They are my flock. I will do anything to protect them all…_ She peeled one corner of her lips back. _Almost all of them I mean._

Ruby blinked, but didn't otherwise react. She had a feeling she knew who Moli was talking about. Still, she smiled at the dragon. "That is good. There are many ways to protect and help people that don't involve fighting. If it turns out that you are indeed well suited for something other in fighting, your focus will be shifted toward that. At the same time, dragons and Riders have so many advantages in combat that no one else has. No matter what you are specialized in, especially if you ever come to my homeland, you will be trained in combat. It never hurts to be able to defend yourself or others."

Moli slowly blinked and hummed. _Thank you, Shadeslayer._

Rowan was a little slower to respond. "I will learn what I can."

Ruby nodded at both, then moved on to the other elf in line. They exchanged the traditional elven greeting, this time continuing until the end. The lead Rider lowered her hand. _"Aithlin of house Carrona, Weiss has said you're a carpenter."_

" _In a sense,"_ Aithlin said. _"I like to sing trees into shape. I have done so for years, for both my home and that of my parents. Though I must say that I am no master. None would marvel at my work."_

The way he said it made Ruby's smile grow. _"I'm not sure if you're being modest or to hard on yourself. The worker, if they care about what they do, is almost always the most critical of their own work. I'm sure your work is much better than you are giving yourself credit for."_

The brown dragon behind Aithlin nudged his snout against his Rider's shoulder. _**She has not even seen your work and she knows it.**_ His voice sounded surprisingly like the member of the Achievemen that 'replaced' Rey. He turned his gaze toward Ruby. _**We are well met, Ruby Shadeslayer. I am Touriog.**_

" _Well met indeed, Touriog."_ Ruby looked the brown dragon up and down. He was almost as big as Fírnen, and considering the age difference, that was saying something. His legs were already the size of tree trunks, and his claws were large daggers at the ends of his toes. _"You're built like a fighter."_

Touriog puffed his chest out. _**Glaedr has said I am the best fighter of the dragons my age.**_

" _Don't let that go to your head."_ Ruby looked between the Rider and dragon. _"Don't compare yourself to your peers. Compare yourself to your past performance. That measures true progression."_

 _ **Of course.**_ Touriog nodded. _**Master Glaedr had been saying the same thing.**_

" _I shall endeavor to do so in the future, Shadeslayer."_ Aithlin gave Ruby a polite bow.

The leader of the Riders hesitated before moving on. _"Aithlin, Weiss told me that you had a hesitant reaction to becoming a Rider. Is that how you are still feeling?"_

Aithlin didn't answer right away. _"One of the earliest memories I have is a dragon and Rider healing an injured boar. I thought, and still do think, that is what the Riders do, helping others who cannot help themselves. I fail to see how I, a simple carpenter, am worthy of that legacy."  
_

Ruby felt her lips twitch upward at the carpenter comment. _"That will be the last time you say something like that. While you are right in thinking that's what the Riders do, don't worry about the legacy. When Cerise hatched for me, I was a student with middling grades and was so immature. I'm sure Weiss would say I haven't escaped from that. Anyway, if you're worried that being a carpenter makes you unworthy,"_ Ruby gestured at Touriog, _"take a look behind you. Your dragon sees something in you that makes you worthy of being a_ Rider. _"_ Touriog snorted smoke at his Rider. _"Let me worry about making the Riders live up to the legacy of those who came before us. You should focus on creating your own."_

Aithlin relaxed and nodded. _"Thank you, master."_

Ruby proceeded onto the last Rider in line. She once again made the elven greeting with the Rider, and let her hand fall to her side. The boy spoke the language as good as someone who had only spoken it a few months could get. Still, he couldn't possibly be fluent in the Ancient Language yet, so Ruby switched back to Vytalian. "Avrart Krisson, I have not heard much about the new Riders, but you are the exception. That is not necessarily a good thing."

Avrart waved a hand in front of himself. "I can assure you, Shadeslayer, those things have been greatly exaggerated."

Ruby recognized the tone. She heard it from some of the greasier politicians in the Kingdoms… and Weiss during their first month at Beacon. "How have you been adjusting to life here? I can imagine it's a big change from your family's brewery in Aberon."

"It is, but not everything is for the worse." Avrart clasped his hands behind his back. "The washroom in my dwelling is far superior to any I have seen in Surda. I will have to have someone install one for me in my father's manor when I return to Aberon."

Ruby nodded slowly, her smile disappearing completely. She turned her gaze to the pearly white dragon. The dragon had a leather strap around her neck with a gold broach fit into it, showing what was likely Avrart's family seal. "What is your name?"

It looked like she was about to speak, but Avrart shot a hand up in a silencing gesture. He tried to disguise it by putting that hand on his dragon's front right paw. "Her name is Nenva."

"Can she not speak?" Ruby turned her eyes to Avrart, a fine edge to her voice.

"She can, she just prefers to speak to those she has known for a while."

Ruby focused her attention back on Nenva. "Is that so?" If Avrart said anything, Ruby shut it out.

Nenva's blue eyes flicked to her Rider, then back to Ruby. _It is._ Her voice was that of an adolescent girl, and a scared one at that.

 _Can you swear it?_ Ruby thought to only the dragon. Nenva shifted on her feet and said nothing else. The Rider quickly taught the right words to the dragon, but Nenva still stayed silent. Her fear mounted. Ruby felt another mind press against the scared dragon's, most likely Avrart. _**Nenva, if there is something wrong, you can tell anyone who just arrived here or Oromis and Glaedr.**_ _When you are comfortable, ask any of your masters what I just said._ Ruby backed away before anything else could be said.

The leader of the Riders looked over her newest forces. "I should say congratulations. You are the first Alagaësians to the new Order of Dragon Riders. I am sure Oromis and Glaedr have already been over many things with you, so I will keep this short so I hopefully won't repeat too much of them. As the first Riders from Alagaësia, you will get more attention from us more experienced Riders to help you improve every step of the way. But as the first generation of new Riders, you will be looked up to by all that follow. As of right now, you only have one Remmartian and her dragon on the other side in your cohort, so you will likely have Riders and dragons from both sides looking to you for guidance. Whether you like it or not, you are going to become role models and leaders in the Riders. Do not disappoint me or your other masters, and you will help the Riders flourish for years to come."

Ruby drew Máni Bláto and extended her weapon to sword form. All those who hadn't seen the weapon yet jumped and stared at it. "That being said, I would like to test all of your skills with a blade, magic, and your minds. Who would like to go first?"

* * *

Aaron stepped out of Oromis' hut and crossed his arms. Across the grass, Ruby stood with Máni Bláto drawn in sword form. Arya and Aithlin stood across from her with their own swords drawn. Rowan stood by his dragon, holding his right arm. Avrart laid in the grass barely moving and his sword laying a few feet away. Aaron thought he heard a lot of clanging swords at once.

As he watched, both Arya and Aithlin charged. Ruby sidestepped Arya but caught Aithlin's sword on her own. The elf and human exchanged several rapid blows, but the Ruby caught all strikes without breaking a sweat. Arya tried to get involved a few times, but Ruby avoided her, until the third time when she kicked the elf twenty feet away to where her dragon lay. Aithlin took his eyes off Ruby for a split second. The elder Rider swung at her students' arms right at his wrists. Aithlin yelped and he dropped his sword. Ruby brought Máni Bláto up and under Aithlin's chin. The elf raised his arms and backed away.

Ruby lowered her sword and nodded. _"Well done."_ She looked over all the new Riders. _"_ All of you, well done. Of course, you all have room to improve. Rowan, you cannot be timid in a fight. You must stand your ground. Riders don't run from a fight unless absolutely necessary. Avrart, you have a similar problem to Arya when Fírnen first hatched for her. Your form is good, but that doesn't mean anything if someone can predict what you are doing. Arya, you have improved in that manner, but unpredictability is not all you need. You must know what your opponent will do before they do it. Aithlin, you took your eyes off me three times in that fight. I would have taken advantage of that sooner, but I wanted to see what you could do."

"Master Ruby," Rowan stepped away from his dragon,"how did you best all of us so easily?"

Ruby smiled. "Huntress training and Aura. Where I'm from they go hand in hand. I have nearly eight years of Huntress training under my belt, and six of those intersected with Rider training. You will be taught about each of them sometime in the future. There aren't words for them in the Ancient Language, so whenever we discuss Remnant, we'll likely speak like this."

"She has come a long way from when I first met her." Aaron walked to his girlfriend's side. "All Riders from Remnant have." He looked over the new Riders in front of him. "I know I have not spoken to most of you, but we will have plenty of time to get to know each other in the next few weeks." Ruby's eyes flicked to Aaron. People who didn't know her wouldn't notice a difference. But Aaron saw her eyelids slack and her pupils dilate just a bit. She was hurt.

Oromis stepped out of his hut. _"If you do not mind, Shadeslayer, Glaedr and I would like to continue with the training we were conducting when you arrived."_

Ruby nodded. _"Of course. We will let you continue."_ She collapsed her weapon and walked toward her dragon.

Aaron turned toward Nalia as well. _Think she'll hold this against me?_

 _Of course not._ Nalia snorted. _This was to be expected. With the new Riders, it was a near certainty._

 _That doesn't mean either of us have to like it._ Aaron climbed his dragon's side and sat in the saddle.

Nalia stood up but kept her head low. _No. It doesn't._

Aaron stared at the back of his dragon's head. _Why do you sound depressed?_

 _I am bonded to you. I am sharing your feelings._ Nalia turned her head toward Cerise. The red dragon nodded then jumped off the cliff. The bigger dragon followed right after. But before Cerise could make the turn to Ellesméra, Nalia flew in front of her. If either of them said anything, Aaron wasn't in on it. Still, Cerise followed right behind the older dragon.

They flew for a few minutes before Nalia circled down to a clearing. Cerise landed on the other side. Aaron dismounted his dragon but kept a hand on Nalia's scales. _You think we gave the others enough time?_

 _I believe so. If not, I'm sure you could stall, or stick around afterward._ She mentally hummed, but gave no outside indication of her feelings. _Good luck. I will be waiting for your call._ Nalia jumped away without saying anything else. Cerise stared after the other dragon before flying herself.

"Sooo," Ruby started, "you wanted to speak with me?"

Aaron faced his girlfriend. Now that they were away from anyone else, Ruby's entire upper body sagged. For once, a frown stood in place of a smile. Aaron sighed. "Yes. I just wish I had something else to say." He walked toward his girlfriend and into the trees. This isn't where he wanted to talk with Ruby. He just wanted the real place to be more of a surprise.

Ruby walked beside her boyfriend with her head down. "You're staying here." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. If I'm going to be the one in charge of training like we've discussed, I am going to need to train Riders. I know that sounds obvious, but I can't do that on Remnant right now. There are four pairs here and only one on Remnant, two if you count Weiss and Saphira. You've got Violet and Orchid, and Weiss and Saphira are doing well with the videos we made over a year ago. Oromis and Glaedr have four pairs to train. I have no doubt he can do it, but like that they won't have the individual training that they need. I need to do this. It's better I do it sooner rather than later."

"I know." Ruby sighed. "Well, I guess I'll have a reason to come back more often. I'll miss you on Remnant."

"I'll miss you too." Aaron paused and flicked his eyes up. Nothing came their way yet, but that would change soon… if he gave his contacts enough time. "How did the new Riders fair in your tests?"

"As expected, the Avrart and Rowan fared better in physical combat over mental. Rowan was decent with magic, but Avrart could barely raise a rock." Ruby smirked. "I know he's with us, but he has to learn that he can't get everything handed to him on a silver platter." She shook her head. "As expected, Arya and Aithlin are better in just about everything. Aithlin is by far the best with magic. Then again he's been working with it most of his life."

"And that combat at the end?"

"Avrart's idea. He said there was no way I could take them all on at once. The others agreed and they tried. I wasn't even using my scythe, or really doing anything that would knock them out right away. They're all rookies fighting against the one who killed a Shade and took down the Traitor. They stood no… chance." Ruby stopped and looked up. "What's that?"

Aaron followed Ruby's gaze and suppressed a smile. A pair of doves flew toward them with a ring of roses carried in between them. They flew down to the Riders and dropped the circlet on Ruby's head. "Oh!" Ruby blinked and stared after the birds flew off. _"Thank you!"_ She waved at them, then took the red rose circlet off her head. "Huh. That was… different."

"Yeah." Aaron looked up at the birds. "That hasn't happened before."

"But…" Ruby smiled and put the rose crown back on her head, "I'm not complaining."

Aaron nodded. "It looks good on you."

"Thank you." Ruby's cheeks turned as read as her cape. "Now, uh, where were we?"

"You were telling me about how well the rookies did."

"Right." Ruby nodded. "Well, I just about finished that. What did you and Oromis talk about?"

That took down a bit of Aaron's good mood. "Besides the fact that I'm going to be staying here for at least a few weeks, we spoke about what the people here think about us and Remnant. It turns out very few people know the truth. Just the people we've fought with and the rulers of all Kingdoms here, and a few people that the regents have trusted with the knowledge. Most people just think we're from a Kingdom beyond the sea. The leaders don't know what everyone else would think. I'd think the elves and humans would be split. The dwarves and Urgals… I don't know. I can think of a few dwarf clans that wouldn't mind, but most of them wouldn't be happy to say the least. The Urgals might not even care. I'm sure quite a few of them would like fighting Grimm for status in their tribes."

"But from what you've said, we don't want to take a lot of Alagaësians to Remnant."

"Maybe small groups. I have a bad feeling Yaela and Rhunön are going to be the exceptions to the rule."

"Probably. Rhunön loves the workshop and Yaela somehow has a knack for technology. Then again, who would think a fifteen-year-old socially awkward girl would know a lot about weapons and would be a kick butt Huntress?"

"Only those who know you."

"I loved showing up some of the older students in my first month at Beacon. The looks on their faces were priceless." Ruby jerked her head behind her. "Did you hear that?"

"No." Aaron grabbed Redemption's hilt. He knew what this most likely was, but it was good to keep up appearances.

Ruby also reached for Máni Bláto. "Something's coming toward us… wait." She straightened and took her hand away from her weapon. "It's not a threat." A fawn trotted into view from behind a thick cluster of trees. It held a basket in its mouth. The young deer walked up to Ruby and set the loaded basket at her feet. The Rider's jaw dropped. "Is this… for me?" The fawn just continued to stare. _"Oh. Thank you."_ Ruby pet the fawn and picked up the basket. The deer then walked away.

"Twice in one day?" Aaron shrugged. "That's weird."

"Yeah… weird." Ruby looked through the basket, turning over strawberries and Alagaësian cookies alike. "And it's all stuff that I love in here." She smirked at Aaron. "Is it weird, or is it all going to plan?"

"Would you believe random chance?"

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Ruby put both her fists on her hips.

"It was worth a shot." Aaron chuckled. "I also contacted Invidia and a few other elves that we've worked with in Ellesméra. I asked them for some help for this. I… hope you don't mind."

Ruby giggled. "I'm okay with that."

"Then why don't we go to our destination?" Aaron stuck a hand out toward Ruby.

"So we're not just walking to walk?" Ruby took Aaron's outstretched hand.

"No. Irolon showed me and Nalia this place the one time we were here together." Aaron winced internally. _Should I have said that?_

"Lead the way. I'll be right here." Ruby squeezed Aaron's hand.

Aaron did as told and started walking again. They didn't talk any more about their business in the forest. It was all small talk, jokes, and enjoying each other's company. Ruby ate from her gift basket the whole way and cleaned it out in no time. Even so, Aaron hoped his emotions didn't show on his face. He was nervous. This could go very good or very bad.

After a while, Aaron heard running water, and a lot of it. From the way Ruby leaned forward, she probably did too. A few minutes later, Ruby cocked her head. "Is that a waterfall?"

Aaron nodded. "Yes, it is."

Ruby bounced on her heels. "Cerise told me about a waterfall around here. She said it was beautiful."

Aaron stiffened but kept walking. "You knew about this place?"

"Yes, but I've never been here."

"Okay." Aaron sighed in relief. "That could have spoiled the moment."

"Trying to be romantic?"

"A little bit, yeah." They walked out of the trees and a river lay before them. To their left, the water dropped off the face of a massive cliff. Below that, Du Weldenvarden spread out in every direction, the trees rolling with the mountains and hills beneath them. The river below could only be seen by a small gap between the trees.

"Wow." Ruby let go of Aaron's hand and walked to the cliff edge. "Don't get me wrong, I get plenty of good views from flying on Cerise, but there's something special about seeing things from the ground."

"There is indeed." Aaron joined Ruby by the cliff edge. He turned his head toward his girlfriend. Ruby smiled at the world around her. Despite what had been bothering her at the beginning of the day, now she acted like everything was okay. She was happy with her life.

Aaron bit his lip. It was now or never. "Ruby, I need to ask you something."

"Sure thing." Ruby turned to her boyfriend, her smile still on her face and her eyes locking with his. "What's up?"

"Ruby, I know we've only been… _together_ together for a few months. But we both know each other's True Names. Both of ours have changed at least once since we first found them, but one part hasn't changed or has grown in importance. It's… kind of undeniable how we feel about each other." Aaron reached into a pocket for the box. Thankfully it was on the other side of his body from Ruby.

"True." Ruby ran a hand through her hair and tucked a bunch behind her left ear.

"Ruby, these past few months have been great. I don't regret spending a single moment with you. I wish I asked you out much sooner than I did. You've helped me more than I can imagine, and I wish I could return the favor. You are my number two after Nalia."

"Aaron," Ruby's cheeks burned redder than before, her eyes gleamed with a similar light to when she held Rusty that morning, "you said you wanted to ask me something."

"I do, and if I'm going too fast with this, please tell me." Aaron stepped back and took the red velvet box out of his pocket. He brought the box in front of him and dropped to a knee. Ruby's eyes bulged and she used both hands to cover her mouth and nose. The lines on her cheeks revealed just how much she was smiling. She backed up a few steps, but her eyes stayed locked on the box. "Ruby Rose," Aaron opened the box, revealing a forest green emerald in a gold band, "will you marry me?"

Ruby squeaked through her hands and jumped in place. Her eyes darted between the ring and Aaron. After a few seconds she planted her feet on the ground, and removed her hands from her mouth. Her smile stretched from ear to ear and her eyes locked with Aaron's. She held up a finger. "On one condition."

Aaron's heart sunk. What was this? He never heard about something like this. "Name it. What do you need? What do you want me to do?"

Ruby dropped to her knees and grabbed the upper part of Aaron's left arm. "You let me heal these, right here, right now."

Aaron stared at the place on his arm. His first kills, and those he couldn't help. Most he carved into himself in Alagaësia, four were White Fang soldiers… one for Yang after her paralysis. A visual reminder for his failures… but Yang was healed. The scars for those he 'didn't save,' he didn't kill. The lives he took in combat were all justified. He still avoided it whenever possible and didn't like doing it, but he had come to terms with what he had to do. He looked eyes with Ruby again, who was waiting anxiously. "Go ahead. They lost their sting since the time I added the last one."

Somehow Ruby smiled even more. She pulled Aaron's jacket sleeve off then rolled up his t-shirt sleeve, revealing his scars for the world to see. Ruby covered them with her left hand. "Waíse heill." Aaron's arm tingled for a few seconds, then nothing. Ruby pulled her hand back, and the scars had disappeared. She squeaked again and looked deep into her boyfriend's eyes. "Yes, Aaron. Yes, a thousand times, yes! I will marry you."

A happiness that Aaron didn't know before overwhelmed him. He took the ring out of its resting place and took Ruby's left hand. He fit the ring over the proper finger. Ruby took her hand back and she admired her newest piece of jewelry. She turned her hand over a few times. Her breathing sped up, and her smile grew with each breath. Her eyes jerked between the ring and her fiancé.

Ruby squeaked then tackled Aaron to the ground, managing to get her arms around him before they hit. She also hooked her legs around her fiancé's. "I love you, Aaron!" Ruby pulled her head back and looked her fiancé in the eyes. "I love you!" She kissed his right cheek. "I love you!" Forehead that time. "I love you!" She move to the left cheek. "I," lips, "love," lips again, "you!" Lips once more, but this time she stayed connected.

Aaron finally had time to return the favor. He kissed Ruby back and wrapped his arms around his fiancé. He moved one of his hands to hold the back of Ruby's head. This was nice. This would be the first of many times they shared a moment like this.

After a while, Ruby pulled back and looked Aaron in the eyes. She giggled then rested her head beside Aaron's despite the ground being right there. "I liked that."

"Same here." Aaron started rubbing Ruby's back. "We make a good team."

"Yes, we do." Ruby hugged Aaron tighter then… rubbed the side of her head against her fiancé's

Aaron blinked and stopped his arms. "Uh, Ruby?"

"Oh! Sorry." Ruby pulled her arms back and rolled off Aaron. She rubbed the back of her head and put on a nervous smile. "It's, uh, thing I've done for a while. I think it started either with Zwei as a puppy or Yang after mom died, then Cerise as a hatchling, and I guess now you… I guess it's just a quirk…"

"I didn't say I had a problem with it. It was just unexpected."

"Thank you." Ruby's smile returned to a genuine one.

A familiar roar ran over the trees. Aaron and Ruby took their eyes off each other and faced it. "Was that Cerise?"

"Yep." Ruby stood up and stood on her toes. "I can't get anything out of her except that she's almost as happy as me." Another roar assaulted Aaron's ears. "And it sounds like she's getting closer."

"So much for being left alone." Aaron shook his head and stood up. "I guess Nalia couldn't keep Cerise away."

"I guess not." Ruby took a few steps away from Aaron. "Something tells me she's going to tackle at least one of us. Might as well give her some room."

Not long after, Cerise appeared over the trees. She roared once more and dove for the cliff. It didn't look like she was aiming for either Rider, rather the space between them. The dragon extended her forelegs out. One of them came straight at Aaron, and the other for Ruby. Aaron took a hesitant step back. This was going to hurt.

Cerise' paws slammed into the two Riders and scooped them up. The hit drained most of Aaron's Aura and a good chunk of his wards. Cerise held both Riders close to her chest and rolled in the air. She roared again, this time adding a little fire to it. Her chest vibrated as she hummed. Then Aaron felt like he was falling. But because of the way Cerise held him, he couldn't see for sure. A few seconds later the dragon rolled again. She slammed into the ground and likely created a massive rut in the forest floor..

 _It finally happened!_ Cerise wrapped her neck down and nuzzled both Riders. _I hoped this day would come soon._ She rotated her head so one of her eyes focused solely on Aaron. _**Thank you for caring for Ruby in such a way. You may fly with me anytime. Aaron Benson, I welcome you as my Rider's mate, and my second Rider.**_

" _Thank you, Cerise. It means a lot."_ Aaron would have brushed the side of Cerise' head, but his arms were pinned. Cerise hummed again and turned her attention to her own Rider. If she was happy with Aaron, she was absolutely joyful toward Ruby. Cerise kept her snout on her Rider, but never stopped moving it. Her tongue also flicked out a few times. It looked like she picked up something from Orchid.

 _Cerise!_ Nalia scolded from the air. _I told you to leave them be until they return!_

 _I had to see them!_ Cerise raised her head and growled. _Don't tell me you aren't just as happy for them as I am._

 _I am, but I would see them have their time together before ambushing them._

 _I don't see them complaining._ Cerise released Aaron and Ruby. Both Riders slid off the dragon.

 _You took them and held them in place. Look past your own feelings, hatchling._

Cerise growled and righted herself. _Ruby, Aaron, do what you want here._ There was something… odd with the way she said that. _I need to teach the old maid a lesson._ She roared and jumped toward Nalia. The two dragons collided and tumbled out of sight.

 _Thanks for that, Nalia._ Aaron called.

 _You're welcome. I know your hatchling will be beautiful._ Nalia pulled out of her Rider's head.

Aaron stiffened and looked at Ruby out of the corner of his eye. She was in a similar position and her face was as read as her cape. "So… Nalia just said…"

"And Cerise just said…" Ruby rubbed the back of her head. The newly engaged couple locked eyes with each other, then shook their heads. "Nope. Not now."

"Not until we're officially married." Aaron rubbed the back of his neck.

"Fine with me… What is it with our dragons?"

"Its dragons in general. They don't understand how or why humans court each other."

"I'm not sure if I'm comforted by that or not." Ruby shook her head. "So, walk and talk back toward Ellesméra?" She stuck a hand out toward Aaron.

"That I'm fine with." Aaron took Ruby's hand.

"Don't worry about taking things too fast here." Ruby squeezed Aaron's hand. "My mom and dad got married less than a month after they got together in the first place… I don't want to go _that_ quick though. I want it to be special."

Aaron nodded. "You got it… How do we plan for something like that anyway?"

Ruby blinked. "I don't know. I guess we'll make it up as we go along… again."

* * *

 **Yay marriage... wait... now I've got to write a wedding... crap... Not only have I never been on a date, I've been to like two weddings that I can actually remember...  
**


	31. See You Later

**Anyone know the memes asking if we'd rather have heat and humidity or two feet of snow, and it has the snow as the bad thing? Give me the snow over this crap any day...  
**

* * *

"You sure you don't have anything else for me, mom?" Ruby turned her head to the side to face her mom.

"Oh, I do." Her mom giggled. "I just want you to have fun figuring it out for yourself."

"Nothing on how to pick the Maid of Honor or bridesmaids?"

Summer's smile faltered. "That's completely on you. I can't tell you who to pick. Tai and I had a courtroom wedding because of our awkward situation. Ideally, mine would have been Raven, but there would be so many problems with that."

"I can imagine." Ruby raised her left hand and smiled at her ring. "I just can't believe this is really happening. Please tell me I'm not dreaming."

Her mom looked around the living room. "I'm not sure I can. This is a dream-like state after all."

"You know what I mean." Ruby elbowed her mom.

"I know." Summer smiled at Ruby and cupped her daughter's face. "Gem, I am so proud of you and I'm so happy for you. I hope you two are happy for the rest of your lives. I just wish I could be there in the audience and see the wedding with my own eyes, for multiple reasons." She blinked and her mouth hung open. "Oh, uh…" She pulled her hand back and slid away from Ruby on the couch. "Hmmm… that's already a thing."

Ruby quirked her eyes. "Mom, what's going on?"

Her mom looked at her with a fake nervous smile that wasn't fooling anyone… Ruby now knew that look was in her genes. "Nothing. Nothing at all." Summer scooted farther away on the couch.

"Mom," Ruby cocked her head, "our minds don't need to be connected to know you're lying to me.

Summer looked out the window. "Oh, look at the sun. You have to wake up soon." She stood up and pulled Ruby up as well. "Don't want you to be late. Good luck bringing Shruikan and the hatchlings to Menagerie." She pulled her daughter toward the door.

"Mom," Ruby yanked her arm back, "why are you trying to get rid of me? You've only tried to keep me here before. What's going on?"

Her mom pulled her lips onto her mouth and looked away from Ruby and at the ground. "You know how I have access to all your senses?"

"Yeah, that's like one of the first things you… told… me." Ruby blinked and took a step away.

"I… can't turn that off." Summer faced completely away from Ruby.

"So…" Ruby covered her mouth with a hand, "every time Aaron and I have kissed…"

"I've been right there… no matter how much I don't want to be."

"Oh my gosh." Ruby clamped her hands on the side of her head and walked away. "Oh my gosh."

"Trust me, Ruby, I love you, but I _don't_ need or want to see, hear, or the rest of those."

"You can't read my thoughts like that, can you?"

"Thank God, no. I have to go looking for those which I rarely ever do. I can't say never because, well, Nevermores and helping defend your mind."

"Okay… Okay…" Ruby took a deep breath. "You're not controlling me. You don't want to control me. You're granting me as much privacy as you physically can. Mom, I'm still your biggest fan, but… yeah."

Summer sighed. "Thank you, Ruby. That's about as much as I can ask for."

Ruby bit her lip and turned back to face Summer. Her mom still stared at the ground. "Mom, I've been putting this off for a while but…"

Her mom raised her head. "Yes?"

"In the… North Sanus Mountains…" her mom straightened and grabbed Ruby's left hand, "when you attacked that monster, did you know you were in the room?"

"No." Summer shook her head. "That surprised me as much as it did you. Those were just the motions I made in here. I did not know that's what happened out there. I would have told you if I knew."

"Well… thank you for being honest with me."

"Always, Gem." Summer leaned forward and kissed Ruby's forehead. "I wasn't lying about the time. You are starting to wake up."

"Nice talk as always, mom. Except for… you know…" Ruby felt her cheeks burn.

"Yeah… That's a thing." Summer stepped away. "Just… don't tell anyone but Aaron and Cerise about that if you can."

"Will do. Love you, mom." Ruby looked straight up and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she stared up at Cerise' wing. She yawned, stretched and sat up all in one motion. For whatever reason, being that deep inside her head talking to her mom always gave her the best sleep.

She crouched under her dragon's wing and walked out the gap between Cerise' belly and wing. Light poured in from the outside. Ruby nodded then walked into the main room to see if anyone dropped off breakfast. She was not disappointed when she saw a tray sitting on the floor by the trapdoor. It looked like that treatment wasn't unique to her first stay in the city.

Ruby ate her breakfast in the dining room, then walked back to her dragon's side. "Wake up, Cerise." she shook her dragon's snout. "We've got a lot of ground to cover on different planets."

Cerise' eyelids dragged themselves open. _Already?_

"Yes, already. You would have known that if you stayed in my head the whole time."

 _I'm not risking that again._ Cerise stood up, but she favored her front right leg. _I do not want to have Nalia make me eat my tail again._

Ruby giggled and she climbed her dragon's side. "You're the one who attacked her."

 _That doesn't mean she should be able to best me that easily._ Cerise walked to the massive opening in the wall and jumped out of the tree. _That was embarrassing._

"Don't worry. I won't leave you because of that." Ruby pat her dragon's side.

Cerise growled and whimpered at the same time. _Hopefully Vert won't either._

Ruby blinked. "That could happen?"

 _Yes. We are not like you humans. Most of nature isn't. Why can't you get that?_

The Rider stared at the back of her dragon's head. "Says the one who wanted me and Aaron to mate last night."

Cerise growled again. _Maybe humans should be more like the rest of nature._

"Nah. Being normal is boring." Ruby looked off her dragon's side. Their first destination was just below them. Cerise curved around and dove for the ground. She touched down and Ruby dismounted on the side of the elven jeweler. The Rider walked into the tree and toward the only other one in the small 'shop.' _"I'm back."_

The elf turned around and smiled at Ruby. _"Welcome back, Argetlam."_ She walked toward another part of the shop. _"I have your ring ready here. Or… should I say your betrothed's?"_

Ruby smiled, but something made it bigger than intended. _"I can see how both are right."_

The elf grabbed a piece of cloth, then picked up a golden ring holding a ruby inside. _"Argetlam, take this and compare it to your dragon's scales. If it does not match, I have found others."_

Ruby nodded, took the ring, and left the shop. Cerise lowered her head to human eye level. The Rider raised the ring to the side of her dragon's head. Looking at it from the side, she couldn't tell where gemstone ended and scale began. It was about as close as physically possible. _"I love it."_ She faced the elf. _"It's wonderful."_

" _I hoped you would say that."_ The elf nodded.

" _How much do I owe you?"_

The elf shook her head. _"You have already given my people so much. I will not ask for more for something as little as a ring."_

Ruby hesitated, then nodded. _"Then thank you for this gift. I am sure Aaron will love it too."_

" _Blessings upon your marriage, Argetlam."_ The elf walked into the back room of the shop.

Ruby climbed her dragon's side, but never took her eyes off the ring. Cerise leaped into the air and flew to where Aaron and Nalia rested. The Rider stared at both the ring on her left hand and the one in her right palm. Her bionic eye started analyzing both. "Cerise, what did we do for this? We already got plenty of gifts from the elves."

 _We killed the Traitor, and those were state-sponsored. Why can't everyone else show their appreciation?_

The scan completed and showed Ruby the results. She slumped her shoulders. "The gems are ten carats each, and the bands are eighteen-carat gold. How much would each of these be worth on Remnant?" The estimated figures in Vale appeared under the designations. Ruby let her whole body slump. "Oohhhhh, boy. That's a lot of Lien."

Cerise turned her head back. _You may be onto something. Maybe it's easier to find high-quality materials with magic?_

"Yeah… let's go with that." Ruby closed her eyes and shook her head. "Aaron doesn't need to know how much these are worth." She opened her eyes and the information was gone.

 _Well, we're here._ Cerise dove. _Get your hair in place, brush your teeth, check your clothes-_

"Don't be Yang. And yes, Yang. Weiss would be freaking out with me right about now." Ruby waited for Cerise to touch down before sliding off. Yaela's house stood in front of her. Nalia poked her head around the tree and hummed at Ruby. The Rider waved and walked up to the front door.

She knocked and waited for someone to answer. Seconds later, the door opened inward and Aaron stood on the other side. Instead of his normal Remnant outfit of jacket, jeans, etc., he wore some loose fitting elven earth tone clothes. "Morning, Ru," he said.

"Morning, Aaron." Ruby stood there awkwardly for a second before raising her right hand, the ruby ring still in the center of her palm. "I got you something after you dropped me off at my house last night."

Aaron stared at the ring for a few seconds. "Wow. Elf jewelers work wonders, don't they?" He held his left hand up.

"Well, the one I found did." Ruby took the ring out of her hand and fit it over Aaron's ring finger. "I guess she didn't sleep much last night."

"I know she didn't. Elves don't sleep like the rest of us." Aaron raised his left hand and raised it toward Cerise. "Exactly the same color."

"Well, you saw firsthand yesterday how much she likes you."

 _I cannot say I have done the same._ Nalia hummed and walked around the treehouse. She extended her neck to Ruby. _**I thank you for caring for my Rider in such a way. You have done more for him than I think he knows. His care for you almost matches his care for me. I must confess that it affected my opinion of you well before you started courting each other.**_ She nuzzled Ruby's head. _**Ruby Rose, I am glad you have chosen my Rider as a mate, and it would be my honor to call you my second Rider.**_

Ruby wrapped her arms around Nalia's snout. "Thanks, Nalia. I love you too."

A hand fell on one of her shoulders. "We both do."

Ruby turned around and smiled at her fiancé. They exchanged a quick kiss. As soon as she let go of Nalia's snout, she remembered the conversation she had with her mom. "Okaaaayyy." She stepped back and her cheeks burned. "So, mom told me last night that she has access to all my senses and she can't shut it off."

Aaron narrowed his eyes. "What does that have to do with…" His eyes widened and he took a step back. "So, this whole time…"

"Yeah." Ruby jerked her head up and down. "That's a thing."

"Oh. Man." Aaron crossed his arms and shook his head. "That's…"

"Well…" Ruby took a few backward steps toward Cerise, "we've got a lot to do today, and I'm sure Oromis would like you there before the others get there."

"Yeah." Aaron nodded and rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I'll see you when I get back?"

"Or if I come here." Ruby stared at the ground, then Aaron. "Well… Bye." She climbed up her dragon's side. Cerise jumped over the trees and flew west. Ruby slumped forward in the saddle. "That could have gone better."

 _You're the one who brought that up._

"I know." Ruby shook her head. "But I had to tell them."

Cerise hummed. _If you want help finding a solution to this, just ask._

"As long as it doesn't hurt mom." Ruby sighed. "Just get us to the lake." She didn't say anything more until they reached the edge of the water. She cast the spell from Cerise' back, then they jumped through and into the air over Kuo Kuana.

 _Hopefully they won't mind us arriving unannounced,_ Cerise said as she dove for the manor at the edge of the city.

"Ghira said we could drop by anytime. I hope he's not out of the city."

 _Agreed._ Cerise landed in the courtyard in front of the manor. Ruby dismounted her dragon and walked up the steps to the front door. She looked around the area as she climbed. Quite a few more guards roamed the modest wall of the manor. That was expected after the attempted coup. If all went well, they wouldn't be needed again.

Ruby made it to the front door and used the large knocker. It echoed across the porch and likely through the house. Sun thought it sounded ominous, but Ruby kind of wanted one of those on the facility being built in the mountains east of Vale. It just sounded so cool.

The door opened and Kali stood on the other side. Her ears twitched up and she smiled. "Ruby. We didn't expect you back so soon."

"Neither did I, but something came up. Can I speak with Ghira?"

Kali nodded. "Of course. Please, follow me." She turned into the house and Ruby followed her. "May I ask why?"

"We've had a few wild dragon eggs hatch." Ruby hung her head. "We need to do something now before the dragons get any bigger."

"Oh. I thought we said you are free to move in at any time?"

"With the timing, it's a little more complicated than that." Ruby shook her head. "I need to make sure that we are still okay."

Kali stared at Ruby, then shrugged. "If you think it's important." She led the way through the house and outside onto a deck at one point. She knocked on another door and pushed it open. "Ghira, you have a visitor." She gestured Ruby inside. The Rider complied and entered the room.

Ghira stood up from behind his desk. "Ruby. Well, this is a surprise."

"I wish it could be a pleasant one." Ruby approached Ghira's desk. "This could go either way."

"This is business, then." Ghira gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk. "Please take a seat."

Ruby sat in the offered chair and Ghira took his own. "I'll tell it to you straight. Two wild dragons have hatched in Alagaësia. The place they're in is not good to raise wild dragons. If we don't move them here now, their development could be hampered in so many ways."

"We have already discussed this, Ruby. Right now, we have no intention of settling the east coast again."

"That isn't the problem. Shruikan, the dragon we spoke about before, has not had enough time to adjust. His negative emotions are too strong. While he could attract most Grimm on the island to him, I can't guarantee that more wouldn't come here or any other settlements."

Ghira crossed his arms. "Can you not wait for his adjustment?"

Ruby shook her head. "The hatchlings are already a few weeks old. Right now, they're being raised indoors. They can't have learned how to hunt, find water, or any of those other things. Not to mention the fact that dragons grow incredibly fast and most have some form of claustrophobia. As it stands… we have nowhere else to turn to. If there was another option, that's where I'd be."

Ghira stared off to the side for a few seconds, then faced Ruby. "Will you stay for a few days to ensure the safety of my people?"

"Of course. I'd be potentially putting them in danger. If I dropped the dragons off and left, that would be irresponsible and negligent."

Menagerie's chief stared at Ruby for a few more seconds, then nodded. "I do not believe you would propose this if you did not believe it posed a significant threat to the people here."

"Of course not. Safety of the people is my number one concern."

"Well then, if you believe this to be your best option, I will not stand in your way."

Ruby smiled and nodded. "Thank you for this. I will keep you updated on everything." She stood up and paused. "I don't suppose Blake is still here?"

Ghira shook his head. "She and Sun left for their honeymoon midday yesterday. I do not know when they will be back, or if they will return here for that matter."

"Well, don't tell them, but…" Ruby raised her left hand, her ring facing out, "this happened last night.

Ghira blinked and his smile widened. "Do not tell Kali. She will insist on keeping you here for celebration."

"I sort of put that together when I was here for the wedding. Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice."

"It was my pleasure." Ghira nodded. "And congratulations on your engagement."

"Thank you. I'll contact you when the dragons have settled in." Ruby turned around and left the room. It looked like Kali had already moved somewhere else. The Rider snuck through the manor trying to avoid Kali. She liked Blake's mom, but she was very clingy. That normally wouldn't be a problem, but Ruby had other things to do that… week.

Thankfully, Ruby made it out of the manor without running into anybody. She walked down the stairs of the manor and to her dragon's side. She climbed up and Cerise took off. Her dragon flew toward the ocean and hovered just off the coast. Ruby cast the transportation spell once more and Cerise dove through the swirling water. They appeared over Ilirea and the dragon glided for the city.

Ruby blinked and stared at the disappearing portal behind her. "Huh. That's a thing." She faced the city again. "We were on Remnant for like what, twenty minutes or less, and now we're in Ilirea? Maybe we should travel like this more often."

 _Maybe. That would save a lot of time…_ Cerise turned her head back, _but that would take away so much of our flight time._

"There's that." Ruby rubbed her dragon's neck. "I wasn't saying we do this everywhere, but we should think about it when we need to get somewhere fast."

 _That I can agree with._ Cerise faced forward again to concentrate on gliding. A few minutes later she touched down in the courtyard in front of the citadel. Unlike every other time, there was no one there to greet them. That was perfectly fine with Ruby. She wasn't a fan of being treated like… not quite royalty, but something in that same vein.

The Rider and dragon walked through the massive hall of the citadel. Those present bowed in their direction, but none approached. That was perfectly fine with Ruby. Fewer distractions. The doors at the end of the hall opened ahead of them. A couple of cute growls filtered through the gap. Cerise' ears raised and she picked up her pace. Ruby shook her head. Cerise just loved babies.

Ruby walked into the former throne room and faced where the growls came from. The two hatchlings both had two ends of a deer in their jaws. They pulled the carcass in opposite directions. The Rider took her eyes off that scene. She wasn't as bad as Velvet with those kinds of sights, but they weren't her favorite.

She looked around the rest of the room. No eggs rested in their normal spot behind Shruikan. Instead, there were several crates to the side of the black dragon. Ruby stretched her mind that way as well. One of the crates held five Eldunarí, none of them Ruby had felt before. It looked like the rehabilitation was going well.

"Shruikan," Ruby faced the black dragon. "Are you ready?"

Shruikan took his head off the crates. _Shadeslayer. I did not expect you until later._

"We found another way." Ruby stopped a few dozen feet away from the dragon and put her fists on her hips. "I'll ask again, are you ready to go?"

 _Of course._ Shruikan snorted. _These hatchlings know we are leaving. Brom has brought Eldunarí that are of sane minds. They will help raise these hatchlings. All eggs that will choose Riders will stay in a vault here while the wilds will come with me. I would have spoken with Weiss and Saphira about this, but I cannot contact her while she is on Remnant. Brom thought it was a good idea._

"Considering he knows the old Order, I trust him." Ruby walked over to the crates and drew on the power of the Eldunarí. She stuck her natural hand toward them. "Adur." All crates floated off the ground. "Fylgja." She turned around and all crates followed her across the floor.

The two hatchlings had split the deer in roughly half and were now enjoying their lunch. The yellow one looked up at Ruby and part of its lunch rolled out of her mouth. She left her meal to watch the floating crates behind the Rider. Her brown-scaled partner joined her soon after. They sniffed at the crates, and yellow jumped on top of one of them.

Cerise walked over as well and growled at the two hatchlings, but not in a mean way. They yipped and jumped around. Yellow spun around on her crate and 'roared' at the ceiling. Cerise snorted and looked down at her Rider. _It appears these two are ready to go outside._

"I don't blame them." Ruby faced the hatchling on the crate. _"I would appreciate it if you walked or flew."_ The hatchling narrowed her eyes and growled. She lowered herself onto the crate and dug her claws in.

 _Suggestions won't work on wild dragons, Ruby,_ Cerise said. _If you want them to respect you, you need to show them who's boss._

Ruby straightened up and stepped forward. _"Off. Now,"_ she hissed. _"You will not ride on any of these crates."_ The hatchling silenced, then looked up at Ruby with wide eyes. She whimpered and jumped off the crate. The brown dragon joined yellow by her side.

 _I did not expect that,_ Cerise said, her surprise leaking out.

"That she would listen to me so quickly?" Ruby faced her dragon. Cerise' eyes were wide and her ears raised. "What's with that look?"

 _In a way. I don't think I've heard you speak that way before._ Cerise' lips parted in a dragon's smile. _I think you just made yourself their alpha._

"So dragons do have Alphas." Ruby cocked her head.

 _Wild dragons, yes. But we don't call them that. There is no word for it either, whether it's Vytalian or in the Ancient Language._

"Hmm. Okay then." Ruby turned around and faced the dragons she wasn't bonded to. _"We are heading east to the river. From there, we will go to eastern Menagerie."_ She lowered her gaze to the hatchlings and narrowed her eyes. _"You two will follow us. Do not fly far from Cerise or Shruikan."_ She turned around and walked out of the former throne room. The floating crates trailed behind her with the hatchlings right after and Shruikan taking up the rear.

Each step the massive dragon took shook the whole floor. Ruby felt some dust fall on her face and she looked up. Shruikan _was_ bigger than Glaedr. He still shouldn't bring the ceiling down on them. The mini earthquakes Shruikan caused drew a lot of attention. Dozens of people stood in the entryways to almost all side hallways. One of them was Deynor. Ruby nodded at the King as she passed. She didn't say anything and neither did he. The Rider faced straight forward again. The exit to the citadel lay right in front of her… Ruby couldn't help but think that this probably looked like an epic movie shot.

The dragons and Rider left the citadel. The two hatchlings warbled their excitement and ran around the courtyard. Shruikan raised his head and wings. _I have not left that confinement in years._

Ruby's shoulders slumped. She had a hand in that containment. "If you can control your emotions, you will never face it again." She mounted her dragon and faced where the hatchlings ran. _"Follow us. We are leaving."_ Cerise jumped out of the courtyard, and all others followed her. Ruby made sure that the crates were still following her as well.

The hatchlings were slow, but they were excited. They chirped and yipped at everything in the air and some things on the ground. Cerise set a slower pace than necessary as she curved west. The hatchlings used it to fly around each other and pester Cerise and Shruikan. They didn't come anywhere near Ruby. Cerise may have been right… or it might have just been a respect thing.

About a half hour later, Cerise landed on the banks of the… Ramr River? Ruby's Alagaësian geography still wasn't the best. Her bionic eye told her that was indeed the case. She once again cast the spell from her dragon's back and the river swirled black and purple. _"This is it."_ She faced the other dragons. _"Follow us into this. Your new home is on the other side."_

Ruby faced forward and Cerise jumped into the portal. They appeared about a mile above the east coast of Menagerie. Cerise flew a distance away from the portal and turned back. No one else came through right away. _"Come on through!"_ Ruby yelled, even though she didn't know if they could hear her on the other side. A few seconds later yellow jumped through. She shrieked at the ground below and flew close to Cerise. Brown followed soon after and shrieked in a similar way.

Then Shruikan's head came through the center. _This is… strange._ His head pulled back a little, then lunged forward, followed by the rest of his body.

Ruby cut the energy to the portal and it closed in a snap. Even with help from the Eldunarí, she felt the drain, but it wasn't enough to put her down. _"Welcome to Remnant,"_ she yelled. Cerise dove for the ground while her Rider searched the skies for any Grimm. There may have been a couple Nevermores or Pteros way in the distance, but they should have been far enough away, unless Shruikan drew them.

Cerise landed on top of a cliff and Ruby dismounted. All the egg and Eldunarí crates swung into place above the ground. The other dragons landed soon after. The hatchlings again chirped at everything around them and ran all over the place. _"Be still,"_ Ruby ordered. The hatchlings stopped in front of the Rider. Yellow laid down quickly followed by brown. Ruby flicked her eyes up to the black dragon. _"Shruikan, you need to know this too._

" _This is the island of_ Menagerie, _though the name may very well change when the civilization on this island is recognized as a Kingdom. We may also name our part of the island something else. But we do have a specific part of the island. As of right now, we are not to settle fifty miles west of here. Stick around the coast, and we won't have problems with the locals._

" _Some of the locals, anyway. This land is not safe. It's filled with creatures called_ Grimm _. They are creatures of evil. They are attracted to negative emotions and seek to destroy all life that is now their own. They will not hesitate to kill you, so do not do so them._

" _At the same time, this could be a test for you. I know dragons value their strength. You can test yourselves against these Grimm but know your limits. Grimm are not to be trifled with. If you face one that is stronger than you, you_ _ **will**_ _be killed. This is not a friendly fight with each other. It's life and death. Train yourselves, yes, but do not overestimate your abilities, and until you grow to a decent size stay together."_

Ruby looked up at Shruikan. _"I know that these two don't understand what I'm saying, so I'll leave it up to you to instruct them once I leave."_

Shruikan grunted. _**I will see to it, Shadeslayer.**_

" _Thank you."_ Ruby looked past the dragons and drew Máni Bláto. _"Well, while I'm here, why don't we find a place for you all to rest your heads and the eggs?"_

* * *

Salem stood above the cryo-pod that held Pruma, one of the two Forsworn left 'alive.' The fallen Rider would prove to be a useful ally. She would see Salem's way, whether she wanted to or not.

"My Queen," Tyrian said behind the Shade, "Ilia has returned."

Of course, Salem felt her mind fly in several minutes ago. "Take me to her, Tyrian." She turned around to face her assassin.

"Of course, my Queen." The Faunus turned around and led Salem out of the vault. He didn't say anything else as they walked through the halls. While his praise was appreciated on occasion, his voice was annoying. At least he knew when he should stay quiet.

Tyrian led Salem into the 'guest suite' of the castle. He pushed open a door and gestured inside. "She is through here."

Salem entered the room. Ilia stood next to a window, staring out over the continent. "Ilia, you have returned."

The Faunus turned around and nodded at her master. "I was expecting your call. It just took a little longer than I was expecting."

"There were complications." Salem walked to her Maiden's side. "How are your abilities progressing?"

Ilia's eyes glowed red and ice and fire balls formed in each of her hands. "Not as far as I would like, but I am making progress. Vernal is fighting me at every step of the way. I'm not good at all that mental stuff."

"Then you may or may not have difficulty on your next assignment."

"What's my target?" Ilia's eyes ceased to glow. She let the fire extinguish and the ice ball crack on the floor.

"Tyrian and Watts have obtained the cargo that your forces failed to on the _Saint Nick."_ Ilia winced but gave no other reaction. "The Rider the ship was transporting is now in one of my vaults. I have attempted to reverse what Ruby Rose has done, but it appears my kind of magic is not capable of doing so. I believe only another Maiden can thaw Pruma out of her cryosleep."

Ilia nodded. "Do we know why Ruby wanted Pruma alive, other than her bleeding heart?"

"No. But I am expecting Pruma to be forthcoming with that information once she is awake again. Tyrian will take you to the vault." Salem gestured toward the door Ilia walked toward it and out. It really was a shame that the Faunus was planning on betraying her. Willing followers always worked better than those who are forced to. Oh well. She would still be useful after the fact.

* * *

 **Forsworn and Shade together again. I don't think it will be that easy to kill them this time.  
**


	32. Again?

**Saw Ant-Man and the Wasp last Thursday, probably going again today. This time I'm just going to listen to the crowd at _that_ part. If you've seen it, you know what I mean. The Russo brothers are the most powerful people in the world... Enough Marvel, more RWBY.  
**

* * *

"Ya know, Halcyon," Yang rubbed the center console of the Bullhead, "I should probably get a pilot's license at some point."

The engines ground for a few seconds then returned to normal. _What, you don't trust my flying?_

"It's got nothing to do with that. If someone sees me and Viki in the cockpit and that person's a cop, what's my explanation?"

Viki turned her head toward the Rider. "You taught me how to fly?"

"Oh gosh, no." Yang shivered. "I like where your head's at, but that's a terrible idea. I'm not qualified to teach anyone else to fly, not to mention I don't have a license. That would get us both in trouble."

 _On the bright side,_ Halcyon started, _you might get your pilot's license before Ruby gets her driver's license._

"There is that." Yang shook her head. "If she wants it, she can't keep putting it off."

"When's she going to be back?" Viki asked.

Yang paused. "That is a good question. She should have been back last week. I haven't heard anything from her."

 _She probably got sidetracked._ The engines ran louder for a second before quieting. _You know how she is._

"That or she got tangled up in something on the other side. I haven't seen her anywhere on the news, so she can't be on Remnant." The Bullhead tipped forward, revealing the house in the woods. Considering nothing crashed around behind them, everything was secured. "You gonna need help setting up your rig?" Yang faced Viki.

"Maybe. My…" Viki shook her head. "Those monsters either told me exactly how to do things or just wanted something done without caring how it was done. I could figure it out, but I don't know how long it could take." Her head sunk in between her shoulders. "Do you think Weiss will be mad when she finds out how much everything cost?"

"Heck, no." Yang waved a hand at Viki. "It's your first birthday on Remnant, and she gave you a blank check to use on whatever you want. She probably has dresses that cost more than that stuff, and that she only wore once or not at all. You're fine."

Viki's lips crept upward. "Thank you."

"No problem." Yang braced for the landing and Halcyon touched the Bullhead down. This time, it wasn't a jarring hit. "Hey! You didn't wreck the hull again." She pat the compartment that hid Halcyon's Core.

The engines ground as they spun down. _It's not like you never crashed Bumblebee when first learning._

"I wouldn't call those crashes. More like bumps in the shed." Yang pulled the hatch open and disconnected her dragon. She pulled the golden box out of its holder and hooked it to her belt. Then she plugged in the netcam hidden in her jacket. "Okay, Viki. Let's get your stuff inside."

Yang left the cockpit and picked up the largest and heaviest box which held Viki's new computer tower. Viki grabbed a few smaller boxes and followed Yang out of the Bullhead. But as the Rider approached the house, something looked wrong. When she left, not all of the blinds were closed, and her dad should be at Signal for another few hours. She stretched her mind inside and felt a familiar person on the other side of the door. "Viki, just so you know, an… acquaintance of mine is inside."

The door to the house opened just before Yang made it. No one stood on the other side, but the Rider wasn't worried. She stepped inside and faced the one behind the door. "Raven, I thought dad didn't want you in the house."

"He doesn't." Raven shrugged. "Qrow got me a key years ago."

"I bet dad wouldn't like that."

"Probably not. But that's why no one's told him."

"Yang?" Viki started, "who's this?"

Yang looked over her shoulder at the girl. "Raven Branwen, current commander of the Rider's intelligence division."

Raven shifted on her feet. "But that's not saying much right now. It's two people."

"Why don't you go wait in my and Ruby's room?" Yang jerked her head in that direction. "I'll drop this off in Viki's room, then I'll join you." Raven nodded, then closed the front door.

Yang followed Viki up to her room, then set her box on one of the beds. "Hey, Viki?" The young woman faced her. "I know I said I'd help you out, but if Raven's here, it has to be important. If you still need help after we're done, I will, but it could be a while. And don't disturb us unless it's an emergency, got it?"

"Got it." Viki nodded. She grabbed a pen off a desk and started cutting open boxes. "I think I can at least get things in place."

Yang nodded and left the room. She walked down the hall and pushed into her own room. Raven stood at Ruby's desk, holding a picture frame. "You've changed a lot from when this was taken." She didn't sound like she was reminiscing. She took her eyes off the picture.

"What? Am I wearing a Halloween costume?" Yang looked at the picture and cocked her head. It was a full team and dragon picture taken just before their first Vytal Festival Tournament. "Well, that was about five and a half years ago. I would think that we've changed a little."

Raven just stared at Yang. "You look in a mirror lately?"

Yang raised an eyebrow at Raven and walked over to her full-length mirror. "My hair, yeah. Blame Halcyon for that. Everything else…" Yang blinked at herself. "Can I see that picture again?" Raven handed it over and Yang held it up. "My gosh, you're right." Yang's face had much more angle to it. Her cheekbones had risen and her eyes had a slight slant to them. She pulled her hair back and revealed one of her ears. The tip was pointed, though not nearly as much as Ruby's.

"Don't worry, Raven." Yang smirked and let her hair fall. "Halcyon also did this to me. Before long, I'll look like an elf just as much as Ruby does." She faced Raven. "She can take adorable, I'll take smoking hot." She shrugged. "I guess we can share drop dead gorgeous."

That got a laugh out of Raven. "I will give you that." She shook her head and her smile disappeared. "But I'm not here for a social visit. I'd say wait for Ruby, but something's happening tonight."

Yang nodded. "I figured something like that. I haven't heard anything from her ei-"

 _Hey, sis!_ Ruby's voice rang in Yang's head. _I'm back._

Yang blinked and faced where she felt her sister's mind. "Speak of the Grimm." _Ruby, I'm with Raven in our room. Something's up._

Ruby's good mood disappeared. _We're on our way._

Yang walked to the window and looked through the blinds. A few seconds later, Cerise landed in the backyard. Ruby dismounted and ran for the front door of the house. Yang turned away from the window. Raven was working with one of the projectors in the room, and it looked like she disconnected it.

About a minute later, the door opened and Ruby stepped inside. "Please tell me I didn't delay something important."

"I waited for two days," Raven said while connecting her scroll, "but I still would have acted tonight with or without you."

Ruby nodded. "Fair enough. What's the situation?"

"Vacuo's never been the most civilized place. But now it looks like it could be heading for civil war." Raven plugged in her Scroll and a map of Vacuo showed up. "I have contacts in quite a few tribes all over the Kingdom from my original campaign against the Nevermores. They say they're gearing up for attacks on other tribes or that they've been attacked themselves. But there's a small one near the north coast that I didn't know about until recently. It's small, but it's strong. They've attacked five other tribes and either forced them to relocate or destroyed them outright."

"Hasn't this happened before?" Yang crossed her arms. "One tribe gets uppity and tries to take down the rest and the rest take them down?"

"When it's one or two tribes in the same general area, yes." Raven hit something on her Scroll. A dozen red dots appeared all over the map of Vacuo, including a couple right on the border with Vale. "These are all the tribes I know about that are preparing to attack. But specific targets are up in the air."

Yang let her arms fall. "That's a lot of red."

"Here are the locations for all other tribes I know about." Raven hit something else on her Scroll and blue dots filled most of the rest of the space. "I don't have contacts in most of these, so there could very well be more tribes out there that are part of this."

"I take it this is the one you were talking about?" Ruby pointed to a large red dot at the northern coast of the continent. Raven nodded. "Are they the ones behind this, or are they just another cog?"

"I don't think so. One of the contacts I have in the rouge tribes said a scorpion Faunus by the name of Tyrian Callows arrived shortly before their mobilization began." Raven looked directly at Ruby. "I think Summer knew of him before."

"Maybe…" Ruby's eyes became unfocused and her head drifted to the side. "He was a… Vacuan native. Now works for Salem… as an assassin?" She blinked and shook her head, coming back to reality. "That sound right?"

"Precisely. What we know right now is that Salem has some hand in all this."

"Why the focus on the northern tribe?" Yang asked. "It just sounds like they're the first to act."

"Because my newest contact says they're going after another tribe tonight." Raven grimaced. "And we've all fought an offshoot of theirs before." She hit something else on her Scroll. A Nevermore appeared on the projector… one that Yang thought she'd seen the last of. "This is the symbol of the Vaar tribe, taken by the Nevermores as they deemed themselves the true tribe after the O'Donnells split off.

Yang clenched her fists and Ruby slumped. "No…" Ruby shook her head while keeping her eyes on the projection. "We were done with them. Why are they back?"

"The Vaar tribe never left. From what I gather, they're still human supremacists, but they're not slavers. But they are genocidal, well, as close to that as a few hundred person tribe can be.."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Like that's any better." She paused. "Wait, a Faunus convinced these guys? Wouldn't they kill him on sight?"

"Didn't your partner stay hidden for a few months while sharing a room with a Schnee? Tyrian probably has ways to hide himself. If he doesn't and if what you say about Salem is true, I doubt she'd have a problem making him look human."

"I guess there's that." Yang shrugged.

Slowly but surely, Ruby's faced darkened, leaving no trace of her normal bubbly attitude. "When do we leave, and do we need more people?"

"My portals can only take people, and I don't think dragons can get you that far so quick."

Ruby shook her head. "No need. I can make a portal to Alagaësia, then one back to anywhere I've been on Remnant."

Yang blinked at her sister, then slumped her shoulders. "Why didn't we think about this before?"

"Just found out about it this last trip. I can think of quite a few times that could have been useful."

"In that case," Raven started, "we could use a lot of help. A good chunk of the Vaar have abilities and skills on par with Huntsmen."

"I'll get in touch with CFVY." Ruby pulled out her Scroll.

"I'll clear the Bullhead." Yang moved for the door.

Ruby faced her sister. "What's up with the Bullhead?"

"It might still have some of Viki's birthday present in there."

"Viki's birthday…" Ruby faced a wall and her shoulders lost some of their tension. "And I'm leaving."

"If it makes you feel better, her birthday was two days ago." Yang left the room and jogged through the house and out the front door. "Sorry, Halcyon. Looks like you're going back in."

 _Ah, well._ Halcyon mentally sighed. _I got to hang out on you for a little bit._

"And you'll get to fighting with me in a little bit." Yang jumped into the Bullhead and put her dragon right back from where she just took him. She closed the hatch, then picked up the last two boxes and brought them in the house. "We're all set down here!"

A door opened and closed upstairs. A raven flew down the stairs and out the door before Ruby appeared. "Coco and Velvet are going to join us. Fox and Yatsu are out on mission, as are Jaune and Ren. Let's get Cerise in her armor. Fast."

"You got it, sis." Yang held the door open for her sister, then jogged with her over to the shed. Halfway there, Yang noticed something golden and green on her sister's left hand… she would have freaked out if she didn't have to focus on a mission.

Cerise laid down by the shed and the two Riders armored her up. Two people doing the task sped things up considerably. When they were mounting the two chainguns on Cerise, Yang got a better look at the thing on Ruby's finger. "You got a lot of energy in that new rock?"

"A bit." Ruby nodded but didn't take her gaze off the connections to the gun. "I've had a lot of downtime in the past week, and I put in a lot of energy every chance I could. I even took some energy from Grimm. It's got a few more wards tied to it too."

Yang tightened the connection, securing the gun in place. "You want to tell me _why_ you have a new rock?"

Ruby froze, then picked up another plate of armor. "How about when we're not speeding on the ground?"

"Works for me." Yang smirked, then continued working. Fifteen minutes later, all plates were in place. Yang jogged back to the Bullhead and entered the cockpit. A raven stood in the copilot's seat. The Rider sat in the pilot's chair and strapped herself in. "Let me guess, you're laying low until we get out of Vale?" Raven hopped over and pecked Yang's closest hand. "I'll take that as a yes."

" _Blondie, you ready to fly?"_ Ruby's voice came over the radio.

"We're secured in here. Shadeslayer. Geist is onboard."

"Metal Flapper here," Halcyon said over the transport's speakers. "Assuming this won't be a protracted battle, I am ready to provide air support."

" _Copy. Go pick up Coco then meet us by the river."_ Cerise took off and flew east. The Bullhead lifted off in the same direction, only it passed Cerise just before they left Patch behind them. Halcyon aimed the transport at CFVY's apartment and kicked up the engines. If they weren't pressed for time, Yang might have stuck her head out the troop transport to feel the wind in her face.

As it was, Halcyon flew straight to the apartment and landed in the park across the street. Velvet was already on her dragon's back and Vert was fully armored. Coco ran over from the green dragon's side and into the Bullhead's crew compartment. She walked into the cockpit. "We're good to go." She moved to sit in the copilot's chair but Raven squawked. Coco jumped back and held her hands up. "Shit, Yang, what's with the bird."

"She's the copilot." Yang pat the center console. "Well, co-copilot."

"Yang, you'll always be my copilot," Halcyon's voice came over the speakers. The engines spun up from his hum, and they didn't stop as the transport lifted off the ground.

"Thanks, Aeiou." Yang clicked the radio. "We got Stylin onboard. Meadow and Jackrabbit are right behind us. We're coming to your location, Shadeslayer."

" _Copy that,"_ Ruby said over the radio. _"I'll start the spell."_

"Would either of you mind explaining the plan?" Coco rested her elbows on the backs of both chairs.

Yang gestured at Raven. "The co-copilot will explain once we get to Alagaësia." Raven squawked again and fluttered her wings.

"Wait, Ruby said we're going to Vacuo."

"We are," Halcyon said. "We just have to go to Alagaësia to get to Vacuo faster." Ruby and Cerise came into view below them. The water in front of them swirled. The Bullhead dove for the portal. "Going in!"

Coco gripped onto the chairs. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Don't worry, I'll slow down." A few dozen feet above the portal, the Bullhead leveled out and entered as such. Instead of forest and cliff ahead of them, there was only grassland. Vert dove and circled in front of the Bullhead. "Oh yeah. Coco, this is your first time in Alagaësia isn't it?"

"Yeah." Coco looked over her sunglasses. "It looks flat to me."

Raven jumped out of the seat and transformed back into a human. "It's my first time too."

Coco jumped back into the crew compartment. "What the f-"

"Knew that would happen." Yang smirked and looked out the front of the Bullhead. There was a river right in front of them. "Halcyon, land down there. I can get us to Shade."

"You got it." The Bullhead dipped for the riverbank and landed right on the shore. Yang left the Bullhead and jogged for the river. She knelt down just outside the water and called up an image of Shade in her head. Then she started chanting to cast the spell. One energy drain later, the water swirled. Seconds later, Cerise dove through. "I guess I should have expected that." Vert followed after his mate.

The Bullhead crept up to Yang's side and she jumped into the moving vehicle. When she sat in the cockpit, Vacuo's CCT at the center of Shade loomed before them. _"Now that we're here,"_ Ruby started, _"Geist, mind explaining the plan?"_

"Okay, this is what's going on…" Raven went onto explain all the information she had on both the Vaar tribe and the one that they were protecting. Then she suggested a plan, which Ruby accepted. From the sound of it, they could get this done with no casualties on their side. Then again, most plans started out like that.

Shortly after Raven said they were halfway there, and after all talks of plans had subsided, Yang decided to make a little levity before the mission. "So, Ruby, you going to tell us why you have that extra rock?"

Ruby sagged on her dragon's saddle, and Yang smirked. _"Um, uh… Aaron proposed to me the night we arrived in Ellesméra."_ Ruby murmured. _"I said yes. Obviously."_

The engines on the Bullhead spun their fastest yet. Vert turned his head in Cerise' direction and roared as well. Yang felt her own excitement and happiness building. "Ruby, are you serious?"

" _I wouldn't joke about this, Yang. It's not even April."_

Coco leaned her head forward. "Two things, Ruby. One, we're celebrating once we get back to Vale, or Vacuo, or wherever we're going after this. Two…" she sighed. "You just made my job a lot harder."

" _Sorry, not sorry on that second one, and I don't drink."_

"Come on, you're legal everywhere now."

" _No, Coco,"_ Ruby's voice became serious again. _"I don't drink. Bad stuff happened the last time I had alcohol."_ Yang flicked her eyes to her sister. That couldn't be about her breakdown in Ellesméra, could it?

Raven shook her head, her own smile forming. "You are turning out to be just like your mother." She looked out the windshield. "I'm dropping out here. I should be able to make it to the Hagg's camp from here." She stood up and left the cockpit.

"Roll out the red carpet for us," Yang called. She didn't get any response. "I guess that's our cue to lay low."

" _Decrease altitude,"_ Cerise ordered, her thoughts being filtered through the translation band. _"Skim the sand. Give us a big dust cloud."_

"Copy that." The Bullhead glided toward the ground and stayed only a dozen feet above the sand. "This better not clog my engines."

"You've got wards. They'll hold." Yang let her head dip and she rested a hand on the compartment that held Halcyon's core. _Know your limit, okay buddy? I lost you once. I don't want to lose you again._

Halcyon mentally hummed. _I will not go all out if at all possible. Just keep their fire off me, okay? I'll do my best._

 _If for whatever reason they have anti-air weaponry, get the heck out of the fight. I don't want you to have to rely on limbs that aren't your own to get you out._

 _Why weren't you like this in Menagerie?_

Yang looked away from the box. _I was. We just didn't have time to talk before we went into battle. I love you, Halcyon. I don't want anything to happen to you._

 _Thank you for your concern, Yang, but I can take care of myself. If I need help, you'll be the first to know._

 _As long as we understand each other._ Yang gave the compartment one last rub before walking into the crew compartment. She needed to check over her gauntlets. A few minutes later, she was satisfied with the condition of her weapons. She reached for Sun's Light, but her right hand gripped around nothing. She faced where the sword usually rested and she let her upper body slump. Freaking Adam destroyed her mom's weapon. Of course Ruby would re-forge the sword, but that took time. Yang shook her head. She fought for a long time with only her fists and her gauntlets. She could do it again.

About a half hour later, the Bullhead slowed down. Yang grabbed one of the bars above her. "I take it we're there, Halcyon?"

"Possibly. Cerise slowed down. I'm following her."

"Good idea." Yang walked into the cockpit and looked out the windshield. A large cliff rose before them, with a forest at the base and on top. Cerise curved to fly alongside it before touching down. Vert and the Bullhead followed suit. Yang's Scroll vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out. Raven sent a message saying, 'On my next message, the attack is on. Blue and white are friendlies. Black and red except me are enemies.' Yang shrugged. _And Ruby. She's about as friendly as they get._

"So," Coco sat in the copilot's seat, "we just wait now?"

"Yeah." Yang reclined as much as she could in her chair and kicked her feet up on the dash. After a few minutes of relative silence, she shrugged and left the Bullhead. She walked to Cerise side and focused on her sister.

Ruby was working on something on Cerise' armor. She turned around and looked at Yang. "Need something sis?" Her voice was somewhere between happy and mission focused.

"Where're Aaron and Nalia? With them gone, we're missing a lot of firepower, literally."

"They're still in Ellesméra." Ruby dipped her head. "They need to help Oromis train the other Riders. So… they could be over there for quite a while."

"Makes sense. They gotta do some work sooner or later." Yang crossed her arms and smirked. "So, this is real? You're engaged?"

Ruby loosened and smiled at her sister, all business forgotten. "Yep, for about two weeks."

Yang's smirk turned into a full smile. "My baby sister's getting married!" She jumped forward and pulled her sister into a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you! You're going to have such a great time!"

"Ack! Yang! Breathe…" Ruby tried to move her pinned arms.

"I guess you can do that." Yang put her sister down and released her from the death grip. Ruby took a few exaggerated breaths and glared at her sister, but her curved up lips ruined the effect. "Okay, big sister questions: were you forced into this at all?"

Ruby straightened and shook her head. "Not at all."

"Did you two do anything afterward?"

Ruby's right eye twitched. "I'm going to assume you mean a date. We walked from the waterfall outside Ellesméra back to the city."

"That is exactly what I meant." Yang held her hands up. She knew how both of them felt on that other subject. She wasn't worried. "Has he given you any concern that he could be violent to you or any of your kids?"

"Absolutely not." Ruby shook her head. "If anything, he'd put himself between me and any threat."

"Last question," Yang gestured at Ruby's left hand, "you know of any reason why your rock is an emerald, not a diamond?"

Ruby blushed and looked away. "Apparently this was a thing around the old Order. The few times Riders married each other, the rings they gave each other had gemstones the color of their betrothed's dragons. It meant that the dragons were part of the relationship too and that they cared for the other Rider like their own."

Yang's smirk turned into a smile. "That is so sweet. I guess that means you're with Nalia now too?"

"Just a bit. She's adopted me as her second Rider."

"Considering we've got time," Yang sat next to her sister and hooked her arms over Ruby's shoulders. "Now that you two are finally together, need any help planning a wedding?"

"I've been thinking about something for a week." Ruby's head dipped farther. "I'm going to need to pick a Maid of Honor… and so many other things. I don't want to leave any of you out."

"Hey, don't worry about us. It's your day. Everyone else is just around to make it special." Cerise hummed and bumped her Rider's shoulder. "We got time sis. What do you got so far?"

Before Ruby could say anything, both her and Yang's Scrolls chirped. Yang's smile disappeared as did her sister's. "We'll talk later," Ruby said. "Fight now."

"You got it." Yang ran back to the Bullhead and armed her gauntlets. "Halcyon, spin her up!" The engines on the transport spun to life and started to lift off the ground by the time Yang jumped in. "Coco, get ready. We're going in hot."

"I got it." Coco walked out of the cockpit and grabbed one of the bars above her. She grabbed her purse and extended it to a minigun. "I'm locked and loaded."

"You ever fought people to the death before?"

Coco winced. "Not like this."

"Just keep your head in the battle. Don't think about much else." Yang grimaced as she stared ahead of the Bullhead. "Don't pull a me," she added under her breath.

 _I'll keep you from that, Firecracker,_ Halcyon said.

Yang heard gunfire ahead of them. A few smoke clouds burst from the trees, followed by the sound of explosions. That wasn't right. These were tribes. They didn't have the funding for that kind of equipment. Unless they built their own, which could happen, there shouldn't be that many large explosions.

" _Everyone, be ready!"_ Ruby called. _"LZ's are hot. Hot drops are approved."_

"You got my back, Stylin?" Yang asked.

Coco spun up her minigun. "Like ugly on a Grimm."

"Metal Flapper, find a large group and drop us in the center." Yang hung out the side of the transport, Ember Celica aimed at the ground. The friendly camp came into view through the trees. From the look of it, there weren't many people just walking around the camp itself. The makeshift walls were filled, with primarily archers and a couple riflemen firing to the forest beyond.

There was a lot of movement on the ground, and not all of it could be friendly. The Bullhead flew to a place beyond where most of the movement was. "You are green to drop!" Halcyon said. "Go! Go! Go!"

Yang jumped out of the transport and flung her left hand in front of her. She still needed to work out a new landing strategy that worked more often than not. This one hurt if she messed it up. When she was just above the canopy, she fired her gauntlet. Her upper body swung up and she kicked her feet in front of her. She fired again and made her descent more of an angle. She hit the ground and rolled a couple of times before popping to her feet. It worked.

At the same time, she was surrounded by enemies. It took a while for them to notice her, and they paid for that with punches that sent them through trees. One of them with a sword finally managed to yell, and he got a shotgun blast to the face for the accomplishment. Other gunmen leveled their rifles at her, then minigun fire rained down from above. All those gunmen fell, some burst into bloody messes right away, others' Aura held but were forced to the ground. Coco landed a second later on one of those.

"Ready to clear the forest?" Yang asked as she passed Coco.

"Something tells me that you elf friends are going to be mad at us in a few seconds."

Yang raised her right hand and gauntlet. The flame at the end of Ember Halcyon grew. "Too bad for them." She ran into the trees toward the nearest gunfire. She found a group of Vaar fighting against a larger group of Hagg. There were several Hagg dead on the ground, but only a couple of Vaar.

That's when Yang noticed the weapons. Not a single one of the Hagg warriors had any firearms. Their weapons were in poor shape too. The Vaar, on the other hand, had Atlas tech, and a couple of people the size of Yatsuhashi with weapons that matched their size. But Yang had fought a Kull without any of her weapons. This shouldn't be a problem.

One of the brutes vertically swung his mace at a what looked like the Hagg's only Huntsman. Yang jumped in front of the strike and caught it with both hands. "Hey, ugly," Yang smirked. The brute's eyes widened, then narrowed to slits. "Why don't you fight someone your own size?"

"Says the puny girl," he growled. He lifted his mace, but the Rider clung on.

"True. But I'm still more than a match for you." Yang stuck her flamethrower at the brute's head. She pulled the trigger all the way back and launched an inferno at her opponent's face. The man screamed and swung his mace around. Yang hung on and kept up the blaze. After a full rotation, the brute threw his weapon away, throwing Yang with it. The Rider ended the flow of flames and instead fired her shotgun at those on the ground below.

She landed and minigun fire burst from the trees. Coco walked out soon after. She wasn't spraying and praying, she aimed and fired controlled bursts at the Vaar. Most of the bad guys' attention was diverted toward the gunner. Yang used this time to run forward and punch another of the brutes in the back of the head. The giant fell face first to the ground and didn't move.

Yang faced the last brute standing. This guy's sword was as big as the Rider. "Compensating for something?"

"I have no need to do so." He swung the sword as easily as Yang swung Sun's Light. "Without your serpent you are nothing."

That knocked the smirk off Yang's face. _No one_ talked about Halcyon that way, even if he was flying above her. She charged again, ready to launch a flaming punch. The brute slashed at Yang, but the Rider slid under the strike. She launched her right fist at the giant's knees and pulled the trigger. Flames curled around that knee as Yang swung around the giant. She launched her left fist into the other knee and pulled the shotgun's trigger. The brute screamed and fell to the ground. Yang stood up then delivered a left hook to the back of the man's head.

 _Yang!_ Halcyon called, _I'm taking fire! I think they have a minigun of their own._

The Rider looked over the current battlefield. It looked like Coco and the locals had things under control. _On my way._ Yang took a few steps toward where she felt her dragon. _Just get out of there and-_

Her hair caught on something. It snagged her head back hard enough to swing her legs out from under her. The first brute stood over her, her hair in hand. Before Yang could do anything, the giant pulled Yang's hair again, swinging her over his head and into his spiked mace. He didn't let go either. He kept swinging Yang through the air and always back onto the mace. Yang couldn't get her arms around to line up a shot. Someone was beating her with her own hair.

One time she was in the air, she saw the Bullhead. A stream of Dust rounds plunged into the base and wings. Yang's heart skipped a beat. She was _not_ losing Halcyon again! _No one_ hurt her dragon!

Yang blinked and red haze filled her vision. "Jeirda!" The man's neck snapped and his grip on Yang disappeared. She flew through the air toward the source of the gunfire. She rolled on the ground then kept sprinting toward the minigun. The Rider fought through all the Vaar in her path until she reached the man with the minigun. "Hey, bitch!" The gunner looked at Yang and turned his weapon at her. Yang continued to run through the stream of Dust rounds and clamped a hand around one of the spinning barrels. The gun jammed and started smoking.

Yang narrowed her eyes at the gunman. "Don't hurt him." She tore the gun away and punched the guy in the face. But she wasn't done. She continued punching the man's face while he was down. The bastard needed to be taught a lesson.

Something slammed into her side, forcing her off her target. Yang jumped to her feet and glared at the culprit. "Raven. What the hell?"

"He's already dead, Yang," Raven said through her mask. "You don't need to make things any worse."

"I already lost him once. I am not losing him again. People need to know that."

"Isn't Halcyon a secret? What good is beating that guy to a pulp good for?" Raven gestured at the corpse. "That's something my old tribe would do."

"You don't get to judge me on how I protect my family," Yang snarled. "You were never there."

Raven tightened her grip on her weapon. "You don't want to go there, Yang."

"I do." Yang lowered herself into a fighting position.

A… familiar growl came from her right. Yang blinked and the red in her eyes faded away. She faced the sound and her arms dropped. It… wasn't exactly Halcyon. For one he was blue, for another, Velvet stood in the center of the wireframe structure. "Velvet… how long have you had him?"

"For a long time." Velvet's voice was a mix between her own and Halcyon's. "I saved him for something like this."

Yang blinked, then stared at the person on the ground. This is not what Halcyon would want… he was going to let her have it later. "Sorry, Rav…" Yang searched the area. Raven had disappeared. The darker part of Yang's mind thought that was just like Raven, abandoning her yet again. Yang shook her head and faced Velvet, still with Halcyon around her. "You left the fight to help me?"

"Listen," the hybrid voice said. Yang did as told and didn't hear anything. "This isn't a Grimm attack. This was one militaristic tribe attacking a peaceful one. Only one wave. They're in retreat. We're done until the Grimm show up, and they will."

Yang let her body sag. "I'm… going to go find Halcyon." She walked away and stretched her mind to her dragon. _Halcyon, we need to talk._

* * *

 **Writing fluff is fun... why must the story demand action and pain?  
**


	33. Déjà Vu

**Comic con is coming up soon... How many people will go there with brooms and dust pans... Just wondering.  
**

* * *

 _I think I see buildings,_ Cerise said.

Ruby looked past her dragon's head. A few things stuck out of the ground that looked nothing like the rest of the surrounding mountains. _I think you're right._

 _Which one's the SDC headquarters again?_

 _The tallest one besides the CCT._ Ruby caught movement near the top of the building she was thinking about. _That, or the one with Saphira on a platform near the top._

Cerise snorted. _That's a good guess._

When Cerise flew over the outer wall of the city, Saphira looked at them and raised her head and neck. _Oh. This is a surprise._

 _We hope that it's at least partially a good one,_ Ruby called. _We've got some business to take care of, along with some other things._

 _I'm sure Weiss has some of the same. She's talking with Ironwood about something I think you'd like. I'll leave that to her._

 _Is there room for me where you are?_ Cerise asked.

Saphira looked around herself. _Maybe, but one of the engineers said that this thing has a weight limit. She didn't say what it was._

 _I'll find a park nearby. Don't want to risk it._ Cerise adjusted her angle a little to the right. _Or… do you know if Atlas doesn't want us in their parks and plazas?_

 _If they do, you're welcome to stay in the one in the front of the building._

 _I think I'll do that._ Cerise flew over the city and curved around the building. She angled down toward the plaza and landed in one of the clear areas. The few people around stared at Cerise, whether with awe or indifference or, for the first time that Ruby knew, disgust. If they didn't like Cerise being there, too bad for them.

As Ruby walked toward the building, she also attracted a few stares. Probably because she was wearing the red dress she was given in Ellesméra with no jacket and it was almost below zero outside. She didn't feel it. That was one thing she loved doing with magic, doing normal things that people had to do with other tools with next to nothing. That, and the fact she was the Winter Maiden made it so she never felt cold.

Ruby pushed into the building and nodded at the security guards in the lobby. She walked up to the elevator block and called an elevator. She stood back and waited for one to arrive. One of the doors dinged and the doors opened, revealing General Ironwood and a pair of androids. Ruby stood straighter and stepped out of the general's way. "General Ironwood. It's good to see you."

"Likewise, Miss Rose." Ironwood nodded at Ruby and stepped out of the elevator. "I heard about the attack you led in Vacuo. No casualties on your team, and few with the tribe you helped. A flawless mission."

"It was more of a defense, but thank you." Ruby walked into the elevator and hit the button for the top floor. The doors started to close, but Ruby caught one and held it open. "And General?" Ironwood turned his head around and raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to need to talk to you about that. I believe we have a mutual threat."

Ironwood's face hardened. "I will work you into my schedule tomorrow." He turned away and walked for the exit.

Ruby pulled her hand back and the elevator doors closed. She felt the elevator rise fast. This building was supposed to have the fastest elevators on Remnant, so that was no surprise. If only it offered a view. The doors opened again into another lobby area. A massive set of white doors rested on the other side of the room. Ruby had already met the secretary once, when the team broke Weiss out of her home all those years ago. "Klein, I thought you were Weiss' butler."

Klein looked up from his desk. "Ah, Miss Rose. We weren't expecting you. And yes, I am her butler. I have just taken on a second role after recent events here."

Ruby winced. "Yeah. That was bad. The other secretary okay?"

Klein blinked and his eyes turned red. "No thanks to those people who attacked here." His voice lowered and became scratchy. "She ran outa here faster than a cat in a thunderstorm."

"Can't say I blame her." Ruby rose her head. "Is Weiss available?"

Klein blinked again and his eyes turned back to light brown. "I believe she is." He turned to an old-fashioned land-Scroll. "Miss Schnee, Miss Rose is here to see you."

" _Thank you, Klein,"_ Weiss' voice came out of the Scroll. _"Send her in."_

Klein hit another button on his desk and nodded at Ruby. The Rider walked to the doors and pushed one open. Weiss stood near the center of the room with her hands behind her back. Saphira looked in through the glass from her landing pad. Ruby stepped into the room and clasped her hands in front of her with her right hand over her left. She might as well attempt to make this sound like business. "Thank you for seeing me, Miss Schnee."

"I will always make time for my team leader," Weiss replied. The door closed behind Ruby and both Riders giggled like school girls. "It's good to see you, Ruby."

"Right back at ya, Weiss." The two approached and hugged each other. "The turbulence was actually pretty bad coming in here."

"Really?" Weiss pulled away. "I hadn't heard that in the weather reports."

"Cerise said it just started up." Ruby sat down on one of the couches in the room. "You know how unpredictable the weather is up here."

"You have a point." Weiss sat down across from Ruby. "So what brings you here today?"

"Can't I just come up here to say hi?" Ruby hoped her voice stayed level.

Weis smirked. "You can, but your smile and blush say otherwise."

Ruby's cheeks grew even redder. "Stupid biology." She took her right hand off her left and held the latter up, revealing her engagement ring. "Yeah. This happened."

Weiss' eyes widened and her lips followed the eyes' example. "Oh my gosh! Ruby, congratulations!" She stood up and walked over to Ruby's couch. Her leader stood up and they hugged again. "That was fast. You two haven't been dating for too long."

"Yeah, well, we know each other's True Names. It was going to happen sooner rather than later."

"That sounds about right." The two teammates separated again and sat down on the same couch. "You have a day yet?"

Ruby shook her head. "Not yet, but since I'm terrible at planning, I figured I should start getting things set early."

Weiss blinked. "If you're asking what I think you are, I'm not a wedding planner. I can refer you to several here in Atlas that have worked for some celebrities."

"I've already asked Coco for that." Ruby waved Weiss off. "She said she'll do it, and for a fraction of the cost of any of the people here. No, I came to ask you about…" she rubbed the back of her neck, "…would you be my Maid of Honor?"

Weiss gasped and covered her mouth with a hand. "Really?"

"Yeah. Cerise and I wouldn't fly all the way to Atlas for a joke."

"What about Yang? Won't she be mad?"

"She already knows I'm going to ask you." Ruby sighed. She wasn't proud of it, but she couldn't think of another way. "I had to choose between three sisters, and you know I don't like picking favorites… I threw you all in a random number generator."

Weiss blinked. "You _what?"_ She stiffened and stopped breathing. "You what…" Her upper body inched away. Outside, Saphira locked her eyes on her Rider.

"Uh, Weiss?" Ruby reached a hand for her partner.

"Don't touch me!" Weiss jumped off the couch and ran to her desk. She took papers out of one of the trays there and threw it all to the side one by one.

"Weiss…" Ruby stood up and took a step toward her partner.

"Stay back!" Weiss yanked open a desk drawer and drew Hvítr Vætta, Myrtenaster forged in brightsteel, with two blue streaks on the blade. Ruby held up her hands and backed up a few steps. She never expected one of her weapons to be pointed at her like this.

Saphira made a sound somewhere between a growl and whimper and pressed a button on her side of the glass. A steel wall emerged from the edges of her landing pad and curved up to form a dome, sealing her and the office off from the world. _Little one-_

Weiss jerked her weapon to her dragon. "You too, Saphira! Don't come any closer!" Tears rained from her eyes and her arms shook like an earthquake. She aimed her weapon back at her partner.

Ruby let her shoulders slump. "Oh no, not again."

Weiss' eyes bulged even more and she backed up to the wall. "Were we right?"

"Right about what?"

"Were we right about Galbatorix?" Weiss' tone demanded an answer, but plead for one over any other.

"Yes! Of course! We-"

"Swear it!"

Ruby hesitated. Would Weiss know all the words? Ruby didn't have a choice in the matter. _"We were right. Galbatorix was a terrible person. He's gone! I killed him."_ She paused. _"Weiss, this is real. You're out of any of their control. You're not in any danger here. You're safe. You're surrounded by those who love you."_

Weiss' arms shook even more, but her eyes stayed locked on Ruby. She sobbed, then dropped her weapon. Ruby ran forward and brought her sister into the biggest hug of the day. "I… I'm sorry, Ruby."

"You have nothing to be sorry about." Ruby rubbed her partner's back as she pulled her toward the doors to Saphira's platform. Weiss tried to pull away and reached for her desk. "No, Weiss. You are coming outside to your dragon, _now."_

"I will. I just need something for record… You'd be surprised the things people find out." Ruby held onto Weiss a little longer before letting go. The CEO walked to her desk and hit the intercom button. "Klein, hold all my calls for the rest of the day." Her voice gave away nothing. "Things may go long in here. If the time reaches five o'clock and we're not finished, you may go."

" _Of course, Miss Schnee,"_ Klein said.

Weiss slumped and leaned back on Ruby. "Take me to my dragon."

"You got it." Ruby half walked half carried Weiss to the glass doors out to the landing pad. She took one arm off her partner to pull the door open. Saphira moved her head to right outside the door and mewled. Ruby carried her sister out of her office and to her dragon's belly. Saphira closed her wing, sealing both Riders and her head in. Ruby stared at the dragon's face as she set her friend down.

Saphira hummed and snaked her head onto Weiss' lap. _I am here, little one._

Weiss hugged her dragon's snout. "Don't go anywhere."

 _Weiss, why do you still have this? You were good since we've been back here._

"It's not something that just goes away." Weiss shook her head.

"You were on the _Saint Nick."_ Ruby sat by Weiss and draped an arm over her partner's shoulders. "That dates back years for me. It didn't start in Urû'baen."

Saphira flicked her eyes to Ruby. _Why do you still have that?_

"It's not something I can just throw away." Ruby shook her head.

Saphira barred some of her back teeth. _It's fear. Why can't you beat it? I find it hard to believe that the Eldunarí would allow a c-_

 _You don't want to finish your sentence, Saphira._ Ruby didn't change the way she held her sister, but the ice in her thoughts could freeze magma. _I have met so many people with a situation similar to ours. Some were soldiers who fought off waves of Grimm and were the last surviving members of their squads. Others were shot in the line of duty and nearly lost their lives to save their friends. Several of those lost parts of their bodies. I don't know any of those who wouldn't do the same over again. Others still were tortured around me. Those Faunus are some of the bravest people I know. They lived through hell and came out on top. Look at Viki. Look at Weiss, your Rider. Both of them have seen their own versions of hell and generally spit on it. None of them want to go back to what they went through. Would you call any of them a coward?_

Saphira closed her lips and looked away. _No._

 _It's not just a mind thing either. After something terrible happens, our brains work differently. We have no control over that. Science can only do so much, and right now, magic takes too much away. In other words, we have no way to get rid of it. Saphira, I_ _ **never**_ _want to hear about you calling anyone a coward if they're afraid to go back into hell. Do I make myself clear?_

 _Crystal._ Saphira whimpered. _I apologize for ever thinking that._

 _Good._ Ruby leaned her head against her partner's. She rubbed Weiss' opposite shoulder.

"I take it you two had a talk?" Weiss asked.

"A bit." Ruby nodded.

 _I'm sorry, Weiss._ Saphira nuzzled her snout underneath her Rider's chin. _I didn't mean any offense to either of you._ Ruby blinked. The dragon's previous words sure said otherwise.

"I forgive you, Saphira." Weiss stroked the side of her dragon's face. No one spoke for a while. The only sound came from their breathing and Weiss occasional sobs. After a while, she dipped her head forward and rested her forehead on Saphira's snout. Ruby pulled her own head back but kept her arm around her partner's shoulders.

"Weiss, I have to ask." Ruby pulled her sister closer. "What made you go back there? Was it something I said?"

"No… yes?" Weiss shook her head. "It's not your fault. I don't know how, but I've seen that before, from when you came in to the random number generator. Formora made me see it." She sighed. "I guess I know you too well."

"I never thought Deja vu could be anything more than confusing. Whatever she did to you after that, I won't."

"I know you won't… you're too nice for that." Weiss shifted her head from Saphira's snout to Ruby's shoulder.

Then Saphira started humming. Ruby recognized the tune. She felt her lips form a smile on their own. It was Weiss' favorite. "Mirror, tell me something. Tell me who's the loneliest of all?" Ruby blinked. Those were the words to the song, but they didn't sound right.

Still, it got Weiss to smile and she joined in. "Mirror, tell me something. Tell me who's the loneliest of all?" They continued through the song, but each new word felt more wrong than the last.

As soon as Saphira's last hummed note faded away, Ruby shook her partner's shoulder. "Weiss, why do you like that song so much?"

"You know why. I didn't have any real friends before I went to Beacon."

"I mean why do you _still_ like it? You have the team. You have Saphira."

Weiss took a long time to respond. "I love you, the rest of the team, Saphira… but most of you are so far away. If I could run the SDC from Vale, I would, for so many reasons. For now, I'm handcuffed here. I can't move anywhere until our contract runs out with Atlas' military and the archaic business inheritance laws are repealed or changed. If I step down now, Whitley would take over. None of us want that." Weiss hugged her dragon tighter. "I only have Klein and Saphira up here. You have so many more people."

Ruby turned her head away. "So come up here whenever I get the chance?"

"Or I go down to Vale more often."

"If you ever need to talk, I'm a Scroll call away." Ruby paused. "So… Maid of Honor?"

Weiss took her head off her dragon and locked her bloodshot eyes with Ruby's. "Do you really want to have the person standing next to you on the best day of your life to be decided by chance?"

"No." Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "I have three sisters I want there. I couldn't choose between you all. This way no one would be hurt."

"I would be more hurt if you would rather have Yang or Blake there beside you and you're stuck with me. Take your time. Make sure your Maid of Honor is the one _you_ want… as long as I'm a bridesmaid, I'll be happy."

Ruby bit her lip. "Actually… I have to run this by Aaron of course, but…"

Weiss' shoulders slumped. "But?"

"I want a smaller wedding. I don't want to make a huge deal out of it. Like, no Kingdom wide attention. With that… fewer bridesmaids and groomsmen, maybe one apiece. For me, it has to be Viki."

"Oh." Weiss straightened again. "I guess that's okay."

"I'm still going to ask if you could sing something there."

"Which I will say yes to in a heartbeat."

"Thanks, sis." Ruby paused, then sighed. "I hate to do this, Weiss, but I came here for more than just asking you about wedding stuff."

Weiss jerkily nodded. "What do you need?"

"A few days ago, a bunch of us flew to Vacuo to fight a rogue tribe. Everyone else is still there, fighting off Grimm and anyone that came late. The rogue tribe had quite a few new SDC weapons with them. Frankly, I want to know how they got access to the equipment."

"Okay." Weiss rubbed an arm across her eyes. "I'll see if I can find anything." She stood up but kept a hand on her dragon's head. Saphira pulled her wings back.

"I have a list of serial numbers on my Scroll." Ruby stood up and took her device out of a pocket. "They're all in the basement of my house. Add yet another reason dad wants me out of the house. He doesn't like having an armory beneath where he sleeps."

Weiss started walking toward her office and a smile slowly formed on her face. "He knows you're his daughter, right?"

"Yeah, and mom said she wanted something similar way back when." Ruby passed her partner and pulled open one of the doors. Weiss got the other and walked inside. Saphira stuck her head and neck through the doors. Ruby wiggled through beside the dragon and set her Scroll on Weiss' desk. She navigated through the menus until she found the file she was looking for. "There's all the weapons."

"I'll run the numbers." Weiss connected the Scroll to her console. She sat in her chair, rested an arm on her dragon's snout, and ran a program on her computer. "This may take a few minutes, but we'll have everything about these weapons' manufacture to when we handed them off."

"Good to know." Ruby paused. "What was James doing here?"

"Something that you might be interested in." Weiss leaned back in her chair and faced her partner. "There's been another breakthrough in alternative fuels, but it happened in the military's RnD department. As it stands, they don't have the capability to produce the rockets on their own, so James and I have started the negotiations on who is responsible for what in the reactivation in Atlas' Space Program."

Ruby's jaw dropped. "How can I be involved?"

"I thought you would say something like that." Weiss shrugged. "I'll see what I can do, but most things need to be in-house, as in Atlas and this building."

"Awwwww…" Ruby slumped her upper body. "That would be so cool."

"I'm sure I'll find something, if only it's just being in the control room when we launch." Weiss' console dinged and she turned to it. "That was fast. Must be more recent."

Ruby looked over her partner's shoulder. "Better than not being able to find them."

Weiss nodded then clicked something on her screen. A spreadsheet came up with prices, names, locations, and a bunch of other things that were business related. She scrolled through the list. "Except for a few oddballs, it looks like most of them were bought and delivered to an Aurum Lignus in Mistral."

"Do you know anything more about this guy?"

"Hold on a sec." Weiss turned her head and another projection appeared. She typed in the name and an image of a middle-aged man appeared, along with lines of text. "He's a reputable weapons dealer in Mistral. He's made multiple large orders in the past." Weiss scrolled down. "Oh. He's affiliated with Haven. That'll do it. But… This is his first order in five years. It was every six months before." Weiss pulled up another screen. She typed the name in again.

The first thing that came up in the search was a link to MBC about the man's murder, four and a half years ago. Ruby's shoulders slumped. "Someone didn't do their research."

Weiss turned back to the first screen. "Who authorized this?" She scrolled again and she grimaced. "Whitley. Of _course,_ it was you."

"I take it he's been a problem in the past?"

"A bit. He's trying to gain more favor in the board and Atlas as a whole. I think he wants to knock me out of being CEO. This is going to kick him in the butt."

"Firing, or demotion?"

"Right now, one heck of a demotion and pay cut. Make him quit if he wants to keep up his lifestyle." Weiss hung her head and closed all projections. "But… That can wait for when I can take people yelling at me."

Ruby grabbed Weiss' shoulder and gently shook it. "Need some time alone, sis?"

"No." Weiss latched onto Ruby's arm. "I'm alone enough."

"Okay." Ruby looked at the clock on Weiss' desk. "Five-fifteen. Klein's gone, and if your work schedule is anything like it is in Vale, you've gone into overtime."

"I guess." Weiss stood up, still keeping a hand on her dragon's snout. "We'll fly you in."

"We'll be right behind you." Ruby stayed until Saphira pulled her head out the doors and retracted the dome. The Rider picked up her partner's weapon before following. Weiss mounted her dragon, and Saphira swung her head around to touch her snout to her Rider's forehead. Ruby waited for the moment to be over before she handed Weiss her weapon. She then turned away and walked to the other side of the platform.

Cerise flew up from the ground and landed on the pad. Her gaze was locked on Weiss and not her own Rider. _How is she?_

 _Not terrible._ Ruby mounted Cerise and faced her partner. Weiss' forehead was still attached to Saphira's snout. _But she's not good, either._

Saphira pulled her head away from her Rider and faced Cerise. _Stay close. The wind is unpredictable around these mountains to those who haven't flown them._ She turned around and faced north. She jumped off the building with the older dragon right on her tail.

 _This will be the first time you've been in the manor itself, won't it?_ Cerise asked her Rider.

 _Unless you count the little bit of the place we saw when breaking Weiss out, yes._ Ruby shook her head. _I still can't believe we had to break Weiss out of her own house._

Cerise let out a soft growl. _I am glad I never got the chance to meet Weiss' father for real. I might have given him a piece of my mind right then and there._

 _You and me both, Cerise. If only Weiss didn't stop me after the Battle of Beacon._ The dragons started flying around a mountain and a mansion came into view. Ruby's jaw dropped. She never saw the outside in person, just in pictures. She got into the building underground before. With the size of the walls a few hundred feet out, the place could have been a fortress in Alagaësia. _Weiss lives_ _ **here?**_

 _I guess so._ Cerise own surprise filtered through the connection. _This place could house so many dragons._

 _If we hollowed it out._ Ruby nodded. She looked over the rest of the building. The manor itself was almost the size of all residence halls at Beacon. _Five people lived here at the most?_ Cerise spared her Rider a glance, then faced forward again without saying anything.

Saphira flew into a hangar that put the size of the Dragonhouse to shame. Cerise followed her in and kept gliding until she reached the back wall. Both dragons settled down and their Riders dismounted. Saphira nuzzled her Rider before laying down. Cerise walked over to Weiss and lowered her head to the human's level. Something passed between them that Ruby wasn't a part of. Then Cerise hummed and nuzzled Weiss herself. The CEO returned the hug and rubbed the dragon's jaw. Cerise pulled away and settled down by the wall. Ruby pulled her small suitcase off her dragon's saddle then walked to her partner's side.

"Come on, Ruby," Weiss said. "Let's go get some dinner." She walked through a door and Ruby followed right afterward. Saphira settled down on the other side of the door before it closed. The two Riders walked down a glass tunnel toward the manor proper. Again, Ruby took note of how huge the place was. It was probably bigger than some of the castles in Alagaësia.

Weiss walked ahead and pushed open the door. If there was a word to describe what Ruby saw, it was… bleached. Everything in the hall was white or some off-white color. The place smelled freshly cleaned as well. Their footsteps provided the only sound. Ruby stretched her mind to the area in front of her. She only felt one mind ahead of her other than Weiss'. Considering Weiss sent Klein here earlier, it had to be him. "Weiss, are you the only one living here now?"

"At the moment, yes." Weiss' shoulders slumped. "When Winter is in Atlas, she stays at a military base. Whitley moved out a few months ago… and I sort of forced my mom into a rehab facility."

"I heard about that." Ruby nodded. "You made quite the scene up here with that." She paused and looked around. "Seems like a lot of space for one person."

"Too much. I don't need all of it for myself. If no one moves back in, I might just turn this place into the Riders' Atlas base. With your approval, of course."

Ruby smiled at her partner. "I think we could manage that. The hangar would need to be expanded and compartmentalized for the dragons, but we could do it."

"But until then, yeah. It gets lonely in here. I spend most of my spare time with Saphira in the hangar. I have a sleeping bag and extra blankets in a locker there so I can sleep with her when I'm feeling _really_ lonely." Weiss led the way through the halls and up a grand staircase that looked more expensive than the house on Patch. Their path ended when Weiss pushed open a door to a bedroom. "This is where I spend most of the rest of my time."

Ruby stepped inside and gawked at the room. "This is bigger than my house."

"Not quite." Weiss closed the door behind them. "Your house has a hundred more square feet than this room."

"Still, wow." Ruby faced the massive window that took up the entire exterior wall. "Take that out, Saphira could sleep with you in here."

"I've thought about it, but this floor isn't meant to take her weight. That would take a complete redesign of the structural integrity of this place."

"Got it." Ruby sat in one of the overly puffy chairs in the room and fell farther into it than she expected, not that she was complaining. "I take it Klein will be up here with our dinner shortly?"

"I'd imagine so." Weiss sat in a chair next to her partner. "Until then, Scrollflix." A massive projector turned on directly to Scrollflix. "Yeah. All projectors in this house are voice controlled."

"Oooh. That's nice."

"It is. Galaxy Trek, New Generation." Weiss leaned back in her chair.

Ruby split her attention between the projection and her partner. Weiss was still tense, but not as much as before. One push in the wrong direction would send her back over. Hopefully nothing in the episodes set her off. Weiss sometimes looked off toward the hangar or her eyes became unfocused. Saphira must have been helping in any way she could.

About half an episode later, there was a knock on the door. "Miss Schnee, Miss Rose," Klein called, "dinner is served."

Weiss tilted her head toward the door. "It's open, Klein."

The door opened and Klein walked in pushing a cart with a bunch of silver domed platters. "How was your meeting earlier?"

"Well," Ruby glanced at her partner, then back at Klein, "Weiss is going to be singing at my and Aaron's wedding."

Klein gasped and held a hand over his heart. He blinked and his eyes turned yellow. "My, my. You have my congratulations."

"But…" Weiss dipped her head, "I had another… event."

Klein's eyes turned back to light brown. He left the tray and rested a hand on Weiss' shoulder. "Are you alright, Weiss?"

"No… but I'm better than where I was at."

"If there's anything I can help you with, just let me know."

"I will Klein, but you might be able to go home early tonight. I've got Ruby and Cerise with me tonight."

Klein froze, then nodded. "O… of course." He spared Ruby a glance then left the room.

Ruby sniffed the air. "Whatever it is, it smells good." She stood up and moved the rolling tray between them.

"Klein's not a chef, as much as my other ones anyway. He either sent my actual chef home after he started, or whipped something up himself." Weiss took one of the lids off revealing a steaming plate of lasagna. "I'm guessing the former."

Ruby took the top off the top of one the same size as the first, revealing the same thing. "I have to ask, is this the like… really fancy kind?"

Weiss shook her head. "After spending so much time at your house, I've lost my taste for that. This should have more resemblance to the kind your dad makes."

"Well, in that case, looks perfect. Now, what's this?" Ruby took the top off a third tray and she nearly dropped it on the floor. Half had something that was obviously for Weiss that Ruby likely couldn't hope to pronounce. The other... three _huge_ frosted chocolate chip cookies with chocolate dipped strawberries on top. "Oooohh. Weiss, I like your chef."

That got a laugh out of Weiss. "My staff now knows to treat the team like family. For the chef, that means making food that you love."

Ruby faced her partner. The smile was real, no fear behind it. _Happy me, happy Weiss. Make her laugh. Overreact to everything._ "I guess I should see if everything is as good as it looked. She scooped a huge chunk of lasagna onto a plate, sat back down, and took a bite. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. It really was that good, but she had to play it up for Weiss' sake. "That's some good food. I'll take it." She proceeded to scarf down everything on her plate.

Weiss sighed and shook her head. She brought a hand to her face, but a smile leaked through. "You could try to be at least a little proper."

"Hmmmm, nah. You know me. I don't do fancy schmancy."

"I noticed." Weiss removed her hand and smirked at Ruby. "You come from an island of rednecks."

Ruby made an 'O' with her mouth. _Sisterly insult spree? I'll take it._ "Better than being stuck up here with a bunch of polar bears and walruses."

"At least we don't think weapons are people up here."

"Better than worshiping makeup on a daily basis."

"You don't know what you're talking about, you dolt."

"I know exactly what I'm saying, Ice Princess."

Weiss smirked and it turned into a smile. "You are so right, Ruby. Thank you for being here."

"Of course, sis. Can't leave you hanging like that."

* * *

 **Okay, a little seriousness here. I haven't been in the best mental place recently. Honestly, working on this and seeing people's reactions is the highlight of my week. So... (hopefully this is the only time I ask for this) reviews, comments, and PMs are appreciated.  
**


	34. Dismantled

**Wow. I don't know if it was just me asking for help or last chapter just being a good one, but I heard from so many of you. Thank you all so much. Definitely the highlight of the week.  
**

 **Now to address something that's come up a few times. People have been asking for side stories, mainly the rest of RWBAY breaking Weiss out of her own home. The truth is, I would love to have something like that, but I can only focus on one story at a time, and going into a bunch of side-stories would tank the quality of both this and whatever else I'm working on (RWBY MIA anyone?). Someone on Spacebattles offered to write something like that a few months ago bu I've seen nothing come from it... If anyone is interested, the slot is open. All you need to do is ask.**

 **Enough of that. Now for one of the most 'rushed' chapters in a while despite several rewrites...**

* * *

Weiss slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Considering what happened the night before, she slept like an angel. In her dream, she just spent time with Saphira, doing all kinds of things, from reading together to… tap-dancing. Dreams were weird.

She pushed herself into a sitting position on her bed and stretched. Weiss looked around her room and froze when her eyes landed on her partner. Ruby was fast asleep on the chair she used the night before. Weiss couldn't stop a smile from breaking out on her face. That was so like her sister.

A few seconds later, Weiss' alarm sounded. She reached over to her Scroll and hit the off button. Ruby sat up in her chair with about half of her hair covering her face. She faced Weiss and put on a smile of her own. "Morning, Weiss."

"Ruby, I said you could have the room next door." Weiss shook her head. "You didn't have to stay there."

"I didn't have to, but this thing was so comfy, and…" Ruby's head dipped, "with what happened yesterday…"

Weiss looked away, then back at her sister. "Thank you." She left her bed and walked to her closet. _Saphira, time to wake up._

She felt her dragon's annoyance from being disturbed. _Why will none of you ever let me sleep?_

 _Tomorrow's Saturday. You can sleep all you want then. Today, it's back to work._ Weiss picked out a professional dress and put it on. She walked back into her room and picked her Scroll back up. Ruby had also changed into her combat outfit. "What are your plans for the day?" Weiss asked her partner.

"I've got to talk with Ironwood about something. Our mission to Vacuo had some… interesting developments." Ruby looked around the room. "How secure is this place sound wise?"

"There aren't any cameras, obviously, but I haven't put any silencing spells around here."

"Mind if I do so?"

Weiss hesitated. "It couldn't hurt."

Ruby nodded then started chanting in the Ancient Language. For the first time, Weiss knew almost all of the words that Ruby used. When the younger woman finished, she locked eyes with her partner. "Sorry I didn't say this last night, but I had other priorities. We have reason to believe that Salem had a hand in the Vacuo attacks. Raven said one of her lieutenants visited all tribes that have gone rogue."

Weiss crossed her arms. "Vacuo is the weakest of the Kingdoms. Why go after them?"

"Because their problems are unique. Most of the people are in tribes, there's only one major city, and the fact that most tribes don't really communicate outside their own. That makes them an easy target from the outside. With the threats being internal, it could go either way."

"That's without Salem getting involved." Weiss shook her head. "With some tribes getting my weapons…" She sighed. "Whitley may have just gotten himself fired."

"And the world would rejoice." Ruby took out her Scroll from a pocket. "Looks like I'm due to meet with James at nine. I should probably get going."

"I've got to get to the office too. Walk and talk to the hangar?"

Ruby nodded. "Just not about this." The two Riders left the bedroom. About halfway down the hall, Ruby tripped over her own feet. "Oh. I just realized I haven't had breakfast. There a King Burger or Em Dee's anywhere between here and Atlas Academy?"

Weiss looked at her partner with her mouth hanging open. "After the eye-rolling-into-the-back-of-your-head-food last night, you want fast food for breakfast?"

"I don't need something like that for every meal, and I don't have time for Klein or whoever to make something like that. You know me. I could operate off Fruit Luips and Pumpkin Pete's for a month."

"True." Weiss Scroll rang. She pulled it out of its pocket and looked at the caller ID. She hesitated before answering. This was unexpected. She answered and brought the Scroll to her ear. "James. This is a surprise."

" _We don't have time for pleasantries, Miss Schnee."_ James tone gave nothing away other than frustration. _"You once told me you and your dragon would assist in any way you could. Is that still applicable?"_

"Of course." Weiss flicked her eyes to Ruby. _Sounds like Rider business._ The younger woman nodded. "What's the situation?"

" _One of my Specialists has gone missing east of Mantle. I'm asking you to find them and bring them back."_

"Mantle? Isn't there a massive military presence there right now?"

" _There is, but this Specialist was tracking one of the men we believe to have broken into your vault and stolen that crate."_

Weiss stiffened and faced her partner. _This is about Pruma._

Any hint of happiness disappeared from Ruby's face. _It's about time we've heard something about that._ She started walking faster.

"Ruby is right here, too. We'll fly out as soon as we get the coordinates. Do you have any other information we can go on?"

" _They reported increased Grimm activity in the area on their last transmission, with their quarry spotted."_

"How long ago did this Specialist disappear?"

" _Less than twenty-four hours ago. We have procedures in place where they can contact command without sending a voice or text transmission, and they have not acted on any of them. They are either dead, captured, or soon to be either of those. I'm sending the coordinates now."_

Weiss' Scroll buzzed in her hand. She pulled it away from her head and looked at the message sent from James. "I have it, General. We'll be in the air shortly."

" _Thank you. Ironwood out."_ The line clicked and Weiss forwarded the message to Ruby.

"Got it, Weiss." Ruby turned her head back. Her right eye gained a white splotch in its pupil. "I've never been to Mantle. Please tell me you have."

"A few times by myself, yes. Why?"

"The fastest route isn't a straight line. It's going to Alagaësia then back. We can get to Mantle in five minutes or less."

Weiss shrugged. "Looks like science fiction is getting one thing right."

"You're right about that." Ruby pushed open the door to the walkway to the hangar. "When things calm down, as in when we don't have anything planned for like a day at the same time, we need to see about communication between here and Alagaësia, if not transportation."

"That's more than a few days, Ruby. I don't even know what kind of equipment we'd need." The two Riders entered the hangar. Both dragons stood on either side of the walkway. Cerise looked passive while Saphira wore a dragon's grin. Weiss looked her dragon up and down and shook her head. They didn't have time to put on armor.

The Rider mounted her dragon and secured her legs. Weiss checked her various saddlebags for Dust, then made sure Hvítr Vætta was still attached to the saddle. Shining Hope. If all went well, the blade would live up to the name.

"Weiss!" Ruby called. Weiss turned her head toward her partner. The other Rider had her helmet on. "I can get us to Alagaësia. You get us to Mantle." Cerise leaped toward the hangar exit and snapped her wings open with only a dozen or so feet to spare on either side. Saphira followed as fast as she could. The two dragons flew south toward the ocean.

 _Finally,_ Saphira growled, _I have a chance._

 _A chance for what?_ Weiss asked, not thrilled with her dragon's tone.

 _To show Cerise I'm a good fighter, that I'm a worthy dragon._

Weiss shook her head. _I've known those two for a long time. If you go on mission to prove something, you'll be noticed for the wrong reasons. I've been on the receiving end of that a few times. Plus, I thought you did that in Menagerie._

Saphira turned her head back. _Why is it you all have this hand-holding view of things? We are fighters. We have to earn our status. We aren't born into it. I need to prove myself to my elders._

 _When Ruby and Cerise tried to prove themselves, they got kidnapped. Same with me. It's one thing to spar with her. It's another thing entirely to go up against those who are trying to kill you or take you._ Weiss paused. _I just hope the wild dragons understand that. You can't do that against Grimm._

 _I've killed dozens of them. You've killed thousands. You make them sound like such a threat._

 _Because they are. You've just seen the Grimm on the news or when we're thrashing them all together. You're going to see something completely different when we get to Mantle._

Saphira growled. _We'll see._ She faced forward again and followed Cerise to the water. The red dragon landed but Saphira stayed in the air. A few minutes later, the water swirled as the portal formed. Saphira dove inside and they flew above a lake Weiss had never seen before. Grassland surrounded them in all directions. Saphira dove for the coastline and landed on the beach.

Weiss dismounted her dragon and knelt by the water. She'd only cast this spell once before, and it took a lot of her and Saphira's energy. It had been a few months since then, so it shouldn't be so draining. She drew energy from her dragon as she cast the spell. It took a while, but the same black and purple swirled in the water. Her energy drained away as she remounted her dragon. Cerise dove into the portal from above. Saphira followed the larger dragon. The Rider cut the energy to the spell on the other side.

What was left of the old Mantle Colosseum lay in front of them. The right side of the upper-level seats lay collapsed on the lower. Half of the field lay blackened. But as much as that building was damaged, it was still standing. Most of the skyscrapers downtown were missing parts of themselves, with those pieces laying on the road or on top of other buildings nearby. Debris filled every street to the point where people wouldn't even be able to walk

 _What happened here?_ Saphira asked as she stared down at the city.

 _First off, poor economy made it so the defenses fell into disrepair. When the Grimm came in while we were first in Alagaësia, they couldn't defend themselves._ Weiss looked at the only group of buildings that was still intact. It also happened to have at least a dozen Paladins of different varieties surrounding it. _From everything I've heard, Atlas took too long to respond. The city fell, and they've been trying to take it back ever since. And since we're not Atlas military, we can't do anything to help._

Saphira growled. _That should not be._

 _That, I can agree with._ Weiss searched the sky for Cerise and found the other dragon flying to the east. _Come on. Let's get to wherever this Specialist is._ Saphira turned toward the other dragon and flew after her.

When they caught up, Ruby turned her head to look at Weiss. _"What took you two so long?"_ her voice came over Scroll radio, though it was muffled from being in her pocket.

Weiss took her Scroll out. "Saphira has never been to Mantle. It's quite a shock to anyone seeing the city like this."

" _Understandable, but I need both of you focusing on the mission. We can try to do something about that later."_

"Got it. How far out are we?"

" _At our current speed, five minutes. Be ready to fight."_

 _Keep your eyes on the land and sky,_ Cerise ordered. _The sooner we have an idea of how many and what kind of Grimm are in the area, the better._

"Yetis and Ursai are common in this area on the ground. The only thing in the air that's really threatening are the Rocs." Weiss pat her dragon's neck. "If any of them show up, unless absolutely necessary, leave those to Cerise. Those things are bigger than Nalia, and a lot stronger."

 _We shall see._ Saphira looked down. _I think those are the Yetis you were talking about._

Weiss looked off her dragon's side. Several massive creatures towered above the trees below them. Bone covered almost all of their ape-like bodies with only a few cracks of black hide poking through. There was also an all black Grimm exactly the same size and shape as one of those Yetis. "Ruby, we've got Alagaësian Grimm."

" _I see it,"_ Ruby said. _"Is the normal kind smart enough to throw things at us?"_

"Normally no. But if that thing is anything like the Alagaësian Grimm we've faced before, it could."

" _It looks like there's only one of them. Keep an eye on it."_

Weiss drew Hvítr Vætta but didn't do anything else with her weapon. She stared down the large Grimm until a mountain blocked her view. "What are we going to call this thing? We've named all other Alagaësian Grimm that we've seen."

Ruby didn't answer right away. _"Íssabbon? Ice Monkey?"_

"I'd say that's accurate."

" _I'm guessing my special magic won't work do well on them… or any Grimm here for that matter."_ Ruby paused. _"You see that light up ahead?"_

Weiss faced forward and squinted her eyes. A flashing blue light came from halfway up a mountain. "I see it."

" _If my eye is right, that's only a hundred feet away from the coordinates James gave us. That's our Specialist."_

"I'm seeing no movement up there and the skies are clear."

 _Saphira,_ Cerise called, _land and guard the cave. Regain your strength. I'll patrol the area._

 _Got it,_ Saphira grunted. Weiss could tell her dragon wanted to say something more, but she thought better of it.

Both dragons landed and their Riders dismounted. Cerise took off right after. Weiss stretched her mind out to the surrounding area and felt nothing. She walked over to the blinking light. "Found the distress flare." She picked it up and ticked off the power.

"Why's it blue?" Ruby asked as she reached her partner's side.

"Cameras mounted on Atlas dropships can pick it up better. Guess whoever this Specialist is expected Atlas to bail them out." Weiss walked back to Saphira's side and put the flare in a saddlebag.

Ruby took her helmet off and hooked it to her belt. "Search the area. See if we can find out where the Specialist went, if they're even alive."

Weiss pat Saphira's snout. "You're the only tracker we have. Can you sniff them out?"

 _Of course._ Saphira raised her snout. _I smell blood, but not death._ She walked away from the landing zone and up the mountain. _There were plenty of Grimm around here too._

"Noted." Weiss walked ahead of her dragon and searched the ground. She couldn't tell how many sets of Grimm footprints or claw marks there were, but there were boot tracks in there. At least at this point, the specialist was still fighting. There weren't any bullet casings either. That was odd. As far as Weiss knew, only a handful of Specialists, or rather Huntsmen in general, didn't use firearms.

A little way up the mountain, the footprints led Weiss to a cave. Once again, she didn't feel anyone or anything inside. Still, with the Alagaësian Grimm around, she raised her weapon and walked into the cave. Inside lay some field equipment. Secure communication, surveillance, and recon just to name a few. None of them would ever work without serious repair. In the center of it all lay a small pool of blood and a sword with its blade snapped in half…

Weiss' heart skipped a beat. She recognized the hilt on that saber. She picked it up and turned it in her hands in case she was wrong. But no. The Schnee snowflake was engraved on the bottom of the weapon. "Winter…"

Saphira growled behind Weiss. _Your sister?_

"Yes." Weiss ran out of the cave and stretched her mind out as far as it would go. At first, she only felt the dragons and Ruby, then Grimm intermingled with the wildlife in the area. No one else. Then again, her range was only a few miles. _Ruby! It's Winter!_

Judging from her mental reaction, Ruby jumped. _Something tells me you don't mean the season._

 _My sister, you Dolt! One of her sabers is here, but nothing else. There was blood there, but not nearly enough. She's alive, but she's hurt. We have to find her!_

A flash of rose petals later, Ruby stood in front of Weiss. "Ironwood told us to find his Specialist. That's exactly what we're going to do." Ruby squeezed her partner's shoulder. "We'll get your sister back."

Saphira growled again and moved her head toward her Rider. _I may be able to pick up her scent._ Weiss jerked the remains of her sister's weapon to be in front of her dragon's snout. Saphira sniffed the weapon and faced south. She sniffed once more and barred her teeth. _I think I found her._

Ruby faced south as well and closed her eyes. "I've got one human about fifteen miles south of here. She's injured, but conscious. No animal or normal Grimm is around her for a few miles. There has to be Alagaësian Grimm for her to be so far away from here." She snapped her eyes open. "This has trap written all over it."

"And they're using my sister as bait." Weiss clenched her fists. "I'm really starting to hate Salem."

"Want to piggyback off me?"

"If I can speak with Winter, yes." Weiss stretched her mind to Ruby, and her partner helped her stretch the fifteen miles. She only touched Winter's mind once before, but that was unmistakably her. _Winter, don't react, don't speak. If you have to say something, think it._

Weiss felt her sister's surprise. _Weiss? Why are you here?_ Winter's thoughts felt slow and incomplete.

 _General Ironwood sent me. What's your situation?_

… _I was captured by a scorpion Faunus. I don't know how, but these new Grimm listen to him. There are five of these… whatever you called this kind of Beowolf and an Ursa in here with us. Do not approach. He is expecting a Specialist squad to come get me… or you and Saphira. I saw several of the new Lancers out there as well._

Weiss blinked and looked at her partner. _I have something up my sleeve that I don't think he's expecting._

 _No. Weiss, it's too dangerous._

 _General Ironwood asked me himself to come find you. I will do exactly that. Don't let your captor know we spoke._ Weiss pulled back into her own head and shook it. "I didn't feel anyone else in there."

"I didn't either." Ruby drew Máni Bláto from her belt and extended her weapon to rifle form. "Any chance she's seeing things?"

"Maybe. Her head's a soup right now. I don't know what we could be walking into."

"Got it." Cerise flew around the mountain and landed by Saphira. Ruby climbed her dragon's side. "If this guy's expecting you, follow us in. If he's who I think he is, he won't risk killing me."

"You just know what kind of Faunus he is." Weiss mounted her own dragon. "How can you know him?"

"He wants to do something to a Rider, he's strong enough to take down Winter, and Grimm listen to him. I'm betting it's Tyrian Callows, the guy I told you about yesterday."

"So this _is_ a Salem plan." Weiss gripped Hvítr Vætta tighter. "Winter will _not_ be one of her victims."

 _Agreed._ Saphira growled. She faced Cerise. _I'm on your wing._

Cerise snorted. _Follow close. Don't take chances._ She jumped off the cliff and sped south. Saphira followed and flew on Cerise' right wing.

Weiss scanned the air and the ground for targets. There wasn't anything in the air at the moment, but Winter mentioned Spjótkrasrī. Weiss had faced Lancers on the ground in Mistral and a few while defending the _Saint Nick,_ but they were tricky. They were nimble and could attack from range. If the Alagaësian variety followed the trend and were smarter, this could be a problem. Then again, she and Saphira had gotten stronger and smarter themselves.

A roar came from below. Weiss looked down just in time to see a boulder the size of a Bullhead fly at Saphira's belly. "Left roll!" Her dragon started the roll before Weiss said to do so. The boulder flew past Saphira then fell ahead of her. "You had to say it, Ruby!" Weiss glared back at the ground. The Íssabbon pulled a tree out of the ground and aimed it at Saphira. "Jeirda." The tree splintered in the Grimm's hands. Saphira soon outdistanced the pack of large Grimm. All variants of Yetis roared at the dragons but didn't do anything else.

 _They know we're here,_ Cerise growled.

Ruby pulled a red box off Cerise' saddle. The box extended to Crescent Rose' rifle form. _"That probably alerted all flying Grimm in the area. Now would be the time to be good at taking down aerial Grimm."_

"Don't worry. I brought backup." Weiss called on her Semblance and called on several of her former enemies. A half dozen glyphs appeared behind her. A Giant Nevermore, three Griffons, and a Lancer appeared out of the smallest ones. The largest one gave way to the dragon she killed at the base of Helgrind. Her largest Summon roared and took Cerise' other wing. The other Summons filled in a diamond formation, with the Lancer flying lower than the rest.

" _The Schnee Air Force. I'll take it."_ A swarm of Grimm flew out of the trees, mainly Lancers and a few Nevermores. Then part of a mountain peeled away. Lines of red and black appeared through the snow. A set of massive wings shook off the snow. Red eyes the size of a car glared their way.

Weiss swore under her breath. "It's real."

" _You know something we don't, Weiss?"_ Ruby asked, her voice shook a little.

"The Roc of Solitas. Similar to the Dragon of Glen. This thing was just in legends. It's a story my mother used to tell me. This shouldn't exist."

" _Dragons actually shouldn't exist on Remnant."_ Ruby aimed both of her weapons at the titanic Grimm. _"We'll take this thing. Punch through and get to Winter. As soon as you have her, we're getting the heck out of here."_ She fired both of her weapons at the Roc, but neither Dust round nor Laser shot did anything except make the Grimm mad. Cerise roared and flew up to meet the beast.

Weiss took her eyes off her partner and faced the incoming swarm. It was primarily Lancers with only a few scattered Nevermores with even less Alagaësian varieties in both. Lancers typically acted defensively. They probably would try to hold Weiss and Saphira in place while the Nevermores dealt the actual damage. Since they were in Solitas, they should be vulnerable to fire. Considering the dragons, Summoned or not, that prove to be a major advantage.

Saphira and the dragon Summon flew wingtip to wingtip. Weiss waited until the opposing Lancers pulled their tail ends back to fire before giving the order. "Firewall." Both dragons opened their maws and released infernos the incoming Grimm. Nothing came through the fire except the screams of dying Grimm. Lancers and Nevermores burst out on either side of the fire but curved away from the dragons. The dragons closed their mouths and flew through the last wisps of their flames. Very few Grimm remained in front of them. Those that did met claws and teeth of dragons.

The other Summons pulled out of the formation and toward other Grimm. Weiss faced one group of Grimm and created several more glyphs. Each of them spun, then shot concentrated fire out at the Grimm with the speed of a machinegun. Most shots didn't kill outright, but several in quick succession did the job. Lancers and Nevermores alike fell from the sky, some evaporating before hitting the ground.

Something hit Saphira from below, breaking Weiss' concentration on her most recent glyphs and forcing her into the saddle. A Nevermore's head wrapped around Saphira's neck and tried to peck its way into the back of the dragon's head. Weiss grit her teeth and drove Hvítr Vætta through the Grimm's eyes. She jerked her weapon up and out, bisecting the assailant. The corpse fell away and Saphira carried on. "You okay?" Weiss asked.

 _It didn't make it through my Aura or wards._ Saphira grunted. _I'll manage. We're almost at the mountain._

Weiss followed her dragon's eyes. They were about a mile away from their rough destination. The Rider stretched her mind toward the mountain and found her sister's again about a hundred feet higher. Saphira angled toward that and touched down a little below that a minute later.

The Rider dismounted and tightened her grip on her sword. Five Myrkrgarm and a Bjarn-dýr walked out of a cave, the latter of which looked bigger than an Ursa Major. Saphira jumped over her Rider and tackled the Grimm bear. Weiss ran forward and stabbed one of the Myrkrgarm through the face. She slashed at a second's paws before having to jump away from the third. "I thought you were supposed to be smarter than the average Grimm."

"We are, human," a voice growled behind her. Weiss whipped around and stabbed another of the Grimm through the chest. A shadow loomed over her and it wasn't from Saphira. She was forced to the ground face first.

"Predictable human," yet another Grimm growled on Weiss' neck. "Now di-"

Saphira roared and smashed the Myrkrgarm off her Rider. Weiss jumped to her feet and killed the pawless Grimm with a stab through the eye and the last one by decapitation. The Rider whipped around to face her dragon. Saphira was just getting off the corpse of the Grimm.

The dragon snorted at her Rider. _Are you alright?_

"I'm fine. It didn't get through anything." Weiss faced the cave that the Grimm came out of. Winter's mind was in there, but the cave was way too small for Saphira to fit. The Rider faced the sky where Ruby and Cerise fought the Roc. "Saphira, go help them."

Saphira growled at her Rider. _And leave you alone?_

"I have the Summon." Weiss gestured at the white dragon still circling the area. "I can control its size. If this guy can beat Winter, I need as much concentration on him as possible. I won't be able to keep all my other Summons up. If I send that out to help, there's the chance it could turn on Ruby and Cerise without me seeing. I don't need to worry about that with it in there with me. I would much rather have you in there with me than that, but the more backup the others have, the better."

Saphira narrowed her eyes. _Fine. But if you're injured-_

"I'm yours for a while. Now go! Ruby and Cerise need help!" Weiss didn't wait to see if her dragon listened. She climbed the remaining distance to her sister's level with Hvítr Vætta in front of her. A few Beowolves charged at her, but she cut them right down. She felt them, but no other minds or life forces in the area. She shook her head. Up until Saphira hatched, she didn't have that advantage. She could fight like this again.

After walking around the cliff for a few minutes, Weiss found a cave. Winter had to be inside. It wasn't big enough for the dragon's current size, so the Huntress made the Summon shrink. As soon as it was only twice the size of Weiss, it landed on the mountain. Weiss nodded to herself, then ran into the mouth of the cave.

Winter was bound and gagged about a dozen feet into the cave. The scorpion Faunus she mentioned ran his wrist blades against each other. Weiss ran forward with her weapon aimed at her opponent's head. The man jerked one of his blades up and caught Hvítr Vætta on it.

The Faunus smirked at Weiss and looked at her with pure insanity in his eyes. "You'll have to do better than that, princess." He pushed Weiss away with surprising strength. "Your dear sister tried the same thing."

"I'm not Winter." Weiss charged again and stabbed at the Faunus' right shoulder. He simply dodged and swung at Weiss' back as she passed. The Rider whipped around and caught it on her blade. The move put her opponent directly between Weiss and the dragon.

"I appear to be surrounded." He laughed, sounding like something out of a horror movie. "Too bad for you."

"What do you want with me?" Weiss asked.

"Oh. You figured it out." The Faunus laughed. "It's quite simple, really. My Queen wants you dead. Why, well, I'll leave that up to your imagination."

Something about the way the Faunus said 'queen' jogged an idea in her head. "I take it you're Tyrian, Salem's attack dog."

"In the flesh." Tyrian stuck an arm in front of his stomach and bowed. As he did so, his tail jabbed forward at Weiss. The Rider jumped out of the way and her summoned dragon pounced. Tyrian rolled out of the way of that attack, putting both his opponents on the inside of the cave with no one blocking his escape. "It looks like the welcoming Schnee can't tell Faunus from common animals. Her public face is a front after all."

Weiss' eyes twitched. "Maybe. But at least I face my problems head-on." She lunged forward and thrust her blade at Tyrians abdomen. Of course he blocked it, but Weiss threw in an elbow to the face as well. That connected and forced Tyrian back. "I don't send others out to do my dirty work for me."

"Says the CEO of the largest and most controversial company on Remnant." Tyrian spun around and swung both his blades and his tail at Weiss. The Rider managed to block the blades, but the tail caught her in the head. She flew across the cave and crashed into the wall beside Winter. "Too bad all that money can't buy you skill." Tyrian approached Weiss and blinked. His eyes turned purple and his tail swung up over his shoulder.

The tail jerked forward but Weiss rolled out of the way. The Rider swung Hvítr Vætta at the stinger, but Tyrian pulled it back before contact. The summoned dragon pounced on Tyrian. The assassin tried to roll to his left but this time he wasn't able to get out of the way.

Weiss turned her attention to her sister. She pulled the gag out of Winter's mouth. "Can you fight?"

Winter grunted. "No..." Weiss finally saw the glaze covering her sister's eyes.

"I figured." Weiss stood up and faced where Tyrian and the summoned dragon were wrestling. The Summon had Tyrian's tail in its mouth, and it looked like the assassin was using more energy trying to throw the dragon off. Another plan came to Weiss' head.

Tyrian managed to throw the Summon off and stab its tail into the dragon's eye. With no wards or Aura of its own, the Summon fell limp and disappeared. Weiss felt the beast's pain before charging again. Tyrian blocked with both blades, with his evil smile nowhere to be seen.

"Who was the coward in charge of this operation?" Weiss asked, putting a plan into action. "You, or your so-called queen?"

Tyrian glared at Weiss. "You do not say that about the Goddess." He pushed away and jabbed his tail and sliced his Blades at Weiss in quick succession. Weiss managed to block or dodge all the attacks. The attacks were stronger, but they were more predictable.

"Oh, she's a goddess now?" Weiss smirked. "You don't know what she is, do you?"

"Salem is divine!" Tyrian pushed himself away and increased the speed of his attacks. Now they were just fast, lacking their previous strength. "She will make everyone kneel! She will lead Remnant to a beautiful future!"

"You make it sound like she cares about you. If you knew what she was, you'd know you're just a means to an end. Your life means nothing to her."

Tyrian screamed. "I will kill you!" He renewed his attack with his wrist blades, forcing Weiss back into the wall of the cave. But that was her plan. As soon as her back hit the rock, Tyrian reeled his tail back and launched it forward. Weiss barely managed to get out of the way before the stinger impaled itself into the wall.

"I doubt that." Weiss swung Hvítr Vætta up and severed the stinger off Tyrian's tail.

The Faunus screamed and stumbled back to the opposite rock face. His tail spazzed in every direction. Tyrian glared at Weiss. "You _bitch!"_

"Language." Weiss stuck Hvítr Vætta the ground and froze Tyrian's feet to the cave floor. "You won't be going anywhere."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, priss!" Tyrian slammed his blades into the ice, shattering it, then ran outside. Weiss followed and left just in time to see her target jump onto the back of a Lancer. She created a pair of glyphs to call Lancers of her own.

Before it could form, something slammed into her side. Weiss tumbled across the rock and snow before springing to her feet. She raised her sword in a defensive position against the Dauthblaka. "You could have lived if you didn't do that."

"I could say the same for you, human," the Grimm hissed.

"I really liked it when Nevermores didn't talk." Weiss lunged forward and slashed at the Grimm's neck. It kicked off the ground and flew above Weiss. The Huntress created the same row of Glyphs from earlier and sent Burn Dust shots up at the Grimm. Four shots hit the beast in the head and the Dauthblaka fell from the sky. "But keep having that arrogance. It makes you easy to kill."

Weiss faced where Tyrian and the Lancer flew off to but didn't see them. Considering Lancers were some of the fastest Grimm out there and she couldn't feel Tyrian's mind, there was no way she could track them down.

"Dangit." Weiss searched the sky for the Roc and saw it flying away, way too fast for any dragon to catch it. Cerise and Saphira chased the remaining Grimm in the area away. Then Weiss remembered her sister. "Winter!" She ran back into the cave and cast her weapon aside. She knelt by her sister's side and looked her over.

Winter wasn't in good shape. She had cuts all over, her right arm was broken in two places, and her left shoulder oozed a red and purple mix. Weiss had no experience in dealing with poisons, but she could deal with her sister's other injuries. "You're going to be okay, Winter. Just stay still and let me do the work."

"Weiss…" Winter raised an arm, but it fell before Winter did anything with it. "Too… danger…"

"You know what I've faced, Winter. This was nothing." Weiss rested a hand just over the wound on her sister's shoulder and began whispering in the Ancient Language. The wound slowly sealed itself. Then Weiss cleared all the blood out.

"Need to… leave." Winter tried to push herself off the ground.

Weiss put a hand on her sister's chest and kept her down. "You need to stay down and be quiet. That's an order!" Winter stared at Weiss with an open mouth, then 'relaxed' against the rock wall. "Glad we understand each other." Weiss shifted her focus to her sister's shattered arm.

Just after all bones set back into place, Weiss felt the rock shake beneath her. She snatched Hvítr Vætta off the ground and faced the cave entrance, but it was Saphira, not a Grimm. "Ruby and Cerise on their way over?" The Rider asked her dragon.

 _They are._ Saphira snorted. _The Roc got away, but we knocked a few plates off it._

"Are any of you hurt?"

 _No. It was like the Roc wasn't trying to hurt Cerise, and I avoided all of its attacks._ Saphira pulled her lips back and bared her teeth. _It looks like I outsmarted an ancient Grimm._

"I guess you did. Keep any Grimm off me. I'm still working." Weiss set her sword on the ground and continued to heal all surface injuries her sister had. Anything below the surface would have to wait until she got to Atlas or for Ruby to take a look.

Light footsteps accompanied Weiss' whispering. Ruby appeared by her side and started her own set of spells. Weiss finished the injury she was on then backed away. She couldn't risk mixing any of her own with Ruby's. Whatever the more experienced Rider was doing, it was working. Winter's breathing evened out and the strain lines on her face faded.

After a while, Ruby took her hands back and stood up. "All her injuries are healed, but I can't do anything about the poison. We need to move." Ruby pulled Winter's left arm up and draped it over her shoulder. Weiss did the same on the right. The two Riders picked the Specialist up and carried her to the mouth of the cave. Saphira dropped to her belly and stretched a leg out as far as it could go. Cerise circled the area with her eyes scanning the ground below.

It took a few minutes, but the Riders helped Winter into Saphira's saddle. Weiss sat in front of her sister and turned her head back. "Just hold onto me. Assuming we can find a water source, you'll be at a hospital in Atlas in twenty minutes. Don't ask how. Just try to relax. Let us handle everything."

Cerise swooped down and Ruby grabbed onto her dragon's front right leg as she passed. Saphira took off and followed the larger dragon. Once she leveled out her flight path, she turned her head to face her Rider. _It appears that you can fight without me protecting you._

 _I told you so._ Weiss looked over as many of her dragon's scales as she could from her position. _I'm not seeing anything missing. It looks like you did a nice job without me too._

Saphira snorted. _You say that like you're surprised._

 _Like you could do anything without my help._ Weiss pat her dragon's neck, then faced her partner, who now sat in Cerise' saddle. _Saphira said the Roc didn't give you too much trouble._

 _It didn't._ Ruby turned her helmeted head toward Weiss. _It's like it was playing keep away. That's_ _ **never**_ _happened before. It didn't even fight too hard after we took out one of its eyes. A Grimm that size and age should have put up a fight._

Weiss nodded. _It has to be something Salem's done. But why would she want to kill me and not you?_

Cerise growled. _No females were here. No chance for her to gain a new Maiden._

Weiss stiffened. _If that's true… does she have someone lined up?_

 _Pruma. Has to be._ Ruby's thoughts sounded like a growl. _I don't know if an elf could become a Maiden, but it makes sense to try._

"Weiss…" Winter whispered.

 _Hold that thought, Ruby._ Weiss turned her head back as best as she could with Winter holding onto her. "Yes?"

Winter grimaced. "Fighting… unorthodox."

Weiss shrugged. "I've been told I can get underneath people's skin. I saw a weakness that played to my strength and I exploited it. I did what I had to do to win. If he could beat you normally, how could I stand a chance?"

Winter continued to stare at her sister, then nodded. "Good work." Her faced softened. "Thank you… Proud of… you."

Weiss' heart fluttered. Winter wasn't one to say 'thank you' or giving out compliments. Even though she wasn't in the right head at the moment, it sounded genuine. "Thanks, sis." Weiss faced forward again and her sister tightened her arms around her. It was probably because she was poisoned and wasn't in the right mind, but the recognition from Winter felt so nice after only business like and military interactions for so long. Weiss hoped things would be more like this… Just maybe not to Ruby and Yang levels.

* * *

 **Yeah... I couldn't figure out Tyrian's fighting style...  
**


	35. Back Together

**Not much to say here, so let's just get into it.  
**

* * *

Ruby sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She ticked another thing off her list in her bionic eye. "What's next?" The next item on the list scrolled up and highlighted itself. 'MEET WITH VIOLET AND ORCHID FOR FIELD TRAINING.' She sighed. _"Much_ better than dealing with banks."

 _Need a ride?_ Cerise asked.

 _I can walk. You don't need to carry me everywhere._ Ruby walked down the sidewalk toward the park where Cerise rested. She switched the view on her eye to a timeline for the day. It looked like after the training, it looked like she could _finally_ be done.

About a year after returning from Alagaësia, Ruby was finally getting used to the stares from people. She had her fans, waving and smiling at her as she passed on the street. But the glares were still fairly new. The list of things on why they'd be unhappy with her was growing, despite every attempt to limit them. Then again, sneezing in the wrong direction caused controversy these days. There were still far more friendly people on the streets, so Ruby could ignore the jerkfaces.

Two blocks down while she was waiting at a stoplight, she smelled something really, _really_ good. She sniffed the air and traced where the smell came from to a new bakery sitting on the exact opposite side of the intersection. She tried to keep a straight face, but on the inside, she groaned. _Ceriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiise, I want junk food…_

 _You've been running yourself ragged for a week._ Cerise mentally laughed. _After your training session with Violet, I'll take you on a flight around Vale... and we may end up around one of your favorite bakeries._

 _A dragon after my own heart._ Ruby crossed the street with the rest of the crowd.

 _I should hope so. You're my Rider._ Cerise mentally laughed and sent more of her emotions toward her Rider.

Ruby released the tension in her shoulders and her forced smile became genuine. _Why can't you do this all the time?_

 _Because I'm not always this happy._

 _Yeah…_ Ruby turned down the road the park was on. _Why are you so happy today?_

 _Why can't I just be in a good mood? That can happen you know._

 _It can._ Ruby walked past one more building and into one of the parks in the city. Cerise was curled up near the center with kids climbing on her back, their parents not too far away. Her head was upside down and pulled up against her chest. _Oh. That'll do it._

The dragon straightened out her head and hummed at her Rider. _I may not be Orchid cuddly, but the kids still love me._

 _A shame I need to break it up._ Ruby approached the living playground. "Sorry guys, we gotta fly." All the kids looked in their direction, and some of them whined. Others were already walking toward their parents with their heads drooped. Cerise hummed and rocked her body. A few shrieks later, the rest of the kids climbed off Cerise and ran to their parents.

Ruby shook her head and approached her dragon's side. She climbed up to the saddle and pat Cerise' neck. Cerise spread her wings and the entire area around them cleared. She kicked off the ground and angled east. _There._ Cerise turned her head back. _Away from the public, away from the work. Now it's just Violet and Orchid._

 _We still have to keep them safe._ Ruby shook her head. _I don't want to face Violet's mom if she gets injured._

 _It's Patch, not even the Emerald Forest. It's not like there's many dangerous Grimm there._

 _Remember when I told you about the time an Ursa attacked me and Yang a few hundred feet from our house? Yang could barely beat that thing on her own… I mean that was before we went to Beacon, but still. She had four years at Signal under her belt, not one._

 _You had two._

 _Yeah, but I was the top fighter in my year and… Beacon's headmaster let me in two years early because of that. Violet… as much as she's improved, she's nowhere near as good as I was._ Ruby stretched her mind out to cover as much of Patch as she could. Like always, most of the negative emotions came from the people in jail and none gave off life-threatening feelings. If she got the positions right, most were in jail or the doctor or dentist office. Not enough to stir up massive Grimm activity, or any really.

She also touched Violet's and Orchid's minds. The young Rider turned her attention to her mentor. _Ruby, are you on your way?_

 _We are. Don't leave campus yet. We're less than five minutes out._ Ruby ran through a mental checklist of things to go over before she let Violet enter the forest. Despite what she told Cerise, she knew Violet was ready to take on the Grimm on Patch. She just needed to make sure her trainee didn't go out half-cocked.

A few minutes later, Signal appeared below them. Violet and Orchid stood in the training field, and it looked like Violet was going over her weapons. Whether that was just a surface view or a thorough inspection, Ruby couldn't tell. Violet raised her head, and Orchid followed her Rider's gaze. Orchid raised her ears and wings and Violet waved.

Cerise touched down and Ruby dismounted. "Good to see you two."

 _I was going to say that._ Orchid took a few steps forward and nuzzled Ruby's face with her snout. She rubbed her entire side against Cerise' before returning to her Rider's side. She sniffed the air and her head dipped. _Ruby, are you feeling alright?_

Ruby stared at the dragon, then shrugged. "I've just had one heck of a busy week. I need to lead you two through this and I have nothing to do until Monday. Now to get to that, you two ready for your first battle against the Grimm?"

Violet nodded right away. "I've been looking forward to this." Orchid looked at her Rider, then back at Ruby. She shuffled on her feet but stayed silent.

"Well then, let's get you started." Ruby took out her Scroll and pulled up Signal's parameters for this. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at the required reading section. "You are about to fight Grimm for the first time. This is not something that most people can do, or that any experienced Huntsmen take likely." _Okay, true._ She skimmed through the rest of the spiel in her bionic eye. It had a surprising amount of information that she was going to tell Violet, just a little wordy.

A few paragraphs in, Ruby noticed Violet wasn't really paying attention. "Violet," Ruby said with a little more force, making her trainee jump, "I know how these required government readings go. They're boring and are mostly based on common sense. But to be fair, this actually has been updated from when my Uncle first read this to me to the point where it's actually useful. If I thought it was just words on screen, I wouldn't waste either of our time. I want you to pay attention to this, understand?"

Violet nodded and her cheeks turned red. "Yes, Ruby." Her head sunk between her shoulders.

Orchid snorted at her Rider, messing up Violet's hair. _Told you so._

Ruby smirked at the dragon, then returned her attention to the info dump. She didn't skip over anything, but she did go into more detail on a few things that would help Violet in the field. When she finished the novel, she put her Scroll back in a pocket. "With that out of the way, ready to get out there?"

"I am." Violet nodded. Orchid glanced at her Rider, then did the same.

"You inspect your weapons?"

Violet raised both her twin purple tonfa up. A red line ran down the center of each long barrel. "I did that as you were flying in. Vista Iris is good to go"

"Ammo?"

Violet pat a large pouch on her belt. "I have as many mags as the armory would let me take."

"Scroll?"

"In a pocket." Violet shook her right leg.

"Food and water?"

 _In one of my saddlebags._ Orchid shook her back.

Ruby nodded. "Okay. You two are good to go. Cerise and I will follow in the air. Your hour starts as soon as you enter the tree line." She mounted her dragon then faced the young pair. "Happy hunting." Cerise kicked off the ground and hovered in the air. On the ground, Violet and Orchid walked toward the forest, with Orchid acting as rear guard. A blue countdown timer appeared in Ruby's right eye.

The leader of the Dragon Riders nodded and felt herself smiling. _Cerise, this is how it should be._

Cerise turned her head back. _Meaning?_

 _Neither a Rider nor a dragon should see real combat until they've been sufficiently trained. We didn't have that luxury. Sure, you're the best fighter besides Nalia, but you had some pretty close calls right away._ Ruby looked off Cerise' side and into the forest. Purple scales shone through the gaps in the canopy. _These two would not be the same if they had your first experience in combat… well, Orchid wouldn't anyway._

 _If you ask me, Orchid could be a little less friendly._ Cerise grunted. _It's great that she's friendly. We need someone to be a dependable counselor, but she may have too much of a heart to hurt anything._

 _I wouldn't be so sure. Take a look._ Ruby nodded at the small clearing below them. Violet walked across the grass with her weapons raised and scanning the trees. Orchid stood just behind her Rider, her wings raised, one of them hovering above her Rider. Her head jerked around just as much as Violet's. Her lips were parted and her tail flicked every few seconds. _I think she's a little protective. Violet is very safe down there._

 _I think they're about to test that claim. Look at their two o'clock._ A trio of armorless Beowolves emerged from the trees and growled at the two others in the clearing.

 _Their first Grimm._ Ruby nodded. Violet turned to face the Grimm and swung her weapons around. Bullets flew out of the ends of both weapons and struck the closest Grimm. A one-second burst was all that was needed to kill the Grimm, less than that even, but Violet kept the fire up for three seconds. Both magazines had to be running low. She shifted her aim to the next Grimm in line and fired both her weapons again for two more seconds. She looked at her weapons, then ran forward.

The Grimm growled and charged as well. The lead monster slashed at Violet, and the Rider caught the swipe on both her weapons in an x-formation. She pushed herself off and jammed the back half of the long barrel into the Beowolf's head. The remaining Grimm jumped at Violet, but Orchid swatted it out of the way. The dragon growled at her opponent and waited for the Beowolf to rise. When the Grimm reached its feet, Orchid pounced on the smaller Grimm and clamped her jaws around the creature's whole head. She bit down and snapped her head to the side. She opened her mouth and the head of the Beowolf rolled out before evaporating.

 _Neither of them took a hit._ Ruby nodded. _It wasn't pretty by any means, but they did it._

 _And Orchid did good work with her target. She may have the heart of a dragon yet._

 _I could have told you that._ Ruby watched the two on the ground. Violet stepped over one of her kills. She jumped away and did a little dance in the clearing. Orchid let out a soft bugle before nuzzling her Rider.

Violet looked up at Ruby and Cerise. _Did you two see that?_ The excitement she put out matched her dance.

 _We aren't here, Violet,_ Cerise said. _We will speak at the end of your hour._

Slight disappointment leaked off Violet. _Sorry. I forgot._ She ejected her spent magazines and grabbed two more from her pouch. She put the empty ones back in the same place.

 _Yeah, she's a rookie._ Ruby shook her head. If the rules were the same from when she attended Signal, Violet had six more full mags in her bag. The timer in her eye said only five minutes had passed. This could be a long hour for Violet.

Half an hour in, Violet had run into ten more young Beowolves and had used up two and two halves magazines. Neither Violet nor Orchid had taken a hit, but against Patch Grimm, that wasn't saying much, even for people on their first combat mission. The problem was it looked like Violet and Orchid didn't know that last part. Violet walked with her weapons relaxed by her side and Orchid held her head high. She wasn't nearly as protective of her Rider either.

Then a different roar came from the trees. Ruby stiffened and looked at the trees below. A few trees shook in a line, and whatever made that happen was moving straight to the training pair. _Well, I guess we're going to see if they can take an Ursa._

 _There isn't a clearing nearby._ Cerise turned her head from side to side. _There isn't a lot of room to see in between the trees either._

 _I'm dropping down._ Ruby pulled her left leg over the saddle and to sit by her right. _Be ready to break trees if needed._ She pushed herself off the saddle and fell the hundred or so feet into the trees. She hooked her right arm around a sturdy branch and swung around that before jumping to another nearby tree. The Huntress continued tree jumping to where she now heard gunfire and dragon growls.

Orchid and Violet appeared through the trees so Ruby stopped her swinging advance. It wasn't looking the best. A group of mature Beowolves accompanied an Ursa Major. Violet was struggling against a group of Beowolves while Orchid fought against the Ursa. The Faunus shoved the butt of the long barrel into the stomach of a Beowolf and fell back behind another tree. She ejected her current magazines and grabbed two more from her pouch.

Violet ran out from behind her cover and ran at an Alpha. Only one of her weapons fired. Her aim and speed died and the Alpha smacked the side of her head. She flew out of Ruby's sight, but it sounded like she hit a tree. Orchid roared, then bathed the Major in front of her in purple flames.

Ruby grabbed Máni Bláto and extended it to scythe form. She jumped through a few more trees. She found Violet up against a tree with the Alpha slowly approaching. Violet was fumbling around with her ammo pouch until she found two that she liked. She jammed them into her weapons, then pulled and held down the triggers. She didn't let up until all bullets were inside the Alpha. The Grimm fell forward with several new holes in both its armor and its exposed belly.

Orchid yelped and dashed through the trees. She flopped to the ground and slid through the dirt until her head rested in her Rider's lap. A whimper escaped her throat. Violet laid one of her weapons on the ground and brushed the side of her dragon's head. That's when Ruby noticed the large gash on Violet's arm. The head Rider took out her Scroll. Violet's Aura had indeed failed. _Weak Aura. Good to know, bad to have._

Orchid stared at the wound and whimpered. She started licking the wound. Ruby winced. Cerise did that for her a few times. It was never that pleasant, but it was with the best intentions… wait, why was Orchid's tongue glowing? Ruby leaned forward in her tree. Violet's Aura was down, so Ruby could intervene, but she didn't want to disturb what was happening. She zoomed in with her bionic eye.

With each lick, the separated parts of skin inched closer together. When the wound sealed, Orchid turned her attention to her Rider's face and kept on licking. The strain on Violet's face melted away. Ruby didn't think it was just from the physical and likely mental attention from her dragon.

 _Cerise, are you seeing this?_ Ruby asked.

 _I am._ Cerise own surprise washed over their link. _Are you thinking what I'm thinking?_

 _That Orchid has a Semblance?_ Ruby shook her head while not taking her eyes off the year-old dragon. _That's a first._

 _How? Does that mean the rest of us have one?_

 _Maybe?_ Ruby took out her Scroll and looked at the local team Aura levels. Of course, she had the most and Cerise' was full, but even after taking hits, Orchid had _twice_ the active Aura as Cerise. Ruby blinked. Orchid's Aura was only unlocked last month. Still, how did anyone miss this? The Rider extended her mind toward the young dragon, paying special attention to the Aura. Sure enough, an abundance of Aura flowed inside Orchid, though it still was low for what a creature her size should have with it unlocked.

Orchid looked up at Ruby and cocked her head. _I thought you said you wouldn't be here until the hour is up._ Violet looked up at her teacher. She had a content smile on her face, no sign of her previous panic.

Ruby dropped down from her tree and walked over to the pair. "Violet's Aura is down. It's not safe for anyone to fight Grimm like that, much less a student." She knelt by Violet's side. "Can I see that?" She gestured at Violet's formerly injured arm.

Violet extended her arm. "I don't feel anything there." Her voice sounded like she just came out of a massage. "Orchid healed it."

"I'll be the judge of that." Ruby a spell to find any problems in the arm, whether by wound or contamination. She found nothing. In fact, it felt like the healthiest limb Ruby had ever looked over… however that worked. She sat back and faced Orchid. "Congratulations. You're the first dragon to have a known Semblance."

Orchid raised her ears. _Really?_

"Yeah. Normally this is where I'd say we should test its limits, but I'm not sure how it works." Ruby looked around the forest. "Well, let's get out of here. Cerise and I noticed quite a few things for both of you. I'll be honest, you won't like some of it."

Violet's smile disappeared and she nodded. "Got it." Orchid pulled her head off her Rider and Violet climbed onto her dragon. Ruby backed away and positioned herself under a gap in the canopy. "Adur." She left the ground and flew out of the canopy. Cerise flew underneath her Rider and Ruby dropped into the saddle. After about a minute, Orchid rose from the trees, with Violet laying forward in the saddle with her arms around her dragon's neck.

Cerise started flying back toward Signal with the younger dragon following behind her. About halfway there, a purple and black… _thing_ appeared in the sky. Ruby stood up in Cerise' saddle. She recognized the color scheme, but had never seen it on the destination side. A green dragon flew through… followed by a gold. The dragons kept coming until all dragons that Ruby knew about in Alagaësia flew above the strait between Patch and the mainland

 _Looks like Aaron and Nalia are back,_ Cerise hummed.

 _Looks like it._ Ruby felt a huge smile form on her face, but it disappeared just as quick as she realized what everyone else being there meant. _Oh…_ She slumped back into the saddle and hung her head. _There goes my free time…_

Orchid gave a light roar, then flew toward the new group of dragons. _I think we should follow her, make sure she doesn't come on too strong for some of the others._

 _Nalia could do that too, but yeah. Probably a good idea._ Ruby shook her head. She needed to go back to being professional.

Cerise picked up her speed and left Patch behind her. Up ahead, Orchid roared again, this time making the other dragons face her. Nalia broke formation and met the young dragon before Orchid reached any of the others. They intertwined their necks and it looked like Orchid nuzzled Aaron at the same time. Orchid pulled away and faced Glaedr. Nalia held a paw in front of the young dragon's chest. They stayed like that for a few seconds before the purple dragon continued on. This time, she didn't use her 'hug everything that moves' greeting method.

 _Aaron!_ Ruby called when Cerise got close to Nalia. _It's so good to have you back!_

Aaron turned his head and smiled at Ruby. _It's good to be back, Ru._ His smile faltered. _You okay? Your emotions are all over the place._

 _I'll explain later._ Ruby rolled her whole head. _It's been a rough week, and all of you coming back doesn't exactly make my job any easier._

 _If all goes well, I won't be going back for a while._

 _Thank you. I could use the help. Yang's even more useless than I am in business and Weiss has her own company to run._ Cerise flew to Nalia's side and stayed there, giving the betrothed Riders an unobstructed view of each other.

 _Not sure how much I can help._

Ruby shot Aaron a look. _You're my second in command. You need to learn whether you like it or not._

Aaron shrugged. _Point taken._

 _If you don't mind,_ Nalia started, _we were leading everyone to Beacon. It's as good of a place to start out as any._ She looked over the other dragons. Orchid had made her way to Moli. It looked like she didn't mind Orchid's greeting. _We're continuing to Beacon,_ Nalia announced. _Provided there are no more interruptions, we will not stop until we reach Beacon's docks._ She resumed her flight to the mainland, with all other dragons following.

Cerise' took Nalia's wing. _Is there any other reason we're going to Beacon unannounced?_

 _Oromis wants to speak with Ozpin about a few things._ Nalia peeled the back of her lips, then sealed them. _There are things that only Beacon's Headmaster and a council member can answer or grant._

Ruby gripped the handles on Cerise' saddle. _You told Oromis the truth about Ozpin, right?_

 _He doesn't like it,_ Aaron said, _but he's not as mad about it as you._

 _Of course. He didn't live through something like that._ Ruby glanced at her fiancé. He said 'you' not 'us.' That didn't sound like a slip of the tongue. Another thing they needed to talk about.

 _Hopefully Ozpin's in,_ Aaron said, not knowing Ruby's train of thought. _This isn't something Glynda can do without his approval. I'll make the call._ He took his Scroll out of a pocket and pushed a few buttons.

 _The Semester's starting in two weeks. I think he should._ Ruby froze as she remembered something. _We're the only ones with IFF tags, and dragons show up as Grimm on radar. We're falling back. Don't want them to shoot us down._ Cerise locked her wings and slowed down until she was at the back of the pack.

A few minutes of missileless flight later, all dragons touched down at Beacon's docks. Of course, Glaedr took up most of the space. All Riders dismounted their dragons. Being in the back, Ruby saw all of their expressions as she walked to the front. All dragons stared at either Beacon or the city behind them with open mouths, with the only Rider doing that being Rowan. The elves nodded at their surroundings but didn't make a big deal of it.

Avrart made various faces while trying to conceal his surprise. He turned to Nenva and elbowed one of her legs. "Close your mouth. You are making a fool of yourself," he whispered. Nenva did as told. Her ears drooped and her tail curled in. Ruby kept her reaction to herself. It looked like he hadn't changed much.

Ruby approached Aaron and Oromis near the exit to the docks. The elf stared up at the CCT with a thumb and index finger framing his chin. "Welcome to Remnant, Master Oromis."

"It was a… friendly welcome." Oromis glanced at Violet and Orchid. That pair was talking with Rowan and Moli. "I have not met a dragon that friendly in nearly a century."

"Orchid likes pretty much anything that isn't a Grimm or that doesn't threaten her Rider." Ruby paused. "I'm assuming that it would be better if I am present when you meet with Ozpin?"

Oromis nodded. "It would be beneficial for you to hear what I have to say from the source."

"In that case…" Ruby turned around. Cerise had followed her from the other side of the docks. "Tell Orchid and Violet what we saw on their performance, and try to find someplace for you all to wait while we're in with Ozpin."

Cerise snorted. _Will do._ She walked toward the pair in question.

Aaron approached Ruby's side. "Ozpin's waiting for us."

Ruby nodded and grit her teeth. She faced Oromis. "Ozpin's office is in the top of the tower." She walked toward the tower with the other two senior Riders right on her tail.

"I expected there to be more activity at a place like this," Oromis said as they walked toward the tower.

"The semester starts in two weeks," Ruby said. "Most projects that occurred during the break are done. Now I'm guessing it's just professors, only a handful of workmen, and a few students that move in early for sports or things like that."

Oromis nodded. "Can you tell me more about this place?"

That brought Ruby's mood back up. While she wasn't exactly happy with the Headmaster, she had no problems with the school itself. She turned around and walked backward like the few times she saw students took prospective students on tours. "First off, the place we just came from was the docks…"

Ruby continued to explain every building and piece of technology they passed. Like when she showed Yaela around Vale, Oromis was polite when asking questions and getting responses. Ruby actually enjoyed showing people around places that she loved. She just tried not to go overboard, especially when the to-be-commissioned Halcyon hall came into view, or when the CCT loomed over them.

They entered the base of the tower and walked toward the elevator. Unlike when Ruby first brought Aaron into the building, Oromis didn't question walking into the elevator car, or protest when the doors sealed them in. The elevator started to rise and Oromis just raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

"I have a feeling you're going to be saying that a lot over the next few days," Aaron said. "I'm still saying it."

"People here would probably have the same reaction to some of the things we can do with magic." Ruby shrugged. "People here are easy to please like that."

"Like how show magicians are trying to pass off what they do as our kind of magic?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Like healing a broken femur is like a card trick." The elevator dinged and stopped. Ruby's good mood once again disappeared. This was her first time she'd met with Ozpin face to face since he told her what he was.

The doors opened, revealing Ozpin standing behind his desk. "Riders, it is good to see you all again." He focused his gaze on the elder Rider. "Oromis, is it? I have heard a lot about you from our Riders. It is good to finally meet you in person."

"The feeling is mutual Ozpin," Oromis stepped out of the elevator and the other Riders followed. "It appears neither of these two overstated the wonders of this place." He gestured at both Aaron and Ruby.

"Knowing one of them, that's a surprise." Ozpin smiled at Ruby, but the Rider stayed passive. If it came from pretty much anyone else, Ruby might have laughed. Ozpin returned his gaze to Oromis. "Something tells me you are here for more than just a meet and greet."

"I am." Oromis nodded. "For different reasons, two of the young Riders I have brought with me I believe are in need of training that I cannot provide in Alagaësia. I understand there is a process for bringing new people into the Kingdoms, so I bring this matter to Vale's council."

Ruby blinked and looked over at Aaron. _Really? You're going to continue training people here?_

 _I am._ Aaron nodded. _Oromis thought of this. Two get to have special training that they need and deserve, I get to come home, Oromis has more time to work with the other two. Everybody wins._

 _That works for me._ Ruby gave her fiancé a small smile before focusing back on Oromis and Ozpin.

"May I ask whom these Riders are and why their training must continue here?" Ozpin asked.

"Arya and Fírnen have excelled at all tasks I have given them, and are far beyond the progress of any of the others. Despite her young age, even by human standards, Arya's combat skills are on level with Riders with months more experience. If everything I have heard about this school is true, she could become one of the elves finest swordsmen."

Ruby nodded. From her little time spent with Arya in Ellesméra, she'd say that assessment was accurate. Nalia and Cerise could teach Fírnen all he needed to know, and Aaron and Velvet could keep her up to date on magic… really that could be said about whoever the other candidate was.

Ozpin sat at his desk and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. "Aaron was a… unique case," he said while writing. "I was told of his arrival from someone else from your land, saying that the Rider would need guidance and shelter from an enemy. But since this could become a common thing, I cannot let prospective students into this school based on word of mouth. She will need to prove that she can stand up to the stresses of combat. She may be exceptional where you are from, but that does not mean she meets the standards of Remnant."

"Understandable." Oromis paused. "The other Rider in question has a problem with authority. Avrart Krisson has only shown respect to Queen Islanzadí on a regular basis, and to Ruby Shadeslayer when they briefly met. To me and Aaron, he has shown open contempt, along with many of those in Ellesméra. He has had everything handed to him on a plate while living in Surda and is abusing that against the elves who wish to make a good impression on the new Riders. This needs to change."

"And you believe letting him train at Beacon will teach him to respect those around him?"

Oromis shook his head. "He has not earned that honor. I am proposing something different. The Riders of my time were self-sufficient, as I believe you call it. We produced all our own food, cleaned our own water, built our own city. Avrart cannot have that experience in Ellesméra. I believe his best chance at living like that would be somewhere on Remnant."

Ruby thought that one over. On one hand, it would be nice to go completely off the grid. The house/Vale headquarters in the mountains east of Beacon would be able to do that when finished. Maybe living off the land wouldn't work so close to the city, but on Menagerie it could… but until there were more dragons down there or more experienced Riders, there was no way she was sending a rookie off there on his own… Then again, being so close to Vale could be another lesson for the entitled Rider.

"But of course," Oromis turned to Ruby, "both of these proposals need your approval."

"I'd need to figure out a few specifics for Avrart," Ruby began, "but I believe that would be a step in the right direction for both him and Nenva. I also believe Arya would be a great fit for the first elf at Beacon, or whatever academy she chooses."

Ozpin nodded. "I don't doubt your assessment."

"If that's it, we have other things we need to take care of." Ruby turned toward the elevator with Aaron right by her side.

"I may stay a while, Shadeslayer," Oromis said. "There are other matters I wish to discuss with Ozpin."

Ruby nodded. "Do what you need to. The mountain with the construction near the top is ours. You and Glaedr may rest anywhere there, or elsewhere in the forest if you'd like." The elevator doors opened and Ruby and Aaron stepped inside. Aaron pressed the button for the ground floor.

"You think he did that on purpose?" Aaron asked as the elevator began to fall.

"Do what?" Ruby faced her fiancé to find him already facing her.

"Leave us alone in the elevator." Aaron shrugged. "He might need to talk with Ozpin, but he may have done us a favor too."

Ruby dropped her jaw. "Oh." She looked around the elevator. "Well, since there's no camera in here…" She jumped on Aaron, wrapping her arms around him and locking their lips together. Aaron returned the kiss and held the back of Ruby's head. After a few seconds, Ruby pulled away and rested her head on Aaron's shoulder. "I've missed you. You don't know how badly I've wanted you here in the past few weeks, _especially_ the past few days."

"Been busy?" Aaron started rubbing Ruby's back.

"Sooo busy. Rider business and business business." The elevator stopped and Ruby peeled off Aaron. She straightened her hair and cape while Aaron fixed his hat and jacket. The doors opened and they walked into the lobby. "I can't talk about a couple of the missions I was on for security reasons. The business stuff, you wouldn't get."

"There has to be something you _can_ say."

"Plenty. The only Kingdom I haven't been in the past two months is Mistral…" Ruby went onto explain some of her more mundane missions and a few problems with building the house, along with the estimated completion date. When they reached the docks, she told the other trainees the same thing she told Oromis before climbing onto Cerise.

After Aaron mounted Nalia, the two older dragons took off and flew toward Patch. Aaron began to explain everything he'd done in Alagaësia. It sounded like he had a much easier time on the other side. He worked with Rowan and Aithlin, and both sounded like good students willing to learn. They had their own problems, but progressed past them… Aaron made it sound like he had no problems at all on the other side. Ruby got jealous of him over that, a very rare occurrence.

A few minutes later, both dragons touched down in the yard on Patch. The Riders dismounted and met up between their dragons. "Oh! There's one thing I forgot," Ruby said. "I was out supervising Violet and Orchid in the field, they did okay until they got overwhelmed, but that's not my point. Orchid has a Semblance."

Aaron blinked and Nalia curved her head toward Ruby. "A Semblance?" Aaron asked. "Are you sure."

"Her tongue glowed and she essentially licked Violet's injury away, then she licked Violet's face and Violet looked like she just got out of one of Nora's massages."

"That almost sounds like two."

"It probably just works in a way we don't know about." Ruby shrugged. "I've only seen it in action that once. We didn't exactly have time to test it out."

 _How does she know hers so soon?_ Nalia asked. _I don't know if the rest of us have one._

 _She already has more Aura than me,_ Cerise said. _She might have more Aura than you._

 _Really?_ Nalia cocked her head. _Itis going to be interesting to see her progress._

Ruby sighed and slumped her whole body. "Now that that's out of the way, can we talk about something other than work? I'm beat…"

"Sure thing." Aaron draped an arm over Ruby's shoulder and walked her toward the house. Ruby rested her head on her fiancé's shoulder. At the moment, she didn't care if anyone saw them together. "How's the wedding planning coming?"

That was still work, but it was fun in comparison. "I've got my Maid of Honor and Bridesmaid picked out, Coco's got most of the behind the scenes things taken care of, we've got a place picked out, the armor Rhunön is forging for Nalia is coming along well, and I found a few places that can cater to the relatively few people that are going to be there. I had to wait for you before making a decision on that."

"Makes sense." Aaron pushed the door open. The living room was clear for now, but that would change when Yang and Viki heard voices. Aaron led Ruby to the couch. "I guess we both should like the food there."

They sat on the couch and Ruby snuggled up next to Aaron. She sighed in contentment. "I think there's enough done where we can conformably set a date."

Aaron stiffened. "Oh... I… guess that's something that should be done…"

Ruby pulled away from her fiancé. She didn't like that tone. "Aaron, what did you do?"

Aaron winced. "Well, the ring symbolism is well known among the elves. I was pressured for a date since the day you left from just about everyone. I… may have said in ten days to one of them this morning… Weddings are quick after the engagement in Alagaësia. I still regretted saying that right after I did."

Ruby froze in place, except her jaw swung open. _Ten… days?_ "Who was this to?"

Aaron rubbed the back of his neck. "Queen Islanzadí… and we were speaking in the Ancient Language..."

"Wha…" _I… I'm not going to have a spare moment the next ten days._ Ruby fell off the couch, her senses dead to the world. _Oooohhhh, maaaaaann…_

Aaron leaned forward with a large wince on his face. "Ruby? Are you okay?

Ruby blinked and locked eyes with Aaron. "You owe me. Big time. You're also explaining this to Coco."

"That's not going to be fun, but I'll do it." Aaron nodded.

"Good." Ruby picked herself off the floor and sat back on the couch. She leaned against her fiancé and closed her eyes. "I'll be mad at you later. Just hold me until then."

Aaron laid an arm across Ruby's shoulders. "I think I can do that."

A door slammed open upstairs. "Aaron Benson!" Yang yelled, "what makes you think you can propose to my sister and stay in a different dimension for two months?" Aaron stiffened.

Ruby giggled then elbowed Aaron in the gut. "You're in trouble."

* * *

 **Ahh, fluff. So much fun to write over serious stuff.**


	36. Ripped

**So... some pretty bad things happened here in the past week. It could eventually affect my uploads but I don't think it will do anything short term. Just a lot of stress here...  
**

* * *

"Yang, be honest with me." Aaron leaned against the kitchen wall and crossed his arms. "How badly did I mess up?"

Yang looked at Aaron out of the corner of her eye as she washed her breakfast dishes. "Considering she got off the floor last night and latched herself around your neck for two hours, I'd say you're forgiven."

"Maybe." Aaron shook his head. "I've caused her a lot of unnecessary stress. Is there anything that I can do to make it up to her?"

"Really?" Yang smirked at Aaron. "You're marrying her in nine days, and you don't know any way to make things up to her?" She laughed and returned her attention to her dishes. "You know what guys say, happy wife, happy life… Or you might not know that."

 _He wouldn't know,_ Halcyon said. _He took how long to realize Ruby liked him too? It's going to take him just as long to realize how to make her happy while she's down._

"You got a point there." Yang pat the gold box on her belt. "The sad part is he's bonded to a female. I don't know how he functions."

Aaron grimaced. "You I can hear you both, right?"

"We know," Yang and Halcyon said at the same time. "In nine days, you'll officially be my little brother," Yang continued. "I'm just giving you a little sneak peek of what that entails." She paused. "I'll give you a hint. If you want to help with Ruby's stress, take some of the workload yourself. She's gotten better at asking for help."

 _Cookies and strawberries always work with her too,_ Halcyon added. _I believe the two of you just being close helps her out if last night was any indication._

"There is that." Aaron paused. "Now that I'm thinking about it, the elves have taken to calling you Yang Goldmane."

"Really?" Yang grabbed some of her hair and brought it in front of her face. "I guess it makes sense, besides the silver streak anyway. I like it."

 _It fits you, Firecracker,_ Halcyon said.

Aaron heard a door open and close upstairs. "I guess that's my cue."

Yang gave Aaron a two-finger salute. "Later, bro."

Aaron nodded at Yang and left the kitchen. His fiancé walked down the stairs with her Scroll in hand. "Ready to go?"

"There's been a change of plans." Ruby shook her head and put her Scroll away. "I just got a call from the Vale council. They say they're ready to test something that should inhibit magic. They need a test subject, and that's going to be me."

"You? Why not someone else?"

"Because we don't know any side effects. I'd rather them be on someone who is experienced with magic and can recover. You already lost your magic once. I can bounce back. No one else in Vale can."

Aaron pushed open the front door. "What about Yang or Velvet?"

"Velvet's defending the workmen at our house in the mountains. Yang... Officially, Halcyon is dead. She can't be the test subject." Ruby's voice had an edge to it.

Aaron gave a sideways nod. "Fair points. Anything in particular you want me to tell Arya and Avrart?" The two Riders approached their dragons.

"I trust you." Ruby shook her head. "This is going to push my other plans back."

"If you need help with anything, just ask." Aaron climbed Nalia's side.

"Coco's putting together a list. She'll email me later." Ruby mounted Cerise and faced Aaron. "You probably shouldn't talk to her for a few days. It sounds like she wants to rip your head off."

Nalia snorted as she raised her wings. _Like I would let that happen._ She plunged her wings down and jumped into the air. She angled toward the mountain where all other Alagaësian Riders and dragons were in Vale.

Aaron pat Nalia's neck. _When we get close, can you circle around the house? I'd like to see the progress._

 _Of course._ Nalia nodded. _I'm interested too._ She diverted her course a touch and sped over the strait, then the city. When they passed Beacon, the new building appeared from behind the mountain. The siding was painted to match the forest below and around the building. If people didn't know where to look for it, it would be nearly invisible from afar, from the city side anyway.

A few minutes later, Nalia swung around the mountain. The new house-headquarters combo was bigger than Beacon's cafeteria, and only because they wanted interior space for multiple dragons. Most of the glass wasn't installed yet, leaving the inside open to the world. Vert stood on the far side of the house and roared a polite greeting. Nalia returned the favor.

Aaron picked out Glaedr on a nearby mountain and directed Nalia toward him. His dragon turned in that direction and roared another greeting. Glaedr looked their way, then back at the forest below him. All other dragons and Riders rose from the trees. The dragons touched down by Glaedr and their Riders dismounted.

Nalia landed on the mountain shortly after that. Aaron dismounted and faced the trainees in front of him. _"Before we get started on our normal routine today, I need to speak with two pairs. Arya and Fírnen, you two are up first."_ Aaron walked into a nearby cave that was just too small for Nalia to fit inside. It looked like Oromis or Glaedr picked this place for a reason.

Aaron turned around and faced Arya and Fírnen. Nalia blocked the entrance to the cave with her body, yet gave enough of a gap for natural light to shine in. The elf gave a polite bow. _"What would you ask of us, Master Aaron?"_

" _First off, I would like to say that you and Fírnen have surpassed all of our expectations. Both of you have progressed further than many of the Old Order, and are on pace with Ruby and Velvet when it comes to magic. Your skill with a sword is far advanced for one your age. We believe you are ready to take the next step."_

Arya stood a little taller as Aaron continued. Fírnen also raised his wings and puffed his chest out. _"Thank you, Master. What is this next step?"_

" _To attend one of the four Huntsmen Academies on Remnant."_ Arya straightened even more and Fírnen raised his ears. _"You still have much to learn about combat. All instructors may be human or Faunus, but many of them are as skilled as Blödhgarm and the other in his guard, if not more. They can teach you much more than combat as well. I believe I have told you about_ Aura?"

Fírnen nodded. _**It is the manifestation of the soul. Those from Remnant have more than those from Alagaësia.**_

" _Precisely. It can protect you against limited damage in a way similar to wards, with a few added benefits."_ Aaron paused. _"Ruby discovered yesterday that Orchid has a_ Semblance. _It's possible that Fírnen may have one as well, but no other dragons have shown that they have one themselves. We don't know if it's possible for elves to have Semblances either."_

Aaron shook his head. _"I'm getting distracted. Arya, this is not something to be taken lightly. The training is dangerous. It's not unheard of for someone to be killed in training. Injuries can be just as severe. You do not need to answer right now. Take some time to think. But the_ semester _starts for all combat schools in eleven days. You will need to let me or Ruby know before then."_

Arya turned to Fírnen. The dragon and Rider looked into each other's eyes for quite some time, with the Rider idly rubbing her dragon's jaw. After a few minutes, Arya faced Aaron again. _"Master Aaron, I would be honored to attend Beacon Academy as the first elf."_

Aaron stood still for a moment, then nodded. There was no going back now. _"I will inform Headmaster Ozpin of your decision. As I understand it, there is a written entry test as well as a physical one. I will get you the relevant study materials by tomorrow. Now, would you please send Avrart and Nenva in?"_ Nalia backed away from the mouth of the cave.

" _Of course."_ Arya bowed once more and turned to leave the cave, with Fírnen right beside her.

 _That went as well as expected,_ Aaron told Nalia.

 _Indeed it did._ Nalia stuck her head in front of the cave and faced her Rider. _Arya gets the advanced training she deserves, and I get to spend more time with my Hatchling._

 _I thought mother dragons kicked their young out when they reach a certain age._

 _We do, but that doesn't mean we stop caring for our young. Amor and Fírnen are going to grow up to be such wonderful dragons. I am so proud of them both._

Aaron smirked. _Looks like there are more motherly dragons here than I thought._

Nalia snorted. _You didn't get that with my time with Amor?_ She looked away. _The others are here. I don't think this one will go as smoothly._

 _I have a feeling you're right._ Aaron stared at the entry to the cave. Avrart and Nenva stepped inside, and Nalia once again blocked the entrance. "I'm surprised you two came right away."

Avrart put on that arrogant smirk that had shown up way too often. "Judging by the looks on Arya's and Fírnen's faces, you rewarded them in some way. I am here to receive the same."

Aaron did his best to ignore Avrart's tone. "In a way, you are correct. You and Nenva are receiving a special assignment, but not the same one. I know you have been taught about the ways of the Old Order and life on Vroengard. We will be trying to recreate that environment here."

Avrart shifted on his feet. "I do not understand."

"The Riders used to be completely self-sufficient, something I'm sure as one who's been brought up under a businessman can understand. For us, that means we grow all our own food, clean our own water, build our own buildings, and so on. I know you have taken advantage of the elves' generosity in your time in Ellesméra. That ends now. This means no handouts from the people of Vale. To add to that, you have no Lien, and you will receive no Lien from me or Ruby Shadeslayer. If you ever get any, you will earn it from taking and completing missions. But that will only come around if and when Ruby or I decide you are mission capable."

Nenva raised her ears and Avrart scowled. "I'm sorry, but I would like to decline your offer."

Aaron shook his head. "That decision is not up to you. What _is_ your decision is whether you stay in Vale or I ship you off to New Vroengard on Menagerie."

"What do you want me to do?" Avrart held his arms away from his body. "Build a house for myself in the mountain? Humans can't survive in the wilderness for long periods of time."

"Then how am I alive?" Aaron looked around the cave. "You don't need to build a house. A cave like this one could house you and Nenva for a few years."

"Says the one who is building a castle less than a league away." Avrart scowled. "How can you hold me to this when you have servants doing your work for you?"

"That line of thinking is exactly the point." Aaron walked toward Avrart until he stood only a foot away from the troublesome Rider. He stood a head taller than the younger man. Avrart took a tiny step back but kept glaring at Aaron. "In Surda, you're the son of a successful brewer. In Ellesméra, you're one of the first of a new line of Dragon Riders. On Remnant, you're just a Huntsman in training that happens to be bonded to a dragon. Translation, you're not some hot shot that gets whatever he wants and can get away with anything he wants. I've only seen you pay respect to two people, and they had considerable power over you. Now, you have no power, no influence. If anything is going to teach you respect, it's this."

"How do you plan on keeping us here?" Avrart's voice wasn't as confident as before.

"Because we can and will cast a spell confining you to the Emerald Forest if needed, or send you off to New Vroengard, where there's nowhere to go." Aaron shifted his gaze to Nenva. The white dragon's blue eyes shone like her white scales. Her ears stood on end and her wings raised. "I don't think Nenva will take you away anyway."

Avrart shifted his glare to his dragon, then back at Aaron. "My father will hear about this."

"What can he do? He's in Alagaësia. His money can't do anything either. Weiss could buy him out ten times over, and then some. If you ever have the opportunity to visit the city, you'll see her name just about everywhere."

Avrart scowled then stormed toward the cave exit. Nalia stepped back and allowed the young Rider to leave. Nenva hummed at Aaron and Nalia. _Thank you for doing this. I apologize for my Rider's previous actions. I believe I may finally be able to break him in._

Aaron nodded. "Glad we could help." Nenva turned around and followed her Rider out of the cave. Aaron shook his head. "She's kind-hearted, he's stone-hearted. I don't see why she chose him."

 _She sees something we don't,_ Nalia said. _That's what matters._

"I'll have to take your word for it." Aaron sighed. "Well, we should probably join the others. The rookies aren't going to train themselves."

* * *

"No! You're joking!" Ruby yelled into her Scroll. If the technician working on the other side of the room cared, he didn't mention it.

" _I'm serious,"_ Weiss said. " _Saphira is holding Winter in the manor. She won't let Winter out until the next time she's called for a mission."_

"You know she's going to try to escape, right?"

" _Oh, we know. Saphira's looking forward to it. It makes up for me not getting most riddles."_

"I guess Saphira wants the two of you to spend time together."

" _That, and she's a little protective of Winter after what happened to her. She is my sister, after all."_

"Miss Rose," the technician started, "my initial scans are complete."

Ruby nodded at the man. "Got to go, Weiss. Gotta test this new suppression collar. Call me later if you need anything." She tugged at the metal ring around her neck.

" _Got it, sis. Talk to you then."_ The line clicked on Weiss' side.

Ruby put her Scroll back in a pocket and tried to adjust the collar around her neck. "I know that this wasn't designed with comfort in mind, but this thing is going to chafe really quick. If people are going to wear this for long periods of time, something's going to need to change."

The head engineer stepped away from his terminal. "Of course, but right now, this device relies on physical contact. Once we know this works as intended, future models will have a more wearable design." He walked over to Ruby and started removing the cables from the collar.

"As long as there're plans in the future." The technician removed the cables but the collar was as uncomfortable as ever. Ruby stood up from the bench. "Now where's this testing area?"

"Please follow me." The engineer stood up and walked out of the lab. Ruby did as told and followed him out of the room.

 _I don't like the look,_ Cerise said. _You've got enough metal on you already._

 _That's why you don't like the look?_ Ruby smirked at where she felt her dragon. _I'm not calling you for bail if I'm ever arrested._

 _I would be worried if you did. I don't have access to any Lien. That's all you. I'd suggest going to Weiss._

 _That would be the smart idea._ Ruby laughed to herself then focused on the hall ahead of her. She followed the engineer down two more halls until they reached what looked like an observation room. A row of computer terminals and monitors lay below a wall of windows. On the other side of that lay a white paneled room. A bunch of scientists filled the room, about half at a computer, the others at a conference table with coffee. Ruby crossed her arms. "I'm not actually under arrest, am I?"

The head engineer chuckled. "No. We like seeing our experiments with our own eyes, not just cameras. There's no danger to anyone present."

"I'll take your word for it." Ruby pointed at the one place in the glass wall that stretched from floor to ceiling. "I take it that's the door?" The head engineer nodded and Ruby walked for the door. She pulled it open and stepped inside the test room.

As soon as the door closed behind her, she felt… weird. Ruby lifted her hands and saw her Aura flare red before disappearing. She looked at the other side of the room and tried to use her Semblance, but she didn't move an inch. "Testing to see if this thing works in an Aura canceling field?" She faced the glass wall.

"We are, indeed," the lead engineer's voice came over the speakers in the room. "Odds are any Riders that are arrested will have an active Aura. We need to make sure neither cancels out the effect of the other.

"Okay then." Ruby tugged at the collar once more. "Shall we get this test started?"

"We shall. Activating Suppression collar in three, two, one." Something in the collar clicked.

Ruby's eyes bulged and her breath caught in her throat. She turned around and fell to her knees. She grabbed both sides of her head. _Cerise?_ No answer. She couldn't feel her dragon at all. There was a huge hole where her dragon should have been. Cerise was gone. Her other half was gone. That empty feeling hurt worse than anything the Nevermores did to her. That shouldn't have been possible… unless…

A roar filtered through the thick walls of the building, one that could only belong to Cerise. The room shook. Ruby clenched her eyes and shook her head. Cerise was alive. It was the damn collar! It had to be. "Jeirda." Nothing broke. She didn't have access to magic at all. If Cerise was kicked out of her head, there was no way she could do anything else.

Ruby wrapped her right hand around the collar and clamped her fingers down. The metal crumpled and circuitry sparked, cutting and shocking her. She didn't care. She peeled the metal off her neck and threw it to the wall.

Cerise mind and her rage hit Ruby like a tsunami. _-kill you bastards! You killed my… Gem?_ Some of Cerise' rage disappeared, but not all of it.

 _I'm here, Cerise. I'm here._ Ruby faced the destroyed collar, but it wasn't as destroyed as Ruby wanted it to be. She stuck her right arm at it and shifted it to gun form. She fired her gun arm once, twice, thrice, and kept firing until the internal magazine was empty. "Brisingr." All remaining pieces of the collar set on fire and filled the air with the stench of burning silicon. _I'm coming out to you… but not before giving these people a piece of my mind._ Cerise latched onto her Rider's mind in a loving death grip.

Ruby straightened up and tried to clear her face of all emotion. She didn't need a video escaping of her losing her cool and threatening people's lives. She turned back toward the observation room and walked the distance. She pushed open the door and faced the scientists. All of them stared at her, some with open mouths, some shaking.

All except the head engineer anyway. He scowled and approached Ruby. "What the hell was that? You just destroyed a few hundred thousand Lien worth of investment."

"I was unaware that Vale allowed torture."

"We don't. That's not-"

"Then I have the legal right to arrest all of you right now and effectively shut this place down." Ruby gently gestured at the still burning wreck of the collar. "That was an instrument of torture. You _never_ fully cut off a Rider from their dragon or vice versa. If it came down to having one of those on for ten months or going back in the care of the Nevermores for ten years, I'd take my chances with the Nevermores."

"What do you expect us to do now?" the engineer growled. "You destroyed our only prototype."

"I'm sure your readings are more than sufficient to start over. And you _will_ start over. As long as the plans for that exist, Vale will not have any say in what we do with Riders that go rogue in your territory." Ruby looked around the room and had her bionic eye record the names and faces of all scientists and engineers in the room. "If that torture device ever shows up anywhere, I know where to start looking for the leak."

"Are you threatening us?"

"Are you defending torturing me?" Ruby shook her head. "We're done here. Call me again when you gain some morals." She turned around and retraced her earlier steps toward the front door. _Cerise, we're going to Patch and not stopping for anything._

 _Fine! Just get out here!_ Cerise' rage had cooled somewhat, but her concern and worry had only grown.

Ruby left the lab and was immediately covered by a shadow. She looked up. Cerise stood on the roof of the building with her claws digging into the wall just below it. She jumped off and into the parking lot beside the building. Ruby approached her dragon, not looking at anything else. Cerise bared all her teeth and growled at something behind her Rider. Her claws cracked up the asphalt beneath her.

The Rider mounted her dragon but didn't have time to secure her legs before Cerise took off. Ruby leaned forward in the saddle but refrained from hugging her dragon. They were too close to the skyscrapers downtown. She did tighten her legs around her soulmate though. Both latched onto the other's mind as hard as they could.

 _Any place in particular, Gem?_ Cerise asked. _Home? The cliffs?_

 _The mountain. No one's around._

 _Agreed._ Cerise snorted and flew even faster. _I am not letting you leave me for the rest of the day._

 _Just the day? I'd say a year._ Ruby looked around at the city. They'd passed most of the skyscrapers and they were a few hundred feet above the tallest. She finally wrapped her arms around her dragon's neck as hard as she could. _I love you, Cerise. I never want to feel that again._

 _Neither do I._ Cerise hummed but kept her head forward. Oceans of love passed in both directions.

Ruby's eyes leaked and she felt her throat and nose constrict. _That… that was horrible._

 _I wouldn't use that word._ Cerise peeled her lips back again but closed them soon after. _I don't think the word exists on how I feel. It hurt so much._

 _I know. I'm sorry I volunteered for that. I should have had them go through more testing. I shouldn't have allowed them to make something like that in the first place. I'm sorry I put you through all that._

 _It's not your fault. Blame those monsters that call themselves scientists. It was a sound choice given the information we had… But I guess we'll have to be more careful on who we trust in the future._

 _Agreed. We can't take that chance in the future. If they can do it once, they can do it again._ Ruby shook her head. _But we can worry about that later. It's just you…_

… _and you._ Cerise finished. She turned her head back a little, her visible eye wide. She faced forward once more and put on another burst of speed.

Neither of them spoke for the rest of the flight. They just sent each other their emotions. Ruby also rubbed her dragon's neck, well, as best as she could with her arms wrapped all the way around. A few minutes later, Cerise flew around the mountain on Patch and landed outside a different cave from a few months before.

Ruby stayed on her dragon's back as Cerise entered the cave. The dragon settled down and the Rider finally slid off. Cerise rolled onto her side and curled her neck around. Ruby laid in the curl and settled down so her head rested by one of Cerise' eyes. She wrapped her arms behind her soulmate's head. Cerise brought one of her paws up and wrapped her toes around her Rider. She also covered Ruby in one of her wings.

"Why does it always take something terrible happening for us to get this close?" Ruby rubbed her face against her dragon's scales, not caring that she felt the edges cutting her cheeks.

 _I don't know._ Cerise stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth and licked the new injury on her Rider's face. _We really shouldn't wait that long._

Ruby forced a smile. "I'd hope not. We'd never be this close again."

That got a quiet chuckle out of Cerise and she snuggled closer to her Rider and held her closer. _Of course. Nothing bad ever again. I won't allow it._

"Thank you." Ruby turned her head and kissed the scales right by her dragon's eye. "You're the best, Cerise. I don't want either of us to feel that again."

 _If either of us does,_ Cerise growled, _I will rip all of those scientists in half._

Part of Ruby's head wanted to admonish her dragon, but she actually thought and said, "Please do." She pulled herself closer to her dragon's head. "Do the same if they hurt any other dragons or Riders this way."

 _I will._ Cerise slowly blinked. _They will meet my claws._

"You are the strong one." Ruby closed her eyes and let herself drift off. Cerise was always so comfortable when the Rider was tired… or under extreme stress, as she was at that moment.

Ruby wasn't sure how long they were there, or if she completely fell asleep, but she was sure that Cerise moved first. _We are no longer alone,_ she growled.

"Grimm?" Ruby tried to move but she was still held in place.

 _No. Two of ours._ Cerise pulled her wing and paw back. Ruby sat up and her muscles protested. Violet and Orchid stood at the mouth of the cave. The Rider shifted on her feet and twiddled her thumbs. Her head dipped and she wouldn't meet Ruby's eyes. Orchid stood still looking between the other bonded pair.

"Violet, Orchid," Ruby pushed herself up against Cerise' chest, "what are you two doing here?"

"It was her idea!" Violet pointed a finger at Orchid. "It's all she's talked about for a few hours."

Orchid shook her head like a dog and took two steps forward. _I apologize for intruding. I understand this is a… sensitive time for you. I don't know what you two have gone through, but I doubt it's good. With what I discovered yesterday, I believe I can help. You two have done so much to help my Flower, it's only right that I return the favor._ Her lower jaw dropped and her purple glowing tongue lolled out. _I know it's unorthodox, but this is what I know works._

Ruby and Cerise stared at the young dragon for a while, then Cerise snorted. _I am your mother. It's not too strange._

 _I wouldn't do anything without your permission._ Orchid walked forward until she stood right in front of her mother. Cerise raised her head off the ground to the other dragon's level. Her daughter nuzzled Cerise' snout, then licked the side of her mother's face.

Ruby felt an immediate change in her dragon. Her rage, fear, and concern dropped off. Cerise raised her ears and surprise radiated off her. Orchid licked her again and the same thing happened. One more kiss and those three disappeared entirely. Orchid kept going, and the surprise was slowly replaced with happiness and contentment.

 _Orchid,_ Cerise hummed, _thank you, my daughter._ She nuzzled Orchid herself and kissed her daughter once. Cerise returned her gaze to her Rider. Her eyes showed none of the pain from before. _Ruby, I highly recommend this._

Ruby flicked her eyes to Orchid, then back to Cerise. _But… I felt all that. She changed the way you thought._

 _ **It's not like that.**_ Cerise lowered her head and rested it in her Rider's lap. _**I would not recommend it if it was harmful.**_

 _O…kay._ Ruby looked up and nodded at Orchid.

 _Let me do the work._ Orchid leaned her head forward and nuzzled Ruby's face. She then licked the Rider's face…

Ruby felt her negative emotions fall away. Her eyes widened and she stared at Orchid. The dragon kissed her again and the same thing happened, but she noticed _how_ it was done. Her fear wasn't just disappearing. It felt like it was being _healed away._ She got the same feeling from the times she's had magical healing done on herself. One kiss later confirmed it. Orchid wasn't changing the way Ruby's head worked, she was healing all the bad out of it.

Even after all the bad stuff melted away, Orchid kept up her treatment. With that same healing feeling, more pleasant emotions came up. She suddenly felt like she'd been cuddling with hatchling Cerise for several hours. Things only got more pleasant as the dragon continued the treatment.

A few kisses later, Orchid pulled her head back and looked Ruby in the eyes. _Better?_

"Much," Ruby sighed and smiled, all her tension having already melted away. She rubbed underneath the healer's chin. "Thank you." Orchid hummed and exposed more of her chin to the Rider. "You're going to help a lot of people, Orchid Healtongue. Just keep being you."

 _Thank you, Ruby._ Orchid took her head off the scratching hand and looked between Ruby and Cerise. _Though I believe I should say that this isn't a safe place to hide like this. There are Grimm in the area. It's not safe for people to be alone out here. It took Cerise nearly an hour to notice me. What could a Beowolf have done to you two?_

"Point taken." Ruby stood up and rested her hand on Cerise snout. "Orchid, you're not taking what we feel onto you, are you?"

Orchid cocked her head. _No. Why?_

"Just that the few other Semblances that deal with emotions have that side effect." Ruby shook her head. "Again, thank you."

 _Anytime._ Orchid hummed once more. _I love to help._ She turned around and walked back to her Rider. Violet's face was now completely red and her lips smooshed together. She climbed onto her dragon's back and the two walked out of the cave, then flew off the cliff.

 _Of course, Orchid's semblance would involve giving kisses._ Cerise raised her head to just beside her Rider's. _It fits her so well._

"Another point in the 'Semblances are tied to personality' column." Ruby scratched behind Cerise' closest ear. "Let's get back home. The others should know about what happened…" Most of Ruby's good mood vanished. "We were separated for less than a minute. Yang didn't have Halcyon for months."

Cerise raised her ears and stared out of the cave. _Get on. We need to go._ Ruby did as told and Cerise bounded out of the cave. The dragon curved toward the house and flew toward it, though slower than their flight from the city. The sun now hung just above the trees. A minute later she touched down in the yard by Nalia. If she was there, so was Aaron. He needed to know this too.

Ruby dismounted her dragon, ignoring the confused warbles from Nalia. She pushed the front door open and kicked her shoes off. Yang, Aaron, and Viki sat on the couch watching a Darvel movie, and it sounded like her dad was in the kitchen. Aaron looked over his shoulder at his fiancé. "Hey, Ru. Where you been? You've been gone for… hours." He looked Ruby up and down. "You feeling okay? You don't look so good." That made Yang and Viki face Ruby as well.

"Not really." Ruby approached the couch on her sister's side. "Meeting Vale's techs didn't go so well."

"Didn't you leave for that at like nine this morning?" Yang asked. "What could keep you away for so long?"

Ruby locked eyes with her sister. "I know how you felt." Yang looked to the side, then back at Ruby with her eyebrows raised in confusion. "The thing they had to test on me completely cut me off from Cerise, and I mean _completely._ Cerise felt the same thing."

Yang's jaw dropped and Aaron stiffened on the other side of the couch. "Like… one of you was…" Yang didn't finish her whispered question.

 _One moment Ruby was there,_ Cerise started, _the next, there was a huge hole in my head where she should be. I thought they killed her._

Yang jerked her head toward the window, then back to Ruby. She pounced over the arm of the couch and latched onto her sister. She didn't say anything, she just held Ruby close. Ruby rested her arms on her sister's back. "But we're okay now. We've had a long time. And… we think we found out how Orchid's Semblance works."

"But they can separate us from our dragons?" Aaron asked, his voice gravelly. "That is _not_ okay." Nalia growled outside to accent her Rider's statement.

"I know." Ruby nodded over Yang's shoulder. "We made sure they knew what we thought about it."

 _Are they all still alive?_ Nalia hissed.

Ruby looked at Aaron and Nalia on the other side of the window. She wasn't sure she liked either of their tones. "All of them."

Aaron stood up and walked toward the door. "I'll be back."

"Wait, Aaron!" Ruby freed herself from Yang's arms. "Where are you going?"

"To knock some heads together." Aaron pulled open the front door and marched toward Nalia. Ruby followed him outside. "They can't be allowed to do things like that. Something like this is exactly why I didn't want anyone else holding us." His head dipped. "The fact that they did it to my future wife and her dragon make it even worse."

"Aaron, you just can't go and beat them up for this."

"I can and I will." Aaron clenched his fists.

Ruby stopped. "Aaron! Stand down!"

Aaron stopped and turned around. "I'm trying to defend your honor. Do people not do that on Remnant?"

"They do," Ruby raised a placating hand, "but the way I think you want to do it is only okay in Vacuo."

"Then what do you want me to do?" Aaron threw his arms up. "I can't let them get away with it. None of that is okay."

"I completely agree with you, but we can't go around hurting and killing everyone we don't like."

"You can't defend yourselves here? Why are we even here then?"

"It's one thing if we do that while something is going on, but hours after it happened? That's premeditated assault… or first-degree murder."

Aaron growled and ran his hands through his hair. "We've fought how many people who've hurt us? That was our entire campaign against Galbatorix."

"That's Alagaësia. Not here." Ruby shook her head. "We can't go against the government. That was a Kingdom of Vale facility. If we do anything there, we'll have the entire Kingdom coming after us, maybe the other three too."

"So we're just going to sit around and do nothing?"

Ruby looked down and to the side. "No. But we're going to do something I never wanted us to get involved with. We need to do it, and if people find out about it, we still won't be as bad off."

Aaron stared at Ruby, then shrugged. "As long as we're doing something."

 _Trust me, Aaron,_ Cerise growled, though not in the furious way from earlier, _I would have burnt the building down if that would change what they did._

"Let's just forget about this for the day." Ruby walked forward and grabbed one of Aaron's hands. "It's been way too long since we've spent time together."

Aaron sighed and locked eyes with Ruby. "How are you so calm about this? You and Cerise were torn apart."

"Orchid has an amazing Semblance that fits her perfectly. I'll tell you about it inside."

* * *

 **For those of you who may be thinking this, no, I do not like torturing my characters. I _do_ love seeing them come back.  
**


	37. In the Black

**So, I'm pretty darn sick while doing the final edits, so we'll just get right into this. If this isn't as pollished as some of the other chapters, that would be why.  
**

* * *

Ruby took out her Scroll and hit the button to open the hangar doors. The roof of the building split apart and Cerise hovered above it before landing beside Wyvern, which was under a tarp. The Rider dismounted and grabbed the wrapped-up package from Cerise' saddle. She walked around Wyvern to where she saw Rhunön working while Cerise landed.

The elf looked up from her current work and faced Ruby. "I wasn't expecting you today. I heard that you had other plans."

"I do, but one of those things requires your approval." Ruby set the package beside the armor plate Rhunön was working on. "This is the first one I've made from scratch. I thought about using Remnant tech to forge it, but it didn't feel right."

Rhunön stared at the package. "Who is this for?"

"Arya. Out of all the new Riders, she is the furthest along by far. She's earned this."

The elf unwrapped the cloth, revealing a green sword in a matching colored sheath. The sheath itself matched the color of Fírnen's wing membrane and the emerald in the pommel matched his eye color. Rhunön drew the blade and held it straight up. The point carried the green of Fírnen's chest while the base took the near white of his feet. "Not the color pattern I would have chosen," Rhunön said.

"I can't take everything I make from you." Ruby crossed her arms. "I'm surprised you commented on the color first. I thought you liked function over form more than pretty much anyone.

"Take it as a compliment, Shadeslayer." Rhunön ran a palm over the blade. "I see no flaws on the surface. A nice length for a hand-and-a-half sword. Double bladed, which most elves prefer. There are fewer imperfections in this metal than in most of my early work. The edges are sharp, but not overly so." The elf nodded. "This will make a fine blade for a Rider." She slid the sword back into the sheath.

Ruby hoped her smile wasn't too eager. "Thank you. It means a lot." She rolled the weapon back up in the blanket and looked at the armor piece Rhunön was currently working on. Various lines weaved in and out all circling the logo of the Riders. "Nalia's shoulder armor?"

"Indeed." Rhunön returned her gaze to her work. "This and the headpiece are the only things remaining. Both will be finished in time for the ceremony."

This time, Ruby didn't hold back her smile. In less than seventy-two hours, she and Aaron would be married and off to Mistral for their honeymoon. "Thank you again for this."

"Think nothing of it. Dragons need armor, especially against the things they will be fighting here. If I can help protect them, I will do so." In Ruby's experience, that was as close to 'you're welcome' as Rhunön got.

Ruby looked around the room and her good mood faded. "Is Yaela here? There's something I need to talk to her about."

"She is working on the simulator." Rhunön gestured to another room. "But that is all I know about what she's doing."

"Thank you." Ruby left Rhunön's workbench and hooked Arya's sword back onto Cerise' saddle. She walked to the simulator room and poked her head inside. Yaela sat outside a black rectangular box with a large Scroll in her hands. "Yaela, do you have a moment?"

Yaela looked up from her Scroll. "Of course." She set the Scroll down as Ruby closed the door behind her. "What do you need?"

Ruby sighed and leaned against the wall. She also cast a few silencing spells. The odds were nobody thought to listen in on this place, but she had to be certain. "A few days ago, something terrible happened. I'm sure you've heard that Cerise and I were at a Vale research facility last week."

"Yes. Is this about what caused Cerise to attack the building?"

"Yeah." Ruby crossed her arms. "We were there testing something that would allow Vale and the other Kingdoms to detain Riders that commit crimes." She shivered. "I don't know how they did it, the science all goes over my head, but they managed not only to suppress my magic… but they temporarily cut me off from Cerise."

Yaela's arms hung slack and her jaw dropped. "What?"

"Our connection was back as soon as the collar was destroyed, but my right arm is the only reason I got that thing off." Ruby flexed her bionic arm. "I don't think people without these things could get out if they tried."

Yaela clenched her fists. "What are we going to do about it?"

This is the part Ruby was waiting for. Hopefully Yaela would catch on. "I've done what I could. I told them that if it's ever used on another dragon or Rider there would be hell to pay. You…" Ruby shook her head. "I can't ask you to hack into Vale and track the file."

The elf stiffened. "I beg your pardon?"

"Hacking into Kingdom facilities is highly illegal. Depending on which arm or building, the jail time can be pretty substantial. Not to mention the public blowback from any and all media outlets when it gets tracked to us. So no. I can't _ask_ you to do that."

Yaela stared at Ruby with an open mouth, then she straightened up and nodded. "Of course not. That would be wrong."

"If I did ask or order you or anyone else to do that," Ruby slumped, "I'd have to deny everything. I can't have the Riders take a fall for this. I'd hate to do that to a friend, but I would in order to protect the Riders."

Yaela hesitated only for a second. "Then it is a good thing you do not have to worry about that."

That got a smile out of Ruby. "If anyone asks, we just talked about your work on that." She nodded at the simulator. "Speaking of which, how is your progress?"

"The programming on both this and Wyvern should be done in less than a week. Then we should be able to move onto testing."

Ruby stopped herself from bouncing on her feet. She was almost done with building and programming Drake. Another month on, including honeymoon time, and that would be done too… then she remembered what was at the end of the next month. If everything got together on time, the timing couldn't be better. "Good to know. Thanks, Yaela."

The Rider turned around and left the simulator room. Ruby walked across the hangar and mounted her dragon. She opened the hangar doors again and Cerise jumped out. The Rider leaned forward in the saddle and hung her head. _It's official. The Riders are now doing black ops._

 _We didn't have a choice,_ Cerise growled. _They brought it on themselves._

 _I hate secrets, and this is one that I can't let other people in on. It wouldn't be any better if Raven could do it._ Ruby shook her head. _I know it's necessary, but I don't have to like it._

Cerise snorted. _You're starting to think like the Leader of the Riders should._

 _I should hope so. I've been at it for just over a year._

 _Something tells me that Umaroth would say differently._

Ruby shook her head. _Can we change topic? I don't want to be thinking all doom and gloom days before my wedding._

 _How about how much Yang is going to fall on her face during her speech?_

 _She'll do fine. She's got us backing her up and Halcyon in her head. You've heard it. It's beautiful. The question is whether or not she can act like Halcyon is actually gone._

 _There is that. She hasn't acted that way in public for a long time. It'll be interesting to see her play wounded._

 _If she does it right, she should audition for a movie._

 _Well, I've gotten a few calls and emails from movie directors. I could direct them to her._ Ruby looked past her dragon's head at the building that stood in the Dragonhouse' place. Halcyon Hall was bigger than the dining hall, which at Beacon, was saying something. What looked like the first floor stood at least three normal stories tall, with two normal floors above that. _I bet Halcyon's happy that one of the biggest buildings on campus is named after him._

 _It'll go to his head._ Cerise snorted. _Let's get down there._ She circled the building a few times before straightening out and landing beside it. Ruby dismounted and walked toward the front of the building. A decent crowd had gathered out front, and she picked out cameras from VNN and Vox news. That could make Yang a little nervous.

Ruby approached the front door of the new building, walking right by the few security people. She pushed both sets of glass doors open and found her sister staring at something on the wall. "Whatcha looking at, sis?"

Yang smiled at her sister, then back at the wall. "You know the short history of whoever the building is named after is hung somewhere in every building? That's this."

"The one you submitted a while ago?"

"The same one." Yang wiped an arm under her eyes. "This is one thing I couldn't just laugh at."

Ruby put a hand on her sister's shoulder. _Giving the cameras out there a show?_

 _Yes and no. I just wish Halcyon was here to see this._

 _If I was,_ Halcyon started, _this wouldn't be happening. The honor probably would have gone to Professor Peach._

 _True._ Ruby looked at the black and gold plaque on the wall.

It read 'Halcyon 'Aeiou' Brightscales 2188-2193. Halcyon Brightscales hatched in the Dragonhouse, the predecessor to this building, during the second semester of the 2188 school year to Rider Yang Xiao Long. He was the second dragon to hatch on Remnant, following his sister Cerise Longtail. He had his first major engagement with the Grimm only weeks later during the Breach, and weeks later he protected Beacon Academy during the Battle of Beacon. While he was young even by dragon standards, he fought admirably and killed countless Grimm in both engagements. Over the next four and a half years, he fought with the other members and dragons of Team RWBAY in dozens of combat missions across all Kingdoms. He was killed in combat in 2193 in the Alagaësian city of Urû'baen, now Ilirea. He is remembered by his friends and family as a jokester, a warrior, and a fierce ally. He would never let a friend fight a battle alone, no matter the cost or subject.'

"Sounds as right as the day you first wrote it, sis." Ruby smiled at her sister.

"Yeah." Yang dipped her head. "I just wish I didn't get the opportunity."

Ruby's shoulders slumped. Either Yang suddenly got great at acting, or she was being serious. Ruby rested a hand on her sister's nearest arm. _Yang, he's on your belt._

 _Yeah. But he should be standing here, not hanging there._ Yang shook her head. _It's not the same. He says it doesn't bother him, but I can tell._

 _Yang, it really doesn't._ Halcyon hummed. _I'm here, that's enough._

Ruby looked at the box on Yang's hip. She knew what her sister meant. _You both know I'd help if I could, right?_

 _We know,_ Yang and Halcyon said at the same time. _You'd build a time machine if you could._ Yang ruffled Ruby's hair.

"Miss Xiao Long, Miss Rose," Ozpin's voice came from behind Ruby, "the ceremony is about to begin."

Yang looked past Ruby as the younger sister stiffened. "Thanks, Oz. We'll be out soon." Yang looked down at Ruby. "Well, that's our cue… Ruby, you okay?"

"Yeah," Ruby spat out as she backed away, purposefully not looking at Ozpin. "I'm fine. _Perfectly_ fine."

Yang cocked her head. "What is it with you and Ozpin lately?"

"That obvious there's something going on?" Ruby sighed. "Not here. Not now. Maybe later today."

"If it's personal," Yang held her hands up, "I don't want to know."

"Okay then, you won't." Ruby turned around and walked for the doors. "It's not pretty." She pulled both sets of doors open, then found her name on a chair at the end of the front row. Yang's name was on the chair next to her, and surprisingly Oromis on the far side of Yang. Then again, it made sense that he would be at the dedication to a building named after a fallen dragon. As Ruby thought about that, Glaedr landed nearby, and most network cameras faced him.

Ruby took her seat and Yang followed suit soon after. There was a call to be seated, and everyone in attendance moved to their chairs. Oromis nodded at Ruby and Yang as he passed. A few minutes later, Ozpin took the stage and brought the assembly to order. Ruby tuned out most of what he said, except for the parts where he spoke about how Beacon would be accommodating dragons in the future… she wasn't sure how to feel about the dragon-sized toilets that everyone else seemed to get a kick out of. All dragons were fine taking care of their business in the forest.

Then he called Yang up to the podium. Ruby pat her sister's back as Yang stood. The elder sister walked up to the podium and began her short speech. She delivered it just as she practiced it at the house. But her face really carried her emotions, and it was one-hundred-percent real. She put so much into every word of it. Her eyes sparkled with all the love she had for Halcyon, and from the water that she refused to let go, except for one drop while she was wrapping up. As she stepped back from the podium, the crowd burst into applause, and Yang got about half of a standing ovation. Ruby met her sister halfway back to her seat in a small hug.

When the crowd calmed down again, Ozpin once again stood behind the podium. He said a few closing remarks, then stepped back. The crowd clapped again, and Ruby couldn't help but think except for listening to Yang, there were about ten other things that could have been worth her time.

"What's up next for you?" Yang asked Ruby. "Arya's entry exam?"

Ruby's daily schedule appeared in her right eye. "Yeah. In less than a half hour. I think you'd be welcome in there if you're interested."

"Can't." Yang shook her head. "Viki wants to get you and Aaron a wedding gift, and I promised to take her around the island, or the mainland."

"You still don't have your pilot's license."

"Two weeks and I will. _You_ still need to get behind the wheel for a few more hours before you can even think about taking your driving test."

"Yeah, yeah." Ruby stood up and faced her sister. "Just don't spoil what Viki gets us."

"My lips are sealed." Yang pulled a zipper over her lips.

Ruby nodded, then looked at Oromis. "The proving ground on the other side of campus. I believe Arya and Fírnen should already be over there."

Oromis nodded and stood up. "Glaedr and I escorted them to the building. They indeed are there."

"It looks like you're still one step ahead of me. Follow me. I know the best way across campus." Ruby turned around and started walking toward the test site, with Oromis following right behind her. Cerise walked around the side of the building and joined the two Riders.

Glaedr jumped away, and Ruby heard concrete cracking. She faced the source and craned her neck. It looked like the spot where Glaedr formerly stood had crumpled. Ruby bit her lip. That was the first example she could think of where a dragon's weight or takeoff caused damage to anything that Remmartians built. As dragons grew, that could be even more of a problem.

"Ruby," Oromis started, "I am afraid I must ask something of you."

"It's no problem." Ruby faced her old master. "What do you need?"

"Glaedr has taken note of how many people have… I believe you call them bionic limbs."

"Oh." Ruby slumped her shoulders. "May I assume that he would like one?"

"That is correct, though he is too proud to ask you for it himself."

Ruby sighed. "I've looked into something like that while working on another of my projects. Right now, the technology isn't there. The materials aren't there. People eventually stop growing. I was almost a foot shorter when I first got my bionics. My other models were much smaller, but the ones I use now should last years. Dragons never stop growing. Without getting too technical, the ring that connects the new limb to the body can't expand without breaking. With how strong it would need to be to carry a dragon's weight, it could cause further damage to the existing limb as it grows. Also, I'm not a doctor. I can't perform surgeries like that. Even if I could, I was told when I had to get new connections that there would be permanent nerve damage if I went through many more, as in it would be useless to have bionics in the first place." Ruby shook her head. "I wish I could, I really do, but it's just not possible right now. I would gladly build new legs whenever they were needed, but with all the complications, I won't put anyone at that kind of risk."

Oromis nodded. "Glaedr will be disappointed, but he will see the logic."

"As long as he doesn't get depressed." The 'Gym' came into view from the other side of the armory. Fírnen laid outside with his head facing the building. "Here we are. May I assume that Arya is inside getting a few more minutes of training in?"

"That would be her style." Oromis nodded.

Ruby looked over her shoulder at her dragon. "Cerise?" Cerise sped up to walk by her Rider's side. Ruby grabbed the bundle hooked to the saddle and held it in her right hand. "Don't know if she'll use this right now, but she's earned it." Oromis raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

The Riders entered the building. Ruby led the way to the training course deep inside. A few halls later, they entered the observation area just outside the course. Arya was performing Rimgar, and it looked like she was almost done with the third level. Ruby and Oromis stood at the edge of the room as they waited for the young Rider to finish.

A few minutes later, Arya stood up straight and took a deep breath. She turned around and faced the other Riders. _"Masters."_ Arya bowed at the two of them.

" _Today is the day, Arya."_ Ruby approached the young elf. _"You passed the written test in the top one percent, but this is another story. Are you sure you are ready for this?"_

Arya shifted on her feet. _"I am certain I can top whatever challenge this is, but I am unnerved that no one has told me what to expect."_

Ruby nodded. _"I admit that rule is more geared to those who have active Aura. I am not certain how possible it is to complete the agility course for those without it. Still, an elf's natural speed and strength are greater than any human or Faunus. I do not believe you will struggle too much."_

" _Thank you, Master Ruby."_ Arya gave Ruby another bow, then looked at the package in Ruby's hand. _"If I may ask, what is that?"_

Ruby smiled and moved the package so she held it in both hands. _"Should you choose to accept it, this is yours."_ She reached into the blanket and gripped the sword's sheath. She pulled the weapon and sheath out and the blanket fell to the floor. The head Rider held the new sword across her palms. " _You have shown extreme aptitude in your training. Over the past week, I have seen you wield your blade with skill that rivals longtime Huntsmen. Take this sword and advance to the next step."_

Arya stared at the sword with her lips parted. She took the sheath in her own palms. The elf gripped the sheath in her left hand and used her right to draw the sword. She looked up and down the blade, her eyes scanning every inch. _"It's an impeccable blade, Master."_

" _All it needs is a name. I can inscribe it on the scabbard, and the weapon itself if you so wish._

Arya turned the blade over in her hands. She stepped back, turned away, and gave the weapon an experimental slash. The elf nodded and faced Ruby again. _"I thank you for this weapon."_ Arya raised the blade in front of herself. _"And this sword, I will call Fatetwist."_

Ruby nodded. A good name… but from everything she heard and read, elves, or rather Alagaësians in general, didn't name their weapons something just to sound cool. Wyrdavinda… what did Arya go through or think like before to make that relevant? _"A fine name for a blade. I will take care of the inscription when we are done here."_ Ruby paused. _"You do not need to take Fatetwist into the training course. If you are more comfortable using the blade that you have been training with, by all means, use that."_

" _That will not be necessary."_ Arya gave her new sword a few more practice swings. _"This feels right."_

Ruby suppressed a squeal of happiness. That was the first time she forged a weapon for someone without having a model or existing weapon to go off. The way Arya said that meant that the sword was… about as close to perfect as possible. _"I'm glad to hear it."_ Ruby looked at a clock on the wall. _"It's almost time for your try out. I believe we are just waiting for Glynda."_

A few minutes later, Glynda walked in while working on a large Scroll. She looked up from her work and focused on the young elf. "Arya, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Professor Glynda Goodwitch, Deputy Headmistress of Beacon Academy." She stuck a hand out toward the elf.

If Arya was irked by not being greeted the elves traditional way, she didn't show it. Instead, she took the hand and shook it. "We are well met, Professor. I am honored to have the chance to attend this Academy."

Glynda glanced at Ruby, then retracted her hand. She hit a few things on her Scroll. "I see no reason to delay this. Please step through the doors on the right side of the glass. I will be providing you instructions as you go along. If you have a ranged weapon, I suggest you take that as well." Arya nodded and walked to a bow and lull quiver laying against the wall. She picked both up and approached the proving ground. The doors opened before her and she stepped inside.

"Ruby," Glynda faced said Rider, "I hope you didn't tell her to say that."

"I didn't." Ruby shook her head. "That was all Arya."

"Beacon Academy's only reputation in Alagaësia comes from the tales that the Riders and those that accompanied them have told us," Oromis said. "None of us have any reason to doubt their claims."

"Understandable." Glynda hit a few more things on her Scroll and faced the glass. "If you two are here to observe, now would be the time."

Both Riders approached the glass. The room on the other side was about a quarter of the size of a football field and appeared to be just white walls, floor, and ceiling. Arya stood a few feet away from the door and stared at those on the other side of the glass. "May I assume she will face other students or instructors?" Oromis asked.

"One instructor, at the end." Glynda hit a few more things on her Scroll, then held one button down. "Arya, stay where you are. The room will adjust." When she finished, some parts of the floor raised, others dipped and filled with water. The raised sections formed a blocky mountain in the corner farthest from Arya. Several blue holograms of Beowolves appeared throughout, some of them near the top of the 'mountain' moved.

Oromis raised an eyebrow. "Impressive. This land continues to surprise me."

 _Do any elves but Yaela react to anything?_ "You should see Amity Colosseum. The things that go on underneath the arena floor are incredible."

"Your goal is to reach the top of the mountain," Glynda told Arya. "Kill any Grimm in your path by any means necessary. You may begin."

Arya slung her bow over her back and ran forward, Wyrdavinda trailing behind her. She jumped toward one of the holographs and cut its head off. The hologram didn't have time to disappear before Arya jumped onto the next one in line. She made it to the base of the 'mountain' and jumped up to grab the twenty-foot-high ledge, a jump that most first years could get from a running start. A Beowolf met her up there, but the Rider kicked the hologram's stomach, knocking it off the cliff. The move set her off balance. That was the problem with using holograms, no resistance.

Two more ledges later, Arya reached the summit. Ruby crossed her arms. Arya moved fast, but maybe too fast. She wasn't watching her back at all. "Glynda? Can we have something come up behind her in the next run?"

"I saw the same thing." Glynda held a button down on her Scroll. "Arya, the chamber is going to rearrange. Please stay where you are." The mountain holding Arya up descended into the floor. Elsewhere in the chamber, the terrain flattened out, then parts rose to create a small village. More holograms appeared, this time with a few Creeps and an Alpha in the mix. "Clear the area of Grimm."

Arya ran into the village and set her sights on the Alpha. Considering the Grimm was moving, it had to have an active rudimentary AI. This wouldn't be one that Arya could just kill with a twist of her wrist. The elf slashed at the Grimm's right arm, but the hologram evaded. It swiped at Arya, but the elf blocked the strike. She rotated her blade and cut the offending arm right off.

Through all this, she didn't notice the Creep come up behind her. It jumped on her back, phased right through her and turned red. A buzzer sounded in the chamber. Arya stabbed at the Grimm, but nothing happened. All other Grimm disappeared and the house blocks descended into the floor. Arya looked up at the observation room and held her arms out to her side.

"You failed that round, Arya. Onto the next one." Glynda hit a few more buttons on her Scroll and the room morphed again.

Ruby faced Oromis. "She doesn't watch her back as much as she should. You've seen her train more than I have these past few months. What's she thinking?"

"Arya is not used to fighting more than one opponent." Oromis crossed his arms. "Eliminating the largest threat is a good tactic, but she focuses too much on that. Even though she has come out on top in most of her sparring matches, there have been some where she was almost overwhelmed by multiple opponents. I am surprised she did not eliminate that creature though."

"Creeps are called Creeps for a reason." Ruby faced the proving chamber again. "They can be quiet when they really want to be." The proving chamber had arranged itself into a shallow valley. More Grimm appeared on both sides. "Glynda, how many more agility and situation awareness tests are there?"

"This is the last one. I am hoping to see Arya's archery skills here." Glynda held down the same button as before. "Arya, kill all Grimm in this canyon."

Like before, Arya sprinted out to take down the Grimm on her side. She cut off legs two, the head off three, and impaled many more. After all holograms on her side were defeated, she sheathed her sword and drew her bow. She knocked an arrow and loosed it on one of the Grimm on the other side. The arrow flew true and flew through the head of one of the Beowolves. As Arya drew another arrow, she looked around herself. It looked like she learned from the last run. She began to nock, aim, and loose arrows in quick succession at the Grimm across the canyon. All arrows flew through a hologram's head, and they disappeared soon after.

When all creatures had disappeared, Arya lowered her bow, and the floor of the canyon rose back to its original level. "Now for your final test," Glynda announced.

A door opened on the wall opposite the observation room. Another familiar face stepped out. "Pyrrha's her opponent?" Ruby asked. "Arya's not supposed to win this, is she?"

"She is not. This is merely a test of her skills. Pyrrha has already approved of several students from outside the Kingdoms."

Ruby nodded. "How do you think I would have done if I had to prove myself like this?"

Glynda glanced at Ruby, then faced Arya again. "I have no doubt that you would have passed, but we have these procedures for a reason."

"I had to ask." Ruby shrugged.

Oromis raised an eyebrow. "You did not go through these trials?"

"Nope. It was a little late for that my first year, and, uh." Ruby created a gentle, cold breeze and kept her eyes from growing. "Ozpin needed me at fighting strength, not that he'll ever admit that reason." Ruby paused. "Glynda, how'd Blake do? I don't think I ever asked her."

Glynda paused. "Miss Belladonna scored the highest among students who were tested in this way your first year. Her only visible weakness was her strength."

"I can see that." Ruby looked back down at the training room. It looked like Arya was blocking Miló's blade. She handed the weapon back to its proper owner and went through the same process with her own weapon. Pyrrha backed away and watched the elf. She also had a few more bands of metal on her arms and legs at various points. With her Semblance, that couldn't be a coincidence.

About a minute later, Arya stood straight and nodded at Pyrrha. Both warriors dropped into fighting positions. They started circling each other, neither fighter moving toward the other. Then Arya charged Pyrrha and swung at her right arm. Pyrrha whipped her left arm over and caught the strike on Akoúo̱. That was fast, even for her. Ruby smirked. _'bout time she took my advice._

Pyrrha pushed Arya away and kept Miló at the ready. Arya twirled around and swung her sword at Pyrrha's midsection. The Huntress jumped and backflipped out of the way. She landed and told Arya something but whatever it was didn't transfer to the observation room. The elf nodded, then charged Pyrrha again. This time, their blades met. Despite the fact that Arya was using both arms and Pyrrha just her right, their strength was evenly matched. The Huntress thrust her shield forward and hit Arya in the stomach. The elf stumbled back, and Pyrrha told the elf something else before making her first charge of the fight.

The instructor's strikes were quick and strong. Arya was forced backward for the first several before standing firm under the onslaught. Still, while Pyrrha was on the offensive, Arya couldn't get an attack in of her own. Then Pyrrha looked like she lost her balance, but Ruby saw that trick while she trained with Jaune years ago. Arya used the small gap to go on the offensive, just like Pyrrha wanted. The elf even managed to knock Akoúo̱ out of Pyrrha's hand. Considering the Huntress didn't immediately call the shield back, that was intentional too.

The two warriors traded blows like that for several minutes, neither gaining any ground. As time went on, Ruby felt her smile unintentionally grow. Pyrrha was holding herself back, but even so, she and Arya were putting on a show. It wasn't quite as graceful as when two elves sparred, but both combatants moved with each other. On the surface, they were evenly matched. Arya was a great one-on-one fighter. But at the same time, she was thinking with only her sword. That wouldn't work on Remnant.

As if Pyrrha read Ruby's mind, she lashed a leg out and kicked Arya in the stomach. The elf flew across the training room and crashed into a wall. Ruby winced. That might have been a little too hard for someone without Aura, even if that someone was an elf. Arya dropped to the floor, her sword rolling out of her hand. Pyrrha retrieved her shield then walked to her fallen opponent's side.

Ruby nodded as Pyrrha helped Arya up. "It's my first time seeing one of these, but I think she passed."

Glynda nodded. "Indeed, she did."

"That was an excellent display of swordsmanship from both parties," Oromis said. "Both should be proud of what they accomplished.

"I've noticed a few similarities between how Arya fights and how Aaron fought when he first arrived here." Glynda hit a few things on her Scroll." The single opponent focus and relative immobility is a major drawback, but not impossible to work around."

"Then there's us adding magic onto that." Ruby crossed her arms and smiled. "Looks like Arya's going to be our first elf Huntress." Another thought crossed Ruby's mind, but she cast it out. It was way too early to tell that. "I guess we should get working on bringing out her best."

* * *

Salem lowered the Scroll and faced the resident mechanist. "Are you sure that this device works?"

"I am." Watts nodded. "I believe the attached video will clear your worries."

Salem returned her attention to the Scroll and opened the video. She watched with a growing smirk as Ruby Rose tossed the collar away, then eviscerated it with bullets and fire. The poor Rider then threatened the scientists that developed the collar. If the collar didn't do as it intended, it certainly scared Ruby. That was an advantage that couldn't be passed up. "Can you recreate this device?"

"Of course." Watts nodded. "There is the possibility that I can add something else onto it that will make the Winter Maiden freeze. I will just need a raid on an SDC convoy to gather the supplies necessary… and a King Taijitu to milk"

"You will have it. If this works, Doctor, you will be handsomely rewarded."

"I thank you, ma'am." Watts bowed to the Shade. "Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to start with the construction of the device with the supplies I have."

"You may go." Salem waved the back of her hand at Watts. She watched as the doctor left the room, then stretched her mind out to the only Faunus in her castle. _Ilia, how is your progress?_

 _I've figured out how to thaw the elf, ma'am,_ Ilia said. _I was on my way to the throne room to inform you in person._

Salem raised an eyebrow. _I will meet you in Pruma's chamber._ She pulled out of her minion's head and stood up to leave her throne room. It had been a long time since she had two breakthroughs in her favor in the same day. With one of the Forsworn on her side, the Riders would have to change their tactics considerably. If not, she could make Pruma do what Thuviel did on Vroengard, preferably in Vale.

A few minutes later, Salem reached the chamber where Pruma's cryopod was kept. The pod was cracked open with the elf exposed to the world. Ilia stood on the other side of the pod. She snapped to attention when the Shade entered the room. "I am ready to revive Pruma," Ilia announced.

"Proceed." Salem nodded.

Ilia faced Pruma and held her hands out. Her eyes and hands glowed red, and the elf did so as well. Through the extra color, Salem saw Pruma's face blush to an elf's normal complexion. The elf's body sagged to lay flat in the pod and her hair fell away from her face. Her head fell to the side and she groaned.

The Spring Maiden lowered her hands and the extra color faded. Ilia panted but stayed upright. "It's done."

Pruma's head straightened and she opened her eyes. She blinked a few times and looked around her pod. _"Strange."_ She sat up and rubbed the back of her head. Her shoulders slumped and her lower lip stuck out. _"My dragon is dead."_ The Forsworn looked around the room with her head sticking when she faced Ilia. "I don't suppose you have seen the corpse of a cyan dragon, have you? We promised each other that whoever lived the longest could eat the other."

Ilia's eyes bulged from her head and she took a few steps back. "Excuse me?"

" _I am afraid the corpse is not here,"_ Salem swore. Pruma faced the new voice. _"You are no longer in Alagaësia. You are on a planet called Remnant, with no physical way back to Dras-Leona. Even if you were in Alagaësia, your dragon has been dead nearly a year. If the meat still exists, it would be rotten beyond being edible."_

Pruma's head dipped. _"I've always wondered what dragon tasted like."_ The elf raised her head again and looked Salem up and down. _"You are a Shade."_

" _I am, and I am called Salem. Perhaps you have heard of me?"_

" _The strongest Shade of all time."_ Pruma stood from her pod. _"What the King would have given to meet you."_

" _Your King is dead. Your compatriots are dead. Your dragon is dead. I can offer you revenge on those who killed them."_

Pruma perked up like a child hearing the words 'ice cream.' _"Revenge? It has been too long since I have seized any revenge."_

" _I want the Riders that killed your King dead. They stand in my way of conquering this world. To do so, I will need your assistance in a few special matters."_

" _I can do that."_ Pruma smirked. _"The fact they don't want to kill me gives me an advantage over them."_

Salem raised an eyebrow. _"Is that so?"_

" _It is."_ Pruma stepped out of her pod and toward Salem. _"When I die, I take half the worker population of Dras-Leona with me. They will refuse to take my life."_

" _Oh."_ Salem raised her head. This would change her plans. They could move at any time, but it would be smarter to wait for Watts' collar. _"You have just become an invaluable asset to me. If you do exactly as I tell you, you will prosper here."_

" _Thank you… my Queen."_ Pruma bowed and held her arms out to her side. _"I will help you kill the Riders."_

" _Your allegiance is appreciated."_ Salem took her eyes off Pruma and faced Ilia. The poor Faunus looked terribly confused. "You have done well, Ilia. I will notify you when you are needed next." Salem turned around and left the room with her new servant by her side. _"Pruma, I believe I have heard that you partake in human flesh?"_

" _I do."_ Pruma nodded. _"It is almost as good as elf."_

" _I can make sure you are properly fed. My Grimm will have a feast for you nearly every day."_

" _Grimm?"_ Pruma cocked her head.

" _I believe Silia called them her pets."_

" _Ooh."_ Pruma gained a spring in her step. _"Thank you, my Queen. If I may, I prefer them alive."_

" _That can be arranged."_ Salem faced forward again. _"I have also procured several swords after the fall of Vroengard that you and your compatriots missed. If you would like one of them, you are free to take it."_

" _Thank you, my queen. I will be sure to put it to good use. It's fun to watch my food squirm as they die."_ It appeared Pruma was more insane than Tyrian. But that was of no consequence. She could follow orders and she pledged herself to the Shade in a way no other had for centuries. Having an insane Rider on her side was better than none.

* * *

 **Just to date this, I finished the first draft of this chapter right before seeing Infinity War for the first time. It still hurts!**


	38. This Will Be the Day

**So, that Adam short… can someone just run him over with a truck already? Nah… that would be too easy. Also, apparently Ruby from the main series made it into Chibi… I was waiting for the series to come back to youtube, but I guess that's not going to happen. Now I got to test out the new site for real.**

 **Real life thing, this is the first year in so many years where I don't have school! WOO! Bad news… no marching band… and I have to find an actual job… that's not going to be fun on multiple levels.**

 **Oh, and I FINALLY created a spreadsheet with all the characters' ages and relationships. It gets complicated really quick, especially with all the time skips coming up...**

* * *

"Yang, I don't feel so good." Ruby laid across the couch. She rested the back of her left hand across her head and her right palm on her stomach.

"You're fine." Yang laughed and gently punched Ruby's shoulder. "It's just nerves."

"No, Yang. I think I'm going to be sick."

 _No, you don't._ Cerise hummed and one of her eyes appeared in the room's window. _This is a big day for you. I believe it's natural to be nervous and excited at the same time for this._

"Maybe." Ruby clenched her eyes. "Ohhhh, I hope everything's ready."

"It's as good as it's going to get." Yang sat on the couch next to Ruby. "This day is about you and Aaron. That's what all of us are here for. Trust CFVY to get things done. You saw the plaza while coming in here. Everything looks great."

"But what if something happens that we're not expecting? Like… I could trip on the trail, or the Grimm attack, or the White Fang. Or… Or…"

Yang covered Ruby's mouth with one of her hands. One of the biggest and brightest smiles Ruby had ever seen graced her sister's face. "Come on, now you're reaching." She moved her hand from Ruby's mouth to a shoulder. _"Nothing terrible is going to happen. You and Aaron are going to fly off for your honeymoon tonight for one of the best weeks of your lives. You two are going to be among the happiest you've ever been, only behind some time with your dragons. Maybe not even that."_

Ruby sighed. "I know. I just… It's not just Remmartians out there. Brom, Queen Islanzadí, the diplomats the Alagaësians sent here, Oromis and Glaedr…" She shook her head. "Cerise, are Weiss and Saphira here yet?"

 _Weiss is on her way in._ Cerise turned her head away. _Velvet is taking pictures of the guys and Nalia now. I suppose I should go find Pyrrha and get into my armor._

"You do that. See you when it's time."

 _I'll be in your head if you need anything._ Cerise disappeared from the window and the floor shook as she walked away.

About a minute later, the door to the room opened and Weiss stepped in carrying a garment bag, presumably with her own dress. She hung the bag on the wall and faced Ruby. Her legs shook, her top teeth bit her bottom lip, and her throat let out a high-pitched squeak. "Get off that couch and give me a hug!" She spread her arms out in invitation.

That got Ruby to smile. Excited Weiss was fun to be around. The soon to be married woman stood up and hugged her adopted sister. "So glad you're here, Weiss."

"There's no way I could miss this!" Weiss pulled away, but her hands found their way to Ruby's. "Business, shmisness. I'd take this before that any day."

Ruby giggled. "Thanks, sis."

Weiss let go of Ruby's hands and stepped back. She looked between Ruby and Yang. "Coco asked me to make you two look your best while she's working with Viki. I will do my part if it's the last thing I do."

"You won't need to do much with me, then." Yang smirked. "Ruby, on the other hand…"

Ruby elbowed Yang's gut. "You finish that thought, there's a lot more where that came from."

"You don't want me to say you need even _less_ work?"

Ruby ran a hand behind her hair and flipped it. "That's what I thought."

"Okay, children," Weiss shook her head, "I'll take the bride first." She gestured at the makeup chair.

Ruby shivered in delight. She was still getting used to hearing herself called that. It felt so weird, yet so right. She skipped to the chair and sat down. "Need anything from me, Weiss?"

"Just sit back, relax, and don't touch your face." Weiss opened the makeup pack on the table beside her. "Also, when I'm working around the lower part of your face, try not to talk. I know that's hard for you."

Ruby smirked up at Weiss. "You and Yang are digging yourselves some pretty deep holes."

"I'm the one with the lipstick." Weiss twiddled a little red stick in her hands. "Do you want me to draw something on your face today?"

"No." Ruby bit down on her lips and sunk into her chair.

"Hm. That's what I thought." Weiss put that stick away and took out something else.

"Saphira find Fírnen yet?" Ruby asked.

Weiss froze for a second, then continued arranging several cosmetics on the table. "Yes. Right now, they're testing each other's strength… I think Saphira's enjoying it a little too much."

Ruby winced. "Yeah… You might want to find a transport to Armen tonight, or hope they fly far enough away."

"I love Saphira, but that is one part of her life that I want nothing to do with." Weiss shook her head and picked up what looked like foundation. "No more talking. I need to work." Ruby shut her mouth and let her partner do her work.

A short time into the makeover, Weiss turned Ruby's chair around and away from the mirror. Ruby was a little annoyed, but she went with it. Yang just sat on the couch with her hands behind her head. She made a few jabs at Ruby, which Weiss bounced a few things off as well. But after a while, those jabs became less common and were replaced with a few genuine heartfelt compliments.

A while later, Weiss stepped between the sisters and nodded. "Makeup done. Let's get you in your dress." Ruby started to turn back to the mirror, but her partner pulled her out of the chair. "You don't get to see how you look until we're all done."

Ruby didn't resist, but she cocked her head. "Weiss, it's Aaron that doesn't get to see me before I walk down the aisle, not me."

"Don't worry, you will. I'm just saving the reveal for the final product. I thought you'd appreciate that."

"You have a point." Ruby walked behind the divider while Weiss closed the blinds and curtains for the room.

"You need help getting that on, sis?" Yang called.

"I shouldn't, but I'm sure Weiss is going to want to make a few adjustments before I step out there." Ruby zipped open her garment bag and her heart fluttered. Coco did an _amazing_ job on it. The bride stripped out of her combat attire and donned the dress, as best as she could anyway. Weiss helped with a few things, the trail in particular.

When Weiss was satisfied, she stepped back and held her hands palms together in front of her mouth. A large smile grew behind her hands. She nodded and locked eyes with her sister. "Ruby, you're beautiful. Aaron won't be able to get this image of you out of his head for a long time."

Ruby looked down at herself and nodded. "Yeah. I don't think so."

"That's not the only outfit you'll wear today that he'll remember you in!" Yang called, adding in a booming laugh.

"Aaaaaand it's started." Ruby slumped and she felt her cheeks burn… the thing was, Yang wasn't wrong. The bride sighed and straightened up. She walked around the divider and faced her sister. Yang was doing something on her Scroll. "Well sis, how do I look?"

Yang looked up from her Scroll and her jaw dropped, along with her Scroll. She covered her mouth with a hand and stood up. "It's happening. My baby sister's all grown up." She pulled her hand away revealing a huge smile. She wiped a tear from her eye. "My baby sister's getting married…" She scoffed. "You're getting married before I have a serious boyfriend."

"That's not exactly a bad thing." Ruby hugged her sister who eagerly returned it. "Thanks for being here the whole way. No matter what happens or where Aaron and I go or do, you'll always be my awesome big sister."

"You're welcome, amazing little sister."

With one last squeeze, Ruby pulled away. "Have you ever been on a date since he-who-shall-not-be-named at Signal?" Ruby put her hands on her hips.

Yang shook her head. "Nope. There weren't any real guys I knew at Beacon that weren't already taken first semester. After that, Halcyon was enough." She pat the box on her hip. "Still is."

 _But you said that like you were a little jealous,_ Halcyon teased.

"Hey, with how Aaron looks at Ruby, It would be nice to have someone look at me like that."

Ruby put a hand on Yang's shoulder. "You'll find someone, sis."

"Maybe. I think I'm starting to get how Pyrrha felt when she first came to Beacon."

 _If you ever need a wingman,_ Halcyon hummed _, I'm right here._

Ruby squeezed Yang's shoulder and smirked. "Brom's single."

Yang blinked, then stuck her tongue out. "Ew. No thanks."

"You _are_ going to be spending a lot of time together today." Ruby released her sister and held her hands away from her body. "You're Maid of Honor, he's Best Man…" The bride shrugged. "It's tradition for people in those positions to dance with each other."

"Oh gosh." Yang hung her head and held it with both hands. "Why didn't we have a rehearsal?"

Ruby slumped again. "Because Aaron told the Queen we were getting married today and we didn't have time for a rehearsal… anyway, that's only for the wedding itself, not the reception." She shook her head and faced the mirror. She still hadn't seen what she looked like.

The bride stepped in front of the glass and gasped. She brought a hand up to the side of her face but refrained from making contact to not mess up anything. Ruby kept herself from smiling too hard for the same reason. "Weiss, you and Coco are miracle workers."

"We try." Weiss nodded at Yang. "Your turn. You shouldn't take as long."

"Huh. Looks like I was right at the beginning." Yang sat in the chair in front of the mirror. "It's Ruby's day, don't let me take any attention off her." She paused. "Why's Coco working with Viki and you're working with us?"

"Viki asked for Coco. They have experience together. I wasn't going to intrude on that. Plus, Coco made it sound like she wanted to take her time with Viki."

"This is only the second time she's been to a wedding…" Ruby refrained from saying 'as a free person.' No one needed to be depressed on her wedding day. "I'm just glad she's taking the pampering in stride, not pushing it away or expecting it at every turn."

"There is that." Yang looked over her shoulder at Ruby while Weiss was still getting set up. "What're you thinking about for pre-wedding pictures?"

"Of course some of the traditional serious ones, some fun ones, a few of just me and you, me and Viki… all of us Huntresses with our weapons."

Weiss snapped her head toward the bride, her jaw agape. She sighed and returned to her work. "Of course, you'd want that."

* * *

"Thank you for your patience, guys," Velvet said as she put her camera back in its box. "I've got to go find the girls now. See you all at the ceremony." She turned around and walked toward the other side of Beacon.

Aaron sighed. "That went better than I expected." He looked at his Best Man and Groomsman. Jaune wore a tuxedo similar to the one he originally wore at the dance all those years ago, while Aaron and Brom changed into Alagaësian formal wear consisting of gold embroidered tunics and jerkins. Aaron's took some Remmartian influence with green strips encasing the gold. Whether the connection was intentional or not, Brom's was mainly the color of his Saphira's wingtips.

"I am still unsure why she had us in all those positions," Brom crossed his arms. "There certainly are odd traditions here."

"She was taking pictures," Jaune explained. "They're on that tan box with the circle of glass. She can get them developed and they can be on paper by the end of the day."

"It's sort of like a Fairth. Watch." Aaron reached up Nalia's side and pulled his Scroll out of a saddlebag. He took a quick picture of his dragon in her custom-made armor and turned away. He pulled that picture up and showed Brom. "This is what she sees, only her pictures are a lot better than mine."

Nalia snorted. _I should hope so._ She shook her body like a dog but her armor never made a sound. _You just pointed and clicked. She actually took time to make us all look good._

Brom stared at the picture a little more then turned toward the city. "I should not be surprised. If anyone can build a city like that, they are capable of almost anything."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Aaron crossed his arms and stared out over the city. "There are quite a few things we can do that people here can't believe."

"Like jumping between dimensions like its nothing," Jaune chipped in.

 _Then there's my armor._ Nalia looked herself over. The armor was perfectly molded around her body. The designs on each of the plates resembled intertwined branches and scales. _Rhunön's work never ceases to amaze._

"Indeed." Brom nodded. "This is after a century of never forging dragon armor."

"We have a saying here," Jaune started, "just like riding a bike."

Aaron faced his old friend. "That translates to something that someone can pick something up again after years and be just as good at it when they originally stopped."

Brom nodded. "Either way, that's a fine set of armor."

 _It feels lighter than my Remmartian set._ Nalia stood up and spread her wings. The armor covering her wing bones slid past each other without making a sound. She snorted. _I believe this armor could take more damage too, and that's without the shield tech._

"That's not in there too, is it?" Jaune asked with his shoulders sagging.

 _Of course._ Nalia blinked, and a blue shine glowed to life over her wings. _Rhunön included all features of Atlas' armor, with Ruby's and Yaela's help._

Jaune sighed. "Why am I surprised around any of you anymore? You make the impossible possible all the time."

"That's not even magic. That's connections." Aaron shrugged.

"This is a strange shield." Brom walked forward and reached up for the shielded wing. Nalia lowered it so the man could actually touch it. The former Rider ran his hand over the surface of the shield. "Fascinating. It's like glass, but with… I do not know how to explain it."

"It has a bit of an electrical tingle when touching it like that." Aaron approached his friend's side. "But when something comes at it with any speed, it will be deflected out of the way."

Jaune picked a rock off the ground. "Nalia, you mind if I demonstrate?"

 _By all means._ Nalia lifted the wing the two Riders stood by.

Jaune reeled his right arm back, then launched the rock forward. It hit the shield, and with an audible zap, it bounced off faster than it hit. Jaune ducked and the rock flew over his head. "And sometimes it does something like that."

 _Wasn't me._ Nalia snorted. _I don't control how these things deflect._

"If you could," Aaron placed a hand on his dragon's snout, "you'd truly be the most dangerous creature on Remnant, not that you aren't already." Nalia hummed and puffed her chest out.

Brom looked past Nalia at the growing crowd on the westernmost courtyard of Beacon's campus. "I must say, some of the men here have better formal wear than many nobles in Alagaësia. Certainly better than what we have."

"We figured that would happen." Aaron gazed over the crowd as well. There were certainly more people from Remnant there, but those from Alagaësia were about as high ranked as they could get. Everyone that originally came to Remnant was in the crowd, with the addition of Queen Islanzadí and a small entourage. Among the Remmartians, only Glynda came close to that tier since Blake's parents couldn't make it and Ruby didn't want Ozpin anywhere near the wedding. "But at the same time, we figured we'd make this symbolic. The first couple from both sides. So here we are."

"May I assume that was your idea?" Brom asked as the three humans and the dragon walked over.

"Actually no. It was hers. She's starting to grow into the symbolism of things. As much as she doesn't like it, her short time in Remmartian politics is helping her."

"Don't tell her that," Jaune said. "I think we all like you in one piece."

"I should know. I'm marrying her in an hour." Aaron nearly tripped over his own feet. "I'm… marrying her in an hour."

"It just hit you?"

"Yeah." Aaron faced Jaune. "You've been in my place before. Is the realization a recurring thing?"

Jaune nodded. "It kept hitting me until that night."

"Good to know."

After a few moments of silence, Brom asked, "What do we do while waiting for the ceremony to start?"

"Since I am allowed to socialize with wedding guests," Aaron started, "I would assume the two of you are too."

"It's also our job to make sure that Aaron doesn't see Ruby until she walks down the aisle," Jaune added. "Pyrrha and some of my sisters were a bit overzealous when it came to that."

"I don't think I've heard this." Aaron crossed his arms. "What happened?"

"My oldest sister tackled me to the ground and held me there for a while until Pyrrha passed. Of course, Pyrrha apologized the whole way, but Carmine kept me pinned with her hands over my eyes."

"Carmine's the only one of them that's a Huntress, right?"

"Yeah. She's good. But I haven't heard from her in a while."

"I can probably expect that from Yang too… and Weiss." Aaron sighed and shook his head. "Brom, do you know when you're going to rejoin the Riders?"

Brom hesitated. "The Kingdom is stable. I would imagine I will be able to join you and the others in the next few months. It will be strange to be training new Riders."

"Yeah. Who would have thought the two of us would end up being teachers?"

Brom put on a small smile. "She would laugh at the thought."

"What, were the two of you troublemakers?" Jaune asked in a joking voice.

 _All four of us were,_ Nalia said. _By Yang's standards, we were pretty tame. Compared to the other Riders, not so much._

Jaune blinked. "I guess I just can't see either of you being that loose."

"Those were different times." Aaron sighed. "Well, let's get out there." When they reached the crowd, everyone relaxed. Aaron spoke primarily with Tai and Qrow. Of course, they both threatened to do terrible things to him if he ever hurt Ruby, but it was nothing he hadn't heard before from them or Yang. But there was something different about Qrow. He stood up straight, his words weren't nearly as crude or slurred… there wasn't the smell of alcohol either. "Qrow, are you _sober?"_

"I know," Qrow said in an unusual for him chipper voice. "It's weird. But this is one thing that I definitely I want to remember clearly, no interference."

Aaron shook his head. "I didn't think I'd ever think that someone not drinking would be sweet. I'm pretty sure Ruby's going to convince you to stay like this." He paused. _Or Summer,_ he added mentally to the other two.

Qrow winced. "I'm not sure which of those is scarier."

"Considering Ruby has both their personalities," Tai glared at Qrow, "I'd say your niece."

"He has a point." Aaron looked past the two older men. Queen Islanzadí was walking over to him. "Excuse me. I need to speak with the Queen." He walked past his soon to be future relatives and to the Queen of the elves.

Aaron was prepared to speak about Remmartian politics or other such things with the Queen, but Islanzadí mentioned no such thing. She only gave her congratulations and asked about any plans the Riders had for the future. First off, Aaron had to explain the concept of a honeymoon. Then he said the basics of what he had planned, some of which Ruby didn't even know.

After a few minutes of that, Aaron introduced Islanzadí to Tai and Qrow. Of course, Tai was ever the gentleman to the Queen while Qrow was tripping over his own words. It looked like what he wanted to say was grossly different from what he did. It appeared that at least some of Qrow's crass language came from him being sober. At least he knew when to keep his mouth shut.

After a little more time into the conversation, the crowd started migrating in the seats. Qrow and Islanzadí followed the crowd while Tai walked off elsewhere. Aaron also picked out Weiss and Blake walking in with their own significant others. It looked like the rest of JNPR was already seated, sitting on the edge with Nora in her wheelchair. Velvet stood just inside the arch with camera in hand. A large assortment of dragons laid in the back too. That left the wedding party minus Ruby waiting outside the flowered arch.

Aaron faced his sister. Viki wore the same earth tone dress the elves gave her in Ellesméra. The makeup Coco helped with brought out her shining green eyes even more. "Viki, you look beautiful."

"Thank you, brother." Viki's cheeks gained another shade of red. "But you should see Ruby. She's heavenly."

"Not for a few more minutes." Yang put a hand on Viki's shoulder. "Don't get ahead of yourself." She craned her neck. "And here comes Coco with the last things."

Aaron turned his head around. Coco was walking over with several bouquets in hand and two little rabbit Faunus kids behind her, two of Velvet's cousins, one boy, one girl. As Coco got close, she half snarled at Aaron. "What are you still doing here?" She growled. "You're supposed to come in from the side with Goodwitch."

"Oh! Right! Sorry." Aaron turned jogged around the crowd. He completely forgot about this part. How many other things did he screw up by making this so early? He managed to get around the chairs and find Glynda without drawing too much attention to himself. Surprisingly, Glynda wore what she did at all other points. "Sorry I'm late," Aaron said, hoping he didn't sound too winded.

"Late to your own wedding?" There was a little humor in Glynda's voice, another rarity. "I would expect something of the sort from Yang, but not you."

"I would have been here sooner… but I forgot about this part." Aaron shook his head. "We really should have had a rehearsal like Yang said."

"Then next time don't return from another dimension with already having announced a date and not consulting your future wife."

Aaron shivered. "There won't be a next time."

Glynda smiled… where was this woman when the Riders were at Beacon? "I do not believe there will be." The music changed in the adjoining courtyard. "That is our cue." Glynda turned toward the courtyard and approached the temporary altar.

Aaron followed right behind her. As soon as he stopped in his assigned place, the feeling hit him again. _This is it. I'm getting married._ He faced up the aisle. Brom and Yang stood arm in arm under the arch and started to walk forward. Before the Fall, those two would have gotten along well. Now, they had something shared that no one should, and they really had few things in common… then again, on the surface, neither did Aaron and Ruby. The Best Man and the Maid of Honor took their places in front of the altar.

Viki and Jaune were the next down the aisle. Of course, Jaune was calm and collected. But Viki… Viki held her head high with an enormous smile on her face. There was no hesitation in her steps, no weakness. She showed no signs of her previous imprisonment. It was amazing what a year in Ruby's care could do for a person. The Bridesmaid and Groomsman took their positions behind their counterparts. Aaron smiled and nodded at his sister while he extended his mind back toward Jaune. _Thank you for looking after my sister._

 _Don't thank me too much,_ Jaune thought. _Yang and Coco gave her quite the mini pep talk._

Then Cerise and Nalia landed just behind the arch. It wasn't hard enough to shake the ground. Their armor styles contrasted each other in their artistic style, Alagaësian decoration for Nalia, Remmartian cleanliness for Cerise. Each of them walked up either side of the audience and stood on their Rider's side of the altar. Cerise stared at Aaron with love that before had only been directed at her own Rider.

The ring bearer and flower girl passed with little note. Aaron only met Velvet's young cousins the day before, but he could tell they were good kids. He focused on the rose petals on the ground. What were the odds that Ruby made those herself?

The music changed again and everyone in the audience rose to their feet. Aaron raised his head and his eyes rested on his bride. Ruby and her dad stood arm in arm under the arch, and the two started down the aisle. She wore a beautiful rose red dress with black patterns forming a combination of rose petals and dragon scales, yet it was subtle enough that it wasn't distracting from her face. The silver eyeshadow made Ruby's silver eyes pop even more. Her lips and ends of her hair also matched her dress. Ruby's raised cheekbones and slightly slanted eyes stuck out more than usual as well. Aaron sent a tendril of his mind toward his bride, just enough to feel her emotions. Ruby was just as joyful, excited, and nervous as he was, with the joy part taking prominence. She and her father stopped just in front of the rows of chairs.

Aaron stepped away from the altar and walked toward the pair. He focused on his future father-in-law. That was the first time he saw tears in the older man's eyes. "Taiyang Xiao Long, may I take your daughter's hand?"

Tai nodded. "You may." He took his arm out of the loop formed by Ruby's and held his hand toward the groom. "Congratulations, Aaron."

Aaron took the offered hand. "Thanks… dad." It felt weird on his tongue, but at the same time felt right.

Tai pulled Aaron into a quick hug then pulled away. He faced his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder. He kissed Ruby on the cheek. "I'm so proud of you. I love you, Ruby."

"Love you too, dad." Ruby returned the kiss then hugged her dad. A few seconds later she pulled away and faced Aaron. She giggled and made a loop with right her arm again. "Well Aaron, time's wasting."

"Indeed, it is." Aaron his hooked right arm through her left. The couple approached the altar and faced Glynda.

Sometime in all that, the music stopped. Glynda looked over both Aaron and Ruby. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the holy matrimony between Aaron Benson and Ruby Rose…"

* * *

"This everything we need from home?" Aaron asked Ruby, his wife.

Ruby looked over the bags and suitcases secured to Cerise' saddle. "I think it is. I think we're good."

Coco sighed behind the married couple. "Finally! I'm done!" Aaron and Ruby turned to face their wedding planner and director. "I love you guys, but if either of you dump a time constraint on me like that again, I will beat you with my purse until you're bruised and bloodied and leave you high and dry."

Aaron and Ruby exchanged look, then faced Coco again. "Thank you so much for your help, Coco," Ruby said. "We couldn't have done this without you."

"You know it." Coco saluted Ruby and turned around. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in a bar getting plastered."

Aaron messed up his lips. "Yang and Qrow already beat you to it." He looked inside Beacon's ballroom to where both people he mentioned leaned against a wall hiccupping and talking about something only they understood. "They going to be okay?"

"Blake said she'll take them back in her Bullhead," Ruby said. "They'll be fine." She brought a hand to the side of her head. "I'm not forgetting anything, am I?"

"Oromis and Glaedr know they're in charge with us out of communication. I can't think of anything else."

"Okay. I think that's about right." Ruby smiled and locked eyes with Aaron. "Well, husband, shall we get going to our honeymoon?"

"I would like that." Aaron nodded. "But I am wondering why you wanted to put all our luggage on Cerise."

"Oh, just something I told Rhunön to put in the armor. It'll only be used once but oh well." Ruby's smile grew and she cocked her head. "Plus, I'd like us to be together on this flight. I don't care how long the flight to Mistral is."

Aaron returned the smile. "I'm okay with this."

Nalia hummed and lowered her head to the Riders' level. _I am honored to take you on your first flight together. I hope your time together helps you two get even closer._ She nuzzled both Riders' heads at the same time and had four arms wrap around her snout.

 _That doesn't mean I won't be right there._ Cerise walked in across from Nalia. She licked Ruby's cheek first, then Aaron's. _You two are going to have such a good time._

"Thanks, you two," Ruby chirped.

"Something tells me you two will find ways to keep us happy for a long time."

Nalia pulled her head out of the tangle of arms. _We're not going to get to your honeymoon while standing around here._ She turned her side to the Riders. _Climb on._

Aaron climbed up first and fit his helmet over his head. Ruby grabbed her own helmet from Cerise saddle, then approached Nalia. Aaron extended a hand to his wife. Ruby grabbed the offered hand and her husband pulled her up. She wrapped her arms around Aaron's waist and leaned on his back.

 _I hope you're ready back there._ Nalia raised her wings. _We aren't stopping until we reach Mistral City._ She jumped and plunged her wings down. She soared over Beacon and angled toward Vale.

Ruby took her left arm off Aaron and reached for something on the side of the saddle. "Nalia, you might feel a bit of a drag." She flipped a switch and something flew out of the back of the saddle. It jerked Nalia back a little.

The dragon yelped and turned her head back. _What is that?_

Aaron turned his head back as well. A banner now flew behind Nalia, just above her tail. Aaron couldn't tell what the closest word was, but the farthest one was 'Just.' "Ruby, did you ask Rhunön to make a 'Just Married' banner to fly behind us?"

"Yes. Yes, I did." Aaron could hear the smile on Ruby's face, even though he couldn't see it through her helmet. "Like I said on Mellen, I wasn't going to confirm or deny any relationship until it became permanent." She cocked her head. "I'd say we're permanent now."

Aaron stared at Ruby, then nodded. He turned his head back to Nalia's. "You mind dragging this?"

 _Not really. But something will need to be done before I turn on my jets. How about a circle around the city before we head to Mistral?_

 _Fine with me,_ Cerise said.

"This way it's us revealing… us," Ruby started, "not people talking and setting up conspiracy theories. Show away."

 _Be ready to cut that loose or bring it in._ Nalia faced her direction of travel and began to curve around the city. Aaron watched the ground for any activity. He couldn't pick out people's faces on the ground, so he couldn't judge people's reactions, but he could tell that a lot of people raised their heads toward the dragons. He saw a few flashes on the ground below, so there would be something on the CCT later.

Once Nalia completed the circle of the city, she faced and flew east. Ruby reached for the same switch as before and flipped it back. The banner behind them was pulled back into its hidden compartment. "There. It's out. Now we don't need to worry about being seen together anymore." She wrapped her arms around Aaron again. "No more worries."

Aaron leaned as far forward in the saddle as he could, Ruby's top half coming with him. He secured his arms to the saddle. "Hold on, Ru. You're not exactly secure back there."

Ruby tightened her grip. "I'll only go if you go."

 _I'll take that as my cue. Hold on tight._ Nalia locked her wings in place and spun her engines up to full speed.

Aaron brushed his mind against Ruby's. _So, we've got a few hours. What do we want to talk about?_

 _Fox said he could make it, right?_ Ruby asked. _I didn't see him, and no one on his team knows where he is._

 _He wasn't there. We didn't hear anything back at all from Rosie, did we?_

 _No._ Ruby sighed. _Fox was on mission, and Rosie could be too. We didn't exactly give them a long time to respond._ She paused. _At the same time, just about everyone was there. I think there were even more than we were expecting._

 _I know we did. I didn't expect Islanzadí to bring so many elves. I guess that's not the worst problem to have._

 _I'd say so._ Ruby rubbed her helmet against Aaron's, then she slumped on him. _It's not the same… Hey, can we try something?_

 _If it doesn't mess up Nalia's flight, sure._

 _It's something Cerise and I have done when one of us was stressed out or when we needed it for another reason. I wouldn't be surprised if you and Nalia had something similar. I guess it's like a mental hug… or cuddle._

 _Okay, I trust you._ Aaron let all the defenses around his head fall. Then in a way he had only felt from Nalia before, Ruby's mind flooded into his. He took a deep breath, let it out, and relaxed. Ruby was right. From her, it felt more on the cuddly side of things, and it didn't feel like she was going to let go any time soon. _Ruby, I love you._

 _I love you too, Aaron._ Ruby squeezed tighter with her arms and her mind 'cuddled' a little closer.

The rest of the flight through the night had much of the same. Aaron and Ruby exchanged compliments, jokes, and their favorite moments of the day. They both agreed that seeing normally serious elves line dancing was bordering on hilarious. They both noticed that Saphira and Fírnen left early and that Weiss and Arya couldn't look at each other after that. Both of them also enjoyed watching the stars fly by in the night and watching the shattered moon run across the sky. After a while, Ruby drifted off to sleep. Aaron was tired as well, but he had to stay awake to keep Ruby in the saddle

A little after they flew over Anima, the sun started to rise. A few hours later, the mountain of Mistral city rose on the horizon. Nalia's engines spun down and her wings unlocked. Ruby stirred and groaned on Aaron's back. "Are we there yet?" Ruby asked, her voice audible over the lighter wind.

"Just about. The city's right in front of us."

Some of the pressure disappeared from Aaron's back as Ruby sat up. "Oh. There it is. Where were you able to get us a place?"

Aaron turned his head back so he could see Ruby's helmet. "The honeymoon suite at the Grand Madison across the canyon from the waterfall."

Ruby's helmet jerked so the visor centered on Aaron's. "No! How? The place is booked for the next five months!"

"The couple that was booked for the next three weeks canceled. The hotel didn't say why, and I didn't ask. Whatever the reason, the place is ours for the next week and a half."

"I'll take it!" Ruby bounced in the saddle. "Oh, this is going to be a great honeymoon!"

"I hope so." Aaron rubbed the back of his neck. "I tried to make this memorable with some of the things I had planned. I just hope you'll like them as much as I do."

"I trust you." Ruby squeezed Aaron's shoulder.

 _Attention passengers,_ Nalia spoke for the first time in hours, _we are approaching your dream honeymoon destination. Please keep all limbs on the saddle or your husband until we touch down. Thank you for flying Air Nalia._

"Don't need to tell me twice." Ruby leaned forward and hugged Aaron from behind again.

"Nalia, are you tired?" Aaron asked.

 _Very. I've been awake for almost twenty-four hours, a third of those I've flown with stiff wings. I am going to find a cave, block the entrance, and sleep for as long as I want._

 _You deserve it._ Aaron freed his arms from the saddle straps and pat his dragon's neck.

 _Thank you._ Soon after, Nalia landed in the park across the street from the hotel, with Cerise following suit. Aaron took off his helmet and clipped it to the saddle. Ruby slid off Nalia's back and took off her own helmet. She clipped that to Cerise saddle while Aaron dismounted Nalia. The newlyweds took their luggage off Cerise' back. As soon as the last bag was off, the dragons looked at each other, then flew off in different directions. Aaron thought he knew why.

The Riders brought all their luggage into the hotel and checked in. Quite a few people in the lobby stared at them and brought out their Scrolls, but Aaron ignored them. Some of the hotel staff and security put themselves between the newlyweds and the crowd. When the Riders got their room keys, Aaron nodded at their makeshift security.

Aaron and Ruby rode the elevator to the top floor, with Ruby leaning on Aaron's left side. They walked down the hall to their room. Aaron put the key in and pushed open the door. He blinked when he saw the heart-shaped hot tub next to the bed. He just knew Ruby like the location, not about that. At least the rest of the bathroom was sealed away.

The new husband looked around the room. Aside from the tub, there was a large bed and a couch. Aaron set his bags down by the couch, ready to claim it for the week. Ruby giggled behind him. "You don't need to do that, Aaron."

"What... oh." Aaron turned around. Ruby stood by the bed with her bags sitting right beside it. "Sorry. Habit."

Ruby giggled a little more. "Still a gentleman." She faced the wall of floor to ceiling windows directly across from the door. "Oooh! That view!" Ruby walked through the one door in the wall. Aaron followed his wife right away. The couple looked out over the city of Mistral, or more importantly, the massive waterfall on the other side of the canyon. The view was better than Aaron thought it would be.

Ruby joined him at his side a second later. She sighed and grabbed Aaron's right hand. "It's beautiful."

"Yes, it is." Aaron turned his head to Ruby. "As are you."

Ruby giggled. "Thank you." She leaned in and Aaron met her halfway as they kissed each other. They pulled back for only a second before their eyes met again and they kissed each other again. They stayed like that for a while, only coming apart to reposition and hug each other, pulling their spouse close.

Aaron felt something change in him, something that he never felt before. He also grew hotter as time went on. Normally he hated heat, but this felt right. He knew what this meant. After a while of this, he pulled away and locked eyes with his wife. "Ru?"

"Yes, Aaron?"

"Do you want to… make a baby?"

Ruby's eyes widened and her cheeks burned red. She looked away for about half a second letting a smile form before locking eyes again. She nodded. "Yes, I do. I definitely do."

* * *

 **Oh gosh, I'm going to regret writing that last bit aren't I…**


	39. Sticky as Honey

**Well, if I didn't regret the end of the last chapter, I probably will something in this one and the next…**

* * *

Ruby slowly opened her eyes. She stared at the different ceiling above her and focused on the lumpy but still comfortable pillow behind her head. The Rider let her head loll to the right. Her head lay on Aaron's right arm, and his forearm held her close to him. Ruby sighed and rubbed her forehead against Aaron's shoulder, but he didn't wake up. Last night, er, morning, was… something. It was worth the wait… hopefully the reason they were in that exact position wouldn't be a common thing.

The new wife pulled the covers off her as slow as she could so she didn't wake her husband. Ruby crawled out of the bed and walked to the bathroom. The morning's… activities made her stink and she needed a shower. She peeked in there last night, and it looked about as nice as it could get.

After her shower when she was drying off, she heard Aaron moving around in the room. Ruby wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out of the bathroom. When she saw her husband, she squeaked and jumped back into the bathroom. Aaron still wasn't wearing anything… wait…

"Ru? You okay?" Aaron called.

"Yeah." Ruby shook her head and left the bathroom again. "Habit."

Aaron smirked as he finally covered up. "It's not like we didn't see all of each other this morning."

"Yeah." Ruby walked over to her suitcase and dropped her towel. She picked out her clothes for the day and set them on the bed. When she looked at Aaron again, they locked eyes immediately. Either Aaron was quick about moving his eyes, or he really wasn't like most other guys on Remnant. She chose well. "The shower's open if you want it."

Aaron nodded and looked at the clothes Ruby laid out. "I thought we were going to a dinner theater tonight?"

Ruby sighed. "We are, but I need to do something first. We've never met Professor Lionheart face to face. I want to get him briefed on the Eldunarí as soon as possible so we can break them up even more. Aaron, I promise, unless something major happens in the city, this will be the only work I do while here. This is just months overdue."

Her husband nodded. "Okay. I'll see you when you get back." Aaron walked past Ruby and into the bathroom, never letting his eyes wander south.

"Hmm." Ruby worked on getting dressed. _If Yang wants someone to_ _ **see**_ _her, she should look around Alagaësia… well, maybe the elves. Humans could be a little hard for her._

When she had her combat outfit on, Ruby picked her Scroll up off the dresser and thought about calling Cerise. Her dragon was out of mental range, so she couldn't be anywhere near the city. She shouldn't be far enough to be out of CCT range, but what if she was sleeping? Cerise could get cranky if she got woken up early… But she had the Eldunarí. Ruby sighed as she dialed her dragon. If she still had her headband on, the call would go through.

The line rang once before it was answered. _"Good morning, Gem,"_ Cerise said.

"Morning Cerise. How was your sleep?"

" _Good, but I believe not as good as yours."_ Cerise laughed on the other side.

Ruby felt her cheeks burn red. "I had to deal with that enough from drunk Yang yesterday."

Cerise finally stopped laughing. _"May I take it we're ready to meet with Professor Lionheart?"_

"We are. Let's get this done quick so I can get back to my honeymoon."

" _I will meet you at Haven."_

"Got it. See you there." Ruby ended the call, picked up Máni Bláto, and walked out of the honeymoon suite.

Ruby made it to the lobby of the hotel before she ran into anybody. If she got a few stares that morning when she checked in, everyone was ogling her now. Even more Scrolls were aimed in her direction as she walked across the lobby. _At least I announced it on my own terms…_ She wanted to just turn invisible and keep walking, but that was one of the secrets she didn't want getting out.

When she stepped outside, Ruby faced the top of the mountain where Haven Academy stood. It wasn't that far of a hike, but she knew that it would be like running the gauntlet. She already had a few more Scrolls aimed at her. _Just don't give away where I'm going._

She tried to keep her friendly smile up through the whole walk. A few people walked up to her and offered sincere congratulations and that picked up Ruby's spirits. They helped her ignore the glares she got from so many others. Despite all evidence, people still thought she killed Adam. Too bad for them and their conspiracy theories.

A half hour later, Ruby walked through the gates of Haven. A few students milled about in civilian clothes, and a lot of them stared at her. If Lionheart was avoiding her, he would have very little warning now. She walked into the main administrative building and was surprised that there was no secretary's desk. Lionheart must have been more open than Ozpin with his students.

Ruby knocked twice on the door. "Coming," a voice called on the other side. The door opened revealing Leo Lionheart. Leo's eyes widened and he jumped back a step. "Oh! Ruby! I didn't expect to see you here on your honeymoon."

"I don't want to be here either," Ruby shrugged, "but you've been busy every other time I've been in the kingdom. This is something we need to speak about in person, not over the CCT. I don't care how secure the headmasters' connection is."

Leo blinked. "In that case, please come in." He stepped aside and gestured into the room. Ruby stepped inside and looked around the office. Bookcases lined the walls, and a big wooden desk sat in front of a massive window overlooking the city and the ocean beyond that.

"Quite the view you got here." Ruby nodded at the window. Cerise flew around a cliff right after. "And it just got better."

"Yes, it is." Leo sat behind his desk. "Ruby, I am terribly sorry this is the first time we've been able to meet. The increased Grimm activity in the Kingdom has kept me on my toes."

Ruby nodded, but something he said tripped one of her truth-seeking wards, not that she needed it. _So, he's **not** sorry we couldn't meet? _"I understand. I've worked in all Kingdoms in the past year."

"I am aware." Leo paused. "Now, Ruby, what is so important that you needed to tell me in person?"

Ruby stared off into the distance, or at least that's what it would look like since Cerise was currently behind the back wall of the office. _Cerise, Umaroth, something's up. I need to test him._

 _Do as you must,_ Umaroth said. _I will await your signal._

The Rider continued staring at the wall. "A lot of people compare me to my mother. If Cerise didn't transform me, I would share my mom's face. A lot of her beliefs and ideologies passed onto me, some of her behaviors too if Qrow's right. One thing I didn't get from her is how she viewed coincidences. She didn't believe in them at all, I think running into people you know at grocery stores are coincidences. Anything bigger than that, not so much."

"I… don't think I follow." Leo's voice shook a little in 'follow.'

"It's not a coincidence that Grimm attacks skyrocketed in number and severity while the Riders were in Alagaësia. All Riders were over there, along with two Maidens. The greatest threats to Salem except for maybe Ozpin weren't on Remnant. It made sense to gain ground and kill as many people as possible before we returned." Ruby locked eyes with Leo. "More recently, you have been out of the Kingdom or otherwise unavailable every time any Rider has been in the Kingdom, and for the entire stretch that they were present, until now when you have to be here for the start of the new semester.

Leo narrowed his eyes. "Miss Rose, I do not like what you are insinuating."

"Then tell me I'm being paranoid, that this whole thing is just an unfortunate coincidence."

"It is just that. Nothing more, nothing less."

All spells that Ruby had tripped. "Leonardo, it's my job to know when people are lying to me."

Leo shifted in his seat. "I'm sure you've heard of people who don't trust the Riders because they're from another world. I count myself among them."

"No, you don't. Leo, we're on the same side, what's going on?"

 _Ruby,_ Cerise growled. _Thirty feet to your right. Use your mind._

Ruby faced that direction and stretched her mind as far as Cerise said. There was a Grimm exactly were Cerise said it would be, different than any other Ruby felt before. "Leo, you've got Grimm in your walls." Ruby could just kill it with a word, but she never felt this kind before. She wanted to know what it was.

The Rider approached the wall and started chanting a variation of her search and rescue spell. The Grimm was in a circular room. One hallway ran off it and… straight to the back of one of the bookcases. _How…_

Something clicked behind her. "Ruby, step away from that wall," Leo ordered.

Ruby turned around and her jaw dropped. Professor Lionheart was aiming his weapon right at her. With how his eyes focused, he couldn't be aiming at the wall behind the Rider. "Leo, what do you think you're doing," Ruby asked, her voice a growl.

Lionheart's arm shook. "I will not allow you to go back there!"

"Hitta." Lionheart's circular weapon flew off his arm and into Ruby's left hand. The professor looked at his weaponless arm, then at Ruby, immense fear in his eyes and pouring off him. The Rider checked her target for wards and found none. "For your sake, that Grimm better have spawned there naturally. Slytha." Lionheart fell to the floor, snoring before he hit.

Ruby faced the bookcase in question and stretched her mind out to her husband and dragon. _Aaron, Lionheart just pulled his weapon on me, and he's holding a Grimm just off his office. I'm sending Cerise to pick you up._ Cerise flew toward the hotel on her Rider's words.

Aaron's surprise came over their link. _Are you okay?_

 _I'm confused more than anything. Wake Nalia up and get her here too… Depending on what's going on here, we may have to cancel our plans for tonight._

 _If we have to, I won't be happy with Lionheart for more reasons._

 _Same here. I'll fill you in once I know more._ Ruby walked over to the bookcase hiding the tunnel and looked it over. There were no obvious signs that there was something behind it. No cracks in the wood, no draft, no big red lever. The Rider began pulling books off the shelf to see if any of them hid the switch.

One of the books caught on something and a click sounded from the other side of the wood. Ruby stepped back and the book settled back into place. The bookshelf slid back into the wall, then into another section of concrete. A well-lit hallway rested on the other side. _Guys, I'm in._

Ruby drew Máni Bláto and extended it to sword form. She entered the hall, keeping her weapon in front of her. The Rider rounded a corner and stopped. A jellyfish looking Grimm floated a few feet off the ground with things resembling arrowheads on its tentacles. Every instinct told Ruby to shoot the thing and be done with it, but part of her head screamed that Lionheart kept the thing there for a reason.

A few tentacles twitched, then shot toward Ruby. The Rider chopped them off one by one as they flew at her until all six lay on the ground twitching. The Grimm didn't even scream. That was a new one.

"You can't blame me for trying," a female voice said, another first for Grimm. This one wasn't even Alagaësian.

"I can, and I do." Ruby crept toward the Grimm. "What are you, and what do you mean to Lionheart?"

"This Grimm is what you would call a Seer, but it is not who you are talking to." The red and black surface beneath the bone plates swirled and changed colors. The swirls stabilized, showing a person with bone white skin and hair. A few blood vessels stood out on her cheeks matching her blood red eyes. Ruby was wrong. It wasn't a person.

"Salem, I'm guessing?" Ruby kept her sword in hand as she approached the Seer. "How's your attack dog?"

"Recovering with a new tail that puts your own bionics to shame." Salem smiled at Ruby. "I would say that it is nice to finally see the face of my enemy, but I have seen it all over the CCT."

"Why don't you come out of whatever hole you've dug yourself and come face me?"

"I assure you it would not go the way you think."

"I don't know. I'm full of surprises."

"As am I. You have yet to see all I have to offer."

"I don't doubt that. The Roc up in Atlas was a nice touch, and I'm guessing that you set up Adam's assassination."

Salem raised her hands and slow clapped. "Congratulations. You are capable of basic deductions."

"You still didn't answer my second question."

"I know you are fond of movies, Kingkiller, but I am not one of those idiotic villains to tells the 'hero' about their plans."

"You can't blame me for trying."

"I can, and I will. Goodbye Kingkiller." Salem's visage disappeared from the Seer and the remainder of the tentacles rose. Ruby rushed forward and stabbed Máni Bláto into the Grimm's orb. Again, it didn't scream, but all limbs fell limp. The orb deflated and fell off the sword. The Seer disintegrated before it hit the floor.

Ruby sighed and she closed her weapon back up. She walked out of the hidden chamber and back into Lionheart's office. The headmaster was still snoring on the floor. "Leo, what did you do?" The Rider walked over to Lionheart's desk and sat in the chair. It looked like not enough time had passed for the computer to lock down. She picked up a tissue from nearby and moved the mouse to refresh the page. Then she peeled back the fake skin on her bionic fingers and set to work. No fingerprints that way. She wasn't the best with computers, but she should be good enough to get into the headmaster's email.

A few minutes and long emails later, the main door to the room opened then closed. "I'm here," Aaron said. "What do you need?"

"For now, watch Leo." Ruby jerked a thumb to the unconscious professor. "I've got the feeling that someone might try to snipe him."

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Despite his words, Aaron did as he was told.

"We don't think like that, Aaron." Ruby closed one email and opened another. This one had an attachment. She opened it and glanced it over. It was a list of various Huntsmen and Huntresses, locations, and dates. Some of the names were familiar, but for different reasons. She brought a hand to her chin and ran a cross search on her bionic eye.

She felt dread build inside her. All of these Huntsmen were missing in action or confirmed killed, except for a few in the last month that could still be on their missions. Ruby stared at Lionheart's unconscious form and pressed her mind against his. It wasn't shielded, so Ruby had free reign. She sifted through anything to find what all these names had in common.

Ruby gasped and she covered her mouth. This… this was terrible. She faced the list again. So many familiar names. So many people she met… So many friends and classmates.

"Ruby, you find something?" Aaron asked. He stepped over to her side and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"All these Huntsmen…" Ruby nodded at the list. "They're… all dead. Lionheart set them all up."

The hand tightened on Ruby's shoulder, but not in a comforting way. "Barzul." Aaron backed away. "We can't do anything right now, can we?"

"No." Ruby shook her head. "For one, us arresting an Academy's headmaster without a warrant will look terrible on us. So will him ending up missing since we were the last ones to see him alive. Two, if we give this to the police, how much will people panic? An Academy's headmaster intentionally sending people to die? Who can they trust? It's Cinder's speech all over again."

Aaron ran his hands over his hat. "So what do we do?"

Ruby bit her lip and looked around the room. Who knew what kind of spells or listening devices were set up in here. "I'm going back to the hotel to call just about everybody. Keep an eye on that." She pointed at the sleeping traitor. "He has a lot to answer for. We need him alive."

Aaron grimaced. "I'll do what I can."

The head Rider walked around the traitor's desk and out of the office. _Cerise, I need a ride._

 _Good thing Nalia just got here._ Cerise mentally growled. _I've had enough traitors in my lifetime._

 _We all have._ Ruby tried to put on her business smile as she left the building, but she didn't know how well it worked. Both Cerise and Nalia stood in the courtyard outside. Cerise growled, but not overly so, just enough like she was going on a simple defense mission. _At least this one might have some information._

 _Maybe._ Cerise snorted. _Just get on._

Ruby pulled herself up her dragon's side and settled in the saddle. She leaned forward in the saddle as far as she could. Cerise took off soon after. _Fly by the hotel and keep flying south. I'm jumping._ "Freytha." Her arms disappeared before her eyes, meaning the simple hide spell worked.

 _Don't hurt yourself._ Cerise flew a few hundred feet over the hotel. _I'd drop now._

 _See you later._ Ruby fell off her dragon's side and spread her arms and legs out. She angled toward the hotel and cast a slowing spell. She slowed down and rolled onto the balcony of the honeymoon suite. The Rider fumbled around with the door handle since she couldn't see her hands. She got it eventually, then she walked to the bathroom before she stopped. "Freytha letta." She watched as she slowly appeared in the mirror. "Now you see me…"

Ruby shook her head and started casting the first of many silencing spells. Once she was sure that she covered all bases, she started the spells to contact people. One corner of the bathroom mirror showed the view from Yang's full-length mirror in her bedroom. Yang was sitting up on her bed with a glass of water on her end table. "Yang, over here."

Yang looked up from the floor and squinted her eyes. "Ruby? What's going on?"

"We've got a problem. Fix your hangover and get Weiss in there. This is serious."

"Not so loud." Yang winced as she stood up. "I had a little too much to drink last night."

"I said fix it for a reason." Ruby faced another section of her mirror and chanted the same spell as before. Instead of showing the bedroom back home, it showed another hotel bathroom… with a shirtless Sun brushing his teeth.

Sun yelped and spit the contents of his mouth into the sink. "What the hell, Ruby?"

"Apparently this is the closest mirror to Blake. Get her in here fast… and put a shirt on." Sun stared open-mouthed at Ruby then stepped out of the room.

"Did I hear Sun?" Weiss' voice came from the first section of the mirror. She came into view soon after with Yang following chanting an anti-hangover spell.

"Yes, you did." Ruby nodded. It looked like she didn't need to do anything special to get everyone to hear each other. She continued casting the same spell over and over with different people in mind. In the end, she couldn't see herself at all in the mirror. Instead, it showed her team, Sun, JNPR (with Rusty in Pyrrha's arms), CFVY minus Fox, Queen Islanzadí, and Ozpin, all of whom but Nora looked wide awake.

Ruby crossed her arms and looked around all those assembled. "I'm going to cut right to the chase. Professor Lionheart betrayed us. He set up various Huntsmen and Huntresses over the past seven years and sent them to their deaths."

Judging by the expressions on all of the other's faces, few believed it. Sun crossed his arms. "You're kidding me. Lovable Leo? He wouldn't."

"He pulled his weapon on me and he had a Grimm communicator called a Seer. I spoke to Salem through it, but I couldn't get anything out of her."

Ozpin cleared his throat. "Miss Rose, I would appreciate it if in the future you keep the knowledge of Salem-"

Ruby shot Ozpin a glare. "You have your teams, I have mine."

"Ruby," Weiss started, "this is a pretty serious accusation. Do you have any proof?"

" _Leo Lionheart pulled his weapon on me. He had a Grimm right off his office. He had a living list of missing Huntsmen, all of whom he set up to be killed."_

Everyone who spoke the Ancient Language stiffened. "That settles it." Yang crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Did we know anybody?" Jaune asked.

"I knew quite a few… but three in particular hit close to home." Ruby focused on her sister. "Rosie."

Yang dropped her arms and jaw. "What? No." She turned her head away.

Ruby faced all present members of CFVY. "Fox."

Velvet gasped and covered her mouth with a hand. Her ears drooped to the point they laid across her face. Yatsu squeezed both of his girlfriend's shoulders. Coco grimaced and clenched her fists. "Damnit." She stormed out of frame. "Son of a BITCH!" Something broke on the other side and splinters flew past Yatsu.

The head Rider faced Jaune. This would be the hardest yet. "Carmine."

Everyone on his team turned to face Jaune. The team leader blinked. "I don't think I heard you right."

"I think you did. Carmine Arc was on the list."

Jaune's head dipped. Pyrrha handed Rusty off to Ren, then hugged her husband. She said something that Ruby couldn't hear, then they walked off to the side and out of view.

"While I can understand this is a trying time for all of you," the Queen started, "but I fail to see why I am included in this."

"Because we cannot touch him," Ozpin answered. "While he may not be the most influential, Leonardo is still on Mistral's council."

"Not to mention the panic over a headmaster targeting Huntsmen." Ruby shook her head. "Lionheart has to disappear on his own."

Islanzadí straightened. "You wish to hold him in Du Weldenvarden."

Ruby nodded. "Salem won't be able to reach him there, either with her mind or her Grimm. We can't guarantee that anywhere else in Alagaësia or Remnant."

"I see." The Queen stared off to the side for a few seconds, then nodded. "Lord Däthedr believes he has discovered a spell that will allow communication between here and Alagaësia. He will inform my people to expect you to deliver a prisoner."

"Thank you." Ruby sighed. "I hope this is the only time we have to ask you to hold someone for us."

"From my understanding, this betrayal is of similar magnitude to the Forsworn betraying the old Order. You rid our land of those traitors, it is only fair we return the favor."

"Do the other headmasters know about this?" Ozpin asked.

Ruby shook her head. "I ran out of mirror space. I'll tell them when I'm done with all of you. I'd think that the headmaster's connection is compromised."

"What do you need the rest of us to do?" Blake asked.

"Look out for anything else suspicious. I think Lionheart was the one that told the White Fang Pruma was on the _Saint Nick,_ but I don't want to assume. Otherwise, this conversation never happened. When Lionheart disappears, it's a surprise to us all." There were nods all around. "I'll let you all get back to what you were doing." Ruby cut the energy to all spells. She sagged when she felt the energy drain. It was more than expected, then again, she didn't have Cerise or the Eldunarí lending her more.

She shook it off and cast the same spells to contact the three she didn't have room for before, Dora Thi, Ironwood, and Oromis. None of them were happy when they heard the news. Ironwood looked like he was ready to smash something. Considering he rarely lost his temper, that was saying something. Still, the conversation went about as well as the first and Ruby ended the spells again. The drain was a little less than the first.

Ruby once again made herself invisible and jumped off the balcony to the ground more than a hundred feet below. She then made her way back up to Haven Academy, this time with no one knowing where she was. At one point she had to run and jump across rooftops to avoid the packed streets.

When she reached the Academy, an Air Sailor was parked at the Academy's docks with the school's emblem painted on the hull. Ruby didn't feel the pilot's mind inside. She walked through the courtyard back to the administration building. A pilot stood about halfway to the doors to Lionheart's former office. When the Rider reached the doors, she made a wind gust knock over a garbage can near the entrance to the building. The pilot stared at it, giving Ruby the chance to open the door to the office unseen.

Lionheart, now awake, hunched in a corner of the office. Aaron stood a few feet away with his V4 in his hands. He glanced at his invisible wife out of the corner of his eyes. "How'd they take it?"

"About as well as can be expected." Ruby walked to Aaron's side and stared down the traitor. "You and Nalia fly after Cerise like we called for help. Plausible deniability." She heard Nalia growl outside.

Aaron nodded and folded up his V4. "Will do." He ran for the door, opened it, and sprinted out.

Ruby waited for the door to close before speaking. "Freytha letta." She became visible and Lionheart jumped. "Why is there a pilot waiting outside for you?"

"I… was going to meet a new staff member in one of the outlying villages and bring her here myself."

That was true enough. "You just made my job a whole lot easier. You are going to get on that Air Sailor and not mention that I'll be there as well. If you cooperate, I'll see to it that you're treated fairly where you're going."

"Where are you taking me?" Lionheart asked, his voice shaking.

"You'll find out when you get there and not any sooner." Ruby pointed toward the door. "March." Lionheart stayed rooted for a second, then walked toward the door to his office. "Freytha." Ruby once again turned invisible.

Lionheart left his office with Ruby following close behind. "My apologies, pilot," the traitor said, his voice not wavering in the slightest. "I was caught up in a meeting."

"I saw that." The pilot jerked a thumb to the building's exit. "Any idea on what that was about?"

"I believe he said something about his wife needing backup."

"Oh." The pilot nodded. "I think I heard they're here on their honeymoon. I'd put Lien on that's code for something else." Ruby grimaced and glared at the pilot. It was one thing for Yang to be making jokes about that yesterday, and they were _just_ jokes. With civilians, it could go either way.

"I would not know. Is the transport ready?"

The pilot nodded. "Ready to go. We won't need to stop for fuel until we get back here."

"Then let's be off." Lionheart followed the pilot out of the building, with Ruby invisibly following them. A few new claw marks appeared in the concrete, likely from Nalia's takeoff. A minute later all three were on the Air Sailor. The engines wound up and the transport took off from the docks. It turned south and flew away from the city.

When the city was far behind them, Ruby noticed Lionheart staring at the ground a few hundred feet beneath them. She didn't like the look in his eyes. "Oh, no you don't." She pulled Lionheart back into the transport. She cast the spell to become visible again and strapped the traitor to one of the seats with his arms pinned. "Pilot, close the doors. We got a jumper."

"What the, who's back there?"

Ruby walked into the cockpit and glared at the pilot. "The one who's on her honeymoon and the one who thinks backup is a terrible euphemism. Pay up."

The pilot doubletaked. "What are you doing here?" He reached for a knob on his console. If Air Sailors were anything like Bullheads, that knob changed the transmission frequency.

Ruby grabbed the pilot's hand. "We are transporting someone who betrayed his Kingdom and Remnant as a whole. We are not going to reach an outlying village, and you are going to fly exactly where I tell you."

The pilot stared at Ruby and sighed. "Something tells me I don't have a choice in the matter." Ruby let go of the pilot's hand and the pilot brought it back to the flight stick. "Where to, hijacker?"

The Rider gazed over the horizon for any bit of blue. She pointed to it when she found it. "That lake over there." The transport angled toward that.

A minute later, Ruby felt Cerise come back into her mind. _What's the plan?_ she asked.

 _We're taking Lionheart to Kirtan. When you see this transport again, take it down. Make it look like a Grimm or Bandit attack._

 _Got it._ Cerise paused. _This is going to change things, isn't it?_

 _Oh yeah. Trust is going to be a big problem going forward._

 _I'll tell the others what's going on._ Cerise sounded just as dejected as Ruby felt.

The Air Sailor flew over the lake and hovered above the beach. "Now what?"

Ruby held a hand out toward the water. She chanted the between worlds spell and kept an eye on the pilot at the same time. This flight made it easy for Lionheart to disappear, but a whole lot harder to keep it a secret. The water swirled below them and turned black and purple. "Fly into that."

The pilot stared at Ruby. "Are you crazy?"

"I've done this plenty of times. The worst thing you get is vertigo and a little shock of not being in the same place."

The pilot groaned and faced forward again. "Gods help me." He pushed the stick forward and the transport flew toward the portal. Ruby relaxed while the pilot tensed up. The Air Sailor passed through and flew over the edge of Du Weldenvarden. The pilot gasped. "What?"

"Fly the direction we're facing. We'll reach our destination in about ten minutes."

"So this is the other side?" The pilot looked around the area.

"Yes, it is." Ruby stared at the back of the pilot's head. What was she going to have to do with him? She couldn't risk word of this getting out. She saw three options, one she wasn't going to do under any circumstances, two that were hardly any better. _Dang black ops…_

A few minutes later Ruby guided the pilot to land in the center of the elven city. A few armed elves stood at the edge of the clearing. Ruby freed Lionheart from his restraints and pulled him out of the Air Sailor. The armed elves approached and grabbed Lionheart. _"We do not know why he betrayed us,"_ Ruby said. _"He knows much more than that as well. We need him alive and unharmed."_

" _Of course, Shadeslayer."_ One of the elves bowed, then led the group away.

Ruby walked back into the transport and the cockpit. The pilot glared at her. "So now what?" he asked.

"That depends on you." Ruby crossed her arms. "We can't have you talking about what happened today. I'm giving you two options: One, you stay in Alagaësia and never set foot on Remnant again, at least until the situation there is resolved. Two, you return, but your memories of the past hour will have to be erased."

The pilot's jaw dropped. "What kind of monster are you?"

"Make your choice," Ruby raised her voice, "or I'll make it for you."

The pilot faced forward again. "I've got a wife and kids. I have to get back to them."

Ruby nodded and tried to ignore the stab to her heart. "Fly west about five miles. There's a lake there and I'll get us back to Remnant." The Air Sailor left the ground and flew west. When they reached the lake, Ruby once again cast the between worlds spell and the transport dipped into it. They once again flew over the lake in Mistral. "Get back on your original flight plan."

"So when are you going to wipe my memory?" the pilot growled.

"When we're on the ground again. I can't fly this thing."

Less than a minute later, Ruby felt Aaron's mind against hers. _I see you brace for impact._

 _Thanks for the heads up._ Ruby didn't brace. She had to make it look real. Seconds later, something exploded against the hull. Ruby slammed into the side of the cockpit. "What the heck was that?"

"I don't know." The pilot hit a few things on his console. "Whatever it was, it took out one of the stabilizer wings. I've lost all control over it."

Ruby left the cockpit and stared at the ground below. "It must be androids. I'm not seeing anything down there." Of course, Ruby wasn't even looking.

"Damnit. Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is Haven One broadcasting on all frequencies. We are under attack by an unknown force. We've lost one of our stabilizers. Can anyone hear us?"

" _Mistral ATC to Haven One, we see you. You're all alone out there right now. The closest support is Dragon-Two, but they're ten minutes out at best."_

Something else exploded against the transport. "We might not have that long. We're losing altitude. Get that support here n-" Another explosion cut the pilot off. He screamed and something cracked in the cockpit. "They got our antenna." The Air Sailor listed to the left and started falling faster. "We're going down."

Ruby walked back into the cockpit and strapped herself in. This would be her first airship crash. She faced the pilot. "Slytha." The pilot's head fell limp. Ruby chanted as fast as she could in the Ancient Language to put as many wards around the pilot as possible. He wouldn't die, but he wou;dn't be walking away either. Ruby faced forward again and saw land rushing up to meet her.

The transport hit ground and Ruby's body pressed against the harness. Glass flew at her face from the shattered windshield. The wrecked Air Sailor slid across the ground, thankfully not tipping, but slamming into several trees. Eventually the wreck stopped and Ruby took a deep breath. She looked at the pilot. He had a few cuts, but it didn't look like anything was broken. "Now to make it look convincing."

Ruby pulled the gloves she 'used' for crime scenes off her belt, only this time she was using them to cover her tracks. She placed her natural hand on the man's forehead and searched his mind for his recent memories. She chanted in the Ancient Language to remove those. As she 'watched,' all memories from the windy trashcan to the crash faded away to nothing, never to be reclaimed.

The Rider sighed, then freed herself from her restraints. Ruby dug around in the center console until she found the black box. Why were they called black boxes when they were red or orange? Color aside, she disconnected the flight recorder and made an ice hook to secure it to her belt.

Ruby left the pilot in his seat and searched the area for a piece of shrapnel that could likely still groove metal. Once she found one, she stepped outside and began carving the symbol of the Branwen tribe onto the hull. Raven said that's what they did with downed airships and convoys they raided. Take blame away from the Riders, put it on a group they've very much like gone.

With that done, she started magically creating footprints and other tracks from the dirt, enough for three people. The only minds she felt nearby belonged to Grimm, her husband, and the dragons. She didn't have to worry about being seen.

After she felt like she did enough, Ruby made herself invisible again and used magic to jump to a nearby tree. She used her position to look over her handiwork. Her heart sunk. _The ends justify the means…_ _ **Am**_ _I a monster?_

* * *

 **Well, that was a thing.  
**


	40. Homecoming

**College football season is now in full swing, with the NFL starting in a few days. I am so ready… also, my old marching band played Africa in their first show… yeah,** _ **that**_ **Africa. We like memes so much, might as well play one... Yeah, I'm running out of things to say in author's notes. Volume 6, please come faster.  
**

* * *

Yang backed away from the panoramic picture of all of Team RWBAY and their dragons with Halcyon expertly doctored in. The picture was taken the day before Aaron and Ruby's wedding on the cliffs overlooking the Emerald Forest. To her it looked good, but… "Weiss, I need a rich person's opinion. Is this level?"

Weiss sighed from across the wide-open room. "Really, Yang?" Her voice echoed off the high ceiling and wide walls. She walked out of the small by comparison kitchen to the mantle Yang stood in front of. "I should introduce you to Saphira's claws for that." She elbowed her adopted sister.

"Eh, like she could pin me."

"You'd be surprised. She's getting strong."

Saphira snorted from the other side of the kitchen. _Yang, you would fall before me like so many Grimm._

 _I could pin you when I was only a month old,_ Halcyon said. _You don't stand a chance wrestling against Saphira._

"I was trying to not hurt you." Yang pat Halcyon's Core on her hip. "Why is everyone against me today?"

"You brought it upon yourself, sis." Weiss looked up at the picture. "It's almost level." She reached up with a pinky and nudged the bottom right corner. She backed away and nodded. "There. Now it's level."

"Good." Yang walked out of the sitting area and toward the 'movie room.' It looked like all chairs were in place and nothing hung down from the ceiling. Only the industrial-sized projector gave away what the space would be used for. Of course, Ruby knew about it because it was her idea, but it had to be another thing entirely actually seeing it.

Her Scroll buzzed in a pocket. She took it out and looked out the caller ID. Yang then brought her Scroll to her ear. "What you got, Yaela?"

" _Cerise' and Nalia's IFFs just appeared on radar,"_ Yaela said. _"They're about five minutes out."_

"Good to know the radar works. I'll be sure to bring 'em down to you when we're done up here." Yang ended the call and put her Scroll away. "We're on the clock everyone!" she called. "The lovebirds are five minutes out. Let's get these finishing touches in place." Yang jogged over to the kitchen and took a few things out of the fridge. She already gave her baby sister so much in her wedding gift, but it would be nice to give her and her husband a nice housewarming gift too.

As soon as Yang had her last gift set up on the dining 'room' table, she felt the floor shake. She faced the large entryway on the far side of the house and jogged over to it. Nalia and Cerise stood on the large landing pad with the Rider's logo painted on the concrete. Their Riders dismounted and they met between their dragons. They laughed at something and their eyes met… but they looked away from each other just as quickly. Yang's jaw dropped. What happened between those two?

Both Cerise and Nalia hummed. They nudged their Riders closer together. Aaron and Ruby looked at each other again. The former stretched out his arms, and the latter jumped into them. Ruby wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and wiggled in closer. That was more like what Yang saw at the wedding.

Aaron carried his wife toward the human-sized door, and Yang backed away from said door. The door opened and Aaron stepped inside. "Ru, welcome… home." His jaw dropped as he looked around the huge space.

Ruby took her eyes off her husband and turned her head around the room. She gasped and looked all over the place. "Wow! This place is ginormous!"

"That's what happens when you want a space that can hold dragons larger than Glaedr." Yang walked up to the happy couple. "Welcome home, you two." She hugged both of them, which was saying something considering their positions.

"It's good to be back," Ruby said. Yang backed away and Aaron put his wife down. "This is a bit different from seeing renderings."

"Is everything moved in?" Aaron asked.

"We've spent the past three days doing it." Yang gestured to the whole main room. "Of course, the stuff in your room is yours to arrange as you want, but as the other two humans permanently living in this place, Viki and I took the liberty of arranging this whole area, with help from Weiss and Blake… and Saphira for the heavy and awkward stuff."

Saphira walked around the kitchen. _I was happy to help._

Weiss appeared from the other side of her dragon. "You'd be surprised on how careful she was with everything. She has a keen eye for this sort of thing too." Saphira held her head higher.

"She's your dragon," Ruby giggled. "I'm not surprised."

The large dragon doors finally opened, letting Nalia and Cerise walk in side by side. _A man-made cave,_ Nalia said. _This is impressive._

 _I don't think the dwarves would like that humans can build this and that they can't._ Cerise stared at the high ceiling. _How does this place stay lit?_

"I'd say magic, but we don't have those things in here yet." Yang shook her head. "We're going to be putting all those flameless lanterns up, right?"

"Maybe." Ruby walked toward the movie 'room.' "On one hand, they just need energy once, on the other… break the fabric, they're some pretty deadly grenades. I'm just not telling any Alagaësian that."

"Too late there." Aaron walked behind the seats for the movie 'room.' "What's all this for?"

"Allow me." Yang walked between the lovebirds and to the table in the center of the recliners. "Just press these buttons and…" The movie theater projector turned on showing the Scrollflix homepage. Yang hit something else and black curtains descended from slots in the ceiling.

Ruby squealed and she jumped in place. "It works! Oh, I was so worried about this."

Aaron stared up at the projection. "I don't think some of the old Order would like that we have this."

"If I can give something to our dragons that they wouldn't have access to before, I'll do it." Ruby turned around and smiled at Aaron. "Now we don't need to go to drive-ins to watch movies with our dragons."

Yang hit the buttons again. The projector turned off and the curtains rose into the ceiling. "Hey Ice Princess, why don't you show the lovebirds around?"

"I would be happy to." Weiss nodded. "There are only a few spaces outside this main space…" She led Aaron and Weiss across the floor. As Yang watched, Ruby and Aaron faced each other again, then away just as quickly.

Cerise moved to follow, but Yang stopped her. The dragon looked down at her Rider's sister. _Yes, Yang?_

 _You can catch up._ Yang paused. _I hate to pry, but what's going on with Ruby and Aaron. They're not as cuddly as I expected._

Some of the light left Cerise' eyes. _I will not speak for my Rider. Just know that if it was either of their faults, Nalia and I wouldn't let them near each other… and don't react. Ruby's night terrors are back._

Yang nodded and stared at her sister standing by the dining table with a cookie in her mouth. _How often?_

 _Every night. I will not say what I believe caused them. That is up to Ruby._

Yang felt her heart sink. Ruby was strong. She never let anything get to her… except whenever the Nevermores were brought up. Every time that happened, she went back to that scared fifteen-year-old girl. _You and Aaron been able to keep them down?_

 _Yes._ Cerise walked to catch up with her Rider. _I will not say any more. I have already said too much._ Yang clenched her fists, then shook her head. She'd corner Ruby later. She followed the other Riders to another part of the main room. Judging by Ruby's gasp, she liked it.

Yang walked up to her sister's side and looked over the wall. Every single letter, hand drawing, and thank you note the team had ever gotten were pinned on the wall, with room to grow. "It's beautiful." Ruby brought a hand up to cover her mouth. "Whose idea was this?"

"Your sister in law." Yang pat Ruby's back. "She didn't think that these things should be hidden away in a box."

"I agree. I completely agree." Ruby nodded like a bobblehead.

"Where is Viki?" Aaron asked. "I haven't seen her."

"Last I saw," Weiss started, "she and Blake were in the master working on sorting your wedding gifts."

"Master. That's…" Ruby looked down the wall, "…that one." Ruby jogged two doors down, which in this place was quite the distance. She pushed the human-sized door open and stepped inside. Aaron followed except he walked the distance.

Weiss followed after her partner and gestured to a pad on the floor. "Nalia, Cerise, step right here to open the room for you."

Cerise did as told and a vertical line appeared in the wall, then the two sections pulled apart. The dragon raised her ears. _Fascinating. How much did this place cost?_

"The whole complex cost about a year's worth of my current income," Weiss said. "I will not be buying any more lunches for people for the next year."

"Fine with me." Yang pat her other sister's back. "Let us treat you for a bit." She walked into the master. The room was almost as big as the hall, built for two dragons twice the size of Glaedr to rest on equally giant sleeping pads. The King-sized bed along the back wall looked small by comparison. Yang turned to the right where the wedding gifts rested. Ruby and Viki were in each other's arms, with Aaron standing behind both women. Blake stood off to the side, smiling at the sight.

Ruby pulled away from Viki and faced the only Faunus in the room. Her smile grew even more. "Blake, you're showing!" She gestured at the ever so slight baby bump on Blake's stomach.

"Yeah." Blake returned the smile and ran a hand over the baby bump. "I'm gonna have to invest in some maternity clothes soon. And… sorry. Morning sickness kicked in this morning. I made a mess in your bathroom."

"Since Sun isn't here, I took care of it." Yang shivered. "It was about as pleasant as you'd think."

"Don't worry about it, Blake." Ruby pat her teammate's shoulder. "I won't hold it against you." She faced the giant pile of wedding presents. "Oh, this is going to be fun to go through." Her tone was joyful, not sarcastic.

"If you would like to continue the tour," Weiss interjected and gestured to the open door, "I'll show you around the business portion of the building."

Yang raised a hand. "Hold on a sec, Weiss." She faced her half-sister. "Ruby, could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." Ruby turned to her husband. "Go on Aaron. I'll catch up." Aaron nodded and followed Weiss out of the room. Ruby faced her big sister. "What's up?"

"Not here." Yang put a hand on Ruby's back and pulled her away from Blake and Viki. The younger woman didn't resist, but she did quirk her eyebrows.

When they were all the way on the other side of the room, Yang stopped them. They faced the wall, away from the other two in the room. "Something big going on?"

"You tell me. Cerise said your night terrors were back."

Ruby stiffened, then slumped. "Yeah. They suck."

Yang blinked. Ruby sounded like she described a stubbed toe, not something that haunted her for years. "They the same as before?"

"No. They were several Nevermores… taking advantage of me in chains." Yang's jaw dropped and Ruby held up a hand. "Before you say anything, it was _not_ Aaron. He swore he would never even think about that."

Yang pulled her jaw back together. "Okay. Since you were on your honeymoon, I can guess the trigger."

Ruby nodded and her cheeks glowed red. "Yeah… a bit…" She shook her head. "But I don't know _why._ Nothing like that ever happened. It was just those words..."

"You're… taking this awfully well."

"I'm taking it differently. I'm the leader of the Dragon Riders. I should not be going through something like this. I should not be scared to sleep at night. I guess I'm more scare about that than I think. Now Aaron's… not as willing because he doesn't want to send me down another hole."

Yang nodded. "That's why you've stared away from each other a few times."

Ruby slumped her whole body and her face burned redder than her cape. "Nope… I wish…"

"Did something happen when you were…" Yang tried to think of a way to say it without getting punched across the room, "…baby making?"

"Yes and no." Ruby's head dipped farther. "Mom hears and sees everything I do, and neither of us can turn it off. Talked to her two nights ago… forgot about it until then. She couldn't even look at me."

Yang wasn't sure if all her blood left her face or rushed to it. "Oh my God." She turned away from Ruby. "Oh my God! That is so wrong on so many levels!"

"All of us are in agreement there." Ruby jerked her head up and down. "So… yeeaaahh. Aaron and I aren't going to try for a baby until we figure out how to get this taken care of."

Yang looked at her sister's stomach and stretched her mind toward it. She felt nothing. "No luck yet?"

"Nope. I guess we all can't get as lucky as Pyrrha and Blake."

"You'll get it eventually… when you get this whole thing figured out." Yang's Scroll rang again. She picked it up and answered it. "Something going on, Yaela?"

" _Maybe,"_ the elf said. _"There's someone climbing the mountain toward us."_

"What? Is he armed?" Yang didn't bother being quiet anymore. Those on the other side of the room faced her.

" _Not that I can see, but he's built like an Ursa."_

"We're on our way down." Yang ended the call. "Well, Ruby, you're going to see the control room in action."

"Something going on?" Ruby asked.

"Yaela said someone is climbing the mountain." Yang put her Scroll away. "If she knew who, she would have said."

Ruby nodded. "Lead the way." Yang nodded and jogged toward the other side of the room. When she and Ruby left, Blake and Viki fell in behind them. Yang lead the way to the elevator near the kitchen. All four people piled inside. Blake pushed the button for the command level. The elevator descended one floor and opened to what felt like a cramped and long hallway compared to upstairs. This was the compromise. They could only have one floor that was big enough to hold a dragon, or else the price and construction time would have more than doubled.

Yang walked down the hall a few rooms and held her Scroll up to a scanner. The red light on it turned green and she pushed open the door. The control room had space for dozens of computers and people working in it, but only one computer was in use. The rest of team RWBAY huddled around it with Yaela in the center.

Yaela looked over at the newcomers. "Good. You're here." She hit a few buttons on her keyboard and what looked like her screen popped up on the large projector at the front of the room. "He'll step into frame in a few seconds."

Sure enough, a man bigger than Yatsuhashi stepped into frame. He had a green jacket on and khaki pants. Both his eyes and hair were a deep brown. Yang cocked her head. "A hiker?"

"I don't think so." Ruby stepped forward and narrowed her eyes. "I think I know him… at least mom does anyway." She stood still for a few seconds, then snatched both her weapons from her belt. "Hazel Rainart. Salem's personal muscle."

Yang stiffened and glared at the projection. "Yaela, where is he?"

"Pulling it up now." The image of Hazel shrunk to half the screen and a map of the area took up the other half. A red dot blinked to life about halfway down the mountain.

Yang stretched her mind out to that area. "I'm not feeling anything."

"Neither am I," Weiss said. "Not even any Grimm. That's not saying anything. I couldn't feel Tyrian at all either."

"Should I activate the automated defenses?" Yaela asked.

Ruby cocked her head. "We have those?" She shook her head. "Save them for any Grimm attack." She turned around to face her team. "Blake, you're pregnant. You stay here with Viki and Yaela and lock yourselves in. Call Ozpin and tell him what's going on. Everyone else, mount up. Yang, you're with me."

Yang nodded. "Got your back, Shadeslayer. I gotta grab my gauntlets and I'll be with you." She turned on a heel and jogged back to the elevator. If one of Salem's goons was here, it couldn't be good.

* * *

 _Ten minutes,_ Ruby thought to Cerise. _We haven't been home for ten minutes and something's already going wrong._

 _That's life,_ Cerise growled. _That, and Salem is out to get us._

 _I know._ The map on Ruby's bionic eye showed that they were almost at Hazel's location. She stretched her mind out to cover all those in the air. _Surround him, team. Be ready for anything._ Cerise, Nalia, and Saphira dove for the ground, crashing through the trees. They slammed into the ground, surrounding the lone man. All dragons snarled at Hazel.

The Riders dismounted their dragons and aimed their weapons at the criminal. Ruby aimed her mind at him, but she felt nothing. Just like the Alagaësian Grimm. "Hazel Rainart," Ruby raised her voice, "put your hands behind your head."

Hazel stared at Ruby not caring. _"You would imprison a messenger?"_ he asked in the Ancient Language.

Ruby blinked but otherwise stayed solid. _"Nice trick, now put your hands behind your head."_

" _If you arrest me, the deal will be off before you know what it is."_ Hazel clasped his hands behind his head.

Ruby glanced at Aaron, then back to Hazel. _"What deal?"_

" _Salem sent me to discuss a truce between her and the rest of Remnant."_

Ruby loosened her grip on both her weapons and her jaw hung open. The other Riders had similar looks of disbelief. Ruby would _never_ have expected that. Hazel said all that in the Ancient Language. It had to be true. _"Are you the only one she sent?"_

" _I am, and I have no Grimm under my command either."_

 _That doesn't mean he doesn't have any following him._ Ruby touched her mind to all her allies in the clearing and back at the house. _Blues, Greens, search the area. Control, turn on those defenses. Whiskers, see if you can't find a warrant for this guy somewhere._

Weiss and Aaron mounted their dragons. _You sure about this?_ Aaron asked.

 _This has trap or terrible deal written all over it. If something goes south, I trust you and Nalia to be back in a snap._

Nalia growled. _We'll stay close. I'll send Blues out a little more._ She took off to the left while Saphira went right.

Ruby focused back on Hazel. _"Salem taught you how to speak like this?"_ She closed up Crescent Rose but kept Máni Bláto in sword form.

Hazel nodded. _"Right after Aaron and Nalia made themselves known."_

So something like this had been in the works for a while. _"What is this truce?"_

" _There is no need for many more people to die. This war has taken its toll on all sides. Salem has offered to remove all Grimm from Sanus. But in return, she takes all of Solitas, Anima, and Menagerie."_

Ruby scoffed. _"You know I don't speak for the Kingdoms. The affected ones wouldn't go for it anyway. You've come to the wrong person with a terrible deal."_

" _You may not speak for the kingdoms, but you do speak for those who have access to the relics."_

There it was. _"So that's what this is about. Salem wants the relics. What does she want to use them for?"_

" _To bring peace to Remnant."_

Ruby rolled her eyes. _"All tyrants want peace, but under their rule, no one else'. She's a Shade. She's been killing people for centuries. Why should I believe that she would leave us in peace forever and not use the new breeding grounds to wipe us all out at a later time?"_

" _Because she will have all that she wants. She told me as much in this language."_

Ruby and Yang shared a look, then they both glared at Hazel. _"What's the catch?"_ Yang asked.

" _Any people on those continents will be killed. A small price to pay for the survival of our species."_

" _You call more than half of the population of Remnant a small price to pay?"_ Ruby growled. _Whiskers, where we at on those warrants?_

 _He's got nothing,_ Blake thought. _Not so much as a parking ticket in any of the Kingdoms. In fact, I'm not finding anything on him at all._

 _Dangit. Wolf's Bane, options._

 _With what he's done,_ Cerise growled, _I say we kill him._

 _He's unarmed, not putting up a fight, and a messenger. How would we be any different from Galbatorix or Salem? I've gone past that line once already in the past month, I don't want to do it again._

 _Then we arrest him. We can't hold him on Remnant, but the elves can take him._

 _Or we let him return to Salem… You're right Cerise._ Ruby shook her head. _"We're done here. Yang, get his arms."_

Yang nodded and raised her fists. _"Touch me and Cerise will rip you apart."_ Cerise growled in agreement.

Hazel narrowed his eyes at Ruby. _"Many more people may die."_ He didn't resist as Yang brought his arms behind his back.

" _Many more people may not."_ Ruby froze Hazel's hands together in ice cuffs. She paused as more memories from her mom pushed forward. _"My mom knew your sister."_ Hazel's eyes softened. _"Gretchen Rainart, right? My mom's team took hers under their wing. She was a first year, my mom was a fourth. My mom had nothing bad to say about her. Julie was one of the few younger students that could hold her own against the older. Just a ray of sunshine wanting nothing more than to help people in the best way she could."_ Ruby looked straight into Hazel's eyes. _"What would she think about what you've done in Mistral?"_

Hazel glared at Ruby and pulled his lips back. _"I wouldn't know. She was a child when Ozpin sent her to die."_

" _Ozpin is a lot of things, some of them I don't like, but he's not a murderer, and he's not one that controls Grimm, the things that killed Gretchen. Salem is both. Why are you helping her?"_

" _My problem is with Ozpin,"_ Hazel growled. _"Don't make me add you to the list."_

Something snapped and a purple and black portal opened behind Yang. She whipped around and raised her fists. "What the?"

Hazel pulled his arms apart, shattering the ice on his wrists. He grabbed the back of Yang's head, picked her up, and threw her at Cerise. Ruby rushed forward with Máni Bláto, firing a few shots while she ran. Hazel blocked them all with his arms before jumping back into the portal. It closed before Ruby could do anything else.

Ruby rolled over the land that held the portal. She slammed a fist on the ground before running to her sister. "Yang!" She slid to a stop beside the other Rider. "Are you okay?"

Yang groaned and rubbed the back of her head. "That guy's stronger than dad." She rolled over, pulling her hand away. She looked at it and grimaced. "I'm going to need an ice pack when we get back."

"I've got you." Ruby placed a hand on her sister's head and made it cold. "Any better?"

"For now, yeah." Yang leaned her head back into the cold pillow.

Cerise rubbed the spot on her chest where Yang hit. _He doesn't have a bad arm either. That could very well leave a bruise._

"Sorry," Yang said. "I didn't have much control in that."

Nalia roared from above. Seconds later she touched down in the dragon made clearing. _Where is he?_ she growled.

"Gone." Ruby shook her head. "I don't know how, but Salem, at least I think it was Salem, made a portal behind Hazel and got him out."

Nalia growled even more. _I am really starting to hate this Shade._

"Starting to?" Aaron asked from his dragon's back. "I take it we don't know where he went?"

"Not a clue." Ruby shook her head. _Yaela, the defenses picking up anything?_

 _Nothing,_ Yaela said. _Not even a deer. You're the only ones out there now._

Ruby sighed and faced her husband. "Aaron, get Yang back to the house, then get back on patrol. I expect some more retribution coming our way." She removed her hand from Yang's head and stood up. "I'm going to tell Ozpin what's going on, and there may be an attack on the Kingdom soon."

"That serious?"

"It's Salem. It could very well be. Just watch your back. I don't want to put you back together." Ruby walked around Yang and climbed Cerise' side. Her dragon kicked off the ground and flew toward Beacon.

 _What do we do now?_ Cerise asked.

 _Prepare for another war._ Ruby hung her head. _I think it's just been declared._

Cerise growled. _I am with you to the end._

 _I know you are, but what about the other Riders, the Alagaësians? We fought their war, will they fight ours? Avrart certainly won't anytime soon._

 _The elves will stand with us, and so will Rowan, even if he is not a fighter. I believe Deynor will support us too._

 _But they're eventually going to go back to Alagaësia and stay there. We need more Riders here._

Cerise shook her head like a dog. _I agree, but since when have we had the numerical advantage from the beginning of a fight?_

 _I guess… I just hope that we can get Salem before things get too bad._

 _We will. Stop worrying._

 _One of us needs to be pessimistic. They might think of something the optimist doesn't._

Cerise snorted and turned her head back. _Coming from the usual optimist and wants everyone else to be optimists._

 _Yeah, yeah._ Ruby leaned her head off Cerise' side and stared down at Beacon. _Looks like the grass by Halcyon Hall is open._

 _I see it._ Cerise angled down and glided for the grass. She ran a few steps on landing before stopping. _I'll check in on Fírnen while you're in with Ozpin._

 _See if their culture shock is as big as we're expecting._ Ruby started walking toward the tower at the center of Beacon while Cerise waited by the new residence hall. As the Rider walked across campus, she noticed Arya school uniform walking with three others, one of them being a Faunus. The elf stared at her Scroll like it had advanced rocket science on it, through the screen, Ruby saw just the main screen. It looked like team AETR was helping their Alagaësian leader use a Scroll. Arya didn't notice her boss, so Ruby didn't approach. She had different priorities.

The Rider entered the CCT and called the elevator. She waited for a few seconds before the elevator arrived. Ruby stepped inside, hit the button for Ozpin's office, and rode up to the top in silence. The doors opened at the top revealing Ozpin alone in the room. The headmaster gripped the edge of his desk with enough force that it looked like it could break at any time. His coffee mug sat on the far edge of his desk, well away from either of his hands.

Ozpin looked up from his desk, but he didn't relax. "Well?"

"He got away." Ruby crossed her arms. "Salem opened a portal behind him and he jumped through."

"What did he have to say?"

"Apparently Salem was willing to let us have Sanus all to ourselves and everyone everywhere else dies, if I gave up the relics that is. That wasn't going to happen."

Ozpin sighed. "In all my years, I have never known Salem to propose something like this."

"Either us Riders have her running scared, she's actually growing tired, or she would have just wiped us out at a later date. Hazel said if Salem had the relics and every other continent, she'd have everything she needed."

"If she has the relics, she wouldn't even need the continents."

"I'm not surprised. With all the energy of the one in the basement…" Ruby paused as some gears turned in her head and connections were made. How didn't she notice it before? "We know she wants the relics, but why? Why does she need them? Why has she _ever_ needed them?"

Ozpin stared at Ruby. "I'm not sure I follow."

"Salem's a Shade, the most powerful ever known. The original Riders couldn't kill her, only drive her off. She made it here before humans had bows and arrows. She could have killed all humans and Faunus any time she wanted. She could _still_ do that. Why hasn't she?"

Ozpin sighed. "You've made this point before. I still don't have an answer."

"What can these relics do that magic and Aura can't?"

The headmaster took a moment before answering. "The relics were separated well before my time. Legend states that each relic grants its user incredible power and that when more than one are in the same location, their power grows greater than the sum of their parts. Whoever possesses all relics controls the fate of Remnant. Knowing their individual strengths, I shudder to think of what that kind of power can do."

"Darvel's Infinite Gems? All Salem would have to do is snap her fingers and we're all dead?"

"I imagine that Salem could do something like that. But as you say. She wouldn't need the relics to kill us all." Ozpin hung his head. "All this time I thought she wanted us dead. I never considered anything else. I still don't know where to start looking for that answer."

"Does this change anything that we're doing?"

"Very little. We need to discover what she may be planning." Ozpin picked his mug off his desk. "Otherwise, we carry on as we always have. Keep Salem and her followers away from the relics, and protect those who cannot protect themselves." He took a sip of his coffee.

"Same old, same ol-" Ozpin spit all of his coffee out and hacked. Ruby blinked. "Um, Oz?" Ozpin kept coughing and fell to the floor. "Ozpin!" Ruby ran around the desk to find Ozpin face down on the floor. She flipped the headmaster over. Ozpin's glasses were broken… and white foam hung on the edges of his mouth. The Rider stretched her mind into her former teacher. He was fading, fast. He was poisoned, but Ruby didn't know what, so she couldn't…

Wait, that white foam… Ruby had seen it before, on Cerise, in Tronjheim. _Cyanide… damn it._ As she finished her thought, she felt Ozpin's mind disappear as the energy supporting it ceased to exist.

Ruby stood up and took a few steps back. Of all the ways she thought Ozpin would go, this wasn't one of them. Going down in battle, assassination by sword, a car wreck, old age, nothing like this. This was… dishonorable. That was the only way she could think about it. She hadn't liked Ozpin since he revealed what he was, but she wouldn't wish that on anyone.

The Rider pulled out her Scroll and dialed Glynda. She also stretched her mind out to find Pyrrha. She found her friend at the same time Glynda picked up. Ruby didn't give either time to say anything. "Ozpin's dead."

Neither of them said anything for a while. _"I beg your pardon?"_

"Ozpin's dead. I'm thinking cyanide in his coffee."

 _I'm on my way up,_ Pyrrha thought.

" _What happened?"_ Glynda demanded.

"I don't know. We were just talking, then he dropped." Ruby shook her head. "I notified you first. I haven't called the hospital. I'll do that when you're coming up here." She ended the call and pulled out of Pyrrha's mind. The Rider dialed the first one in one-one-nine before stopping. She turned back to face Ozpin's body. She was the last one to see Ozpin alive, the one with him when he died, the one who had an obvious problem with him to anyone who had seen them together in the past few months. _I am now the prime suspect in the murder of a council member… Damn you, Salem…_

* * *

 **Frame Ruby, take two (clack!).**

 **AETR=Aether**


	41. Wanted

**I'm in a bit of a spot with my writing right now. I love writing this, I always have. I love seeing people's reactions to all the fluff and all the cheese graters. But at the same time, it's not getting me anything physical. I initially started this whole thing to get better at writing with the goal to publish original novels. I think I've gotten to that point, but I don't like leaving things unfinished. At the same time, that's another problem. I know where I'm currently at and I know how I want to end it, the problem is filling in the center without missing anything important without major timeskips. I guess we'll see what happens when that time comes around.**

 **There's a major disclaimer at the end of this chapter. I can't say much without spoilers. All I'll say right now is that I've done a terrible job with the cultural differences and clashes between Remnant and Alagaësia. Modern/futuristic vs medieval. Things do happen.**

* * *

Aaron glared at yet another Bullhead that flew too close to his home for his liking. He wasn't sure if he preferred the news variants like that one or police transports. The reporters essentially live-streamed the house twenty-four-seven in the past week to whatever service they were. The police and military probably did the same thing, but at least they kept it in-house. Any one of those government transports could come for Ruby at any time. All because someone chose the coward's assassination method to use on Ozpin.

The Rider stepped back inside his house. Nalia sprawled across the floor, blocking sight into the rest of the house. She didn't trust the one-way glass to block anything. Aaron ran a hand across his dragon's snout. _They move at all while I was gone?_

Nalia hummed sadly. _Unless you count Cerise adjusting her position every half hour or so, no._

Aaron walked around Nalia's head. Sure enough, Cerise was curled up in roughly the same spot in front of the 'Victory Wall,' as Ruby had taken to calling the wall of 'thank you' notes, when she wasn't breaking down anyway. If Ruby had moved about as much as her dragon, she was still under one of Cerise' wings. _You think it's safe to go talk to her?_ Aaron asked his dragon.

 _I don't know. I think she just got some bad news from her lawyer and Coco, and something from Yaela earlier. I believe I've heard her crying and yelling after each._

 _I thought she was past that stage._ Aaron slumped his shoulders and left his dragon's side. In the sitting area of the Hall, Ruby's new lawyer and Coco were discussing something. Judging by the mini projector that was set up on the coffee table, it was VNN's latest report. Aaron had been gone the past few hours, so he didn't know the most recent developments. Going by what had come out in the past week, it wasn't good.

Aaron slowly approached Cerise and placed a hand on the dragon's neck. Cerise pulled her neck out from under her wing and looked at Aaron. She hummed and curled her neck around the Rider. _Ruby needs you right now._ Using her neck, she guided Aaron under her wing.

Ruby sat by her dragon's side hugging her knees close to her chest. She wore her normal pajamas, but also her riding helmet. Considering she didn't look up when her husband entered, she was watching something on her HUD.

Aaron reached down and put a hand on his wife's helmet. "Hey, Ru."

Ruby tilted her head back so her visor faced her husband. "Hey, Aaron." She brought her hands up to her helmet and pulled it off. She had her poker face on, but this time it was different. Her eyes were bloodshot and the emotions she put out were all over the place. Rage, depression, frustration, and many more. One push in any direction and she'd go overboard. She set her helmet down on her right side. "What did they say?" Her voice had no emotion in it.

"Not everyone's against you." Aaron sat by Ruby's side and draped an arm across his wife's shoulders. She leaned onto him as well. It was something. "Oromis and Islanzadí will stand by you, no matter the cost to them." Aaron grimaced. "At the same time, it sounds like they will be leaving at the end of next week, taking Rowan, Aithlin, and their dragons with them. We'll still have Lord Däthedr, but it could take time getting information to and from Ellesméra."

"Better than the Academies." Ruby's voice broke on 'Academies.' "Of course, Glynda is with me. Dora Thi is skeptical, but she'll defend me." She grimaced. "Professor Plum at Haven has started a conspiracy that I killed Lionheart, even when all evidence points elsewhere. The problems are he's not completely wrong, and it's gaining steam.

"But Ironwood." Ruby scoffed. "I'm starting to see why Uncle Qrow doesn't like him. He said that he'll support me in whatever way he can, but he can't interfere in another Kingdom's investigation and that he has to take whatever evidence and results that the investigation finds. In other words, right now, he's publicly against me. Well, thank you for supporting me behind the scenes, Jimmy. Would you sneak me intel reports in my _prison food?"_ Her words sped up as she spoke and her rage grew.

"But that's not all." Ruby leaned away from Aaron and clenched her fists. "Yaela's hacked into the facility that produced the inhibition collar, don't ask, and she said that they've restarted work on the same one that used on me. The same damn one! No modifications! If they actually use it and Islanzadí declares war because of that, I will gladly join her. Worse yet, Yaela said that someone else hacked into their system and stole the plans, someone who was much better than her. So not only does Vale have the capability to imprison us and separate us from our dragons, but Salem probably does too! Right now, we have no defense against that, and if Vale comes to arrest me, I'm sure as hell _not_ putting that thing on again." Ruby breathed heavily after her rant.

Aaron didn't know if he did something wrong or if this was inevitable, but he didn't want it to continue. "Ruby, you need to calm down."

Ruby glared at her husband, all her rage redirected. Aaron suddenly regretted his choice of words. "Calm down? You want me to _calm down?"_ Ruby threw Aaron's arm off her shoulders and stood up. "Two weeks ago, VNN loved me for saving that pilot's life. Now they're treating me like I'm leading a coup against Vale. Half the world is calling for my head, including some people who up until today I considered allies. If they get what they want, they'll put that collar on and I'll be separated from Cerise for decades, maybe a few centuries."

Aaron stood up and raised a placating hand, trying to keep his own rising anger down. "I think you're taking this all over proportion."

"How am I supposed to think? That this will all blow over in a day? It's _not_ going to happen like that! It's going to keep on going until I'm arrested or until they find who really did it. My money's on Hazel, but what proof do I have? That's another thing, right now all evidence is pointing toward me! The only reason I'm not behind bars right now is it's all circumstantial. I'm guessing they're going to bring in one of the three with a truth-seeking Semblance, and if they ask certain questions, we're screwed."

"If you're worried about being arrested, go where they can't touch you. New Vroengard could use a Rider's help."

"I'm not you!" Ruby yelled. "I can't just run off to somewhere and hide. What would it tell everyone that the leader of the Riders is running away scared?"

Aaron glared at Ruby. "You know exactly why Nalia and I ran. We had eggs that we needed to protect."

"If I run, I'd only be protecting myself. How many people would say I'm running away because I'm guilty. No. I'm not running. I'm not a coward. Running wouldn't help anyone. Just like you couldn't protect your family, I wouldn't-"

That did it. Aaron drew his right arm back and tried to swing it forward but it wouldn't budge. No matter how hard he pushed, his arm was locked in place.

He froze as soon as he realized what he was trying to do. He was about to hit his wife. Ruby glared at the hand. She blinked several times and her jaw dropped open. All anger in her eyes and that she put out was gone, replaced by betrayal. Cerise growled and opened her wing. She wrapped one of her paws around Aaron and flung him away from her Rider.

Aaron rolled several times until he stopped laying on his stomach. He pushed himself up and stared at Cerise. Her pupils were slits. Claws dug into the polished rock floor. Her whole body wrapped around her Rider. Aaron could feel the dragon's growl in his bones. Ruby herself stood in the center of her protection. She shook her head gently from side to side. She mouthed something that looked like 'Why?'

"Ruby, I am so sorry," Aaron said. "I don't know what I was thinking."

Cerise' growl intensified and she stepped forward. _Leave, while I still allow it._

Aaron took several slow steps back. He looked back at his own dragon. Nalia faced all the commotion, with a look of disappointment on her face. She snorted and faced the entrance again. _You're on your own._

Aaron faced his wife again and locked eyes with Ruby. _"I'm sorry."_ He turned around and sprinted for the entrance by Nalia. He didn't slow down, even when he smashed through the door and entered the forest. A few minutes later, he found a cave and he stopped inside to catch his breath.

 _It's happening… I'm becoming_ _ **him…**_

* * *

Ruby stood in her dragon's protective circle, staring at the ground and trying to piece the past few seconds together. What just happened? Did Aaron really just try to hit her? Why would he do that? He wasn't one to argue like that. He wasn't one to yell. He never made a move like that at all before. He wasn't a violent person, only fighting when necessary. What changed?

Cerise stopped growling and she turned her head back to face her Rider. Her pupils dilated back to normal size, if not larger. _Are you okay, Gem?_

"I… don't know." Ruby shook her head. What was happening?

Her dragon hummed and nuzzled her Rider's face. _I love you, Gem. I would never do that to you._

"I thought Aaron wouldn't either." Ruby dropped her head.

Another mind touched hers. _I apologize for what my Rider tried to do, Ruby,_ Nalia said. _I can assure you he regrets his actions._

Cerise snapped her head toward the larger dragon and her growl resumed. _If he truly regretted it, he would never have tried to do that in the first place._

The dragons continued to argue, eventually excluding Ruby from their minds. Nalia stayed quiet and didn't move while Cerise hissed and tensed her leg muscles for a pounce. The Rider didn't know who would win that fight. At the moment, she didn't care. She walked out of the circle of protection that her dragon provided and to the master bedroom. She pushed the door open and stared at the bed on the far side of the room. In the past week, that bed was the most comfortable thing in the world, with Aaron right beside her and Cerise not too far off. Now, it might as well have been made of needles.

Instead, Ruby walked toward the master bathroom. She didn't need to use it, she just needed the mirror. The Rider entered the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She sat on the closed toilet and held her head in her hands. Ruby whispered her own True Name to herself, the new one she discovered two days after her wedding. Everything in there stayed true. Her Aura flared and she shivered at the feeling. She thought she still loved Aaron just as much, and her Name not changing proved it.

Ruby bit her lip as she thought out her next move. She whispered Aaron's updated True Name. It still had all its power as well, but another part of it finally hit home. That part of Aaron's personality hadn't shown up since Kialandí. It explained why he ran away, but she didn't see anything in there that would make him do _that._ He still loved her with all his heart. Why did he do that?

Was it something Ruby said? She thought over everything she said in their fight… their _first_ real fight. She definitely blamed Aaron for a few things that he had no say in whatsoever. Right before he tried to hit her… she crossed a line for just about everyone. For an Alagaësian, knowing their culture, it might have been worse.

The Rider stood up and faced the mirror. It should be about dinner time in Menagerie, so Blake should have been up. Ruby cast a communication spell with her teammate on her mind. Her reflection in the mirror diluted and shifted to a view of what looked like Blake's and Sun's master bedroom in their new house in Kuo Kuana. Blake sat on her bed reading a book. "Hey, Blake," Ruby called.

Blake looked over her book and at her teammate. "Ruby!" Blake set her book down and walked over to her own mirror. "I take it something's happened…" Her words slowed and her mouth hung open. "Ruby, is everything alright?"

"Not at all." Ruby shook her head. She never looked at herself in the mirror, but she expected she looked like a train wreck. "Is Sun there?"

"He's downstairs with mom and dad." Blake pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "Something tells me that this isn't one of those talks you want him in."

"No. This is just between us. I don't even want Yang or dad knowing about this."

Blake slowly nodded. "What's going on?"

Ruby hesitated. "I hate to bring him up, especially on this topic, but… when you and Adam were together, did he ever… hit you?"

"Yeah…" Blake's ears shot straight up. "Aaron?"

"No." Ruby shook her head and hugged herself. "He didn't… but he wanted to."

"Wanted to?" Blake asked, almost yelling.

"We said out Vows in both Vytalian and the Ancient Language. We both promised never to hurt each other."

"But he still tried." Blake pinned her ears against her head and growled. "Dump him. Kick him to the curb. You don't need him."

Ruby's heart sunk. "What?"

"I want what's best for you, Ruby." Blake crossed her arms. "If he tried once, what's to stop him from trying again? What if he breaks out of it and he actually does it? It won't stop until you're no longer together, if that. You know how Adam came after me."

"Adam was a psychopath. Aaron isn't-"

"I've heard and made all the excuses, Ruby. 'It was just one time,' 'it won't happen again,' 'he didn't mean it,' 'I deserved it.' The truth is it's never your fault. It's always his."

"But what if I _did_ deserve it?"

Blake shook her head. "You tell me what you think you did, and I'll tell you why that's not an acceptable excuse."

"I called him a coward and blamed him for the deaths of his parents and Viki being captured and… everything after."

Blake's ears stood back up again. "You?"

"Yeah." Ruby nodded. "This past week finally got to me. I let it out and Aaron took the heat."

"That still doesn't make what he did okay." Blake pulled her ears back again. "He could have kept up arguing and turned away. You're both Huntsmen. You could have sparred and decided it that way."

"What if it's okay in Alagaësia? That's probably all he knows."

"You're not in Alagaësia. You're on Remnant."

Ruby sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Blake, what do I do? I can't leave him. What if this really _was_ a one-time thing?"

Blake shifted on her feet. "Wait for him to cool off and apologize to you. After that, and _only_ after that, you apologize for what you said."

"He already did, right after he hit me, in Vytalian and the Ancient Language."

The Faunus turned around and ran her hands through her hair. "Why do you have to go and complicate things?" Blake turned back toward her team leader. "Ruby, I love you like a sister. I may not be as protective as Yang, but I don't want to see you going through this. I'm already going to knock his lights out next time I see him. If he actually touches you, I'm going to kick his ass so hard his ancestors would feel it."

Ruby nodded. "If there's anything left after Cerise, Yang, dad… and probably Nalia get their turns. Nalia didn't look too happy with Aaron either."

"As she shouldn't." Blake curtly nodded, then she turned her head around. "I gotta go, Ruby. Sun just called for dinner. Next time I hear about this, Aaron better have gotten you an entire bakery as an apology."

"I'll hint something like that, if Cerise doesn't outright say it."

"I'm sure she will. Talk to you later.'

"Bye, Blake." Ruby ended the spell. She sighed and leaned against the back wall of the bathroom. In pretty much any other situation, she thought she'd agree with Blake. It was one of the reasons they never mentioned Yang's first and so far only boyfriend. Yang brushed him off like it was no big deal and was fine the next day… But Aaron wasn't that jerkface. His True Name proved that. Ruby just couldn't let him go… she didn't know how long it would take to do that if it became a common thing.

Ruby left the bathroom and the master bedroom. Cerise still glared at Nalia, but the green dragon stared outside, flicking her tail every few seconds. The Rider also faced that direction. Aaron ran off that way. Should she follow? He already apologized in a way that couldn't be refuted. Parts of her really wanted to agree with Blake, but others screamed that there was something wrong. She started walking toward the door.

 _Where do you think you're going?_ Cerise growled.

Ruby turned her head around. _I'm going to find my husband._

Cerise stepped forward. _After what he did to you?_

 _He didn't follow through with it. I have to face him sooner or later. I want to know why he did that._

 _What are you expecting? Him to grovel at your feet asking for forgiveness?_

Ruby faced the wall of one-way glass again. _He just might._ Nalia didn't say anything as her Rider's wife passed. Ruby left the building and walked off the landing pad, into the forested mountain surrounding the house. She clutched her wedding ring and the spells embedded in the metal activated. She felt where Aaron was, about a quarter of the way down the mountain. He probably felt it too. Neither would be surprised when they met up.

Some motion in the air caught her eye. A Bullhead flew about two miles away from the mountain pointing at her. A quick zoom in with her bionic eye showed it was one of the police variety. She wouldn't be on VNN in her pajamas, not that what she wore was skimpy.

A few minutes later, Ruby approached the place where she felt her husband. She took a deep breath, then let it out. Going into this angry wouldn't help anyone. She'd go in there, ask what happened, and hope for an answer that didn't end in more fighting, verbal or physical. She walked past the mouth of the cave and looked inside. Aaron sat a few feet in… with Redemption laid horizontally across his lap edges up and his right hand a few inches above the blade.

Ruby froze. She didn't know what she expected, but this was _not_ it. "Aaron, what are you doing?"

Aaron turned his head toward Ruby. His eyes were bloodshot and salt crusted his cheeks. "Punishing myself. It's only right." He faced his sword again and raised his shaky right hand.

Ruby thrust her left hand out. "Hitta!" Redemption flew out of Aaron's grasp and into Ruby's hand. Her husband stared at her with his mouth hanging open. "You don't need to do that. Nobody needs to do that."

"But… I was about to hit you. That's unacceptable."

"Yeah… but so is cutting off your own hand." Ruby leaned the sword against the cave wall. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why any of it?" Ruby threw her hands up. "Why did you try to hit me? Why did you run? Why were you going to cut off your own hand?"

Aaron stared at the cave floor again. "People get their actions and beliefs from their parents. Weiss was an exception. It looks like I wasn't."

"Your parents?"

"No." Aaron shook his head. "I don't think it's the same for other places in Alagaësia, but in Teirm, it's unacceptable for a man to hit his wife. If he does he loses a hand, if not worse, just like common thieves."

"So… someone on Vroengard?"

"I was raised by a master thief for a few years, remember?" Aaron faced his wife again. "He was cruel, and I was too young and stupid to realize that." His head dipped toward Ruby's feet. "I guess I'm taking after him."

Ruby put together what she just heard. Aaron was doing what he was doing in the place he was raised. He tried to hit her because of his own childhood trauma. That look was the same one he got when he killed those members of the White Fang. "But why did you run?"

Aaron turned his back to Ruby. "Because you deserve better. You'd never hurt anyone you love. Me… I'm just as bad as that thief, and I hate myself for it."

Ruby shook her head, her mind made up about the whole situation. "No, you're not, Aaron. I _know_ that's not who you are." Her husband stared at her, confusion in his eyes. "You didn't even lay a finger on me. If you didn't mean it, swear it. Swear that you'll never do anything like this again."

Aaron raised his head. _"Ruby, I love you. I never meant to hurt you. I will never hit you in anger."_

Ruby smiled at her husband. _"I love you too."_ She walked over to Aaron and pulled him to his feet. She cupped his right cheek with her natural hand. _"I will never hit you in anger."_ Ruby leaned forward and kissed her husband on the lips, which he didn't return. "I forgive you, Aaron, but until you forgive yourself, I need to ground you. Until then, I can't trust you with your weapons. I don't want you hurting yourself. I will take over the training for the other Riders until you're ready. I'll tell them you're going through personal training, which really, won't be wrong."

Aaron nodded slowly. "Makes sense."

"Also, you are going to tell Nalia what you were planning to do here. She's probably more horrified than I can ever be about that. You are going to do whatever she wants until she lets you go. Understand?"

"Yeah…" Aaron dipped his head. "I blocked her out so she wouldn't know."

"Then you are _really_ going to have to apologize." Ruby grabbed Redemption and reached a hand toward her husband. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Aaron removed Redemption's sheath from his belt and handed it to Ruby. "After you."

That wasn't what Ruby was reaching for, but it wasn't unwanted. She took the sheath in her left hand and grabbed Aaron's hand before in her right before he pulled away. "We go together." She pulled Aaron out of the cave. For the first hundred feet or so, he stayed behind his wife. After that, they walked side by side.

"Aaron, I want to apologize too." Ruby hung her head. "I said some things that I shouldn't have. Everything that's happened in the past week has gotten to me, but that doesn't excuse what I said. You aren't a coward. You risked everything to save the eggs and you never lost track of that goal, no matter what happened. That's an incredibly brave thing to do." She paused. "I also don't blame you for what happened to your parents and Viki. You had nothing to do with any of that. It was Kialandí, not you. If you could have done anything to stop him, I know you would have. Again, I'm sorry I said those things. That was completely out of line."

"I forgive you," Aaron said. "That's not nearly as bad as what I tried to do."

Ruby faced her husband. Aaron wasn't looking at her, and something told her that it wasn't about her mom being in her head. "Aaron, look at me." Aaron slowly turned his head toward his wife. "You are not a terrible person. You're not a monster. You made a mistake. Everyone does. As long as you don't do it in the future, which we both know you can't, it won't become who you are." Aaron said nothing. He just stared back at the ground. It looked like it would take a lot more to break him out of his funk.

The rest of the walk continued in silence, not that Ruby wanted it that way. She just didn't know how to break Aaron out of his shell this time. That was up to Nalia. The Riders entered the house and not much had changed. Nalia lay in the same spot with Cerise glaring at her. The green dragon stared down at her Rider and her pupils filled her entire eyes. Ruby left her husband's side so she wouldn't be in the eventual pounce.

Right after she cleared the dragon, Nalia shrieked and leapt toward her Rider. She grabbed Aaron in a paw and took him deeper into the Hall before curling up into a ball. It was a wonder how compact dragons could get when they wanted to.

"Hey, Ruby!" Coco called. The Rider jumped and faced the sitting area. She forgot their PR person and lawyer were there. "Mind telling us what's going on?"

Ruby shook her head. "It's personal, Coco. Unless it ends up on the news, leave it. This isn't up for debate." The Rider continued walking toward her dragon.

Cerise turned her gaze to Ruby. _Well?_

 _We're better, Cerise. We're putting this behind us._

Cerise pulled her lips back. _After what he did to you?_

 _He didn't do anything. We're fine, Cerise,_ Ruby thought with more force. _I've forgiven him, he's forgiven me._ She turned her head toward Nalia. _Aaron just needs to forgive himself._

 _Is that why you have Redemption?_

 _Yes._ Ruby faced her dragon again. _He was about to cut off his hand when I found him._

Cerise closed her lips and her eyes returned to normal size. _I thought he was past that._

 _So did I._ Ruby set Redemption down by Cerise' side. _We both swore we'd never touch each other like that, so we don't need to worry about that._

Cerise snorted. _At least there's that._

 _Yeah._ Ruby looked at Nalia again, then at the floor. Aaron was probably pinned against cold, hard concrete. Not the most comfortable thing for a human. Ruby walked into her bedroom and picked up one of Aaron's pillows. She'd probably have the whole thing to herself that night while Nalia stole Aaron… well, she could join Cerise. It had been a while since she cuddled with Cerise for the night.

Ruby took Aaron's pillow out of the room and walked toward her husband's dragon. "Nalia?"

The dragon pulled her head out of the bundle of limbs and wings and stared at Ruby, her pupils still large. _Yes?_ She looked at the pillow in Ruby's arms. _Why do you have that?_

"I'm guessing you'll be keeping Aaron here for a while. I figured this would make him more comfortable."

Nalia's pupils grew even more, something Ruby didn't think was possible. She brought one of her wings off herself and hooked it around Ruby. She pulled the Rider close and nuzzled her snout against Ruby's face. _I will not excuse what he did, but thank you for forgiving and caring about Aaron. He is very lucky to have you._

"I try." Ruby laid the pillow on Nalia's snout. "I'll let you two have your time." Nalia hummed and flicked her tongue across Ruby's cheek. She moved her head back into its slot and laid her wing across her back again.

Ruby turned around and walked back to her dragon. Unlike before there was no animosity in her eyes or the emotions. _Remember when you asked yourself if you were a monster a few weeks ago?_

 _Yeah… why'd you ask?_

 _Would a monster do that?_ She nodded at Nalia.

Ruby once again faced the giant green ball on the floor. She felt her lips tug upwards. _No._ She smiled at her dragon. _Thanks, Cerise._

 _Anytime, Gem._ Cerise raised a wing inviting her Rider sat down in the space and leaned against her dragon, who at the moment was her only source of comfort anywhere.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: 9 times out of 10, possibly more than that, I'm inclined to agree with Blake. To put things lightly, I'm not a fan of people who abuse others, hence what I say happens in Teirm. I've seen the aftermath on someone close to me. Someone from another dimension in the medieval period that had a terrible and abusive childhood and wanting to lop off their own hands for what they've done but they actually didn't do anything falls into the** _ **understandable**_ **and** _ **redeemable**_ **category, _NOT_** _ **acceptable,**_ **and only if there are apologies the size of Texas.**


	42. Breakthrough

**Glad no one wanted to tear my head offafter last week... can that last please.  
**

* * *

Ruby tapped her foot as she waited in the checkout line at Bullseye. She timed this trip _so_ wrong. Then again, it wasn't her fault that that weather in Atlas sped up the launch. She should have just stayed at home and waited until after the launch to go shopping. At least the place was dead since most people were watching the live feed somewhere else.

When she finally got to the cashier, she was polite as always but didn't waste time blowing the cashier's mind with her dad's packing trick. She needed to get somewhere with a screen soon or she'd miss the launch. As soon as she was all checked out, she ran from the building. _Cerise! I need a pickup now!_

 _Too late._ Cerise excitement flowed over their link. _Just over a minute until launch._

 _What?!_ Ruby ran as fast as she could with her bags to where she felt a large group of similarly excited people. She found them crowded around the outside of an electronics store. Several projectors on the other side of the glass showed the Atlas rocket launch site. Each of them had a countdown in the top right corner. Speakers mounted on the brick walls on either side of the glass played the sound. It sounded like VNN was about to hand all attention over to mission control. It was happening. The first attempt at launching a satellite in Ruby's lifetime. She didn't keep all her excitement from her face, but she did hold down her squeal.

" _Liftoff in T-minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four-"_

" _Ignition!"_ another voice called. On screen, smoke and fire billowed out from beneath the rocket.

The first voice picked up again. _"-three, two, one."_ The rocket left the launch pad and crept upward. _"We have liftoff on the Foundation-04 rocket carrying experimental communications equipment."_

This was nothing new. All previous attempts at launches always made it off the pad just fine. But when they passed a certain height, the Dust wasn't strong enough to keep up the pressure. A little higher than that, Dust failed completely and didn't respond until it passed that point again.

Cameras on the ground followed the rocket for a few minutes before the feeds switched to a camera on the rocket itself, looking down at Remnant. The fire and smoke at the bottom of the rocket grew weaker as the seconds ticked on. A little after that, another voice joined in. _"We are passing the Dust Ceiling in three, two, one."_ All smoke and fire from the rocket died out. _"We are past the Dust Ceiling. All Dust powered equipment is now inoperable. Battery power has been enabled."_ The air grew tense around the store. Ruby bit her lip. This was the moment of truth. Either she'd be calling Weiss to congratulate her, or offer condolences.

" _Jettisoning stage one in three, two, one."_ The bottom half of the rocket and fell back toward Remnant, or that's what it looked like anyway. It was still probably going up. _"Jettison successful."_

" _Stage two liquid fuel ignition in three,"_ everyone in front of the store bunched in closer, _"two,"_ everyone held their breath, _"one."_ Ruby bit her lip harder.

The new bottom of the rocket spewed fire and smoke downward. It did not look like an explosion. _"We have ignition! We have ignition, control, and communication past the Dust Ceiling."_

The crowd burst into cheers, and Ruby was the loudest among them. People high-fived and clapped each other on the back. It worked! The first manmade object to pass the Dust Ceiling. Atlesian rockets, Vacuan fuel, Valan and Mistrili communications, all of it was going into orbit.

People thinned out a little as time went on, but Ruby stayed until mission control had announced stable orbit. She stayed around for the cheers and left when the VNN newsroom came on screen. The Rider carried her two overstuffed grocery bags in one hand and grabbed her Scroll. She dialed Weiss and brought her Scroll to her ear.

It rang twice before clicking. _"Weiss Schnee speaking."_

"Congratulations, Weiss!" Ruby squealed. "You did it!"

Weiss sighed on the other side. _"I know. It feels so good. I might be able to get a decent night's sleep now that it's in orbit. But it wasn't me. I just helped James coordinate the whole thing. The scientists and engineers were the ones who built everything."_

"Thank you for acknowledging us that get our hands dirty."

" _I'll say as much in my press conference later."_

"Everything still working on that thing?"

" _As of right now, yes. I'm seeing greens all across the board. We'll just need to test our new communication equipment before we send another one up there. Don't want to have a bunch of defective hunks of metal in orbit."_

"How many of them will we need to cover the planet?"

" _According to current projections, sixteen at minimum. Communication will be patchy in spots, but there will be service everywhere. For a busier network, we'd need more, but it's not like we'll be getting rid of the CCT any time soon."_

"True that." Ruby paused. She wanted to ask about the special equipment on the satellite, but not over an unsecured line. "Weiss, while I've got you on the phone, I've got a random question on a completely different topic."

" _Of course."_

"How much do you pay Klein?"

Weiss stayed silent for a while. _"Uh, did you just ask how much I pay my butler?"_

"I did."

" _You're not thinking about getting one, are you?"_

"No." Ruby sighed. "But Viki's been doing the cooking and cleaning at the house on Patch and our new one for over a year. I mean, sure, we've taken her shopping, treated her and all that, but I can't help but feel we're taking advantage of her, especially after what she lived through. Aaron and Yang agree with me. Just one more thing to take her out of her past life."

" _Oh. In that case… Are you thinking backpay?"_

"We all are. I'm guessing that's anywhere between thirty and fifty thousand, which after the finishing touches to Drake and Wyvern and a few things on the house, I don't have."

" _Sounds about right. More than Vale's minimum wage anyway, especially if you're not charging rent."_

"She's barely an adult here… and I don't think Aaron would be too happy if I charged Viki to stay at our house, especially since we had a room built specifically for her."

" _There is that. I'd suggest several smaller makeup payments until you've given the full amount. I don't think Viki would mind."_ Weiss paused. _"How are Drake and Wyvern coming, anyway?"_

Ruby couldn't fight the smile on her face. "It's looking like I can make the reveal on Friday."

Weiss squealed on the other end. _"Oh my gosh! The timing couldn't be better! Record their reaction for me."_

"Will do. I bet they'll be…" Ruby stopped as she felt something behind one of the nearby buildings. If she remembered right, the area was the same that she found out that Penny was an android. A woman was scared for her life in that alley, but there was nothing there to give her that scare. "I'm going to have to call you back. I think there's an Alagaësian Grimm in the city."

" _I'll let you get to that."_ The line went dead and Ruby put her Scroll away. The Rider then walked down a side alley and set her bags by a wall. She drew Máni Bláto and extended it to sword form. Ruby crept along the wall and listened. She heard a woman crying, but nothing else. _Cerise, you know where I am?_

 _I do,_ Cerise growled. _I'm coming to you._

 _I don't think I can wait._ Ruby jogged down the alley and jumped out into the open area. Something metal slammed into her neck and wrapped around it. Several sharp things pushed out of the metal, pushing through her wards, Aura, and skin. Ruby clenched her teeth as she looked for her attacker. Something clicked in the metal.

Ruby gasped and she fell to her knees, dropping her weapon. Cerise was gone. The part of her mind that her dragon took up residence disintegrated. The Rider heard her dragon roar in pain. Ruby wasn't dead. Cerise wasn't dead… the collar.

"We meet again little Rider," an unfortunately familiar voice said. Ruby's heart fell into her stomach. She looked up at the voice's owner. Pruma strode toward her with a blue sword trailing behind her, the tip dragging in the ground… But why was everything so blurry, and why was it getting hard to think? "A little girl trying to play leader. It really is so cute."

Ruby grabbed her weapon off the ground and pointed it at the traitor. Gunshots downtown would get the whole city's attention. She pulled the trigger several times, but only one shot hit, and that just bounced off… with a bluish tint. _Aura…_

Pruma stuck her lips out in a pout. "You discovered my secret. Now I'm going to have to kill you."

Cerise flew above the alley and stared down at her Rider. She roared down at Ruby. The Rider couldn't connect eyes with her dragon. It was too blurry. "Hellllpp." She hoped her dragon could hear. Cerise threw her head back and roared into the air, adding fire into the mix.

Pruma's shoulders slumped. "Now I have to make your death quick. I hoped I wouldn't have too." She drew something from behind her... a pistol? "This might be quick." She pointed her weapon at Ruby. The Rider rolled out of the way just before Pruma fired. A red light burst from the pistol and dug into the ground. A _laser_ pistol?

Ruby jumped to her feet, but her legs shook and didn't want to hold her weight. Máni Bláto felt heavy in her arms. She tried to raise it into a defensive position, but she couldn't raise her weapon past her waist. What was going on?

Pruma sauntered toward Ruby. The Rider tried to swing her weapon at the traitor, but the elf jumped over the blade, grabbed Ruby, and threw her into the center of the alley. Ruby slid across the ground and lost her grip on her sword. She didn't have the energy to move.

She heard a crack and something shot into her natural arm. Ruby screamed and stared at the smoking hole in her left forearm. Her arm was still attached, but barely. A hand wrapped around her neck and lifted her into the air. The Rider flailed her legs but her toes didn't even scrape the ground.

Pruma smiled at Ruby like she was looking at a kitten, then stabbed the Rider in the stomach. Ruby's eyes bulged and she tried to scream, but she couldn't force it past the hand clenching her throat. Cerise screamed above her as well. "We have been ill met, Kingkiller. We will not meet again." Pruma raised her blade so Ruby could see it. "Salem demands that I receive your power."

Ruby's eyes bulged even more, then she clenched them as tight as she could. _Yang! Yang! Yang! Yang!_

Pruma peeled Ruby's left eye open with two fingers. "Uh, uh. No choosing anyone else." She looked to the left side of Ruby's head. "I have time." She leaned her head forward. Ruby felt teeth bite down on and through her ear. She looked straight up at the red blob in the sky. Cerise was way too big to do anything in such a cramped space.

The elf pulled back, a piece of ear in her mouth. "You Remmartians do taste different. I'm sure I'll get the chance to taste more of you in the future." Pruma raised her blade, with the tip pointed straight at Ruby's head.

 _Yang! Yang! Yang! Yang! I'm sorry Cerise. YANG!_

A few gunshots came from the side and knocked the sword out of Pruma's hand. One more hit the arm that held Ruby. The Rider fell to the ground and her head lolled to the side. She heard people yelling and saw several sets of boots and legs, but she didn't recognize anyone.

Someone picked her up and carried her away. It wasn't hostile. Ruby felt like she knew the arms. She turned her head up to look at her rescuer. It was blurry, but she thought she saw… _Violet?_ Ruby let her head fall again. She was running out of energy.

She blinked and suddenly she was in the back of a car. Several sets of hands were on her, but she didn't know their owners. She thought she heard Violet's voice, but she wasn't sure. Ruby let her head fall back and closed her eyes. _Yang. Yang… Yaaaang…_

* * *

Aaron sprinted through the command level hallway and slid to a stop in front of the armory door. He put in his access code but it was rejected. He punched the door then backed up. "Jeirda!" The door broke in half and flew inward. Aaron jogged in and toward where his V4, Redemption, and shield hung on the wall. He hooked Redemption to his belt, his shield over his back, and his compacted rifle in its holster. He also grabbed three magazines from the shelf.

"Nalia! Get ready to fly!" Aaron sprinted out of the armory, slamming into the wall across from the room. He sped up again, nearly running over Yaela as she ran in the opposite direction. "Jeirda!" The doors at the end of the hall burst open and Aaron ran through. Nalia stood on the other side wings outstretched. "Go!"

Nalia jumped off the pad and angled toward Vale. With a magic and Aura assisted jump, Aaron made it high enough to grab onto his dragon's tail. _Climb on now!_ Nalia ordered. _You're throwing me off._

 _You fly! I'll climb._ Aaron climbed up the scales on his dragon's tail and back until he made it to the saddle. Once there, he drew Redemption and searched over the city. Cerise hovered in place snarling at the ground below. Aaron felt the dragon's rage from a mile away, even though he wasn't touching her mind, and it didn't feel like she was sending it away. Pruma was down there. She tried to kill Ruby… and considering Cerise wasn't burning the city down yet, Ruby was still alive.

 _I'm hot dropping you down there,_ Nalia growled. _Get this bitch for us._

 _I will._ Aaron stood up in the saddle and prepared for a hot drop. He pulled his seldom-used shield from his back and glared at the ground. He heard a few familiar gunshots and saw flashes from an alley. _I'll speak with you when Pruma's taken care of._ He sealed off his mind after that.

Nalia growled and faced forward again. A few seconds later, she rolled and launched her Rider toward the ground. Aaron planned on aiming for the elf, but there were _two._ He didn't have time to see which was friendly. Instead, he threw his right arm forward and used his Semblance to create a green Aura barrier to roll off of and slow down. He rolled on the ground, bounced up, and took in his surroundings.

A couple dead policemen lay at the base of several walls. A young woman lay curled up in the fetal position away from the fighting, a nasty gash on her back. In the center of the alley, Pruma fought Queen Islanzadí herself. It didn't look like either one had an advantage over the other. Ren stood beside the same wall Aaron did.

"Ren! Keep her from dancing." Aaron didn't wait for a response. He charged into the fight and swung Redemption at Pruma's right arm while she was occupied with Islanzadí. Out of nowhere, a familiar red blade appeared and stopped Redemption. Pruma wasn't even looking. Aaron grimaced and pushed harder. "How _dare_ you use her weapon."

Pruma turned her head to Aaron with her sickeningly innocent smile. "Velvet uses the blade of a dead Rider. Why can't I?" She pushed both of her opponents away and jumped back. Ren fired Stormflower at the traitor and forced her to close the distance again. Both of her blades met those of Aaron and Islanzadí. "Two excellent swordsmen and a Huntsman. If you could kill me, I would be worried."

Islanzadí pushed Pruma's blue blade away and managed to land a strike on Pruma's arm, but her strike just glanced off with a blue flash. She was barely able to bring her sword back around before Pruma returned the favor with a Rider's blade. "How are you doing this?" the Queen growled.

"Her Aura's unlocked," Ren yelled. "It's going to take more force to take her down.

"If only you were this smart when it came to reversing spells." Pruma pushed back, spun around, and used both her swords to swing at Islanzadí's. They connected and the Queen's sword snapped in half. Aaron kicked the traitor away and put himself in front of the Queen.

Pruma swung both her weapons again. Aaron caught Máni Bláto on his shield and the blue blade on Redemption… Wait. That wasn't the color of her dragon. It was… Saphira's blue. "Where did you find Undbitr?"

"I didn't. It was a gift from my new Queen." Pruma aimed psychotic smile at Brom's sword. "Saphira was a nice shade of blue. I wonder if the color had any indication of taste."

"You may not be happy that we need you alive," Islanzadí declared. Another gunshot rang out and hit Pruma in the center of her head that forced her away from Aaron. Ren fired Stormflower again and the other pistol fire kept coming. Aaron looked over his shoulder at the unknown shooter. Queen Islanzadí had picked up one of the fallen officer's sidearms and had it trained on the traitor.

Aaron faced Pruma again in time to see something metal fly at him. He raised Redemption just in time to catch it on the flat of the blade. The metal wrapped around Redemption and barbs jutted out of it. Each of the barbs oozed something that dripped off the metal. Aaron didn't want to know what that stuff was, and something told him he didn't want to.

The Rider didn't have time to take the ring off Redemption before Pruma struck again. The traitor pushed out her lips. "Awww. I only have one more of those."

"And what are they?" Aaron growled.

Pruma smiled again. "It's a secret."

"One of those was wrapped around Ruby's neck," Ren called. "No one here knew what it was."

Aaron had an idea. It was the only reason Cerise would make that kind of scream and call for help. "You cut her off from her dragon."

The traitor narrowed her eyes. "Why do you all keep finding out my secrets?"

"That will happen when you try to murder my wife." Aaron pushed away and swung Redemption at Pruma. She blocked it with one sword while Aaron slammed his shield forward. The traitor wasn't expecting that and she stumbled back a few steps. A brown pouch swung at her side with the flap open. Another collar lay inside. Get that around Pruma's neck, take away her magic and maybe Aura. That, or dismember the elf and be done with her.

Aaron went on the offensive. He slashed like a madman to try to disarm or wear the traitor down. Normally he would have tired, but even with the constrained energy link, enough of it flowed from Nalia and the few Eldunarí with her to keep Aaron fresh. He managed to push Pruma away enough for Ren and Islanzadí to get a few good shots in. The traitor's Aura and wards never failed, likely with whatever Salem put on her. Pruma had slowed a little from the beginning of their fight, but Aaron still couldn't make it past her guard.

An unfamiliar roar filled the sky. Pruma looked up and her smile grew, right before it disappeared completely. "Oh. Wait. Trill's dragon is dead."

"Aaron! Duck!" Weiss yelled. Aaron didn't think she was in the Kingdom. He still did as told and dropped to the ground. A pure white dragon the size of an Ursa slammed into Pruma, forcing the elf into the ground. A white glyph appeared by Aaron's side and Weiss landed on it. "Thought we could use a dragon's strength here." Weiss raised Hvítr Vætta in a defensive position.

"What is that?" Islanzadí gasped, pointing her stolen pistol at the Summon. "It's…"

"An ally. Don't shoot it."

"Good to have you here, Snowflake." Aaron stood up and raised Redemption. "There's a brown pouch on her side with a suppression collar inside. Get it and get the collar around Pruma's neck." The Summon jerked its head to the side, throwing Máni Bláto away from its weilder, right before Undbitr stuck out of its skull. The Summon disappeared and Pruma started pushing herself to her feet.

Aaron adjusted his legs. "Monarch?"

"Copy that, Street Rat." Weiss thrust Hvítr Vætta forward and created several speed glyphs around Pruma. Aaron ran toward them, then on them. He didn't know how fast he was going, but it was enough. The Rider swung his weapon at least once per glyph. Pruma could barely keep up. On the second time around, she couldn't. Aaron managed to bash Undbitr to the side with his shield, then sliced down on the exposed hand.

Redemption cut right through the base of Pruma's hand. Aaron then slammed his shield into Pruma's face, knocking her into a brick wall. He ran forward and grabbed the pouch that held the collar. The Rider pulled out a metal half ring and flicked it onto the traitor's neck. The ring ran all the way around Pruma's neck and blood trickling down the sides showed the barbs extended.

Pruma's jaw dropped and she grabbed the collar on her neck. "Oh." Her eyes glassed over and her head dipped to the side. "Ooohhhh." She giggled and hiccupped like she was drunk. Just as Aaron thought, the barbs were drugged. The Rider slammed the pommel of Redemption into the side of the traitor's head. The strike drew blood and knocked the elf to the ground. Judging by how slow and ragged her breathing became, she was out cold.

Aaron stepped back and breathed heavily. He looked at Redemption's blade. Pruma's blood coated it, and Aaron didn't care. Part of him wished there could be more. Pruma deserved to die for everything she did, but if she did die, there was a good chance Viki would too, along with numerous more. The Rider cast a spell to clean his blade and all blood dropped off.

Weiss walked up and pointed Hvítr Vætta at Pruma's wound. A glyph formed at the point and fire shout out, cauterizing the wound. "Didn't expect her to go down that easy."

"She didn't," Aaron growled. "You weren't here when I got here. I believe the Queen was fighting for much longer." Cerise roared above them. Aaron looked up just in time to see her tail disappear behind a building. Nalia and Saphira still circled overhead. The reason he was there came back into his head. His heart never slowed down. "Yang was on her way back from visiting the other Riders. I don't think she has a ride to the hospital."

"On it." Weiss created a repulsion glyph beneath her feet and flew into the air. Saphira caught her Rider and they flew east.

Ren disappeared down another alley and Islanzadí approached Aaron's side. _"Your friend and I will see to this filth, Argetlam. Attend to your wife."_

" _Thank you."_ Aaron faced the woman lying in the corner. She had removed her head from her knees but otherwise hadn't moved. _"Have someone attend to her as well."_

" _Of course. Now go."_

Aaron picked up the collar Pruma threw at him then looked straight up at his dragon. "Adur." He flew up from the ground toward Nalia. His dragon grabbed him and they flew toward where Cerise flew off to earlier.

About a minute later, Cerise came into view laying on top of Vale General. She was curled up on the transport pad with her head and neck hanging off the side. Aaron thought the operation rooms were a lot lower than that, but Cerise was probably as close as she could get. Vert lay on top of the nearby parking garage while Orchid paced as much as she could on the top level of the ramp.

Nalia landed next to Vert and turned her head back, her eyes wide. _Go save your mate._

Aaron jumped off Nalia's back and ran down the parking ramp stairs to skyway level. He didn't slow down for the doors into the building, nearly smashing through the glass on all sets of doors. Once in the hospital proper, he stretched his mind out to find his wife. He didn't find Ruby, but if Cerise couldn't feel her, how could he? Instead of Ruby, he found several other friends' minds. He made his way through the hospital toward them.

He eventually found the hallway with his friends' minds. Two heavily armed SWAT officers stood blocking the entrance to the hall, but let Aaron through right away. Aaron walked into the OR waiting room. Violet sat in one of the chairs with Pyrrha right next to her. The Maiden had an arm across the young Rider's shoulders and Rusty in her lap. Yatsuhashi and Jaune stood guard at the doors to the ORs proper.

All eyes turned to Aaron as he stepped into the room. Jaune grimaced. "You get the witch?"

"Pruma's captured, again. I guess we'll decide what to do with her later." Aaron walked toward the other doors, but Yatsuhashi and Jaune blocked it with their bodies. Aaron stopped and glared at them. "Let me through."

"Velvet and the doctors told us to keep you away," Yatsuhashi said. "You would only get in the way."

Aaron jerked the still leaking collar in front of Yatsuhashi's face. "This is what's around Ruby's neck. Unless they've gotten that thing off, they need to see this thing."

Both guards stared at the collar. "That stuff's in Ruby's neck?" Jaune rubbed the side of his own.

"Yes. Now let me in there so they can know what they're working with."

Jaune and Yasuhashi exchanged a glance, then stepped to the sides. "Just come back here when you're done." Jaune gestured at the door.

Aaron scowled and passed the two guards. He'd have to be drugged himself to be taken away. The Rider found Velvet's mind again and stopped by the door that was closest to her. _Velvet, I'm right outside. I need to give something to you._

Velvet didn't answer right away and she sent her frustration. _I'm operating on your wife. I don't have time for-_

 _I have another one of those collars._

A shorter silence this time. _I'm sending a doctor to you._

The door opened and revealed a doctor and the sound of grinding metal. The doctor held a gloved hand out for the collar. "It's a miracle you have another one of these."

"Not really. The assassin had three." Aaron handed the collar over.

The doctor turned away, then stared at Aaron's hands, then at the stuff leaking from the collar. "Mr. Benson, you need to wash that substance off your hands right now. I do not know what it is yet, but it is in Mrs. Rose' bloodstream and it is attacking her body. I do not know if it can be absorbed through the skin."

"Got it." Aaron raised his hands and inspected the fluid on them. It definitely didn't smell or feel like water. He searched the hall he stood in for a bathroom and found one a few doors down. Hopefully it had something to wash off things that could be hazardous. If not, just normal soap and water would have to do.

When he finished with that, Aaron walked back toward the operation room. He thought he saw a pane of glass on one of the walls and he hoped it was for an observation room. The Rider pushed open a door and saw his guess was right. He stepped inside and looked through the glass.

His heart sank into his stomach. Ruby was breathing through a tube and was hooked up to more machines than Aaron thought possible. Her skin was paler than it normally was. A doctor pulled an empty bag off its stand and replaced it with a full blood bag. Ruby's stomach was exposed to the air with a doctor wiping more red off it. Her left arm was in a similar position, only it was charred black halfway between the hand and elbow with a white circle in the center of that.

Velvet stood right behind Ruby's head with a small circular saw. She pushed a part of Ruby's neck in and brought the saw down. Sparks flew toward her and nowhere else. Half a minute later, the sparks stopped and the Faunus pulled the saw back. "Six down, two to go." Her voice came over a couple speakers in the room. She looked up and locked eyes with Aaron through the glass. _You will stay on that side and will not interfere._ She faced her patient again and repeated the process on another spike.

Aaron felt another mind lock onto his. Yang was here, and she was flickering between concrete melting rage and depression deeper than the ocean. A minute later the door to the observation room pushed open. Yang barged in, her hair steaming and her eyes red. She stared through the glass and it sounded like she choked. Her eyes turned back to lilac and she brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh my god."

"I don't want to know what she looked like when she came in." Aaron shook his head but never took his eyes off his wife.

Yang lowered her hands and clenched her fists. "Did you get the bitch that did this?"

"With some help from a few others. Pruma's in Queen Islanzadí's custody."

"She's not dead?"

"You know what would happen if she was."

Yang growled and hung her head. "When the elves figure out how to get rid of that damn curse, I'm knocking Pruma's head in myself."

"Cerise definitely gets shots before either of us. Probably a few elves too."

"I know." Yang shook her head. "It's the Nevermores all over again."

"I know." Aaron searched the room for the doctor he gave the collar to. The doctor stood on the opposite side of the OR examining the metal under a microscope. Whatever he was doing, he was doing it slow. A little later he walked over to a computer terminal and hit a few things on there.

The doctor stiffened and faced the room. "King Taijitu venom. That's what's in her." Velvet stared back at the doctor then returned her attention to the collar around Ruby. Another of the doctors ran out of the room.

Aaron grimaced. "It _is_ the Nevermores all over again." He let his head sink. "She's going back in her hole."

"No." Yang shook her head. "No, she can't. We barely pulled her out the first time. What if we can't get to her again?"

"We have to." Aaron raised his head and stared at his wife's face, trying to ignore everything going on around it. He tried to imagine Ruby was just sleeping, that she would wake up at any moment, giggling at a dream she had the night before, that everything was right with the world. "I don't want to see her fall any more than you do. I'm not leaving this building until she wakes up. I'm not leaving her side until she can smile again."

"I'm with you there, Aaron."

Quite a while later, Velvet nodded and pulled the saw back. "The last barb is detached," she announced. "I'm now cutting the collar." Velvet moved her saw to the part of the collar on the right side of Ruby's neck. She cut through that, then moved onto the left side. With the collar cut in half, Velvet set her saw to the side. She then pulled both halves of the collar away from Ruby. Even though she had to be under so much medication, Ruby relaxed on the table and her lips twitched upward for a few seconds before falling back down. One of the doctors shouted for more anesthetic. That likely wouldn't do any good. Ruby could feel her dragon again and vice versa. Cerise had to be gripping on as hard as she could to her Rider, with what parts of Ruby were still aware likely gripping on just as hard.

Aaron sighed. "The hardest part is over."

"There's junk still in her," Yang said through clenched teeth.

"I know. Like I said, I'm not leaving." Aaron stretched his mind toward Ruby. At first, all he felt was Cerise. The dragon wasn't keeping him out, but she wasn't letting him in either. Aaron had to dig through Cerise' mind to get to his wife. He almost missed Ruby's mind with how weak it was, but it was there, and it was terrified. With how Cerise surrounded her Rider's mind, Aaron couldn't do anything. He pulled back into his own head. "I guess we can now wait a little easier."

* * *

 **Yay! I finally fit in Aaron and Weiss' ship na... team attack name! Now, back to my bunker. Been a while since I've been in there... also, I'm getting tired with these death-scares too. Right now, I'm not planning any more.  
**


	43. Wake Me Up

**So I'm thinking about taking another break soon, but this time for NaNoWriMo when the time comes. I'd still be uploading here, but I'd actually be writing original stuff for a change. It's an idea, not a certainty. Now, onto making people drop the pitchforks.  
**

* * *

Ruby slowly opened her eyes and stared at an unfamiliar ceiling. Before she could think about anything else, Cerise hummed and surrounded her Rider's mind with her own. Ruby took a deep breath and felt something tickle the back of her throat. Her body tried to cough it up, but nothing came up. That's when she noticed something coming out of her nose. She snapped her hands up to it while still coughing and started pulling it out. She felt the hose or whatever it was snake up through her chest and her nose. It finally popped out her right nostril, tickling her nose as well. She sneezed into her left arm, unable to hold it back.

 _I'm sorry, Gem!_ Cerise yelled. _I didn't mean to. I was just so happy you're awake._

 _You're fine._ Ruby took a few deep breaths to calm herself, then turned her head toward where she saw a flash of red in her fit. One of Cerise' eyes filled almost the entire window. The pupil was dilated to the fullest, but even so Ruby could tell it was horizontal, not vertical. Judging by the scales surrounding the eye, Cerise' head was pointing down. _I love you, Cerise. I'm sorry I put you through that again. I should have seen that coming._

 _I told you while you were asleep. That was not your fault._ Cerise hummed and blinked. _I could never hold being ambushed against you._

Ruby leaned her head back into her pillow. She didn't know how long after she fought Pruma it was until she felt her dragon come back. She wasn't even conscious or dreaming at the time, but there was no denying the feel of Cerise' mind when it latched onto her own. They'd been curled up together in Ruby's head ever since, but now that she was awake, their connection felt that much stronger.

A hand fell on her left arm above the elbow and away from the former injury. Ruby lolled her head toward it. Aaron sat by her bedside, a worried look in his eyes. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah." Ruby nodded. Her throat felt scratchy. "It was just the tube. I'll be fine… Can I get some water?"

"I got you, sis," Yang said from Ruby's right. The younger sister tipped her head in the other direction. How'd she miss her sister? Yang grabbed a water pitcher and poured some into a plastic cup. "Docs said you might be thirsty when you wake up. Something about one of your medications dehydrating you." She brought the cup over to Ruby but she held on. "Need help or do you got this?"

Ruby reached for the cup with her right hand, but her whole arm shook. "Cerise, a little help?" Energy flowed into her from her dragon and her arm leveled out. She grabbed the cup and downed it in one go then gave the empty cup back to Yang. "Thank you… How long have I been out?"

Aaron squeezed Ruby's hand. "Pruma attacked you almost twenty-four hours ago. You were in surgery or other procedures for half of that. We had to make sure the barbs and the other stuff in your system were properly removed or suppressed."

"Makes sense." Ruby nodded, suppressing a shiver. It didn't feel that long at all.

"Ruby, what do you remember?" Yang asked.

"I think I remember everything." Ruby wiggled around in her bed and brought a hand to the side of her head. "I was talking with Weiss on the Scroll when I felt the mind of someone scared for her life. Come to think of it I didn't see her in there."

"She was there," Aaron said. "She was released last night."

Ruby nodded. "I guess I was a little busy to see her. Anyway, I stepped into that part of the alley and that collar wrapped around me and everything got fuzzy." She paused. "There was something in the collar that drugged me, wasn't there?

Aaron and Yang exchanged a nervous glance. "You've… had it before," Yang said.

"What?" Ruby stared at her sister, then her body went cold, and not in her usual way. "You mean… King Taijitu Venom?"

Aaron nodded. "Docs said it was a stronger strain than what was recovered from the Nevermores." He squeezed Ruby's hand tighter. "You're not going back into that hole, are you?"

Ruby stared straight at the ceiling and snatched one of Yang's hands. She gripped onto Cerise tighter as well. "Hopefully not." She paused as Cerise and Yang tightened their grips as well. _Stay focused, Ruby. Don't think._ "We fought a little, and she had a... laser pistol. Did we pick that up?"

"We don't have it," Yang said. "We weren't investigating. If it still exists, the VPD has it."

"She also had a blue Rider's sword. Where did that come from?"

Aaron grimaced and looked away. "Undbitr. Brom's sword."

Ruby slumped in her bed. "How?"

"Salem, I'm guessing. We can get to and from Remnant and Alagaësia, she probably can too." Aaron shook his head. "I believe Islanzadí got it before Vale police could. She'll make sure it gets back to Alagaësia."

"Ruby, what happened in the rest of your fight?" Yang asked.

"There wasn't much more. She bit off my ear…" Ruby reached a hand up to the side of her head and felt her ear still there. _Thank you, Velvet, or whoever did that._ "After she got me in the stomach, she said…" Ruby pulled her lips together to stop herself from saying something she shouldn't. "Is this room secure?"

"I silenced it as soon as you were assigned here," Aaron said.

"Then it's double layered." Yang shrugged. "I added my own silencing spells to the room."

Ruby sighed. "She essentially said she was after my Maiden magic. I thought I was dead, so I thought of someone I trusted to take over for me."

"Cerise?" Yang asked.

"We don't know if dragons can be Maidens. If we didn't have to fight Salem, I would have tried." Ruby looked to her right and at her sister. Yang straightened where she sat and her jaw dropped. "I never asked. I never wanted to ask. But after what happened, I have to. Yang, will you be the Winter Maiden after me?"

Yang pulled her jaw up and her eyes became watery. "I will, but I don't think I'll get the chance. We're both going to be ancient when we finally kick the bucket. I don't think I'll qualify as a young woman then."

"We'll see. You'll only look thirty then. That's pretty young if you ask me."

"We're immortal. One hundred will be young to us eventually."

Ruby smiled at her sister. "I guess there's that." She turned her head toward Aaron and her smile disappeared. "I'm guessing since we're all here that Pruma's been taken care of?"

Aaron grimaced and nodded. "Vale PD has her and she has one of those collars on her, venom and all. Islanzadí sent for a few elves to guard her. I don't think the police are too happy about it, but the elves may actually be able to do something about Pruma if she breaks out."

"Is everyone else okay?"

"No." Aaron shook his head. "Pruma killed two police officers before I got there." He looked away. "I think Violet saw it happen, or at least she saw _something._ Orchid's kisses aren't doing anything for her either. I don't think she's spoken a word since then."

"Her mom's getting kind of worried." Yang rubbed the back of her head. "She's stopped by a few times to check on her. But like Aaron said, it's like she's not even there."

"Is she here now?"

 _She is,_ Cerise hummed. _If you want, I can tell her and the rest of your team that you're awake._

"Please do." Ruby sighed and leaned back into her pillow. "I haven't asked because I feel like crap in the first place, but what have the doctors said about me?"

"All of your injuries have been taken care of," Aaron said. "Velvet and I saw to that. Oromis looked you over himself when he was here."

Ruby wanted to disappear into her bed. "Oromis was here?"

Yang nodded. "Last night. It didn't sound like he blamed you for anything."

 _If he or Glaedr did, I would deal with them myself,_ Cerise growled.

"You can't beat Nalia," Ruby said. "What hope would you have against Glaedr?"

 _Never underestimate a dragon protecting their Rider._

"As to why you feel like crap," Yang continued, "like Aaron said, you had a stronger form on King Taijitu venom in you. You're feeling the antidote for that, and a few other pain meds."

Aaron shifted in his seat. "Velvet said you didn't need some of the pain meds, that we took care of everything, but the doctors overruled her."

"With all due respect to Velvet," Ruby started, "she's not even a year into medical school. For now, I'll trust the doctor's word over hers."

"That's just the physical things." Aaron freed his hand from Ruby's grasp. Just as Ruby was about to snatch the hand back, the same hand rested on the top of her head. She sighed and leaned into it. Aaron typically wasn't one to initiate contact, but when he did he meant it, and it felt so nice. "The three of us have promised that we won't let you go down that hole again. We don't want you panicking again like you were after the North Sanus Mountains and Fort Castle."

"I can swear it if you want me to," Yang offered as she squeezed her sister's hand.

"No need." Ruby smiled up at her sister but it felt forced. She couldn't make it real. "I trust you." Someone knocked on her door. "Come in."

The door opened and Viki stepped inside. Ruby was about to greet her sister in law when she saw fresh tears running down Viki's cheeks from her red eyes. The poor girl ran the few steps to the bed and jumped on, sandwiching Ruby. She pressed her face into Ruby's neck and sobbed hard. Her arms forced their way underneath the Rider and tightened their grip.

Ruby laid there unmoving for a second, then hugged her little sister with one hand resting on the back of Viki's head. "It's okay. Let it out." _Stay strong for her._

"I thought we lost you," Viki cried. "I didn't want to lose you, sister. I love you."

"I love you too, Viki. It's going to take a lot more than one assassin to do me in. Many have tried, all have failed. I'm not going anywhere for a long time." Viki nodded and buried her face further. Ruby looked past her little sister toward the other two that entered the room. Weiss and Blake stood against the far wall, both with their own small smiles. The Rider among the two wiped an arm under her eyes.

"Ruby, you could be a little more careful," Weiss 'scolded.' "An ambush could be around any corner."

"Okay, Qrow." Ruby smirked and Weiss grimaced for real. "I didn't think you were a cynic."

"You're taking this really well," Blake said. "You feeling okay?"

"For one, I'm on so many medications I think it may be affecting my judgment. Two, this is my like third near-death experience in six years. I'm getting used to it." Ruby touched her mind to everyone on the room except Viki. _Not really. I just don't want to scare Viki any more._

Viki pulled back and wiped a hand over her eyes. "Ruby, when you come home, I will have something great prepared for you."

Ruby shook her head. "You don't have to."

"I know, but I want to. It's the least I can do for you rescuing me."

Ruby smiled back at Viki, but her heart wasn't in it. That was Viki's response for pretty much anything. Ruby didn't know if that was her natural personality or something hanging over from her time as a slave. But now wasn't the time or place to figure that out. "Thank you, Viki." Ruby looked around the room again and sighed. "I was going to have to ask sooner or later, but what do people think about me now?"

Blake sighed. "Mixed. You've got people from all sides saying that you got off easy for what you 'did' to Ozpin, including people on the council, VNN, and Vox."

 _Others, well…_ Cerise hummed and slowly blinked, _why don't you take a look outside?_ She pulled her head up and out of the window, letting natural light fill the room.

Ruby sat up in her bed and felt a draft on her back. She pulled her lips back into her mouth. It looked like what she wore was a typical hospital gown. She looked at the two people on her left. "Could you two stand in front of me?" Viki crawled out of Ruby's bed and Aaron took her to stand by the outside wall.

Weiss walked over to the door. "I'll make sure no one comes in."

Ruby took off her blankets and swung her legs over the side of her bed. She tried to stand up on her own, but her meds made that a little difficult. Her legs shook and Yang had to help her sister stand. Cerise sent her Rider some more energy and Ruby walked to the window without any support from Yang.

She gasped and brought a hand to her mouth as she stared at the sidewalk on the other side of the street. A large crowd had gathered there, many of them with signs or other things that showed their support for her. One of them pointed up at her and the whole crowd looked up. Ruby could hear the cheers from several stories up and the glass. A few people raised up the 'We love you, Ruby!' sign that she remembered from both her Vytal Festival Tournaments. It looked like some of her Faunus fan club was here. She really needed to speak with them more. She made a big waving motion at the crowd below so they would see it. Considering a few of the people waved back, it worked.

Still, Ruby didn't like the fact that she was standing in front of people in a thin sheet with no back. She stepped away from the window and walked backward to her bed. "It's nice to know that some people still like me." Cerise dipped her head back down and covered the window.

"What? We're not good enough for you?" Yang asked as she helped her sister back.

"You're not the ones that are going to be calling for my head." Ruby pulled the blankets back over herself. "But I love everyone standing in here," she nodded at Cerise, "and hanging out there."

"There was a candle light vigil last night too," Aaron said. "Some people tried to protest for who knows what reason, but the elves and quite a dew Hell's Doves kept them away."

Someone else knocked on the door. Weiss' shoulders sagged and she and Blake exchanged a look. "It looks like she's ready."

"What's going on?" Ruby looked between her two teammates.

"Violet needed a little more time," Blake said. "She's… in a place."

Ruby let her head dip. She could imagine what the young Rider saw in that alley. "Could we have the room?" People nodded all around. They all filed out of the room with Aaron sticking around longer than the rest. Violet entered the room before the older Rider left. Aaron put a hand on the Faunus' shoulder and squeezed before he left the room himself.

Violet looked at Ruby, her ears flat against her head. Her eyes were wide like she had seen multiple Geists. She approached her mentor's side, her eyes occasionally flicking to Cerise. The Faunus still didn't say anything, she just stood by Ruby's bed.

Ruby found her bed's controls and played with them a little until she found one to push her up into a sitting position. _Stay strong, Ruby. Stay strong._ "Violet, from what I remember and what I have heard in here, you were one of the first on the scene?" The girl just nodded. "Were you hurt?" She shook her head. "What did you see?" Again, Violet didn't answer, shaking her head again. Ruby bit her cheek. "Can you speak at all, or was what you saw too bad?"

Violet shook her head. "No… I just… don't want to talk about it."

"I know it's hard. It hurts to remember, but it hurts even more to keep it bottled up. Not only will talking about it with others help relieve some of the pressure, but those you talk with will be able to help in ways you can't imagine." Ruby rested a hand palm up on the side of her bed, and open invitation.

The girl feebly grabbed Ruby's hand. "I ran in with two police officers. They shot that woman right away and she dropped you. They kept shooting while I ran to grab you. I think the woman tried to shoot me… but one of the officers took the shot for me." Violet dipped her head and she sniffed. "Then I heard the other scream. Two Huntsmen ran past me before I got you to a police car that just pulled up. I did what I could… but there was so much blood. They wouldn't let Orchid get close.

"I'm sorry, Ruby." Violet continued to shake her head. "I know you want me to be strong. I know this is what Huntresses and Riders do. I can't get those screams out of my head. I should have been able to do more to help you, but I can't take the sight of blood. I'm sorry, maybe I'm not cut out for this."

Ruby squeezed her apprentice' hand. "You have nothing to be sorry about. No one at your age should see or experience what you have. Even some hardened soldiers and Huntsmen wouldn't make it through what you have. You're still here, so you're stronger than you know. There is no shame in asking for help, especially in this. It means you know your limits. As for not being able to help me more, I believe that it's time to move you onto the next part of your training. I'll still be helping you with your combat skills, but Velvet could be taking over other things. Right now, she's the Rider's expert on the subject."

"You're not disappointed in me?"

"Absolutely not. Like I said, Violet, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I'm proud of you for what you've done. What you did yesterday was more than I could ask or order of any Rider. That's nothing to scoff at."

Violet's normal smile returned for a second, then fell again. "What about those two officers?"

Ruby took her eyes off Viki. "I still don't have an answer for that. All I've got right now is offer your condolences and do your best to make sure it never happens again."

"Does it ever go away?"

"The pain fades to a dull ache after a long time. The images never do." Ruby faced Violet again. "This may just be me, but I don't want to forget. Someone needs to remember them. I do sometimes see their faces at night, and at first, it's not so pleasant. Sometimes it still isn't. But ever since the day I first met you, the people I haven't been able to save have driven me to be better, to not add to the tally." Ruby faced away again. "Some people may say that's a cold way to think, but nothing else has worked, and with how long I'm going to live, I need something that's not going to come back to bite me. If I forget, I'll make the same mistakes again. If I remember they'll back me up into battle. Violet, you'll need to find your own way to cope. You'll need to do that on your own."

Violet nodded. "Okay."

"Yang said Orchid's kisses weren't working?"

"No." Violet bit her lip. "I haven't let her do that. I've been waiting for you to wake up."

Ruby squeezed Viki's hand. "Go to your dragon. Let Orchid take care of you. Let your mom know you're okay. So many other people are there for you other than me. Let them help you too. Next time I see you, I want you to see your smiling face."

Violet tried to do it right then and there, but it failed to take root. "I'll try." She turned around and left the room.

Aaron and Yang stepped in before the door closed, with a grimace and clenched fists respectively. "Just got a call from dad," Yang said. "The council is willing to extradite Pruma to Du Weldenvarden. From here on out, she's in elf custody."

"Queen Islanzadí is going to let us take a run at her before we ship her off to Ellesméra or wherever they plan on taking her." Aaron crossed his arms. "It turns out our interrogator has just flown into town as well. I know we wanted to keep Pruma and Morzan separated, but it's too dangerous to keep a rouge Rider on Remnant right now."

Ruby nodded, then faced her husband. "Aaron, I want you down at wherever the interrogation is taking place and report back to me when it's done."

Aaron stiffened. "Ruby, I'd rather not leave your side until you're on your feet again."

"Same here, but you're my second in command, and until I'm back on my feet, you're in charge. Also, you know what from the interrogation I want to hear. I can't get that from Oromis."

"So can anyone else on the team. Why can't one of them?"

Ruby blinked. "Because I asked you."

Aaron winced. "Got it. Sorry."

"When you get back," Ruby slid as far right as she could in her bed and pat the open space, "you're welcome right here."

Aaron hesitated before nodding. He faced Yang. "If anything goes wrong, call me." Yang nodded and Aaron left the room.

Both sisters waited a few seconds before speaking. "Let me guess, he was pacing?"

"Oh yeah." Yang nodded and smirked. "He was trying to keep everything together while you were out, real world and his head. He tried to do what you would do from your bedside."

Ruby smiled. "If only he was more of a cuddler."

 _That's what you have us for._ Cerise hummed and blinked. She opened her eye and looked at Yang.

"Who, me?" Yang jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "I can go grab Blake if you want. She's a cat. She'll love it."

Ruby shook her head. It was just the sisters in there, with Cerise covering the window and no windows into the rest of the hospital. "No Yang, really."

Yang's cocky smile disappeared. "Got it." Yang walked to her sister's bedside and climbed over the rail. The older sister wrapped the younger in a hug. "Better?"

"Much." Ruby snuggled in closer to Yang. "Just… stay here for a bit."

"I won't be going anywhere."

* * *

 _You think she'll be okay?_ Aaron asked Nalia as they left the hospital behind them.

Nalia snorted. _She has a SWAT team, several Huntsmen teams, a few grown dragons, and a horde of supporting people outside. I wouldn't be surprised if Weiss has a few squads of Androids ready to respond. Ruby is about as safe as possible right now. If she has an attack, Yang and Cerise are right there._

 _I know… but what if she needs some more help?_

The dragon sighed and faced her Rider. _Just wrap her in bubble wrap and glue your arms around her neck. You know how much she loves both._

 _Is that an option?_

Nalia shook her head. _I can imagine that you raising hatchlings of your own will be very interesting._

 _How is that?_

 _Because you'll want them to be able to fight for themselves and you'll want to protect them from everything. You can't have both._

Aaron growled. _I can try. How'd we get on this topic?_

 _Your concern for Ruby._

 _Yeah._ Aaron shook his head. _Let's get to the station and get this done with._

Nalia's emotions hardened. _You speak sense._ She curved around a skyscraper and aimed at a police station on the outskirts of the city. _Let's get her away from these people as fast as possible._ She landed in the parking lot behind the building and her Rider dismounted.

Aaron walked into the police station and was escorted to the interrogation room by an officer. At one point the path was blocked by two elves in full armor and swords at their hips. They let Aaron past but barred the officer, much to her displeasure. The Rider walked toward the conversation with familiar voices. He rounded one last corner and found Queen Islanzadí and Lord Däthedr speaking with Tai in hushed tones. Raven stood in bird form on her ex-husband's shoulder.

Tai stared past the elves at Aaron. "How is she?" Everyone else faced the Rider as well.

"Awake and speaking." Aaron stepped into the circle. "She's focused on work right now. I just hope that's not her covering up for something more serious." He faced the Queen. "Is Oromis coming?"

Islanzadí shook her head. "He needs to watch the new Riders. There appears to be much concern over your state among the new Riders. Oromis and Glaedr thought it would be better to keep them out of the city. Their presence was not necessary."

"Where is your interrogator?" Däthedr asked. "I've heard she has arrived, but I have not seen her."

"That's a good question." Aaron stared at the bird on Tai's shoulder. "Why are you still like that?" He touched the bird's mind.

Raven ruffled her wings. _The cameras are off in the room, I don't know about out here. We can't let people know that I'm working with you._

Aaron nodded and picked out a couple of cameras in the hall. He cast a simple spell that would temporarily blind the cameras. "They can no longer see us."

Raven jumped off Tai's shoulder. A second later she turned back into a human right in the center of the group. The elves jumped back and Däthedr grabbed his sword's hilt and stepped in front of his Queen. Raven smirked at the two of them. "It looks like elves can be surprised."

"Who are you?" Islanzadí demanded.

The spy crossed her arms. "Raven Branwen, head of Rider intelligence on Remnant, Geist to the Nevermores, and Rider Yang Xiao Long's mother."

Däthedr lowered his blade. "What magic is this?"

"Whatever kind Ozpin has." Raven shrugged. "I'm sure the two of you have been briefed about his story."

"Yes, we have." Islanzadí stepped forward and looked Raven up and down. "Ozpin made it so you were able to do this."

"He did. Before you ask, Ruby and Aaron have said it's not your kind of magic." Raven shook her head. "We're getting sidetracked. Is one of you going to be in there with me?"

"I will." Däthedr inclined his head. "I have some questions for her that may not involve Remnant."

"Not surprising." Raven glared at the wall they stood beside. "Tell me why again I shouldn't just cut her head off the second I step in there."

"Hundreds if not thousands of people would die in Alagaësia," Aaron said, "possibly my sister."

Raven winced. "Good reason." She shook her head. "Anything I should know about her before we go in?"

As the two interrogators spoke, Tai gestured to a door nearby. He led Aaron and Islanzadí through it. On the other side rested an observation room. Pruma sat quadruple handcuffed to a concrete table on the other side of the one-way mirror. She turned her head around the room with the collar still around her neck and a muzzle over her mouth. "I take it there is a reason for that muzzle?" Aaron asked.

"She's tried to bite people." Tai grimaced. "I heard that she bit off one of Ruby's ears. With what I've seen, I believe it."

"That's what Ruby said. Velvet took care of it before I reached the hospital yesterday." He paused. "Not that I mind, but why are you here?"

"Two elves can't hold her down, I can do it myself. And…" Tai clenched his fists, "this monster tried to murder my daughter. I'm half hoping she tries to escape so I can beat her down."

"I can't blame you." Aaron focused back on Pruma. "How is she so docile right now?"

"It appears she has a resistance to the King Taijitu venom," Islanzadí explained. "But it is not complete. I had one of my warriors you met upon arriving here milk one of the Grimm himself."

"I'd say that's inhumane, but with everything she's done and what she could face in Alagaësia, it's a slap on the wrist." Aaron shook his head. "Ruby wouldn't think so, but we're not the ones holding Pruma."

"I think the witch likes it too." Tai crossed his arms. "I've seen this look before. She's high as a kite and she likes it."

Aaron shook his head. "That's either going to make it easy or difficult to interrogate her."

The door to the interrogation room opened and Raven and Däthedr stepped in. "Pruma Shitface," Raven said with a hand of her weapon's hilt, "you've been charged with conspiracy, genocide, assassination of government officials, cannibalism, the attempted murder of my partner's daughter, among many more that I'm sure I'm missing." She laid both hands on the table and leaned forward. "Give me one reason I shouldn't gut you like a fish. I know how to do that without killing someone, with or without magic."

Pruma lolled her head toward Raven. "Laws. Can't do in Vale, can't do with elves."

"Laws have changed with your and your compatriots' betrayal," Däthedr said. "You have no rights. Why did you attack Ruby Shadeslayer?"

"My Queen wished it." Pruma cocked her head to the other side. "But I don't feel the little Rider in my head. I failed. My Queen won't be happy."

"Where is your Queen?" Raven asked.

"Remnant." Pruma giggled.

" _Where_ on Remnant?" Raven dug her fingers into the table.

"I believe people here call it the crust."

Raven drew her sword and pointed it at Pruma's head. "Tell me something else I don't like and I start lopping off body parts." No one in either room moved to stop her, except Tai's grimace darkened.

"Your Highness," Aaron glanced at the Queen, "would one under your command make such a threat and follow through."

Islanzadí nodded. "On a member of the Forsworn, yes."

The mad elf stared right at Raven. "I think she has gotten into your head."

Raven swung her sword up and brought it down on the left side of Pruma's head. The ear there flew off to the other side of the room. The Huntress pointed her blade directly in between the elf's eyes. "Next time you lose something more important."

Taiyang growled. "She's still a bandit after all."

Pruma continued to stare at Raven. "Do what you want to me, mad woman. I feel no pain." Raven lowered her sword and stepped back. Aaron scoffed. That explained a lot. The painless elf stared at where her ear fell. "Can someone feed that to me? I've always wondered what I taste like."

"You will be fed nothing but leaves." Däthedr stepped forward, his tone sounding like he was discussing the weather. "You will tell us what we want to know."

"You may try to make me talk. It won't work." Pruma leaned back in her chair. "You can't make me."

Däthedr glanced at the one-way mirror, then back at Pruma. "How many Riders have you killed?"

Pruma's eyes lit up. "Thirty and five Riders, ten and five dragons, I lost count of how many commoners and workers."

"On which part of Vroengard did you fight?"

"The Northern coast by the new hatcheries. So many mothers lost their hatchlings. It was beautiful."

Aaron grimaced and turned away. At least they were getting answers to some things. Whenever the elves find out how to reverse the spell binding her to the former slaves, Aaron now considered volunteering to be Pruma's executioner. She needed to die for all she's done. That day couldn't come soon enough...

But for now, he needed to figure out how many backed goods he could sneak into the hospital for Ruby. She deserved as much as she could eat.

* * *

 **Not much to say now... I'm dead tired while making the final edits.**


	44. Secret No More

**My gosh, I've been waiting to upload this chapter for a long time. I'll just get right to it.  
**

* * *

Yang sat sidesaddle on Bumblebee as she waited for Ruby to come out of the hospital. She couldn't help but wonder why there weren't any news cameras in the area. Sure, they had a Bullhead on the roof and Cerise on the parking ramp as distractions, but surely someone would have even an intern with a Scroll camera on the ground. But no. The only other people in front of the hospital were normal people or paramedics going about their daily business.

The front doors opened and Ruby stepped outside, not at all looking like she was almost murdered a couple days before. She also had a new drawstring bag over her shoulders. Yang waved at her little sister. "Over here, Rubes!"

Ruby turned to her right and waved back. "Hey, Yang!" She jogged over to her sister and didn't stop until she hugged Yang. "Happy Birthday, sis!"

"Thanks, sis." Yang gave Ruby a quick and tight hug before pulling away. She made an effort to look over her sister's shoulder. "What's in the bag? I've never seen it before."

"Oh, this?" Ruby faced her back to Yang and her cheeks turned a little red. "It's a bunch of get well soon cards people sent to me. I haven't read them all yet."

Yang couldn't help but laugh. "You've got a bunch more waiting for you at home. People really want to see you up on your feet again."

"Well, I still won't go out into the field for about a week, so I guess all of these sill apply."

"I guess so." Yang paused. "Now, is there a reason you wanted to ride with me before you even touched Cerise again?"

"It's your birthday. Can't I spend a little time with you for the day?"

"We could have done that on Cerise' back or in the Bullhead with Blake flying. Why do we need to be on Bumblebee?"

Ruby stared up and to the side. She hummed and focused back on Yang. "Nah. We need to be on the ground where we're going. Neither Cerise or the Bullhead would fit, right away anyway."

Yang smirked. "You're not taking me to a bar, are you?"

"Blech! No! Someplace a million times better." Ruby faced Bumblebee. "GPS working on this thing?"

 _If that's code for if I have access to the CCT for directions,_ Halcyon began, _no I don't. This is a motorcycle, not a Bullhead. I don't need to access the CCT from here._

Yang shook her head. "Why would I need a GPS? I ride where I want to ride. I haven't gotten lost yet."

"I thought so. Ah well. Just listen to me for directions."

"Got it." Yang picked her sister's helmet up from the seat and handed it over. She then fit her own over her head and mounted her motorcycle and her dragon.

Ruby mounted the bike behind her sister. One arm wrapped around Yang, the other hung at her side. To anyone else, it would look like the second rider was relaxed, but Yang saw her sister scratching the fiberglass panel underneath the seat. _It's been a while since I've been on your back, Halcyon. I've missed it._

 _Same here Ruby._ The motorcycle's engine revved to life, with a little extra from Halcyon's hum. _I wish I could give you the full experience, but something tells me we're not going to the Beacon Speedway._

 _I think even you'll like this surprise better than that._

 _Better than a bar for Yang, better than speed for me. I'm intrigued._ Halcyon pulled the motorcycle out of the parking lot with Yang letting her motions be dictated by her dragon.

 _One of those is harder than the other, speed freak._ Yang waited until Halcyon was on the main road before 'speaking' again. _So, Ruby, any clue on where this place is?_

 _Nope!_ Ruby chirped. _Halcyon, we're going to take a right on third._

 _Any hint on what this place is?_

 _The place itself isn't too remarkable. What's_ _ **in**_ _the place is._

Yang looked over her shoulder at her sister, then back at the road ahead. _You're not making me go on a blind date, are you?_

 _No… but thank you for an idea for next year._

 _If that ever happens,_ Halcyon started, _Ruby or whoever will need to clue me in. I might be half dead, but the part of me that's alive will still defend you with everything I've got, from Grimm to jerk guys._

 _Thanks, Halcyon._ Yang squeezed the handlebars and the engine revved a little more. She continued the rest of the trip pelting Ruby with questions about where they were heading. Her little sister wasn't trying to get anyone confused with their destination. They were going in a specific direction. Yang just didn't know what was so fun about the financial or industrial districts. There was only one thing in that area that she knew about, and she didn't think she was supposed to know about it.

 _Take a right down the next alley,_ Ruby said. _We're here._

 _Really?_ Halcyon turned down the alley as suggested. He drove down the narrow road until it opened into a wider area behind an old SDC maintenance building. _Why are we here?_

"It's where I wanted to take you two." Ruby hopped off the motorcycle. She stepped in front of Bumblebee and took off her helmet. She smiled from ear to ear and her eyes glowed with delight, but from the way her body shook, it wasn't enough. "I've been waiting so long for this."

Yang took off her helmet and cocked her head. "You're cluing us in on your secret projects?

Ruby's mouth pulled back together and most of the light left her eyes. "You know?" Her now still body slumped.

"I know that your projects are in here, not what they are. I never found a way in."

"Good." Ruby sighed and her happiness returned to her face. "You had me worried there for a second."

"What's in there that's got you so riled up anyway? You set up a surprise party on the other side of those doors?"

"Nope. No surprise party. But before I go into what's in there, I should have something out here for you." Ruby took a few steps back and looked straight up. "Cerise? Blake give you what I asked her to?"

 _She did,_ Cerise called, _but are you sure you want to try this maneuver with this thing?_

"I'll be watching the first few times we do it. Give it a week and I'll do it without looking."

 _If you say so. Just give me the word._

"Okay. Cerise, care package."

"Care package?" Yang cocked her head. "I thought you didn't like that game."

"I don't, really. I just like this idea."

Cerise flew overhead and she clawed something from her saddle. Whatever it was fell straight toward Ruby. _Care package inbound._

Ruby positioned herself under the care package and flexed her fingers. She snapped her right hand forward and snatched the golden object from the air.

Bumblebee's engine whined high, a motorcycle's whistle. _Nice catch._

"Thanks!" Ruby shifted the… sword and sheath to rest across her palms. "Sorry it took me so long to get to this. We've kind of been busy. This wasn't meant to be a birthday gift, but it just worked like that."

Yang took the sheath from Ruby's grip. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Sun's Light forged from brightsteel, with a few modifications to make the weapon yours. One of them is pretty big."

Yang drew her new sword and held it in front of her. Like Hvítr Vætta, the blade was two-toned, Halcyon gold on the outside and fading to silver on the inside, the same shade as the streak in Yang's hair. The blade itself was a few inches longer, adding that weight onto it. No matter how much she trained, Sun's Light always felt awkward in her hands. This sword, like Ember Halcyon/Celica, felt natural, like an extension to her body. Considering she hated swords for the longest time, that was an achievement.

She hit the switch for sniper form, but instead of the blade spinning around the center, the whole thing bulked down and bent at the hilt. A few extensions including iron sights and a pump also burst out of the brightsteel. A thick ammo magazine also jerked out near the hilt, now pistol grip. A guarded trigger and a stock burst out last.

Yang's jaw dropped and she turned the shotgun over in her hands. "Dang, Ruby!" She ejected the magazine and looked inside. It was already loaded with the same shells she used for Ember Celica. "I was expecting a sniper. What happened?"

"Let's be honest," Ruby shrugged and held her hands palm up, "at range with your tracking, you can only hit something the size of a Goliath or bigger." Yang gave a sideways nod. It was a fair point. "This plays to your strengths. Club on the bottom, sword blade on top."

"I like it." Yang slammed the magazine back into place and looked down the sights. "Anything else I should know about this thing before I name it?"

"It can take normal shells, and a laser mag… when I'm able to figure out how to make a shotgun variant, anyway."

"Nice, even more of a punch… well, if lasers have the same stopping power as Dust."

"Don't know about that." Ruby shook her head. "More testing's needed."

Yang faced her dragon showing off her new weapon. "Ay you, what do ya think?"

Halcyon's engine revved. _It fits you, Firecracker… Can we mount it on me and you can ride me into battle?_

"Maybe." Yang held the weapon up to the head of the motorcycle. "We'd need to get your wheels changed, but yes, I think I'd like to do that." She took her shotgun back and flipped the transformation switch again. The gun folded back in on itself to form the sword. "I think I'll call you Dawnbreaker."

Ruby blinked and cocked her head. "No Ancient Language name?"

"Look at Redemption. I can pronounce the words just fine, but can you imagine VNN reporters or whoever trying to pronounce it?"

"Hmm. I guess you have a point." Ruby paused. "Also before we go inside, I have something to ask of you that I think you'll enjoy."

"And that is?" Yang asked as she sheathed Dawnbreaker and clipped it to her belt.

"I've been getting calls and emails from Galactic Studios for a couple weeks. They want to make a movie about what Remnant would be like if the Riders were on Remnant from the birth of the Kingdoms. They want one of us for consulting… and at least a small role in the movie itself."

Yang dropped her jaw to the ground. "Are you asking if I want to be in a movie?"

"Yeah. But if you don't want to, I can always ask Weiss."

"Uh, uh! No! There's no way in heck I'm passing this up. Get me in contact with this guy and get me in a movie!"

Ruby giggled. "I thought you might say that."

 _I better be in there too,_ Halcyon growled. _Someone's got to be a speed demon._

Yang rubbed her motorcycle's seat. "I'll see what I can do."

Ruby looked back at the building, then faced Yang again. Her earlier excitement returned tenfold and her eyes turned glassy. "Now for the main event. Again, I didn't mean for these things to be birthday presents. It just happened like that. Considering I've been working on these since we got back from Alagaësia the first time, that's saying something."

Yang scrunched her eyes. "You getting to something here, sis?"

"My secret projects were for the two of you." Ruby smiled between Yang and Halcyon's camera on Bumblebee. "I started the designs as soon as I got back, and I've been working on building them since Halcyon got his Core."

Yang let her arms hang limp at her side. Halcyon rolled up a few feet, his engine whining. _They're for me?_

"For both of you, but I think you'll like them more. At least one of them anyway." Ruby rubbed the head of the motorcycle drawing out a happy purr. "The only other thing I'll say about them is that four other people know what these things are. Weiss funded the project and provided the resources, Rhunön helped with metalworking, Yaela worked on programming and wiring, and Coco only knows about one of them so she can put together a response for when it goes public. Weiss and Yaela are inside now. Rhunön's… I don't know where. Probably out searching for more metal."

"You've got my attention. Lead the way, sis." Yang gestured at the maintenance building. Ruby turned around and skipped toward one of the doors. Yang rested a hand on her motorcycle's seat and she and Halcyon walked and rolled toward the door side by side.

 _What do you think's in there?_ Halcyon asked.

 _I don't know. I know what I_ _ **want**_ _to be in there, but that's a quick turnaround for something like that. Maybe a heavily modified Bullhead or Bullance just for us? Or both? Ruby made it sound like there were multiple things._

 _There is that. Whatever they are, I'm excited._

 _You and me both, Halcyon._ Up ahead, Ruby opened the door as far as it would go. Halcyon drove in on his own, followed by Yang and Ruby. The Riders' Bullhead lay just inside the door with Weiss and Yaela standing near the nose.

Both women faced the newcomers. Weiss smiled at her big sister. "Happy birthday, Yang." She walked over to Yang and gave her a hug.

"Thanks, Weiss." Yang returned the quick hug before pulling back. "How long were you in on this?"

"From the beginning." Weiss shrugged. "Ruby had me read in on my tenth day as CEO." She looked past Yang. "Speaking of her…" She walked past her big sister and toward Ruby, running a hand over Halcyon's back in the process. Ruby squeaked as her partner hugged the daylight out of her.

Yang focused on Yaela. "You got roped into this too?" She walked toward the elf.

Yaela jumped to close the distance. "Yes, and it was quite by accident. I thought my skills in programming were poor at best, but in reality, I am just as good if not better than professionals that have been doing it for years."

"That's why we had you program the control room." Yang stared at the side of the Bullhead. She saw something gold through the cockpit windows but couldn't tell what it was. "I take it whatever we're here for is hiding on the other side of this?"

"Yes, but I cannot let you see it yet. Weiss said something about wanting to see your face when you see Wyvern."

"Wyvern?" Yang looked back at Yaela. "Like a two-legged dragon?"

Yaela straightened. "So that's what that word means."

Yang chuckled. "Looks like you still don't know everything about Remnant."

Weiss walked past Yang again with her Scroll out and facing the brawler. "Okay Yang, you're good." Ruby appeared on Yang's right and pat her sister's back. She still had that same smile from outside, but she didn't say anything.

Yang turned to her left and set a hand on her motorcycle's head. "Halcyon, ready to see what all the fuss is about?"

 _I am. Let's go._ Halcyon rolled forward and Yang walked alongside him. They passed the nose of the Bullhead and the Rider turned her head right.

She gasped and nearly jumped back into Halcyon. Yang stared at a Halcyon gold fighter jet that was bigger than the Bullhead. A painted-on dragon scale pattern covered the whole thing. The main body was mainly streamlined, but a dragon's swept wings sprouted from the sides and took the place of all four fins on the back. Two massive air intakes lay on the bottom of the fighter, with equally as large engines likely on the back. Four machineguns rested inside the hull of the craft, but no missiles hung under its wings. It wasn't a Bullance fighter, it was soo much cooler.

"Oh. My. Gosh." Yang felt her own lips tugging at the edges of her face as she nodded at the sight. "Three people built this in a year?"

"Yep!" Ruby chirped. She walked in front of Yang and dramatically gestured at the fighter. "I call it the DR-01 Wyvern. She's built for speed and packing one heck of a punch. On the nose are quad Rose Tech—trademark pending—machineguns, all of which will be able to fire lasers once I figure out how to do that. For speed, maneuverability, and a smaller radar contact, missiles are stored inside the hull beneath the wings. As for how fast this thing is, if my projections are correct, this will be the first vehicle to be able to safely fly faster than the speed of sound. There are also some solar panels built into the wings that can keep you in the air for a long time, but the downside is that you can't go as fast when only using solar."

Halcyon drove toward the fighter, his engine revving harder than it should have been. Someone was excited. _Ruby, you said that these were partly for me, right? Does that mean I can fly this thing?_

"It does, but I'd suggest going a little easier on it right away. This thing's a little more complicated than anything you've flown before… and there's only one of them and it's incredibly expensive. I already owe Weiss a lot of money."

"And don't you forget it, Rose!" Weiss called, though it didn't sound like she meant it.

"Yang, Yaela set up a simulator in the back room for you. You'll be able to practice flying without putting yourself or your fighter in danger." Ruby winced. "This is the one that Coco needs to get something together for. I designed this to go head to head with some of Atlas' fighters and win nine times out of ten. I can't imagine the Kingdoms will like having a Huntsman organization having fighters that can stomp their own."

 _Too bad for them._ Halcyon drove around the fighter, stopping at points to turn his camera toward the Wyvern. _I like this. If I can fly it, they're not taking it away from me._

"I won't let them." Yang smirked at her dragon, then at her sister. "We just got a big stick, didn't we?"

"We did. We just need a few more big sticks."

Yang raised her eyebrows. "Are you planning for that?"

"Yes and no. Short term I'd like to iron out all the kinks in this one, 'cause I'm sure there are, this is the first time I've designed and built something this big. Long-term… I still need to run this by Oromis and Umaroth, but I need to get back to Ellesméra to examine Cuaroc, see how his Eldunarí functions with his body, and use that to build more of these for the Eldunarí."

"Really?" Yang faced the Wyvern again. "Oh yeah. A few dozen of these on our side… Grimm and baddies alike, watch out."

"Yeah." Ruby slumped her shoulders and her smile disappeared. "But there are so many problems with that." She shook her head and her smile returned. "No sad business! I've saved the best for last."

 _What can be better than this?_ Halcyon asked as he rolled up to Yang's side.

"You'll see." Ruby turned around and jogged into a side workshop.

Yang looked down at her motorcycle. "How you like your fighter?"

 _I think I can beat Nalia in a race now._ Halcyon revved the engine three times, each louder and higher than the last. This time it was just to make that noise. _There's no way she can beat me when I'm in that._

"I want to see you dogfight with a few Atlesian fighters. That sounds awesome, as long as no one's using real ammo."

 _I think we can agree there._ The engine revved in a hum. _I can't wait to get in the air again, just me and you._

"Yeah. That'll be something." Yang scratched under one of the handlebars, and Halcyon leaned into it the best he could. "I'm guessing there's some Gravity Dust in there for VTOL. We'll probably be able to fly right out of here."

 _That's my hope._ Halcyon paused. _I think Ruby's pulling something big._

The Rider pulled back some of her hair and tilted that ear toward where Ruby disappeared to. "I hear it. Sounds like a pallet jack." Her sister's back appeared in the door, with her arms stretched into the room. She pulled a pallet jack out with-

Yang took in a sharp breath and clamped both hands over her mouth. Her eyes bulged out of her head and she felt her knees grow weak. Halcyon hummed high and inched forward. The pallet jack held the metal shell of a young dragon with a hatch on its back open. It was the size of a fully grown Mistrili Shepherd, Halcyon at two weeks.

Ruby turned around and smiled at Yang, tears leaking from her eyes and her smile the widest it had ever been. "I know it's your birthday, Yang, but I needed to get something for my big little brother."

Yang couldn't say anything through her clenched throat. She just nodded and fell to her knees as her legs gave in. It was really happening. Halcyon had gotten the full Penny treatment. He was getting his body back.

Halcyon revved the engine the hardest Yang had ever heard. It would probably need maintenance after that one. He jerked the front wheel to the side and did several doughnuts on the spot. He stopped his spin while facing the mechanic. _Ruby, I love you. It's perfect._

Ruby's smile disintegrated into a frown and her whole body slumped. "But it's _not_ perfect. This is as big as I could safely get it. Any bigger, it would risk collapsing under its own weight or require significant reinforcement, and that would mean taking out other things that I couldn't sacrifice. You're down to five minutes of sustained flame now. I tried to get it better, but that's the most I can get with how much Burn Dust you can carry. Your wings won't work either. You're too heavy, and really, dragons are too heavy in general for your wings to carry your weight. You have no natural magic to keep you in the air, just fifteen minutes of Gravity Dust at one hundred feet. You can't even taste anything. And… and…"

 _Ruby, shut up,_ Halcyon soothed, bringing an end to Ruby's breakdown. Yang thought she'd never hear those two words in such a loving manner again. _Let me put this in a way that even your mom would understand._ _ **I love it. I couldn't have asked for this much. I was happy enough being carried around by Yang, driving Bumblebee, and flying the Bullhead. This is an amazing gift, and I don't think I'll be able to make it up to you. It may not be perfect, but I love it as it is, and if something goes wrong or something can be improved, I trust that you'll be there with a fix.**_

Ruby's smile returned and she wiped an arm over her eyes. "Thank you, Halcyon." She knelt down and hugged the head of the motorcycle. Halcyon hummed the engine again. Yang stood up from where she knelt and walked over to the group hug. She joined in as soon as she got there. The three stayed like that for a while, with Ruby nuzzling each family member in turn.

After a while, Halcyon backed up an inch. _Yang, I'm ready._

"You got it." Yang stood up and opened the compartment for Halcyon's core on Bumblebee. She made sure the kickstand was down before she pulled her dragon out. The motorcycle wound down as Yang walked over to the shell. It looked like it was the same mechanism in everything else. _Here you go, buddy._ Yang plugged Halcyon in and the whole body shuddered. The tail flicked to the left. The Rider pushed the Core down and closed the hatch.

Yang then jumped in front of Halcyon, then held both sides of her dragon's head. "Ay, you, can you hear me?"

Halcyon's ears flicked forward and his wings twitched upward. His head raised and his eyes flickered under the eyelids. His eyelids raised, revealing his blue eyes. They were unfocused and held none of the emotion the dragon put out. Halcyon blinked a few times, each time bringing his eyes more and more into focus. About half a minute later, they locked on Yang's. The pupils dilated to fill almost the entire eyes.

"How's it working Halcyon?" Yang asked, barely able to keep down happy laughs.

Halcyon hummed, _his_ hum, music to Yang's ears. _I'll let you know in a few seconds._ He pounced off the pallet he stood on and onto his Rider. Yang wrapped her arms around her dragon before she hit the ground and Halcyon managed to do the same. The Rider buried her face into her dragon's metal shoulder. Halcyon snaked his neck around and nuzzled his Rider's head. _I think it works. I don't think I was this flexible before._

Yang kissed her dragon's new snout. _Whatever works._ Halcyon flicked his tongue across his Rider's cheek.

Halcyon backed off his Rider and looked over himself. He brought all of his limbs in front of his eyes and searched for something that Yang didn't know. His wings and tail twitched all over the place. He let out so many warbles, sounding like he did before they left for Alagaësia. The dragon threw his head back and roared at the ceiling. It was quiet, but it still sounded like him.

Ruby cheered from the side while jumping and clapping her hands. Halcyon focused on his Rider's sister. He chirped and jumped on Ruby. The Rider squeaked as she was tackled to the ground. "Why?" she moaned.

Yang pushed herself up and walked to the small pile on the floor. Ruby rubbed Halcyon's back while their eyes were locked. The Rider smiled up at her sister. "I think your dragon likes me."

 _You just gave me my body back._ Halcyon nuzzled Ruby's face again. _Why wouldn't I?_

"Because you're my dragon, not hers." Yang rubbed Halcyon's head like how she ruffled Ruby's hair. "You weren't this cuddly with me."

Halcyon snapped at Yang's hand and held it in his teeth but he didn't bite down. _That's because I'm not leaving your side for a long time._ He licked Yang's hand all over, then stopped. _My mouth isn't slobbery, is it?_

"Nah. Just a little warm and a lot of skin." Yang pulled her hand out of her dragon's opening mouth. "I don't think that's useful for something that doesn't eat."

"Not even close." Ruby wiggled her way out from under Halcyon. "Plus, all that lubricant would help anything he's trying to bite. Before you ask, yes, you are combat ready, or at least you will be when you get used to your body again." She stood up and patted Halcyon on the shoulder.

Halcyon yipped than narrowed his eyes and growled happily. _I've missed fighting things with my claws._

"Maybe we can wrestle again sometime." Yang pat her dragon's metallic shoulder then faced her sister. "So nobody knows that Halcyon has this?"

Ruby shook her head. "The only things that anyone else might know are project names. No one knows that the fighter exists or that Halcyon has a new body."

 _Then why don't we go surprise them!_ Halcyon jumped and chirped. _I can finally introduce myself to Viki too._

"Before we do that," Yang turned around and smiled at the two others in the room. Yaela stood off to the side and wiped a tear from her face. From the smile on Weiss' face and the way her whole body wiggled betrayed how much she wanted to explode. Yang started walking toward her teammate. "Weiss, get over here, you beautiful princess!"

Weiss ran forward and pounced on Yang. "I'm so glad this worked, sis! I knew Ruby would be able to do this."

"If I'd known, I wouldn't have doubted her either." Yang pulled away but kept her hands on Weiss' shoulders. "Again, if you ever need anything, just let me know."

Weiss smirked at Yang. "Well, I'm thinking of making a few renovations to Schnee Manor to be more accommodating toward dragons and Riders. I could use some muscle."

"You got some right here, and I don't think Halcyon would mind either."

Halcyon groaned as he walked up to his Rider's side. _Manual labor… actually,_ his ears perked up, _I think I'm okay with that._

"I figured you might be." Weiss rubbed Halcyon's head and the dragon pushed his snout into it.

Yang faced the elf in the room. "You too, Yaela." She walked toward the elf.

Yaela blinked and held up her hands. "I had nothing to do with Halcyon's shell. I just worked on Wyvern."

 _You make it sound like that's a small thing and I'm not as grateful for that._ Halcyon walked past his Rider and rubbed his right side against Yaela's legs. _I may not be able to outmuscle Nalia now, but I'll be flying in circles around her._

Yang laughed. "You might want to be careful with that, Halcyon. She can squish you when you're like this."

Halcyon snorted. _I'd like to see her try._

Yaela ran a hand over Halcyon's head. _"I was happy to be a part of this project. The both of you are very welcome. It is the least I could do after all your help with Galbatorix."_

" _As long as that debt is paid back eventually."_ Yang clapped a hand on Yaela's shoulder, forgoing the hug. _"We don't need you trying to pay us back for years. You're one of us as it is. And before you say you don't have a dragon, neither do Blake, JNPR, Raven, or most people on CFVY. I think the Dragon Riders are made up of more than those who ride dragons now."_

Yaela's lips parted for a second, then closed again. _"Thank you, Yang Goldmane."_

" _Not a problem, Yaela."_ Yang squeezed the elf's shoulder and walked back to the Bullhead while facing everyone in the building. "What are we all standing around for? Let's make some jaws hit the floor back home!" She turned around and jumped into the Bullhead. For the first time in a while, she took a seat in the crew compartment over the cockpit. Halcyon hopped into the Bullhead and laid across the seats next to his Rider. Yang ran a hand across her dragon's back. "You're being awfully clingy today."

 _It's the first time I've been able to be clingy in so long._ Halcyon hummed up at his Rider. _I think I've earned this._

"Yeah. You're right." Yang scratched the side of Halcyon's head, and the mecha dragon leaned into her fingers. "Ya know, you're dog sized like this."

Halcyon narrowed his eyes. _If you mean you want to pet and scratch me, yes. I will not do tricks and do not baby talk me._

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"So we got a new dog in the family?" Ruby asked.

Yang raised her head. She didn't notice everyone else board the Bullhead. "I guess so."

Ruby looked down at Halcyon and bit her lip. "You sure about this?"

Halcyon cocked his head. _Would you turn down any excuse for a free massage?_

"Oh, really?" Yang smirked. "Ruby, did you program any ticklish spots." Halcyon's ears shot straight up.

"I didn't know he had any, so no."

 _Oh gosh, thank you._ Halcyon sighed. _She wouldn't let up if I had any._

"You know it." Yang got a finger under one of the scales and tried to tickle her dragon, but got no response. "Nope. Not even a flinch."

The engines on the Bullhead spun up. "Get ready, back there," Weiss called from the cockpit. "We're taking off."

Ruby turned toward the cockpit. "Weiss, just so you know, I'm dropping to Cerise once we get over her."

"Got it. Hang on until then." The Bullhead lifted off the hangar floor. Yang looked out the side at the Wyvern. From above, she could see the rough silhouette of a dragon. It was stunted in places and had no tail, but from a distance, there would be little difference. Time would tell which had the greater effect on friends and enemies.

They left the maintenance building through the roof and the hangar doors closed behind them. Cerise flew underneath the Bullhead once she had a few dozen feet of clearance. Ruby stood at the edge of the floor, then dropped toward her dragon. She landed on Cerise' snout and wrapped her arms and legs as far around her dragon's face as possible.

Yang couldn't help but laugh as she watched her sister. "Halcyon, there is one of the most powerful people on Remnant, rubbing her face against her favorite animal."

 _They're really quite adorable, aren't they?_

"Yeah… did you just try to sound proper?"

 _And what if I did?_

"Maybe you should spend less time around Weiss and Saphira."

"What did we do?" Weiss demanded from the cockpit.

"Nothing, Ice Princess," Yang and Halcyon said at the same time.

Weiss sighed. "I swear."

Yaela laughed from the cockpit. "You Remmartians are a peculiar bunch. You're much more interesting than my people."

"We try," Yang called. She returned her attention to Halcyon and their banter continued for the rest of the flight. Halcyon's head rose during their conversation until it rested on Yang's shoulder. By the time they were in Rider airspace, their noses were less than an inch apart, their eyes locked while they were 'insulting' each other. It had been so long since they were able to do that. Yang wouldn't have it any other way.

The Bullhead hovered above the building while Cerise landed. Yang watched as Aaron ran out of the house toward his wife. He extended a hand and helped Ruby down from her dragon's snout. They hugged and exchanged what looked like a kiss before walking into the house side by side.

As Cerise entered the house, Weiss guided the Bullhead in for a landing. Yang stepped off as soon as the engines started spinning down. She didn't make it two steps before a large weight fell on her back. The Rider huffed as Halcyon wrapped his front legs around her neck and rested his own head on top of Yang's golden hair. "Ay you, you gained weight?"

 _I've put on a few hundred pounds today. Now you know what it was like for me carrying you in your armor. Fair's fair._

"I guess." Yang walked into her house with her soulmate attached to her back. Further inside, Nalia was looking over every inch of Ruby with a few sniffs too. She snorted and nuzzled the Rider's head. Blake, Aaron, and Viki stood in a circle with Ruby, and it looked like the four were having a conversation.

Nalia raised her head to look at Yang. She yelped and jumped back. Aaron and Blake spun toward Yang and raised their blades with Aaron placing himself in front of his sister and wife. He lowered Redemption and squinted his eyes. "Nalia, what…" His sword arm hung at his side. "Oh. That."

"Yang," Blake sheathed Gambol Shroud, "what are you wearing?"

"You like it?" Yang spread her arms out and Halcyon copied the gesture with his wings. She turned on the spot like she was showing off a dress. "Com-vention is coming up and I thought I'd go as me _and_ Halcyon. Does it work?"

Ruby giggled. "Looks good, sis!"

Aaron stared at his wife, then back to Yang. "It looks like you're wearing him more than anything."

The pressure of Halcyon's head disappeared from Yang's. _I'd like to think I'm riding her for a change._ He jumped off his Rider's back and looked up at her. _That was fun. Let's do it again sometime._

"Name a time and place." Yang smirked at her dragon then faced everyone else. All but Ruby and Cerise stared at Halcyon with wide eyes and open mouths. "What? You've all met Halcyon."

"But…" Aaron shook his head. "When did you have time to do this?"

"You've been wondering what project Drake is." Ruby nodded at Halcyon. "This is it, and so far, it's been a big success."

"So," Blake pointed at Halcyon but looked at Ruby, "you've turned Halcyon into Penny?"

"Yep!" Ruby straightened and brought a fist to her heart. "And it's all my technology, all with a lifetime warranty."

 _So either this isn't expected to break, or it will break a lot,_ Halcyon snickered.

Ruby slumped but she kept her hand in place. "Well, with how long we're going to live, probably both."

Viki stepped around Aaron and gawked at Halcyon. "Halcyon?"

Halcyon hummed and raised his ears. _Yes. We haven't met, have we?_ He trotted over to Viki and sat down in front of her. _Hello, Viki. I am Halcyon Brightscales. Long story short, I'm Yang's dragon, I was killed in_ _Urû'baen, but Weiss saved my Aura and brought me back to life. This is what I looked like._ _Well, when I was a few weeks old anyway. I just wish I could have met you like this in Dras Leona, for multiple reasons. It's nice to finally meet you in the flesh… well, metal in my case._

Viki nodded and smiled. "You were a beautiful dragon."

Halcyon puffed his chest out. _I know._

Yang sighed and facepalmed. "He's already a Brightscales. Don't inflate his ego even more."

* * *

"What do you think of this place after seeing it through your own eyes?" Yang asked her dragon as she pulled her pajama top over her head.

 _It's bigger than I thought,_ Halcyon said. _Then again, I'm the size of a hatchling now._

"There is that." Yang turned around and faced her dragon. Halcyon stood on the other side of the room facing a wall. The Rider couldn't hold back her laugh. "Oh my gosh, Halcyon! It's not like you've never seen me naked before."

Halcyon turned his metal head around and snorted at his Rider. _It's not something I need to see._

Yang laughed even more. "You're as bad as Ruby and Aaron, pre-honeymoon anyway."

The android dragon growled and turned away. _Goodnight, Yang._

"Night, Halcyon." Yang rolled into her king-sized bed and sighed. Even though her room wasn't nearly as large as the master on account of Halcyon not being full sized, it was still almost the size of one floor in the house on Patch and made the king bed look small.

The problem with the bed, and every bed that Yang had since Urû'baen, was it felt incredibly empty. She had always shared at least a room with at least Ruby, and Halcyon had always been nearby or had been the bed itself. The king felt so empty without someone to share it with. Halcyon being on her belt didn't help matters. "Hey, Halcyon? You want to sleep up here with me?"

Halcyon's head and ears shot up. _Do I?_ Halcyon bounded twice and jumped onto Yang's bed. He hummed and snuggled up next to his Rider. _I've missed this._ Halcyon wrapped his head around the top of his Rider's. He also laid one of his wings over Yang like a blanket.

"I've missed this too." Yang pulled her dragon's head closer to her own and looked into his eyes. "This is so much better."

 _Yes, it is._ Halcyon flicked his tongue out and licked Yang's cheek.

"Do you even need sleep now?"

 _Other electronics have a sleep mode. Why not me? I have to conserve power somehow._

"There's that. Night, Aeiou."

 _Night, Firecracker._ They closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep together…

But that didn't last long. Yang woke to the sound of a dragon's yelp through the walls. She sat straight up and faced the wall that separated her room from the master and stretched her mind that way. Ruby was terrified like she was that first night. Yang shot out of her bed and out of her room, barely hearing Halcyon right behind her. She stopped in front of the door to the master and gently pushed it open. Ruby didn't need any more of a scare.

A dim light set for nighttime filled the room. Ruby held onto Aaron with her face buried in his neck. Cerise' head rested right next to her Rider on the bed with Nalia right above them. The girl's sobs carried across the room. Yang jogged across the room and climbed onto the bed. Cerise pulled her head back and nuzzled the back of her Rider's.

"Ruby," Yang whispered as she rubbed her sister's back, "are you okay?" Ruby just shook her head and hugged Aaron tighter.

 _She's been having night terrors since Pruma attacked,_ Cerise whimpered.

Nalia glared at Cerise. _Why didn't you say anything?_

Cerise dipped her head to bed level. _She made me swear not to._

"I should be able to fight this." Ruby pulled her head out of Aaron's neck. "I need to do this."

"Not alone." Aaron pulled away from his wife but kept his hands on her shoulders. "You didn't want me going on my own when I was going through my things. We didn't let you go alone through yours."

Ruby shook her head. "I'm the leader of the Riders. I need to be strong. I can't let this control me."

"Ruby," Yang squeezed her sister's shoulder, "you've made all the excuses before. We've counteracted them all before. Let us help you. How can you lead the Riders if you're too worried about keeping yourself sane?"

"I'm sorry." Ruby sniffed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you all sooner. I'm sorry I'm such a burden."

"You are no burden." Aaron kissed Ruby on the cheek. "Don't worry about that. We'll keep you safe at night." He pulled his wife into a hug again.

Halcyon jumped onto the bed beside and walked behind Ruby. He hummed, rested his front legs on Ruby's shoulders and wrapped his wings around her. _You gave me a new body, I'll do my best to give you your old mind back._

Yang joined in the group hug. "You would give everything to help one of us. Let us return the favor." Cerise and Nalia wrapped their wings over the group with Cerise resting her lips on the top of Ruby's head.

Ruby sniffed again. "What did I do to deserve all of you?"

"You're stuck with me. Everyone else chose you." Yang leaned her head forward and against her sister's. "You're just a magnet for good people."

"Thanks, sis."

"Anytime, sis."

* * *

 **Ahhh, mecha Halcyon and a modified F-22... Nothing says love like a self propelled flamethrower and a gilded death machine.  
**


	45. Hunting

**I've got a week and a half of work left, then full time job hunting... great... Not sure if that's going to give me more writing time or not.  
**

* * *

Ruby stepped back from Halcyon and held her hands palms together in front of her lips. She thought her new attachments would work well, but she wasn't sure until they were tested. "Okay, Halcyon, try to move your fingers through their full range of motion."

Halcyon brought one of his new mechanical hands off the ground and wiggled all his fingers. _Are these working right?_

"It looks like they are." Ruby nodded. "How do they feel?"

 _Like my normal toes, only longer and more manuverable._ Halcyon placed that hand back on the floor and tested the other one. _This one feels just as good._

"Good enough for a game of Lario Kart?" Yang asked her dragon with a smirk.

Halcyon snorted. _Of course. I can race circles around you._

"It probably won't just be me." Yang punched her dragon's shoulder. "Viki's got into that in the past few weeks, and she is mean, like Ruby when you take away her cookies mean."

Ruby put her hands on her hips. "I'm standing right here, you know."

Yang shifted her smirk to her sister. "Oh really? I didn't notice."

"Just go play your video games. And when you're done with that, I expect you two to go work on your flight training. The sooner we can get Wyvern in the air, the better."

"That's all of us." Yang pat Halcyon's back. "Let's go see if Viki's up to this." The two left Ruby's workshop, Halcyon walking a little awkwardly on his front legs with his new hands.

Ruby sighed and started cleaning up her workspace. Another project done and over. Compared to the last few, this one was easy. She cranked those hands out in less than a week, and they were still up to her quality standards. Even if they were just for Halcyon using human things, they were worth it.

Once all her tools were put away, Ruby stared at the paper plans for the hands. She bit her lower lip as she looked them over. At some point when she was working on Drake, she thought about other people that could benefit from this tech. There were so many people, soldiers, Huntsmen, and civilians alike, that lost limbs in one way or another. She wanted to help those people too, but there were so many of them. She'd go bankrupt if she tried to help them all. Asking Weiss was not an option. She had already given so much of her own Lien to the Riders. Ruby would not ask any more of her partner. She filed the plans for Halcyon's hands away for later use.

The Rider turned to leave her workshop but stopped before she opened the door. Ruby turned her head to the back wall. Several prototype firearms of all types hung there, including the ones mounted on Wyvern. All of them worked to different extents, but some not to her level. Then again, those were meant for mass production in case of catastrophe…

Ruby straightened and a smile burst onto her face. That would do it. She pulled out her Scroll and dialed Weiss as she approached the weapon wall. The line rang twice before it was answered. _"CEO Schnee's office,"_ Klein's voice said.

"Hey Klein, it's Ruby. Is Weiss available?"

" _Of course."_ It sounded like Klein switched to his happy personality. _"I'll put you through."_

The line rang a few more times before it clicked again. _"Weiss Schnee speaking."_

"Hey, Weiss. Ya got a minute?"

Weiss sighed on the other side. _"Of course. I need a break."_

"It won't be much of a break. This is more business, and not Rider business."

" _Really? Are you feeling alright?"_

"I know, it's weird, but hear me out. I've been thinking for a while to figure out how to fund a non-profit for building people bionic limbs, but I need your help."

Weiss didn't answer right away. _"Ruby, if you're asking for more money, I'm sorry, I can't help with that for at least another year. I'm still reeling from funding your house and your two projects. Not to mention I'm in the planning process to overhaul Schnee manor to be more accommodating to dragons and Riders."_

"Unless I'm missing something big, this will help both of us, and I won't be taking Lien from you directly." Ruby paused. "I know that the SDC already manufactures firearms for Atlas' military and some civilians, why not open another line for civilians and Huntsmen?"

" _I'm not opposed to this, but I'm still waiting for the part where it benefits you."_

"You know I'm a weapons nut. I went through a few prototypes for the guns on Wyvern. I could update those for Huntsmen and possibly military use. I also made a few for small arms in case of emergency and for any Alagaësians on Remnant so they don't have to rely solely on bows and arrows, which unless theirs are a lot more powerful than I think, would only make things larger than an Alpha slightly irritated."

" _And you'd get royalties off every weapon that's sold,"_ Weiss finished. _"I'm assuming you don't want markup because of your name?_

"Oh gosh, no. Everything needs to be priced on their value alone. No more, no less."

" _I thought so."_ Weiss paused. _"Ruby, I like your idea, but I don't know if it breaks any of my existing contracts. I'd need to look into it and probably get a few lawyers involved too. Also, we need to know if something like this is feasible for what you want to do. My people can take care of that, you create weapons that are worth having both our names on them."_

"I can do that." Ruby's Scroll buzzed in her hand. She took it away from her head, checked caller ID, then brought it back to her ear. "Sorry, Weiss. Violet's calling. I'll call back if its nothing."

" _I'll try to fit this into my schedule sometime. While I've got you on the Scroll, I'm also starting to plan my next round of egg couriering."_

"Thanks. Got to go. Love you. Bye." Ruby ended her call with Weiss and answered Violet's. "Rider Ruby Rose."

" _Uh, Ruby, it's Violet,"_ the girl muttered. _"I'm sorry, I did something you told me not to do."_

Ruby stiffened and left her workshop. She walked straight for her dragon laying right outside the master bedroom. "Are you in trouble?"

" _No… but I know about someone who is."_

"Oh." Ruby slowed her walk. "You used your head."

" _Yeah… Just get to my house, please?"_

"We will. Just stay at a safe distance, don't intervene, wait until I get there." Ruby ended the call and stretched her mind out to her sister. _Yang, Violet found trouble. I'm going to help._

Yang clutched onto Ruby's mind. _You need backup?_

 _I'm in fighting shape. I can't go living my life like there's an assassin around every corner. I'll be fine._ Ruby smiled up at her dragon. _Cerise would kill me if I died._

Cerise snorted. _You know it._ She settled on her stomach. _Climb on. Let's see what the younglings are getting into._

Ruby hopped up onto her dragon's back. _I'm ready._

Her dragon snorted and walked for the exit door. The entire wall raised into the ceiling and roof. Cerise ran forward as the door cleared her back. She snapped her wings open as soon as she left the building. She stepped off the landing pad and flew without jumping. _I don't care for many other human-built structures, but I do like the runway._

 _I'm wondering when Yang's going to make a sign saying RUNway…_

 _I'm surprised she hasn't already._ Cerise dipped her right wing and flew toward Violet's house. _Now, what has Violet found?_

 _I'd search myself, but I'd like to boost her confidence a little if the situation isn't dire._ Ruby picked Violet's house out of the many in that part of Vale. A few minutes later Cerise flew overhead and revealed Violet and Orchid in the backyard. Orchid was getting a little too big for that… _That's something I should have thought about before._

Cerise snorted. _I'll fly just above the house and drop you off. Orchid and I will figure out a solution._ She dropped her altitude to only a hundred feet off the ground and stayed there. Ruby dropped off her dragon's back and into the yard.

Violet stared at Ruby with her lips pressed together, then she looked at the ground in front of her. Orchid snorted and nudged her Rider closer. _Tell her what you found._

The Rider looked at her mentor again. "Ruby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just trying to feel the life around me like you taught me and-"

"Violet," Ruby interrupted, "trouble first, excuses later."

Violet nodded and walked around her house. Ruby followed until her trainee stopped just on the other side of the house. The young Rider pointed down the street. "I found a person… I think a woman, scared… like I was when you first found me."

Ruby stiffened and stretched her mind in the indicated direction. It didn't take long to find the woman. She was alone and, if the Rider remembered right, was as scared as Violet was but in a different way. "Good find, Violet." Ruby reached for Máni Bláto, but never touched her weapon. It didn't feel like the woman was in any imminent danger. No one else was in the house. Maybe… She faced her trainee. "Violet, it's your find. What's the plan?" Ruby felt her dragon's approval and Orchid's confused squawk from behind her.

Violet's jaw dropped. "What?"

"You're first on the scene. You know the area. You know more about the situation. In other words, it's your mission. I'm right behind you."

The girl's lower lip fluttered. "But… I… is this a test?"

Ruby blinked. "One that I'm sure you're ready for."

"Oh. Uh…" Violet bit her lip and stared down the road. "No need to alert people to what we're doing. Let's just… walk there like we're going to a friend's house?" She asked that like she was asking for approval. Her head sunk between her shoulders.

"Got it." Ruby nodded down the street. "After you." Violet walked toward the sidewalk in front of her house and Ruby followed. _Cerise, take Orchid away from here, but be ready to fly toward us when one of us calls._ Cerise snorted and flew in one more circle before flying away. Orchid followed soon after.

The two Riders crossed the street and walked down on the opposite side from Violet's house. Violet tried to carry a normal conversation, but she couldn't keep the nervousness out of her… everything. Ruby put a hand on her trainee's shoulder and kept it there while she spoke in a soothing tone. It shouldn't look off to anybody else on the road.

Two streets down, they arrived at the house they felt the scared woman. "So, um, are we good to go in?" Violet asked as she walked up the driveway.

"According to the new law, yes." Ruby nodded. "If we use our minds, the people we find must be in extreme distress. I'd say this qualifies."

"Okay." Violet stared at the front door of the house. "Can you unlock that?"

"I can." Ruby stuck her natural hand toward the lock. "Ma'mor." Something in the door clicked. Ruby turned the knob and pushed the door open. She ushered Violet in and closed the door behind her. She scanned the entryway for any security cameras and saw none. "We're in, now where is she?" Ruby whispered.

Violet stared down and to the left. "She's downstairs," she whispered. She walked over to a door in that general direction with three locks on the outside. "I think this is it." She unlocked all three locks and pulled open the door. The trainee looked at her mentor, then walked inside.

Ruby followed Violet down the stairs. It looked like a finished basement, so far much better than any of the dungeons the elder Rider had seen. She followed her trainee down a hall and to another room that was also locked from the outside. Violet unlocked that door and pushed it open.

A human woman in her twenties lay in a king-sized bed. At first, Ruby didn't see a problem besides the locks, then she saw the handcuffs around the woman's right wrist attached to the bed. The woman sat up in the bed with fear in her eyes, but that turned into confusion then hope after a few seconds. "You're… Riders?" Tears formed in her eyes.

Violet stood frozen, barely even breathing. Ruby pushed past her trainee, taking control. "Yes, we are. We're going to get you out of here." Ruby walked to the woman's right side and unlocked her handcuffs. The woman pulled her right hand in and started crying. Ruby faced her apprentice. "Violet." The younger Rider jumped and faced her elder. "Look after her. I'm calling one-one-nine." Violet nodded and walked to the woman's side.

Ruby pulled out her Scroll and hit the speed-dial for emergency services. _"One-one-nine, what's the nature of your emergency?"_

"This is Rider Ruby Rose. I'm at a house on North Dawn Street where another Rider and I found a woman being held against her will. I'm requesting officers at this location as soon as possible."

" _Copy that Rider. What condition is the woman in?"_

Ruby turned around and faced the bed. The woman held Violet in a bear hug, crying over the Faunus' shoulder. Violet returned it, though not nearly as strong, and looked up at Ruby like she was asking if she was doing it right. Her mentor nodded, then focused on the woman. "Physically, she appears to be in good shape. We should be able to take care of most if not all of her injuries. Everything else, well, I don't-" The Rider heard the garage door open upstairs. She snapped her head toward it and instinctively crouched. "It sounds like someone's home."

" _Acknowledged. Officers are being dispatched to your location. Do what you do, Rider."_

"Got it. Bye." Ruby put her Scroll away and faced the other two. Both of them stared at the source of where the noise came from. The young Rider had her hands on the grips of both her tonfa over her shoulders. "Violet, stay here and watch her. I'm going up." _Cerise, Orchid, it's time._ Ruby didn't wait for any response before turning and leaving the prison. She wanted to make it up the stairs before the kidnapper made it in the house.

A few seconds after Ruby closed the door to the basement, another door opened in the house, but Ruby couldn't see it. She started recording on her bionic eye. "Gale, I'm home!" A man's voice called. "I hope you're still here. Oh wait, you are!" The man laughed and Ruby gripped Máni Bláto. She couldn't wait to shut this guy up. "The pigs and the pixies still don't know where to look for you. Oh well. I have a few things planned for you tonight. In time, you'll grow to love them."

Ruby scowled and walked around a corner. An antlered Faunus man stood with his back to her with a bag of groceries in front of him. "Sorry, you're going to need to get a rain check on that."

The Faunus turned around and drew a pocket knife from his side, glaring at Ruby. He blinked several times and his whole body sagged. His weapon arm shuddered. "What… how are you here?"

"I heard a call for help that no one else could." Ruby walked forward.

The kidnapper retreated to the other side of his table. "How? There's lead in those walls!"

Ruby stopped herself from smirking. _Finally, rumors that work in our favor._ "I guess you didn't have enough." She rounded the table and continued her slow speed pursuit of the retreating man. "Drop the knife and put your hands behind your head." The Faunus backed into a wall and gasped. He looked to his left and a sliding glass door. "Sure, go for it. There are two angry dragons flying above us ready to take you down."

The Faunus looked back at Ruby and tightened his grip on his knife. "I'm not going to jail." He yelled and lunged at Ruby blade first.

The Rider grabbed the blade in her bionic hand and crushed it. She twisted it off at the hilt and threw the mangled knife away. "One last chance," Ruby growled. "Put your hands behind your head, and you'll walk out of this house under your own power."

"Screw you, pixie." The kidnapper drew an arm back and clenched a fist.

"Slytha." The man crumpled and started snoring under Ruby's spell. The Rider shook her head. "Not what you were expecting, was it?" She kicked the base of the knife away. The little bit left could still hurt, if not kill someone.

"Violet!" Ruby faced roughly were her trainee protected the woman. "It's safe up here. You can bring her up." The head Rider knelt by the kidnapper's side and brought his hands together behind his back. "Kala." The criminal's hands froze together. Only people that knew she was a Maiden would be able to tell that wasn't actually Alagaësian magic.

About a minute later, the door to the basement opened and Violet and Gale stepped out. The Rider held her tonfa at her sides, but she still had them. Violet stared at Ruby, most of her earlier nervousness gone. "Where do you want us?"

"Outside." Ruby gestured to the front door. "I still need to clean up in here." Violet nodded, then guided Gale out of the house. The floor shook and someone yelped. Orchid's distinctive loving hum filtered the air. The head Rider could practically see the young dragon's big eyes. Very few people could be scared under that.

Ruby started looking around the main level to see if she could find anything. She'd leave moving stuff to the crime scene investigators. Unless anything was obviously White Fang, gang, or otherwise criminal related, she'd leave it be. The only thing that was really weird in the house was a green leather chair. She hadn't seen anything like it before, but then again people liked to dye leather.

But… Ruby couldn't help but feel like there was something wrong with it. She set her right hand on one of the armrests and squeezed. It certainly didn't feel like normal leather. A message appeared in her right eye making her blink. "Match found? What?" That message disappeared, replaced by… "Vert?"

The Rider clenched her fists and glared at the chair. She wondered what the Nevermores did with the skin they stole from Vert but she didn't think she ever wanted to know. They turned it into a freaking _chair!_ Ruby snatched her Scroll from a pocket and began to text Raven. _'COI. Loc: Kidnapped girl. Evi: green dragon skin chair. Find all previous owners.'_ Ruby sent the text, deciding to worry about redaction in the video later. She then called Velvet and Vert. They deserved to know about what happened.

" _Go for Velvet,"_ the Faunus said on the other side.

Ruby sighed. "Velvet, if Vert already isn't listening in, let him. This honestly concerns him more than you."

" _He's right behind me… Why do I get the feeling this isn't about a mission for us?"_

"It's about a mission, but one from almost six years ago." Ruby paused. "I just found out what the Nevermores did with the skin they took off Vert. They turned it into a chair."

Velvet gasped and it sounded like she slapped a hand over her mouth. Vert growled and it held fear along with hate. _"Where is it?"_ Velvet whispered.

"If you've got a police scanner app, I'm at the house where a woman was kidnapped." Ruby faced the sleeping kidnapper. "The problem right now is that this thing's 'owner' is a Faunus. I don't think the Nevermores would deal with them. I've already pointed this out to our intelligence chief. If anything comes of this, I'll let you know."

" _Thank you. Vert says thank you too."_

"You're both welcome. Anything you two want done with this?"

" _If we ever get it,"_ Vert's voice came over the Scroll, _"I want to burn it."_

"I'll see what I can do." Ruby heard sirens outside and red and blue lights flashed in the front of the house. "The police are here. I've got to go." She ended the call and put her Scroll away. "Vakna."

The kidnapper stirred on the ground and groaned. "What happened?" he moaned.

"This 'pixie' knew right where to find you." Ruby pulled the man up by his ice cuffs. He yelped and tried to get away, but Ruby held on tight. "You're going away for a long time." She pushed the Faunus forward toward the front door.

Just before they reached the door, it opened inward and an armed police officer stepped in. She aimed her weapon at Ruby for less than a second before bringing it down to her side. "I take it this is the guy?"

"Yeah." Ruby shoved the kidnapper to the officer. The criminal stumbled and the officer caught him. "He held the woman outside downstairs in a locked room."

The officer nodded. "I'll pass it along. Another officer will be around to take your statement shortly." She turned around and pushed the Faunus in front of her. The criminal turned around and glared at Ruby, then hung his head. He wouldn't be able to do anything for a long time.

Ruby searched the activity in the yard. Two police cars pulled up the driveway with another escorting an ambulance further down the street. Orchid laid in the grass with Gale sitting on one of her paws and the dragon's head resting in her lap. Ruby stretched her mind to the woman. All of her fear was gone, healed by blissful happiness. It looked like Orchid's Semblance worked on even the most extreme cases. Violet stood on the other side of her dragon talking with another police officer, her shakes and nervousness had returned. Cerise still circled overhead and didn't approach.

Yet another officer approached Ruby, likely to take her statement. The Rider met the officer halfway and told him everything he wanted to know. Hopefully Violet's would match up. That would be a headache for everyone involved if not. When the officer was done in his questioning, Ruby told him, "There's a green leather chair in the living room. It's dragon skin, and the dragon it belongs to wants it back."

The officer blinked and shook his head. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"You heard me. There's a dragon skin chair in that house and the dragon it belongs to wants it back."

"I… I'll see what I can do." He nodded at Ruby and walked away.

Some motion in a nearby tree caught her eye. Ruby faced it and stared at the raven sitting on a dead branch. _You got here quick._

The raven shook its head and squawked. _The tribes are still for now. This feels like it could lead to something big._

 _Tell me about it… once you get more intel._ Ruby turned away from Raven and searched for her trainee. Violet still stood by her dragon, but she was now alone. The head Rider walked over to the young one. "How's it feel to get your first bad guy?"

Violet looked up at Ruby then back at the grass beneath her. "I… don't know."

"I know the feeling." Ruby put a hand on Violet's shoulder and guided her away from Orchid and the now heavy police presence. "I had a similar first experience, and you know all of it."

"Too much." Violet hung her head more and sniffed.

"Violet." Ruby walked in front of Violet and crouched to her eye level. The young Rider raised her head and locked eyes with her mentor. "I won't lie. You're being put through the ringer here. You're learning all this stuff at a younger age than me. It takes its toll on everyone who goes through it. Only heartless people can go through something like this on either side and feel nothing."

Ruby gestured at the house. "Only the Riders, other assorted magicians, and a handful of people on Remnant can do what you did today. You heard a cry for help that no one else could hear, and you acted on it right away. Until you get more experience, I'd like you to keep asking for help before going into these situations. In a few years, you could be doing things like this on your own no problem."

"But what if I don't want to do that?" Violet sniffled. "What if I _can't_ do that by myself?"

Ruby's small smile disappeared. "That's your choice, and I can't stop you if you choose to make it. You and Orchid would work so well as healers or counselors. But you once told me that you wanted to be a Huntress detective. Being either a Huntress or detective alone have the capability to show you things that churn your stomach. If you don't want people to feel like you did, you'll have to go into a few situations like this." The elder Rider heard something down the street. She peeked over Orchid's head. A grown man was sprinting full tilt across several yards. Ruby's smile returned. "Also, if you break people out of their situations, you may be able to see this." She turned Violet around to face the unfolding scene.

"Gale?" the man called, now clearly audible. He was stopped by an officer on the edge of the yard, but he said something that Ruby thought was, "That's my daughter!" After that, he pushed past the officer and continued toward Gale.

"Dad?" Gale said. Orchid hummed and took her head off the woman's lap then nudged her off her paw. "Daddy?" The woman ran away from Orchid and into her dad's open arms. Her father lifted her off the ground and held her tight. He let her go and both of them spoke a mile a minute.

"I've seen this a lot." Ruby nodded to herself. "But even one is too many." She faced Violet again. "I make a sweep of the city every few months for people in this situation, and each time I've helped at least one person out of their situation, whether directly for imminent threats, or informing the police for situations more like Gale's."

Violet's jaw hung open as she faced Ruby. "How?"

"Exactly the way you did it. I told you to not go into people's minds because, well, there's a few million people in this city. It overwhelms me on my searches. That and… honestly, it's a huge invasion of privacy if done wrong. Even just scanning people's emotions like I do is morally questionable. I don't like doing it," Ruby faced the father and daughter, now in each other's tight embrace again, "but to make things like this happen, I'll take whatever hate, whatever lawsuits, whatever jail time people say is necessary. I don't expect everyone to understand, but they didn't live through a situation like that."

Ruby sighed. "But at the same time, I can't ask or order anyone to do that. It's not for everyone, and I even find out things that I don't want or need with just scanning emotions. Violet, you don't need to make any decision now, but I'll need to know what you want to do before you graduate from Signal."

Orchid pulled her head around. She hummed and nuzzled her Rider. _Whatever you choose, Flower, I will stand by you._

Violet nodded. "I… just want to go home."

Ruby nodded. "I think we're done here. I'll walk you home." She stood up and turned around. A few news vans and a Bullhead flew over the area. They were working quick today. "Or not. Orchid, can you take off in this area?"

The young dragon stood up and spread her wings. _I should be able to. I might have to jump, which I'm not the most comfortable with yet._

"At least you can land better than Amor."

Orchid snorted. _There is that._ She settled on her belly again and Violet climbed up. The dragon crouched as she prepared to jump. She kicked off the ground and flapped her wings hard and fast, much to the displeasure of those on the ground. Orchid flew around Cerise once then flew toward Violet's house.

Cerise positioned herself almost directly above her Rider. _Ready when you are._

Ruby crouched down and called on her Semblance. She jumped and rocketed up to Cerise' side in a fraction of a second. Rose petals rained down on those on the ground as Cerise caught her Rider. _No interviews. Just take me home._

 _Will do._ Cerise started a wide turn, flying over Violet's house before flying toward the mountains. _By the way, while you were in the house, I heard Nalia's roar. They're back from Alagaësia._

 _Good._ Ruby sighed. _I need my cuddle buddy back._

Cerise snorted and jerked her head back to her Rider. Her ears stood on end. _Excuse me?_

 _You heard me. You're a little too big for that now._

Cerise shook her head and faced forward again. _I'll never understand you humans._

 _Like I'll never understand dragons._ Ruby pat Cerise' neck.

 _Humans are weirder._

 _Don't you remember flirting with Vert before you mated, if you can call it that?_

Cerise growled. _What about all the faces you and Aaron give each other._

 _How about all of us are weird?_

 _I can live with that._ Cerise hummed. She dove for the mountain house and landed on the pad. Ruby dismounted and the door wall opened up in front of them. Just as Cerise said, Nalia stood inside watching one of the projections. Aaron stood by her side with his arms crossed.

Aaron turned his head toward the newcomers and he slumped his shoulders. "You okay, Ru?"

"Yeah. I'm just tired more than anything." Ruby walked to her husband's side and gave him a hug which was returned right away. "How was Alagaësia?"

"More of the same." Aaron pulled away and kept his eyes on Ruby. "Escort duty isn't the same as it is here."

"I can imagine." Ruby paused. "How'd Brom take seeing Undbtir again?"

"About the same as when he heard another dragon chose the name Saphira." Aaron shook his head. "He'll be fine. I think he's getting some of his pre-Fall mannerisms back."

Ruby smiled. "That's good to hear." She faced the massive projection and all the good feelings she had were dashed. Vox had a headline asking, 'Kidnapping Orchestrated for Improved Image?' "Are you kidding me?"

Nalia growled. _I wish. It looks like Vox is the only one running something like this right now, so there's that._

"It's all a conspiracy theory." Aaron shook his head. "Some of these connections make less sense than the 'Elves are really Vulkans' theory… but at the same time, there are going to be people everywhere that somehow believe it."

Ruby stared at the projection, not listening to anything it said. She grabbed the remote off an end table and turned off the projector. "Can we just… not worry about that today? I've already freed a woman like a year or two older than me from a… I don't even want to know, I don't know if I encouraged or terrified Violet, Orchid's getting too big for their backyard so I'm going to need to find her someplace nearby to stay or at Beacon or in the mountains by… Ugh. I forgot I needed to check in with Avrart and Nenva. Cerise, let's go." She started to walk toward her dragon.

"Hang on." Aaron grabbed Ruby's shoulder and gently turned her around. "You haven't been handling stress well since I woke up from my coma…" He turned his head away. "And… I've been the cause of way too much of it recently." He faced Ruby again and locked eyes with her. "It's time to change that. You and Cerise can stay here, we'll go check on the other two. We can check on caves while we're out there too. When we get back, I'll call Glynda and see about maybe getting Orchid one of the rooms at Beacon. After that, I'll try to whip you up something for dinner."

Ruby shook her head. "Aaron, you don't have to-"

"I know." Aaron nodded. "But I want to start making things right between us after I…" he averted his gaze and happiness evaporated from his face, letting the sentence hang.

Ruby let her body sag in relief and concern. Aaron had been doing so many extra things around the house since that day and had made quite a few extra trips to bakeries in Vale. How long would it take him to believe that the debt had been paid? At the same time… "Thank you. Maybe I can work on some of those new weapons." She paused. "Since when can you cook?"

Aaron stiffened. "I might have Viki teach me and look over my shoulder the entire time."

"That'll work." Ruby giggled. "Wait… I don't think Viki's taught anyone to do anything else." Her good mood returned with a vengeance. "That'll help her so much!"

"It'll help everyone." Aaron leaned forward and kissed Ruby's forehead. "I'll be back when I can." He walked around his wife and toward the still open door. Nalia followed her Rider, sticking one of her wings out to brush against Ruby.

Cerise snorted as the door closed behind Nalia. _She better not try to steal you away from me._

"She won't succeed." Ruby rubbed her dragon's snout. "You're the only one for me."

 _Thank you, Gem._ Cerise bumped her snout into Ruby. _So what are you going to do to relax?_

"Let's see, weapons, games with the others…" Ruby bit her lip. "Actually, I think I'm going to work with the Eldunarí with getting my mom cordoned off without hurting her." Her thoughts took a not so innocent turn.

Cerise hissed and backed away. _Ruby! I did not need to know that._

Ruby put her hands on her hips "Like you and Vert keep those things to yourselves… and for the record, I didn't mean to broadcast that. Neither me nor Aaron want you to be _that_ involved in our lives."

 _We agree on something._ Cerise walked toward the master. _You do that, I'll work on… bleaching my thoughts._

"Now you know how I feel." Ruby shook her head and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the monster projector. She stretched her mind to the Eldunarí hanging behind Cerise. _Okay, let's work from where we left off…_

* * *

 **Violet, you poor soul. At least you have the scaled yet fluffy Orchid...  
**

 **Oh, and Rooster Teeth is now working with DC? (NYCC announcement) On one hand, awesome! That's a lot of money. It's already better than anything in the DC EU or whatever the heck its called. On the other hand... it's DC and I'm an MCU guy.**


	46. Learning Experience

**So, I heard the Volume 6 trailer is released today. I haven't seen it yet because I upload this first thing in the morning. That's a big thing. Also, Christopher Paolini is releasing a new book on literally the last day of 2018. It won't be book 5 of the Inheritance Cycle though. It sounds like an anthology type thing. Still, I am very interested in that.**

 **About my writing, I have gotten to the point (waaaaay in the future) that the relics are now being directly dealt with. Despite Volume 6 being so close to now and over by the time we get there (if I'm counting right), I have decided to go with my own version of what the relics do. I will be reminding people when that becomes relevant once again**

* * *

"Are you sure you want me to do this without you?" Aaron asked Ruby through the mirror. "This was your idea."

Ruby nodded. "I'm sure. We've put this off for too long in the first place. And…" Her small smile disappeared and her head dipped. "I know I've done just about everything possible to make Viki feel welcome here, and like a person in general, but… I can't help but feel like I'm holding her back. She's done so much around the house, both of them really… If she treats it like a job, she should get paid for it." She paused. "I'm just someone she's gotten along with in the past year. She's looked up to you her whole life, even though you didn't grow up together. I'll think she'll respond better to you giving it to her."

"If you say so." Aaron shrugged. "She did say something yesterday about maybe Twinge streaming, something about it being fun and a potentially well-paying job."

"Really?" Ruby straightened and looked off to the side. "Yeah, I can see it. She just needs to get better people skills and she'll get popular really quick… Or Yang or I can stop by for a few hours."

"What even is Twinge streaming? I've heard you and Yang talk about it, but I've never understood it."

"Oh, it's a video game and CCTS thing." Ruby jerked her head to the side. "I've got to go. The press conference is starting. Time to reveal the Wyvern to the world."

"You've got this. Just let Coco take the lead."

"Don't I know it. See you later." Ruby stepped out of frame and the mirror once again just reflected Aaron's image back at him.

The Rider picked the check off the top of the dresser. Five thousand Lien, the first Lien Viki ever earned. Fifteen thousand more would be coming to her later. It wasn't as much as any of them wanted, but it was what they could afford, and since Viki wouldn't be paying for rent or food, or really any bills for the foreseeable future, it was a nice amount. At one point Ruby wanted to pay Viki for all the time that she was forced to work for someone else. Aaron liked that idea at first, but then he and Ruby came to the conclusion that no amount of Lien would satisfy that need once the figure reached into the millions. _Weiss_ would have a hard time paying that off.

Aaron walked out of the master bedroom and into the main hall of the house. He searched for Viki and found her in the sitting area. It looked like she was polishing something, but Aaron couldn't tell what. Nalia lay nearby, watching Viki work. As the Rider approached his sister, he light-heartedly scoffed at what she polished. "Viki, are you trying to be tackled by Halcyon?"

Viki looked up and jerked her cloth hand away from Halcyon's mechanical body. She stared at Aaron like a deer in the headlights. Not quite the look she gave when she was first rescued, but it was far too close for comfort. "I thought dragons liked shiny scales. I was just trying to help."

 _If you were doing something he wouldn't like,_ Nalia started, _I would have stopped you before you started._

"When he was that size originally," Aaron continued, "he liked to tackle-hug people. I think he's started doing that again since he won't hurt any of us beneath his weight… though he might be gentler with you since you don't have an active Aura."

"Oh." Viki sighed and her whole body relaxed. She smiled and resumed her work. "Then yes. I am trying to be tackled by Halcyon."

"Could you take a break from that for a minute?" Aaron sat on an armrest of one of the couches. "I need to talk to you for a second."

"Of course." Viki set her rag on the polished coffee table and sat on the couch next to Aaron. "What do you need?"

"First off, I need to give you this." Aaron handed the piece of paper over. "Ruby, Yang, Tai, and I have been discussing this for a while. This is what Ruby and I can afford right now, more will be on the way soon. We just need to take a few high paying contracts to get you the rest. Sorry it took so long to get even one of these to you."

Viki took the check and stared at it like it was a dwarfish textbook. "A… bank check?" She looked up at Aaron with that same confused expression. "Do you want me to deposit it for you?"

Aaron shook his head. "Right now all of that is in Ruby's and my shared account. We're giving that much to you. Nalia and I can fly you down to a KV or FCT Bank later today so you can set up your own account."

Viki's mouth hung open and she returned her eyes to the piece of paper. "Five thousand… What did I do? Did you write the wrong number?"

"Ruby did not write the wrong number. Like I said, there's more on the way." Aaron rested a hand on his sister's shoulder and squeezed. "As for what you did, you've done pretty much all the cleaning around this house and Tai's back on Patch since we brought you here. That, and a good chunk of the cooking, especially since you're the only one that can cook that lives here."

"Yaela can cook, and I'm teaching you."

"Yaela just works here. She has an apartment downtown and walks every day. As for teaching me, with how good you are, you could charge a good fee for classes."

"Charge… fee…" Viki stiffened up and shoved the check back into Aaron's hands. She slid to the other side of the couch. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. It looked like Ruby was right about Viki not being able to process this. "I am honored that you appreciate my work, but I have not asked for any Lien. I would not think of asking for anything. Everything I have done is to thank you for saving me from my former life."

Nalia hummed and leaned her head down so one of her eyes was level with Viki's head. _Listen to your brother. He means you no ill will. He only wishes the best for you._

Aaron stood from the armrest and sat next to his sister. He draped an arm over Viki's shoulders and pulled her close. His sister leaned into him. "I don't want to make you mad," she whispered. "I don't want you to punish me or kick me out."

Aaron held back a grimace. _What kind of situation was she in for this to happen?_ "Viki, so long as you want to live with me, I will never kick you out. I believe I can say the same for Ruby, Yang, and the dragons." He paused. "We appreciate all that you've done around here, but even though you're doing this from your heart, we don't want you to feel like we're taking advantage of you. We should have paid you long ago for this."

He placed the check in Viki's hands once again. "This is for all the work that you've done around here, well, some of it anyway. If you ever want to take a job somewhere else, we will not stop you. Ruby may not be the most popular person right now, but her recommendation still carries weight in a lot of places."

Viki's right hand weakly gripped the check. "I… thank you, brother."

"Anytime." Aaron pulled Viki in even tighter and Nalia rubbed the side of her head against Viki's face. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing. Just tell us when you're… ready." Aaron trailed off as Nalia's ears stuck straight up. "Hear something?"

 _Maybe._ Nalia faced the massive front door. A few seconds later she cocked her head. _I think it's Nenva. I didn't expect her to break our rules._

"Trouble?" Aaron took his arm off Viki and stared at the door.

 _Maybe._ Nalia stretched her mind out to the young dragon and Aaron piggy-backed off her. Nenva was scared out of her mind. _Nenva, what's wrong?_

 _Avrart's trapped!_ Nenva yelled. _He was exploring a cave when the whole thing collapsed. We don't know how. Please! He's hurt and scared!_

Aaron clenched both his fists. _Take us to him._ He faced Viki again. "Looks like we're going to have to put off setting up your account for a little bit. We've got to fly." He jumped up onto Nalia's back and pulled out his Scroll. While his dragon walked to the door, Aaron sent a group text to all trained Riders in Vale. They needed to know what was going on. Not everyone could respond, but some would.

By the time the text went out, Nalia was in the air flying toward a white form away from the clouds. Nenva flew straight at the larger dragon. A couple scared roars flew through the air. Aaron tightened his legs around Nalia. This wasn't good.

When the dragons were within a quarter mile of each other, Nenva turned around and flew back toward where she came from, the mountains on the other side of the Emerald Forest, the ones separating Vale from Mountain Glen. _Quickly! This way!_ Nenva called.

 _What were you two doing over there?_ Nalia growled. _You know that area has more Grimm in it than our range._

 _I know._ Nenva hung her head, but she didn't slow down. _We had a fight yesterday in the forest. He fled east, I returned to our cave. I woke up and searched for him and found him in that cave. He was fighting something and that's when the cave collapsed._

 _It's not your fault, Nenva._ Aaron grabbed Redemption's sheath from the saddle and clipped it to his belt. He also removed the shield and fit it over his back. _We'll get him out._

 _I can't fit in the part of the cave that's still open. How can Nalia?_ Aaron tightened his grip on Redemption. With all the assassinations attempts lately, whether successful or not, this sounded like a trap.

The dragons landed on a cliff a few dozen feet away from the mouth of a cave. Aaron dismounted and faced the city. It looked like a green dragon was flying their way, but not fast enough. "Nenva, how much trouble is Avrart in?"

 _I don't know,_ Nenva whimpered. _I can feel his pain, but there's too much rock in between us for me to feel his mind._

"Barzul." Aaron grabbed his compacted V4 from Nalia's saddle and clipped it to his belt. "Nalia, send whoever's coming in after me. I'm going in."

Nalia snarled. _Be careful. If you die, Ruby will kill me._

"We have nothing to worry about, then." Aaron turned toward the cave and ran inside. "Naina." A green light appeared above his head and it moved with him. He rounded a corner and met a cave in. He wasn't an expert, but it looked like this one was recent. He cast a few spells to figure out if he could clear it without bringing much more of the ceiling down on him. Seeing that he could, he took a few steps back and drew on as much energy as he could from Nalia and the Eldunarí she carried. "Thrysta." All the rocks blocking the tunnel in front of him pushed themselves away from the Rider.

 _Aaron,_ Nalia called, _you have a reinforcement incoming. Vert and Velvet are just leaving the city and they said the others will come when they're done with the press conference._

 _Vert's on his way? Then who…_ Aaron heard several rapid footsteps behind him, too fast for Velvet. He turned around to face the way he came.

Arya sprinted around the corner, bow and full quiver on her back and Wyrdavinda in hand. She didn't slow until she stopped by Aaron's side. "Fírnen and I came as soon as we got your text, Master."

Aaron shifted on his feet. "Is your Aura unlocked?"

"Of course." Arya nodded. "Professor Nikos unlocked it during my second week at Beacon. My team will be coming as soon as they can get a Bullhead to fly them here."

"Great. You're with me. Have Fírnen tell your team to wait near the cave entrance. We don't need anything coming up behind us."

The elf's eyes stared off into the distance before refocusing. "It's done."

"Let's go." Aaron faced back into the cave again and ran forward. Arya stayed right behind him, even though she could have easily out sped him. As they ran, signs of combat became evident. Claw marks, sword gashes, but no blood. Aaron wasn't the best tracker in the forest, however. He couldn't tell what was fresh and what was old. The few bullet casings around said there was at least one other fight in the cave at some point.

Aaron extended his mind out as far as it would go in the cave. At the extent of his limited range, he felt dozens of Grimm swarming around one terrified human. A few of the Grimm life forces extinguished as he watched. Avrart was putting up a fight, but he was tiring. He didn't even react to his mind being touched.

"I found him, and he's in trouble." Aaron pushed himself to his limit while it was probably a jog at most for Arya. He still found no obvious signs that Avrart had been through there. He likely wasn't injured in the cave.

They eventually found a broken steel grate. Aaron saw buildings on the other side and grimaced. Avrart found Mountain Glen. Aaron didn't know how many Grimm moved into the abandoned city after the White Fang was evicted, but he could imagine it was a lot.

Arya stepped past Aaron and stared into the city below her. "I thought that there were no dwarves on Remnant?"

"There aren't. This is all human built." Aaron focused on where he felt Avrart's mind. He was in a five-story building with Creeps surrounding the first floor. It didn't look like there were any of the Alagaëisan variety in there, so this might not have Salem's direct involvement. "That's where we're going." Aaron drew his V4 from his belt and extended it to assault rifle form. "Stay behind me and fire on the run. We're grabbing Avrart and getting the heck out of here."

"I am with you, Master." Arya drew her bow and nocked a Dust tipped arrow.

Aaron jumped out of the vent and onto the roof of the building below them. He set up against the edge of the roof and readied his grenade launcher. He fired into the center of the Grimm outside the building. The grenade exploded and created a massive gap in the Grimm. The Rider slammed another grenade in and fired again widening the hole. Arya fired a few arrows as well. From the explosions they caused, they had to have Burn Dust arrowheads.

"There's our gap. Let's go." Aaron jumped off the building and switched his V4 to submachinegun form on the way down. He rolled on landing and came up firing. The Grimm finally reacted to his presence and a few lunged at him. The Rider drew Redemption from its sheath and stabbed the first Creep that got close through the eye. Aaron swung his sword to the right and decapitated two more that got close.

As Aaron fought his way to the building, he tried to keep an eye on Arya. Like all elves, she might as well have been dancing as she fought. Every one of her motions was crisp and fluid. So far it looked like not one of the Grimm had touched her. At the same time, she was striking one Grimm down, then backing away before engaging another. As such, she made little progress through the crowd. That tactic would not work while surrounded by Grimm. She still hadn't learned how to fight large groups at once.

As if reading Aaron's thoughts, a group of Creeps ran around Arya, trapping her. Grimm on all sides charged. "Jeirda!" Aaron shouted. The necks on all of those Grimm snapped. The Rider blinked and looked around the remaining creatures. Why did he never think about this kind of magic in a fight… probably because it would be unacceptable to use against people. "Dauth." Some of the Grimm cried out in pain but all Grimm that Aaron could see fell, never to rise again. They started evaporating soon after.

Arya stared at Aaron. "Master, why did you do that?"

"Two apprentice's lives were in trouble. It was them or you two." Aaron faced the building and ran inside. There were a few more Grimm inside that Aaron didn't kill that he cut through on the way up to the floor Avrart was on. On the fifth floor, he found a dozen arrows laying on the floor at the end of a long hall. The door on the exact opposite side lay in three pieces in the room it should have protected. A human leg stood shaking on the other side of the door frame and a mangled sword shook as much as the leg, if not more. No more Grimm separated the Riders.

"Avrart!" Aaron called. "Are you well?"

The sword in the door dipped. "Master Aaron? Is that you?" Avrart asked. His voice shook like an old fan.

"It is. Arya is with me as well. We are coming in." Aaron slowly approached the door in case a Grimm or something else was hiding in one of the other side rooms. Nothing jumped out at him or Arya on their way. Aaron entered the room and faced the Surdan.

Avrart's eyes spread to their widest. He had a small cut on his forehead, but a few big ones on his chest and arms, including what looked like bite marks from a Creep. The way he favored his right leg said his left was broken. His whole body shook like it was about to collapse. "Thank you for coming, Master."

"Now you know why these mountains are forbidden to apprentices." Aaron faced Arya. "How are you with healing?"

The elf looked Avrart up and down. "Well enough to help with this."

"Good. Work on him, I'll make sure nothing sneaks up on us." Aaron walked to a window in the former apartment and looked outside. All Grimm that he killed out there had fully evaporated, but new ones had taken their place. A smaller swarm was making its way down various roads to the building the Riders occupied. This time a few Alagaësian Grimm were in the crowd, mainly Myrkrgarm and Ckríða.

Aaron shifted his V4 to assault rifle form once more and aimed it outside. He targeted all Alagaësian Grimm he could see first. They were the biggest threat. Once the Grimm started making it into the building they clumped up near the doors, he shifted his aim to them. The Rider loaded another grenade into the launcher and fired at the rear of the cluster. A good chunk of the crowd was killed instantly, but there were still more coming.

Grimm growls and roars filled the building. Aaron moved to stand in the doorway he came in while he loaded another grenade. The first Creep made it up the stairs and roared at Aaron and got a three-shot burst of Burn Dust for its trouble. Then the Creeps poured into the hallway from the stairwell. Aaron switched his V4 to full auto and held down the trigger. No more than four bullets went into any Grimm. As soon as that clicked, he fired the grenade. It hit a Beowolf in the forehead and the explosion filled the hallway. Aaron shielded his eyes with an arm and lowered it once the air stopped rushing past him. The hallway now had a giant, burning hole in the center of it, too big for most Grimm to jump.

"Arya, can we move him yet?" Aaron asked as he loaded his second to last grenade.

"Yes, but slowly." Arya helped Avrart to his feet and helped support his weight. The Surdan still held his sword in his right hand, but it didn't look like he'd have it for much longer.

Aaron faced the window again. Grimm on the ground continued to pour into the building. Some of the Creeps started to climb up the sides. Something in the air caught Aaron's attention as well. Giant bats with white bone plates over their faces and wings flew down toward the building. Aaron never had the misfortune to even see a Screek before. He didn't like the idea of having to fight a half dozen of them. "We don't have time for slow."

The Rider stretched his mind back toward the vent he came in through. Velvet was almost there, and she'd be able to take a lot of attention away from them. That still left the problem of getting back to the vent. The Grimm on the ground couldn't jump that high, but there were so many Screeks… he had an idea. A bad one, but an idea. "I'm starting to wish I used my Semblance more."

Aaron turned back to the other Riders. "Arya, mute your and Avrart's ears. Mental communication from here on out." He did the same to himself then faced the window again and called on his Semblance. A translucent green box started to form just outside the window. It was big enough. _Arya, Avrart, get in the box._ He got in it himself and felt a slightly larger drain on his Aura.

Arya carried Avrart over and helped him in. _How are you doing this?_

 _It's my Semblance. It should keep everything out and keep us in._ Aaron paused as he closed the back off the box. _But you two should know this is my first time trying something like this. Our only other choice is to wait in that building until we're overwhelmed._ Aaron made his box pull away from the building.

The increased drain on his Aura caught him by surprise. He should be able to get the box to the vent, but only if the flight wasn't interrupted. A Screek decided to do just that and opened its mouth. Aaron didn't hear a peep. He just kept the box moving. The Grimm closed its mouth, then flew at the Riders. _Arya, take it-_

Before he could finish, something exploded at the base of the Screek's right wing, tearing the whole thing off. The Grimm fell from the sky revealing a blue wireframe AA Paladin with Velvet in the center. _Nice timing, Velvet,_ Aaron called.

 _No problem. Just get over here._ The Paladin turned to the right and fired its cannons at another Screek.

 _Arya, can you give us a boost?_

 _I can try._ Arya paused. _Ganga Fram!_ Aaron almost lost his balance as he felt the box move forward faster. They crossed the remaining distance without anything trying to stop them. As soon as they were over the small ledge by the vent, Aaron cut the flow of Aura and all Riders in it fell to the ground. Aaron winced as he realized just how much of his Aura it took to get all of them out of the city.

 _Get back into the vent!_ Aaron stood up and aimed his V4 at the ground below. He shot all land-based Grimm that came close while Velvet took care of those in the air. As soon as the last Screek fell from the sky, the Faunus let her wireframe emplacement disappear and followed the others back into the vent. Aaron entered soon after and loaded his last grenade into his launcher. Once he got a good distance into the cave, he aimed his V4 at the rock above the vent and fired the grenade. It exploded on impact and more rocks rained down from the ceiling, sealing the Grimm's only attack route.

Aaron collapsed his weapon and rested his hands on his knees. That was exhausting. After a few seconds, he removed the ward protecting his ears and faced back toward the cave entrance. Velvet stood a few feet away and slid Eld Moi back into its sheath. Arya and Avrart were a little further up with the elf still supporting the human's weight. Aaron pointed at his right ear then walked toward the young Riders. Arya shouted to end the muffling ward… then again, Aaron probably did too.

"Velvet, make sure nothing comes up behind us. I'm going ahead." Aaron raised Redemption again and walked to the front of the pack.

"Thank you for coming for me, Master Aaron," Avrart breathed. "I am sorry I disobeyed Master Ruby's and your orders."

"We do not make rules just because we want to." Aaron looked over his shoulder. Avrart locked eyes with Aaron for a moment before staring at the ground. Instead of the wealthy boy who got whatever he wanted, a scared teenager was being helped by Arya. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

"As am I. This will not happen again."

"I do not doubt it." Aaron faced straight ahead again. Natural light now poured into the tunnel with a few extra white streaks thrown in. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

Avrart didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Nenva?" he called.

A roar filled the tunnel. Most of the light disappeared and the sounds of grunting and clawing came from the mouth of the cave. _Little Prince!_ Nenva called. _You're okay! Come here! Now!_

Aaron stood to the side and let Ayra and Avrart pass. There would be no threat with the dragons and Arya's team right outside, and if anyone else showed up. Velvet walked up to Aaron's side. "Thanks for the assist in there."

Velvet faced Aaron and cocked her head. "What?" she yelled.

Aaron filched and winced. "You didn't cover your ears in time, did you?"

"I can't hear you!" Velvet pointed at one of her rabbit ears. "Screeks got me before I could cover my ears."

 _Figured that,_ Aaron thought to Velvet. _I should have warned you when I felt you coming in._

Velvet glared at Aaron. _Yes, you should have._ She rubbed the ear that she pointed at then walked toward the cave entrance. Aaron followed at a respectful distance. He stopped once he rounded the last corner to the cave entrance. Aaron crossed his arms, leaned against the cave wall, and allowed himself a small smile.

Just outside the cave, Avrart hugged his dragon's face and Nenva wrapped her front paws around her Rider. That was the first time Aaron had ever seen Avrart show any kind of affection toward his dragon. Arya stood a few feet away, taking in the scene. Nenva hummed and warbled at her Rider, then took her paws off him and settled on her belly. Avrart limped to his dragon's side and climbed up her back. The two took off together and flew west toward their cave.

The rest of Arya's team stood with Fírnen on the other side of where Nenva stood. Only Fírnen faced outward, ready to defend. The Riders still in the cave walked out and Arya rejoined her team. Aaron looked skyward. Cerise hovered a few hundred feet in the air with Nalia and the Wyvern right beside her. The Bullhead Arya's team likely came in circled a little farther away. Aaron nodded to himself. This was a better response than when Riders were in trouble before Vroengard fell. Then again, there weren't so many Riders in the same place before.

 _Velvet,_ Ruby called from the sky, _follow Nenva, make sure Avrart's okay._ Velvet nodded and Vert walked over from beside the cave. The Faunus mounted her dragon and they took off, following the pearly dragon.

Arya turned away from her team. "Master Aaron, _why_ did you kill those Grimm like that?" The rest of her team stared at her like she'd grown a second head.

Aaron sighed. "It's not something I did lightly. Ruby and Yang would call it playing God, I call it dishonorable. It doesn't give them a chance to put up a fight… But I learned the hard way that honor on Remnant is different than Alagaësia. If we fight by the rules that we know, we or someone with us will end up dead. In a tournament fight or sparring, by all means, fight the way you were taught in Ellesméra. Against Grimm and people who try to kill you, do whatever it takes to win." He raised his head. Only his dragon still flew above the mountain. _Nalia, let's head home._

"Would you ever use that spell against people?" Arya asked.

"No." Aaron shook his head. "There's a lot about the Grimm you don't know, that most people on Remnant don't know. They're not like us, they're not animals. They're creatures of hate and fear. They must be stopped. If I used that spell against people, I'd be no better than Galbatorix."

Nalia landed by her Rider's side and focused on Arya and her team as a whole. _You will learn once you gain more experience, young ones. None of you are ready. I doubt any of you would believe us if we told you right now._

Aaron climbed his dragon's side and secured himself in the saddle. He looked down at Arya's team. "Besides, I have a feeling the kind that's immune to magic will be showing up more and more. None of us will be able to fight them like that anymore." He pat Nalia's neck and the dragon took off.

Nalia turned her head back. _Are you alright? Your Aura feels like it's about to collapse._

 _I'm fine. I just had to use my Semblance in a way I've never done before. I really need to use it more._

 _You should._ Nalia snorted and turned her head forward again. _You can't rely on magic all the time._

 _I could ask Weiss for advice. My barriers can act like her platform glyphs._

 _That sounds like an idea._ For the rest of the short flight, Aaron described what happened down in Mountain Glen. Nalia just listened and only made comments about Avrart's mental state. There really wasn't much to say. It was a standard rescue mission where everyone got out alright, if a little deaf on Velvet's part.

They landed at the house beside the Wyvern and Aaron dismounted. "We need to figure out a better place to keep that thing."

 _We could dig out a cave like we did on Vroengard._

"That's probably what we'll do. I don't think we have the Lien for anything else." Aaron shook his head and walked into the house with Nalia right behind him.

Near the sitting area, Ruby and Viki hugged each other with Yang resting a hand on Viki's back. The girl probably just thanked the others for the paycheck. Yang stepped away and took Halcyon's core off her belt. She put her dragon back in his metal body.

Halcyon twitched and opened his eyes. He looked over himself and cocked his head. _Did someone polish my scales while I was gone? I don't remember being this shiny this morning._

"Viki did," Aaron said as he reached the sitting area. "I found her doing that right before we had to fly out."

Viki pulled away from Ruby and nodded at Halcyon. "Your scales were looking kind of dirty and I know dragons like them to shine. I hope you don't mind."

Halcyon hummed and his ears stuck straight up. _I don't._ He walked over to Viki and nudged her toward one of the couches. The girl complied and sat down. Halcyon jumped onto Viki and wrapped all four around her. Viki blinked, then wrapped her own arms around the dragon.

"I told you this would happen." Aaron smiled at his sister.

"Back to his antics as a hatchling." Yang crossed her arms. "I knew he hadn't matured much."

Halcyon turned his head back and gave his Rider a look. _Don't tell me you were mature at six years old._ He swung his head back around and wrapped his neck around Viki's head.

Aaron took his eyes off the couch and faced his wife. Ruby was smiling at the sight, but she wasn't squealing at it and the smile didn't reach her eyes. Aaron walked to her side. "Something wrong?"

Ruby faced Aaron and her smile faded into a frown. "Yeah." She turned around and walked away from the sitting area. Aaron followed his wife and Nalia put herself in between the married couple and everyone else. Ruby walked over to where Cerise lay and leaned against her dragon's neck. "Avrart shouldn't have been there."

"It wasn't our fault he wandered off."

"He shouldn't be _here_ at all. No Aura? What were we thinking?" Ruby shook her head. "Oromis could have gotten to him."

Aaron sighed. "He would have gotten into trouble anywhere."

"He wouldn't be in the Beors. Nothing in Du Weldenvarden would even think about hurting him." Ruby dipped her head. "This can't happen again."

"I don't think we can control that."

"We can." Ruby looked up at Aaron. Anger and sadness poured off her. "Avrart is inexperienced, he has no Aura, and his relationship with Nenva is strained to say the least. All of those should have been red flags but I let the Eldunarí and Oromis convince me that this was the best thing for Avrart."

"There's no way we could have known any of this would happen."

"Maybe… It's my job to keep all Riders alive. I almost failed that over a stupid mistake. Umaroth, I know you're listening in. I know that we learn from our mistakes, I know that I'm going to lose people at some point, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to do everything I can to prevent something like this from happening again." Ruby sat down and leaned against Cerise' neck. "No more Auraless, inexperienced Riders in Grimm territory without supervision.

Aaron nodded and sat by Ruby. "You're not the only one who takes losing people hard."

"Yeah." A faint smile appeared on Ruby's face. "Not sure if that's something that makes great leaders or bad ones."

"Considering it means we care about the people working for us, I'm leaning toward the former."

"Yeah." Ruby shifted her body and leaned her head on Aaron's shoulder. "Let's go with that."

* * *

 **Yes, I know. Many of us would like to see something worse to Avrart… but would you have me do that to Nenva?**


	47. Tower Defense

**It's offical. I'm signed up for NaNoWriMo. I've already started outlining my book for that. The real writing is coming on November 1st. Can't cheat this thing. Updates on this won't be affected.**

 ***sigh* Now we return to the worst arc that I've ever written… though an idea I've had recently could give it meaning besides just 'Grey Folk mysteriousness.'**

* * *

Yang walked out of the house with Halcyon right by her side. They walked to the cave where the Wyvern would permanently rest while not being used. Cerise lay right outside the cave, watching her Rider work. Ruby stood underneath the right wing of the fighter, inspecting where the hidden missiles were stored. She turned her attention to her sister. "Hey, Yang, Halcyon. Thanks for coming."

"It's not like we had to come far." Yang crossed her arms and looked over her fighter. "Something wrong with this thing?"

Ruby shook her head. "Not that I can see. I ran a few diagnostics on it. The onboard computer sees nothing wrong. What about you two?"

"Silky smooth when I'm at the stick. I can fly it without Halcyon if needed."

 _I have no problems with it._ Halcyon snorted. _It doesn't quite feel natural, but I can fly as well with that thing as I can with the Bullhead._

"Well enough to fly a mission?" Ruby asked.

Yang and Halcyon exchanged a look and they both nodded. "Where you sending us?" Yang asked.

"First off, I'm going to say you have every right to turn this down. This is the most dangerous mission I've asked you to go on since we fought Galbatorix. As far as I know, this won't even progress our goals. It's more of a research mission than anything else."

"A dangerous research mission? Are you sending us to scout for Salem?"

Ruby shook her head. "Remember that place Aaron and I went to right before we left Alagaësia the first time?"

"Yeah, you got chased out by the largest Grimm horde ever… Wait, you want to send us there? Didn't you say it was mostly Alagaësian Grimm? We can't fight that without magic."

"No, but you can outspeed it." Ruby pressed her right hand against the fuselage of the fighter. "No Grimm can fly that fast. _Nothing_ can catch the Wyvern at speed. If things get hairy, you can bolt out of there. Frankly, this thing is the only reason I'm even considering this mission."

Yang bit her lip and looked down at Halcyon. "What do you think?"

 _I think it's time I use these weapons on something other than rock._ Halcyon pulled his lips back and clawed at the ground. _I want to see what those guns can do to a flock of Nevermores._

Yang smirked. "Same here." She faced her sister. "That's the danger of the mission accepted. What's the mission itself?"

"I'm sending you two to investigate a tower built by the Grey Folk. Aaron and I got a good look at the main room, but there was a set of doors at the back that could let a young dragon in. There's something back there, and I can't shake the feeling that it's important, or at least important to the Grey Folk. I want you two to get in there and figure it out. Take pictures and video if you can't figure it out by yourself."

"This sounds more like something Barty would be interested in."

"I thought about asking him, but the Wyvern is designed to only carry one person and I don't think he knows about Halcyon, and Beacon kind of needs all hands on deck. I did ask him if he could review any footage and pictures so we can put together something on the Grey Folk."

Ruby paused. "One more thing, do not make a portal anywhere near the island. The Grimm will catch up to you and you won't be able to do anything about it. Fly away for a few hours and do it there."

"Sounds like a mission." Yang nodded. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as you can. I'll send you right to the tower from here. I'll meet you down by the river."

"Got it." Yang turned around and walked with Halcyon back into the house. "Ready for your first mission as a fighter?"

 _Oh yeah. Let's see what that thing can do._

"Fly circles around anything that tries to catch it." Yang pushed into the house and walked toward her room. Once there, she took out Halcyon's Core, grabbed all her weapons, then walked back to the Wyvern with enough firepower to fight an Alagaësian army. She climbed the ladder into the cockpit and put Halcyon's Core in its slot. His Aura passed over the whole fighter so he surrounded his Rider. "Ya feeling everything, Halcyon."

 _I'm locked and loaded._ The engines roared to life with Halcyon's growl. _Let's fly._ Various levers, knobs, and pedals moved without Yang's prompting. The cave floor fell from beneath them as Halcyon rose the fighter. _Thank you for flying Air Halcyon. Today's destination: sketchy Grey Folk tower infested with Grimm._

"Sounds like a perfect vacation destination." Yang didn't bother putting her flight helmet and mask on. They likely weren't flying very high at all. Halcyon flew out of the cave and curved West, angling for the North Fork River. A few minutes later they flew over Beacon, then the river. Halcyon nosed down and angled for where Ruby and Cerise stood by the water.

Just before the fighter reached the river, part of it swirled and turned purple and black. Halcyon positioned himself over the portal and slowly eased himself down into it. The sisters waved at each other as the older entered the other world. When Yang only saw sky, she faced forward. An abandoned city lay beneath her and a black tower stood on a mountain in the distance.

Halcyon kicked on the engines and flew toward the tower. _I'm not seeing any Grimm,_ he said. _Nothing on my cameras or radar._

"Keep looking. If there's so much as a stray dog I want to know about it." Yang looked at the city below. It looked like a small city, but it might have _looked_ small because of how massive the walls were by comparison. How long did it take them to build that without modern tech?

 _We're here,_ Halcyon said as he landed the Wyvern on what looked like a huge landing pad. Ahead of them lay a doorway that was just big enough to fit the fighter. _Watch your step._ The canopy popped above the Rider.

"I will." Yang stood up and grabbed Dawnbreaker from its slot in the cockpit. She jumped out of the fighter and pat Halcyon's metallic side. "You keep your eyes peeled." Yang walked toward the opening while Halcyon took off. The Rider took out her Scroll and started recording. She didn't know what Ruby was looking for, so she just panned her Scroll across the front of the tower.

Yang stepped through the entryway and looked around. Everything was the same shade of black as the outside and the place was lit by flameless lanterns similar to those made by the dwarves. All lines were smooth and the few things that came to points looked as sharp as swords. The air itself felt magical, but not in the Hisney or Ellesméra way. "Well, this place isn't creepy at all."

While she panned her Scroll around the room, Yang focused her eyes on the set of massive doors near the back of the room. They were made out of the same material as the rest of the place with steel reinforcements. "What are you hiding?"

Yang approached the door and looked it over. It had a handle, but no visible lock. She cast a few spells to determine if there were any magical locks. There were quite a few wards on it, but most protected it from any kind of damage. They were powerful too. Others, Yang didn't know because there were words she didn't understand. Nothing told her that the door was locked. She reached out and grabbed the handle.

Lightning shot through her body. Yang threw her head back and screamed. She tried to let go but her fingers were glued on. Halcyon screamed in her head but his Rider heard no words. Her Aura drained way too fast. It completely ignored her wards. Half of her protection was useless.

As soon as the pain started, it stopped. Yang backed away from the door and drew Dawnbreaker. "What the hell?"

 _Yang! Are you okay?_

"For now." Yang picked up her Scroll from where she apparently dropped it during the attack. She flipped to the Aura tracking app. "Took me down to the red. Anything happening out there?" She turned around and faced the entrance. The Wyvern flew just off the landing pad pointing right at Yang.

 _Still nothing on radar._ The engines ground hard. _I am now in favor of scrapping this mission._

"Same. I'm coming ba-" Something cracked behind Yang she whipped around, aiming her sword at the sound. The doors swung outward toward Yang. The Rider backed up but kept her weapons trained on the door for whoever stood on the other side. As soon as the gap was wide enough, Yang stepped through, ready to blast her attacker. To her surprise, she was alone in a… library? Study? Whatever it was, it had a lot of full bookshelves, a massive writing desk, and a bunch of full-length mirrors.

Yang let her arms fall to her sides and sheathed Dawnbreaker. "All this protection over a library?"

 _What happened to getting the heck out of here?_ Halcyon growled.

"I think one of the spells in the door decided I was worthy." Yang turned around and stared straight back at her dragon. The Wyvern hadn't moved an inch. "I'm guessing the word for Aura is in there somewhere."

Halcyon continued his growl. Ruby might need to check the engines for damage when they get back. _If anything moves out here, we are flying away._

"Just keep me updated." Yang faced one of the bookshelves and walked to it. She raised her Scroll and started recording again. As she walked, she read the titles on the spines. For the most part, they sounded like history books but for things that Yang didn't think were real. She didn't know the entire history of Alagaësia, but she at least skimmed the _Domina Abr Wyrda._ Nothing sounded familiar. There wasn't an obvious order either. _Blood Gulch Chronicles_ was in between _Fall of the Romans_ and _The Third Dwarf Clan War._ The author wasn't labeled, so she couldn't tell if that was the order either.

Yang kept walking, recording, and reading, growing more confused with each bookshelf. There were a few things she saw that were backed up by the _Domina Abr Wyrda,_ but most sounded like gibberish. Things were written in the Ancient Language, Vytalian, and a few more Yang didn't recognize. Some books even looked like they were made using a printing press or something like that.

She made her way to the desk and saw a familiar book lying on it. Yang stiffened as she stared at _History of Remnant, Third Edition._ That was one of the textbooks Dr. Oobleck had his third-year classes read.

"Oh, man." Yang took her eyes off the book and stared around the room. If that was here, how many of the others weren't fiction? "What is this place?"

" _It is what you would call an observation post,"_ a voice said from behind her.

Yang whipped around and drew Dawnbreaker once more. An old man stood in a doorway to another part of the library. His clothes were a mix between elven and Alagaësian human. He was about a head shorter than Yang and didn't have a lot of muscle on him… but the energy and Aura he put out without Yang even trying to feel that… The Rider took a step back. _"Who are you and what are you doing here?"_

" _I should be asking you that. You are in my home."_

Yang stiffened. _"Your… home?" Halcyon, get those afterburners ready._

The old man raised a hand. _"I will not harm you, Yang Goldmane,"_ he looked out of the library and the tower, _"nor you, Halcyon Brightscales. I do not harm unless threatened. I have been waiting for a Rider to return since your sister and her future husband explored this tower months ago."_

The Rider lowered her weapons, but she was still on edge. If he didn't feel threatened by having a bunch of high powered weapons pointed at him, what would? _"How did you know our names? How did you know Halcyon was even there?"_

" _I know a great many things about you Riders."_ The man stepped toward the desk and Yang backed away even more.

" _Who are you?"_

" _My name is Tenga."_ The old man faced Yang. _"I believe you have heard of me."_

Yang relaxed a little bit. _"You're the one who gave Aaron the spell to come to Remnant."_

" _Indeed."_ Tenga nodded. _"It appears I was not wrong about him or those on Remnant that he would likely contact."_ He faced Yang. _"We will have much time to discuss things over the next few days."_

Yang clenched her fists. _"Are you saying you're keeping me here?"_

" _I will not hold you should you choose to go, but the Grimm are coming. Even with Halcyon's speed, you will not be able to leave this continent."_

 _He's right,_ Halcyon called. _I've got contacts on radar. More are coming in… oh my gosh. Everything's red. We're surrounded._ Yang faced her dragon. The Wyvern's back was facing her. A missile popped out under each of the fighter's wings. _I know these are expensive, Ruby, but I need to use them._ Both missiles flew out from under the wings and exploded seconds later. _That didn't even dent them._

"Halcyon, back it in." Yang shifted Dawnbreaker to shotgun form and walked to the side of the door. Now she saw the black and red mass of Grimm flying at them, and she couldn't feel any of them. "I'll cover you as much as I can."

 _So will I._ Halcyon fired his guns and kept firing as he backed in. The chatter never stopped. He made it halfway into the outer room for the Grimm to be in Yang's range. As long as she didn't hit her dragon, she'd hit something. This was the first time she'd used her new weapon in combat. It was made by Ruby, so it shouldn't just explode.

Yang fired her weapon and saw one of the Grimm explode. She pumped the gun, loading another shell, and fired again, and again, and again. With the combined firepower, with most coming from Halcyon, the Grimm didn't make it into the building. As soon as the nose of the Wyvern made it into the library, the doors started closing. Yang stood right under the nose and kept firing, even when Halcyon had to stop. The Grimm outside charged but even the smallest wouldn't make it through the narrow gap in the door. The doors slammed together and Yang lowered her shotgun.

"That was a thing." Yang reloaded her shotgun and stood up from under Halcyon. _"They normally do something like this?"_

Tenga shook his head. _"The doors were opened. Salem doesn't know what's in here, but she wants to. I cannot allow her to access the library. That is why the lock drained your Aura so much. Only a select few can enter here."_

Yang blinked. Tenga just said 'Aura' in the Ancient Language, and she understood it. _"What is going on here?"_

 _ **Are we prisoners?**_ Halcyon growled.

" _That was not my intention. If you had left you would have been killed. These doors will not open until the Grimm are gone for our safety."_ Tenga turned away. _"As for this place and the situation you find yourselves in, it all traces back to my master's master…"_

* * *

Ruby tried to keep her emotions in check as she walked through the hospital. Considering yet another tear ran down her cheek, it wasn't working. Hopefully anyone who saw her thought it was over her concern for Nora, not anyone else.

She knocked on the door to Nora's room and she slowly pushed it open. Nora laid in her bed, breathing through a hose and attached to several different machines. Her skin was so pale it was almost snow white. Ren sat at his fiancé's right side holding Nora's hand. Jaune and Pyrrha stood by the wall at the foot of Nora's bed. Pyrrha held Rusty close, but her eyes were fixed solely on her teammate.

Nora's head lolled to the left and she looked in Ruby's general direction. She groaned before twitching her right hand toward the side of the bed. The Rider took the hint, walked to her friend's side, and grabbed Nora's hand in both of her own. "How you feeling?" Nora moaned and her head righted itself.

"This attack was over an hour long," Ren said. For the first time that Ruby knew of, Ren sounded defeated. "She was just eating cereal when it happened. I called one-one-nine half an hour in. She was here being looked over for fifteen minutes before it showed signs of stopping. None of the doctors know what's causing it."

"Her heart was barely beating when it finished." Jaune shook his head. "It's not good, Ruby. I don't know how much more she can take."

"Ruby," Nora whispered. "Head. Think."

Ruby nodded and touched her mind to Nora's. The human lightning rod was scared for her life. "What do you need Nora?" The Rider decided to speak so the others could be in on the conversation.

 _I need this to be gone,_ Nora pleaded. She rolled her head so her eyes met Ruby's. _It's destroyed my life. I can't do anything now._

"I know. All of us want that scar and everything that comes with it gone. If I knew the spells that caused all this, I would take care of it right now."

 _One of you said Pruma couldn't feel any pain. Could you do the same for me?_

Ruby blinked and straightened up. She hadn't tried that before but on the other hand… "Nora, no. That's too dangerous. You're a Huntress. Pain keeps alive. Taking it away will get you killed."

 _This scar is going to get me killed!_ A tear ran down Nora's cheek. _Please, at least think about it._

Ruby opened her mouth to protest, but she closed it right away. She couldn't argue that. She was just told Nora's heart almost stopped beating from her most recent attack. "I need to ask Velvet about this when she gets here. She's our medical 'expert' now. She'll know more about this than I do." The Rider let go of Nora's hand and stepped back.

She leaned against the wall and extended her mind toward the Eldunarí with Cerise. _Umaroth, I know you were listening in. What was the old Order's policy on making people immune to pain?_

 _We have never done so._ Umaroth said. _We share the same beliefs on this matter._

 _Would it even be considered in a situation like this?_

Umaroth took a while to answer. _To my knowledge, Nora is the first one with this kind of injury. Few others who faced a Shade lived to tell their tales. None of them survived untouched, and none of them had a scar such as Nora's._

 _So that's not what the elves tried to do on our first trip to Ellesméra?_

 _If their practices have not changed, the elves targeted the scar directly, leaving the rest of her body unaffected. Taking away someone's ability to feel pain is inhumane._

 _I've got to agree there. I know of a few people on Remnant who can't feel anything at all. They get injured so easily and they don't even know it. I don't want to put Nora in the same place… but what choice do we have? If we leave her alone, she'll be killed by the scar. If we do it, she could still be killed by the scar, or it works, and she's killed on mission because she doesn't feel that she's bleeding out… unless she stops taking missions entirely._ Ruby bit her lip. _I'll let Velvet make the final call._ She returned her attention to what was going on in the room. NCIU was on the projector, one of Nora's favorite shows. Ruby liked it as well, but she hadn't been keeping up with it.

About fifteen minutes later, the door opened again and Velvet walked in. "Sorry I'm late," she said. "I was in the middle of a test when Ruby called me."

"It's not a problem," Ren said. "I'm just glad you're here."

Ruby grabbed Velvet's arm as the latter tried to walk past. "Velvet, head talk. Now."

Velvet nodded and she touched her mind to Ruby's. _What's this about?_

 _Umaroth and I were discussing a possible fix to Nora's situation. I'm not a fan, and I don't know if it's even possible for us to do, but it's one of the few solutions we have. Nora asked if we can make her feel no pain like Pruma._

Velvet blinked and looked at Nora. _Are we sure we want to do that?_

 _You're head healer of the Riders, Velvet. Do we do this now, and do we do this going forward?_

 _It's up to me?_ Velvet faced Ruby with a wince. _I'm not a leader. I can't make huge decisions like that._

 _You lead by example. You're just setting one right here._

Velvet faced Nora again and didn't say anything. She stayed like that for a long time, occasionally shifting her weight from leg to leg. After a while, she nodded. "I can do it, but on one condition." Nora's eyes widened and her lower lip trembled. "You take it slow. If this works, you stay in your wheelchair for a while before moving to your legs. You build everything back up little by little. You don't go on missions, you don't even think about training until I give you the all clear. Do you understand?" Nora squeaked and blinked several times in a second.

"I'm adding another one." Ruby pushed herself off the wall. "You let Velvet put a spell on you that lets you know when, where, and how bad you're injured without feeling any pain. You're a great Huntress, Nora, and I think everyone in here wants to see you out there again. Even if you get injured in civilian life, that would be useful. I just lost Yang and Halcyon. I don't want to lose anyone else…" Ruby quietly gasped as she realized what she just said. _I guess the cat's out of the bag now._

Everyone in the room stared at Ruby with either open mouths or just extra terrified eyes in Nora's case. "What do you mean you lost them?" Pyrrha asked.

Ruby sniffed, the emotions she was suppressing boiling over. "I sent them on a mission a week ago that should have been ten hours at most in Alagaësia. They still haven't come back. I tried to scry them here, Ilirea, Ellesméra… my Scroll was black everywhere. If she was in Du Weldenvarden, I wouldn't have gotten anything. It's only black if whoever I'm thinking of is on the other planet… or dead."

Everyone else looked at each other. It didn't look like any of them thought this would happen. "Ruby, I'm so sorry." Velvet stepped forward and hugged Ruby. The younger woman didn't have the strength to return it. "If you ever need anything, just let us know."

Ruby backed out of Velvet's arms. "Aaron and I are going to look for wreckage of Halcyon's fighter. We can't have Remmartian technology just strewn about in Alagaësia… even if it is at the bottom of the ocean." She turned to leave the room but stopped in the doorway. "Could you keep this to yourselves? I'd like to tell people myself." She left the room without waiting for a response. _Cerise, I'm on my way back up._

 _I'll be here._ Cerise hadn't sounded so depressed since Halcyon died the first time.

The Rider walked through the hospital toward the skyway. She kept going over what she could have done better in her head. She could have sent backup… No one should have been on that mission in the first place. Ruby sent her big sister to…

She shook her head as she climbed up the last stairs in the parking ramp. There had to be a way that Yang and Halcyon could be alive. Both of them had cheated death so many times. They had to be alive somewhere. Who knew what kind of magic the Grey Folk were capable of when that tower was built?

"Cerise, let's get home and get you in your armor." Ruby climbed her dragon's side. "The sooner we figure this out the better."

Cerise jumped off the roof of the parking ramp and angled east. _I hope they're alive too, but I don't see how that's possible._

 _Think positive, Cerise._ Ruby wiped an arm under her eyes. _They might not be dead. They might just be in a place that has different magic._ Her words felt hollow in her head. Cerise hummed sadly but otherwise stayed silent. Neither of them spoke for the rest of the flight.

When they landed on the pad right outside the house, Nalia was already there in the armor Rhunön initially made for the wedding, with the addition of her shoulder mounted guns. Aaron stood by his dragon's side with a few more armor plates over his jacket and jeans. He looked up at his wife as Cerise landed. "Yaela and I have Cerise' armor and weapons set out. We'll get her armored up as fast as we can."

"Thank you." Ruby dismounted and walked into the house. Just as Aaron said, all of Cerise' armor lay on the floor, grouped together by body part. Yaela stood by the plates for Cerise' left wing. "Let's get going." Cerise stood in the center of all the armor. The two Riders and the elf didn't speak as they clothed the dragon.

When Cerise was fully armored up, Ruby faced Yaela. "If we're not back in two days, I want you to deliver a message to Oromis. Tell him that we've been killed in battle. He gets to choose who the next leader of the Riders is, but I'd suggest-"

 _They're back!_ Nalia roared. _I see them!_

Ruby snapped her head to the landing pad. She activated her Semblance and in less than a second she stood by Nalia's side. She stared in the same direction as the dragon. A golden fighter flew above the forest and flew toward them. Ruby let her jaw drop and she stretched her mind toward the fighter. _Yang! You're back!_

 _Yeah. We are._ Yang sounded out of breath. _You okay, Rubes? Your head's all over the place._

Ruby clenched her fists and her teeth. _Just get down here. Now._ She pulled out of Yang's head without giving her the chance to respond.

Aaron ran up to his wife's side and stared at the approaching Wyvern. "How are they alive? There were no signs."

"I know." Ruby's arms shook from how much she clenched her hands. She glared at the incoming fighter the whole way. The Wyvern flew into its cave and shut down.

A few minutes later, Yang stepped out with Halcyon's Core on her hip. "Okay, Ruby, what's up?"

Ruby stomped over to her sister. Yang smiled uneasily and took a step back. The younger woman stopped right in front of Yang and slapped her sister's face as hard as she could with her natural hand. "Don't you _dare_ ever scare me like that again!" Her voice cracked halfway through. She leaned forward and brought Yang into a tight hug. "I thought I lost you."

Yang wrapped her arms around Ruby and hugged her little sister even tighter. "I know. It killed me that I couldn't get anything to you. We were surrounded by Grimm all week. We couldn't leave the tower."

Ruby pulled away and locked eyes with her sister. "I tried to scry you and Halcyon in so many places. All I saw was black. I thought…" She leaned her head forward and it landed on Yang's shoulder. "I thought I sent you to die."

"Ruby," Yang grabbed her sister's shoulders and pushed her away, "for one, you didn't send me to die. You gave me every opportunity to back out, and I didn't. Two, I'm not dead. Do not hold this against yourself." Yang grimaced. "Blame it on Tenga."

"Tenga?" Aaron asked behind Ruby, "You met him?"

"Yeah. He's scary." Yang took her arms off Ruby. "Let me go put Halcyon back in his shell and I'll explain everything that happened." She turned around and walked into the house.

Ruby stared after her sister and didn't move from her spot. Five minutes ago she was certain Yang was dead. Now… how was she supposed to feel? She was just shocked, unable to process what just happened.

"Tenga?" Aaron shook his head. "How?"

"Didn't you say that he's supposed to be dead?"

"That's what Angela said. She's eccentric, but she hasn't given me reason to believe she's a liar."

 _Neither is Yang,_ Cerise said. _Well, she jokes around and is sarcastic, but she knows when to be serious. This is definitely one of those times._

"I trust Yang." Ruby nodded. "If she says something's scary that's not a spider or one of us getting hurt, it should scare us." She walked into the house with the others following behind her. Yaela stood by the entryway with her mouth hanging open, staring at the closed door to Yang's room. She looked at the other Riders before walking back toward the elevator. Ruby's group walked to the sitting area. Ruby and Aaron sat side by side on one couch with the dragons resting their heads beside their Riders.

A few minutes later, Yang and android Halcyon walked out of their room and to the sitting area. Yang took one of the open chairs and Halcyon laid down on the floor beside his Rider. "First off, I'm sorry it took so long for me to come back. We were stuck in that tower unable to leave." She scoffed. "We were stuck in a tower with a crazy old man who's actually a Grey Folk with very little food and water."

 _At least you didn't have to feed me,_ Halcyon growled. _I would eat everything gone in half a day. We're not exaggerating here._

Aaron shifted on the couch. "Tenga's Grey Folk?"

"Yeah. He said Angela is too. They're not extinct, they're just weakened and mainly living on the exact opposite side of Alagaësia, which is apparently what they call the planet too, which isn't confusing at all."

"Weren't they supposed to be the strongest of all races?" Ruby asked. "How weak are you talking?"

"Like just one of us could take down their army. There are a few exceptions, like Tenga and Angela, but for the most part, they're weaker at magic than most humans.'

"What was in the tower?" Aaron asked.

Yang shifted in her seat. "It's a freaking interdimensional observation post. They got us and I don't know how many other places being watched."

Nalia growled. _What are they looking for?_

"Tenga claimed to be the apprentice of a historian. All he would say is that it was his master's job to watch over the worlds, record their existence, and to not interfere, record history from someone who's not the winner. His master was the one who allowed Salem to come to Remnant in the first place and was killed since he couldn't kill Salem or bring her back."

Ruby shook her head. "This might be the weirdest thing I've heard about, and I've heard a lot of weird things."

 _Do you have anything to back this up?_ Cerise asked.

"I've got a video." Yang took out her Scroll and handed it to Ruby. "It's some pretty sketchy stuff."

Ruby played the most recent video and watched Yang's path. In addition to a Remmartian history book, there were a bunch of others, including one for a place that sounded like it was out of Galaxy Wars. "I've taken you've read some of these?"

"I've skimmed a few that were in Vytalian. There was one about a red and a blue team in a gulch that were after each other's flag, only they wanted to kill each other over it. It wasn't a friendly game like CTF against JNPR our second year."

Ruby watched the whole video before handing Yang her Scroll back. "You putting any stock in this?"

"Yeah. Take a look in the photos, one labeled Minas Tirith. I know, it sounds familiar, and it will look familiar too."

"Okay." Ruby navigated to the photos and opened the image. A marble city was built into a mountain with a huge cliff running down the center. It looked like the city had seen better days with ivy and other greenery on the walls. Ruby squinted her eyes for the telltale buildings found in the old Mistrili city but saw none. They were the only things that looked off. "This is just Tiras Minith from _The One Ring,_ but it's not?"

Yang shook her head. "I saw a few other things that looked like cheap rip-offs, but they're all legit." She bit her lower lip. "I don't know how, but he had technical diagrams for the CCT too. I mean several books saying exactly how it works... On a possibly related note, it was written in Vytalian, but I could read every word in the Ancient Language. I'm not sure if it was that room or something Tenga did to me... Whatever it is, I can still feel it."

Ruby cocked her head. "So, there _are_ words in the Ancient Language for modern tech?" That could be one positive thing that came out of Yang's disappearance.

 _We think so._ Halcyon snorted. _There was even one for android._

"If we don't like this," Aaron started, "let's just make Tenga stop."

 _It's not that easy._ Halcyon curled his toes. _He is strong in magic and Aura. It would take all of us to stop him._

"He swore he'd only attack when threatened. Us trying to stop him would definitely apply." Yang shook her head. "We are _not_ ready for that."

 _How will this affect us?_ Nalia asked.

"As long as we don't try to interfere with the other places, it won't… unless whoever Tenga and his master work for decide to act on it. They have to be getting all that information together for a reason."

Ruby bit her lip. "Sounds like we don't have a choice in this."

"Not a chance." Yang shook her head. "If we do anything, we should prepare for-"

"Yang!" Viki called from another side of the house. She came running from her room and jumped over Yang's chair onto the Rider's back. "Ruby and Aaron said you were gone. I thought we lost you."

Yang brought a hand up and rubbed the side of Viki's head. "Nah. Nothing can kill me. I'm too badass."

"Language." Ruby sighed and smiled. It was so nice to have Yang back.

"I have a question," Aaron started. "What is Tiras Minith?"

Ruby straightened and stared at Aaron with an open mouth. "Have you really never watched _The One Ring_ movies?"

Aaron shook his head. "Never. I'm not really a fan of things that portray different ideas of magic."

Ruby blinked several times. "I have failed as a friend, team leader, and wife. You and Viki need to see them in the extended editions… well, maybe we should skip the _Fobbit_ movies. I pretty much know you, Nalia, and any of the dragons won't like those."

Cerise growled. _That creature is a terrible example of a dragon._

"If we're talking about right now, I can get popcorn going," Yang offered,

"I kind of need to tell JNPR you're alive first." Ruby stood up from the couch. "By all means make as much popcorn as you can… but first, you might want to call dad. He's the one I told first."

Yang grimaced. "Good idea." She stood up and pulled out her Scroll while walking away.

Aaron sighed. "What did I get myself into?"

"A marathon!" Ruby chirped as she climbed up her dragon's side. "We've got to celebrate Yang being alive the right way."

"I've got to disappear more often." Yang smirked up at Ruby.

Cerise swung her head around and growled at Yang. _No! You gave my Rider a heart attack. You will_ _ **not**_ _do that again._

Yang winced. "Got it." She focused back on her Scroll.

 _Good._ Cerise snorted and faced the entryway again.

"Don't threaten my sister." Ruby rubbed her dragon's neck. "That's _my_ job."

* * *

 **See what I mean by worst arc ever yet...**


	48. Six Levels Under

**For any XCOM 2 players out there, yes, someone is dressed like a Stun Lancer. Man, I love that game and I hate that game.  
**

* * *

Ruby powered on the projector to test it. It was the first time the conference room had been used for official business and she wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly. Considering the same screen on her Scroll popped out of the small box, it was working.

She turned around to face the other four people in the room. All of them would play critical roles in the mission ahead. Aaron was her second in command, but he and Nalia would probably end up with an airship squadron for the battle. Blake, as a former member of the White Fang and current leader of the Faunus for Equal Treatment, probably would have more authority than Aaron because of her experience with the organization. Nora would be the Rider's liaison for the military and would help communicate information both ways.

Raven stood on the other side of the room in modified Vale commando armor. Instead of its typical white and green coloring, it was painted red and black. She sharpened the blade of a red titanium katana with an electric shock function that Ruby had forged a few days before. Her helmet sat off to the side. While most people thought she was on all Kingdoms' watch lists, including the rank and file soldier, the leaders in Vale's armed forces knew she was one of the good guys.

Ruby's Scroll buzzed on the table. She picked it up and read the message from Yaela. 'Military command has arrived. Escorting them to you.' Ruby nodded and set the Scroll back down. "Places people. This is our first combined strike with Vale's military. Let's make a good first impression."

"I'll try to keep down my enthusiasm," Nora said.

"Remind me why we asked Nora to be our comms person?" Aaron asked his wife.

"Because we need all of CfVY on the ground," Ruby said.

Nora shot a fake glare at Aaron and put her hands on her hips. "I can be serious when I want to. A year of excruciating pain when just being myself taught me a lot."

Raven sighed and sheathed her temporary weapon. "Do I want to know what you were like before?"

"More hyper than mom during your second year at Beacon." Ruby held her hands palm up. "That's saying something."

Raven stared openmouthed at Ruby, then faced Nora. "And you're marrying someone who doesn't show his emotions?"

"Oh he does," Nora chirped. "You just have to know where to look."

"She's right there." Ruby heard the doorknob turn and she put on her business face. The door opened revealing Yaela leading a handful of military commanders. Yaela stayed outside and closed the door after the soldiers. The head Rider recognized their faces from the Siege of Bullworth: Captain Sherry Towson of the aerial corvette _KVS Glen,_ Commander Greece James of the 16th Flight Wing, and Commander Iris Van Doorn of Breaker Company. It looked like Vale wanted to send their best to take out the White Fang in Vale. Whether any of them liked that this was a Rider led mission was another story.

The three soldiers took their seats across from Ruby. Captain Sherry crossed her arms. "You have us here, Miss Rose. What do you have for us?"

Ruby nodded. She hoped they'd want to get right to the chase. She picked up her Scroll and flipped to the next slide showing the dragon leather chair. "This whole thing started when I found this chair in the home of a White Fang sympathizer. Rider Intelligence Director Branwen traced its life to find all owners. Since this is made from dragon skin, we assumed we would find those that supported the Nevermores. However, at one point it was stolen by White Fang soldiers. Director Branwen followed one of these soldiers and found an old pre-great war mine being used as a base by the White Fang." Ruby once again switched slides, this time showing the mine in question with dozens of people in White Fang masks roaming about.

"I also intercepted a few couriers," Raven stepped forward. "They're expecting a few thousand reinforcements from across Sanus today, some of them with 'armed vehicles.' At this point, we're not sure how many there are or what kind. We're still waiting on that from our eyes in the field."

Commander James scoffed. "We're going in with little to no intel?"

"If we want to hit them before they get organized and launch an attack on Vale in the next week, yes, we are," Ruby said deadpan.

The soldiers stiffened and looked amongst each other. "Attack Vale?" Commander Van Doorn asked. "They can't have the manpower for that."

"They didn't during the Battle of Beacon," Aaron said, "but they didn't need it. They had Grimm on their side."

"We expect the same this time." Ruby flipped to another slide, this one showing a Myrkrgarm assisting a White Fang soldier with a crate. She thought she heard the Captain swear under her breath. "We saw this at the Battle of Beacon too, but we think that this kind of cooperation will be even more widespread. In addition to the Grimm that will naturally show up in an attack, these Alagaësian Grimm are coming with the White Fang, and they are stronger and smarter than the average Grimm. What the White Fang lacks in manpower, the Grimm will add."

"So we hit them before they hit us." Captain Towson nodded. "What's the plan?"

"Secure the outside of the mine first. Most ground forces would stay outside to keep the entrance secure, the rest will sweep the inside. I'll have one of my Riders stay outside as well in case of cave-ins." Ruby flipped to the last slide she had. It had the most recent picture of Ilia they had, the one of her visiting Adam in prison. "We also believe the current leader of the White Fang, Ilia Amitola, to be at this location."

"She's a chameleon Faunus," Blake spoke up for the first time. "I know two other chameleon Faunus. They can change their skin so perfectly to match their surroundings that they could remain unseen for hours. Ilia's Semblance allows her to turn anything she touches to take the same color of her skin. She could hide anywhere she wanted to. But I don't think she can hide from infrared cameras, which I would recommend anyway for going into a mine occupied by Faunus."

Ruby flipped the slide one last time and the logo of the Riders appeared on the projector once more. "That's all I got for the overall strategy. Nora's going to be our point of contact on the _Glen._ Aaron and Nalia are going to be the ones staying outside and will be coordinating the dragons once the rest of us enter the mine."

"If anyone asks," Raven started, "just call me Shadow, the one who tipped you off to this place."

"What about us?" Van Doorn asked.

"The only time I'd order your forces is if all of you were dead or you directed them to follow me." Ruby shook her head. "You know your troops better than I do. I couldn't use them to their full potential. You know our end goals, figure out how your forces can best achieve the goal."

Captain Towson locked eyes with Ruby. "I trusted you back in Bullworth. I'm with you now."

Commander James nodded. "My fighters are ready. We'll keep the ground pounders safe."

Van Doorn shot her fellow commander a glare. "We won't be the ones that need protecting, Chair Force."

Ruby held back a smirk. She wondered if the Riders would ever be a part of the different branch banter. "If that's all, the dragons are fully armed and armored and are ready for a fight. I've found its hazardous for a person's health to keep a dragon waiting."

Everyone sitting around the conference table stood up and made for the door. Those affiliated with the Riders hung back and let the soldiers lead the way outside. Two Bullheads sat on the landing pad, one standard military gray with the only markings being serial numbers, and one with a new dark blue paint job with the logo of the Riders painted on the side of the crew compartment doors. Yaela stood outside the latter, now wearing elven armor plates. Her Aura was weak, but she'd still be able to shrug off several more Dust rounds. All members of JNPR and CfVY were likely already on the Bullhead.

The soldiers boarded their Bullhead, Raven, Blake, and Yaela climbed in theirs, and the two Riders climbed up the cliff to where the rest of their force lay. Yang sat in the Wyvern with the canopy up, Weiss adjusted the straps on Saphira's saddle, and Velvet stood by Nalia while Cerise and Vert rubbed their heads together. They all stopped what they were doing to face their superiors.

"Mission's a go!" Ruby called. "Mount up, everyone! We'll follow the Bullheads in and await landing instructions. Let's get set before Captain Towson reaches her bridge." Ruby jumped up to Cerise' back and fit her helmet over her head. Cerise jumped off the ground and circled the house once before the Bullheads took off. She took the Riders' Bullhead's wing as soon as she could.

Ruby stared at the Riders' Bullhead and stretched her mind inside. All those she thought would be in there were, except one. _Pyrrha, where's Jaune?_

 _We made a rule shortly after Rusty was born,_ Pyrrha started. _Only one of us would go on a mission at a time. That way, one of us is with Rusty at all times and… well…_ she didn't finish her thought. Then again, she didn't need to.

 _Same thing with Blake and Sun. It's just you and Ren in the field this time around?_

 _Yes, but it is nice to have Nora involved again, even if she's on the sidelines._

 _There is that. See you on the battlefield._ Ruby pulled back into her own head and waited for landing clearance. When the dragons came within a mile of the _Glen,_ a flight officer directed the dragons to land on top of the ship in a single file line. He asked if any Riders would like to come aboard, none of them said yes. Everyone just secured themselves to their dragons like they would for any other long-distance flight.

As soon as the last dragon touched down on the hull, the _Glen's_ engines kicked into gear. Yang and Halcyon flew alongside the ship. With the solar panels on the wings and the top speed an aerial corvette could achieve, the fighter wouldn't need to touch down for hours, as long as they flew in the sun anyway.

Two giant troop transports and a civilian air cargo ship turned aircraft carrier joined the _Glen_ a half hour after they left the mountain. This was their entire force. It wasn't nearly as much as the response to Bullworth, but this was enough to secure a single area…

How many people on both sides wouldn't make it home to their families? This was war. People died. This was the first attack Ruby lead where she had a significant supporting force behind her. She was responsible for so many more people now. _What's the saying, it takes thirty thousand casualties to train a major general?_

 _Gem, you won't lose nearly that many,_ Cerise hummed.

 _One is too many, Cerise... I can't just take them all out at once either. I'd be just like Galbatorix._

 _The best anyone can do is try to keep their own forces alive. I'd say you're better at that than most commanders in Vale's military._

 _We have wards and magic. Everyone else has more to do with them staying alive than I do._ Ruby's Scroll rang in her pocket and it showed up in her helmet's HUD. It looked like Qrow's report came in. She forwarded the message to Nora before reading it herself. It looked like somewhere between hundreds and thousands of White Fang had shown up with a small air force but a bunch of ground vehicles. Most of them sounded like trucks with machine guns mounted on the back, but those could still be deadly.

An hour and a half later, Ruby's radio clicked. _"General quarters! General Quarters! All hands, man your battle stations!"_ Shortly after, the _Glen_ started to slow.

"Cerise, you're our GPS." Ruby pat her dragon's neck. "How far out are we?"

 _Ten miles,_ Cerise said. _We're almost there._

Ruby keyed opened the Rider's frequency. "Everyone, this is it. Let's give the gunners up here some more room." All dragons on the _Glen_ stood up and spread their wings. One by one they jumped off the hull and followed Cerise in a V formation. Yang and Halcyon joined soon after, and the Bullhead a little after that,

"All Riders, we're hot dropping as soon as we get over the mine. It's up to your dragon's discretion on where they drop you. Goldmane, you're the fastest one here. Nothing escapes. Dragons, you're close air support or heavy armor, whichever the situation needs. Huntsmen, you'll be joining the Riders on our push into the mine. Whiskers, you're with the dragons." A watchtower came into view above the trees. The converted carriers started launching fighters. Ruby reached back and grabbed Máni Bláto. "Watch your backs and each other. Let's do this."

Cerise roared and turned off her engines. She unlocked her wings as soon as it was safe. The dragon dove for the watchtower with her paws stretched out. Her paws hit and splintered the wooden structure on impact. Two White Fang soldiers screamed as they fell.

" _I think we got their attention,"_ Weiss said over the radio. _"I'm feeling a lot of panic up there."_

" _Nice to catch someone else with their pants down for a change,"_ Yang quipped.

Aaron sighed. _"That was one time."_

" _Okay, how do you still not know that figure of speech?"_

Ruby shook her head. "We're with the military here. No unnecessary chatter on comms." _If you have to, think it._ She saw the trees thinning out ahead, and the mine entrance appeared in the side of a large hill. "Weapons free. Goldmane, break off when you need to. Dragons, let's clear an LZ." She drew Máni Bláto and extended it to Scythe form.

The Wyvern sped past anything else even as the dragons flew faster. It pointed its nose down and fired. Cerise flew over the clearing in front of the mine and Ruby freed her legs. "Whenever you're ready, Cerise."

 _Go… now!_ Cerise rolled and launched her Rider at the ground. Ruby aimed herself at a technical and thrust her weapon in front of her. She fired twice to slow herself down while at the same time disabling the truck's engine and machinegun. She landed on the gunner, knocking him out. The Rider whipped her weapon around and fired at the driver's seat as well. A form slumped to the passenger seat with a hole in its head.

Ruby looked around the area. Velvet had brought out a wireframe tank and used it against other vehicles outside, mainly more technical and other transportation vehicles. Weiss had summoned her knight and a Deathstalker and they were fighting a few dozen infantry. Aaron took a more modest approach and fought the perimeter guard along the tree line. The amount of fire coming toward Ruby was minimal. Once she cleared out the other two trucks, this would be a good place to land.

The Faunus in the two other trucks finally noticed Ruby was there and started to aim their weapons at her. The Rider jumped off the truck she stood on to the one on her right. She knocked the machine gunner off and aimed her commandeered weapon at the third technical. She pulled the trigger and knocked the gunner off and shredded the driver. The Rider turned to the driver of her own truck, but he had his hands pressed against the ceiling. No need to do anything to him.

"Shadeslayer to Whiskers, I've got an LZ here for you. Lead the others in." Ruby jumped off the truck bed and knocked on the driver's side door. "Park this thing near the trees, then put your hands back on the ceiling." The man nodded and Ruby walked away. She didn't make it ten steps before she heard the man scream. Ruby whipped around, ready for a Grimm, but it was Qrow holding the driver's hand against the door. A pistol sat on the ground.

"My niece said drive away," Qrow growled, _"not_ shoot her in the back. Do what she said and we won't meet again." He let go of the driver's arm and the truck drove off.

"Thanks for the save, Whiskey." Ruby thought she felt her mom get mad over Qrow's callsign.

"You got to watch your back, kiddo." Qrow drew his sword from his back. "You never know when someone's going to do something stupid."

"There is that." Ruby looked up as the Riders' Bullhead flew overhead, followed by several others. "Thanks for the intel too. You get in there by any chance?" Ruby gestured toward the mine.

"I'm a bird, not a bat. I'd stick out like a sore thumb in there."

Ruby gave a sideways nod and faced the mine. More vehicles and infantry stormed out of the mine. "You with me, old man?" She drew Crescent Rose and held both her scythes at her sides with the barrels pointing behind her

"Don't call me old."

"If I take out more of these guys than you, you're old." Ruby pulled both triggers and shot forward. She kicked her legs in front of her and pointed her scythe blades away from her. She flew into the mass of people, kicking some down while most were caught by her scythes. Crescent Rose caught on someone with a sturdier Aura and Ruby swung around him. She planted her feet on the ground and she swung the blunt side of both weapons in opposite directions. They connected with the militant's head and knees, knocking him off the ground and unconscious. He hit head first and didn't move.

A howl rang through the air, then another, and another. Roars of various different Grimm accompanied the Beowolves. "There's the Grimm ambush." Ruby cut down a terrorist that got too close and focused on the mine entrance. Control that, control the flow of Grimm, and pray that there aren't many subterranean Grimm in the mine itself.

Ruby continued to fight her way to the cave. She saw the other Riders and their Allies pushing deep into the flow of White Fang with the army picking off anyone the Huntsmen didn't get. There were a lot of militants in the swarm, but they were just swarming out. There had to be a lot of new recruits in there. Only a few looked like they were using any tactics besides rushing, that is before Ruby cut them down.

 _"Shocker to Shadeslayer,"_ Nora called over comms. _"We've got non-Grimm bogeys coming right for you. They took off from behind the hill."_

A series of explosions came from behind Ruby. She knocked out her current opponent and faced the explosions and tried to find the source. A trio of Bullances in hover mode fired down on the _military!_ Qrow didn't say anything about those. "I see 'em, Shocker. Goldmane, we got turncoat fighters firing on us. Take 'em down."

" _Copy that, Shadeslayer,"_ Yang called. _"I'll get 'em when I'm done with these Grimm."_

"They're shredding us down here. Unless those Grimm are killing ten people a second, knock those fighters out of the air!" The ground shook and Ruby heard the sound of mechanical footsteps. A squad of Paladins marched out of the mine. It looked like they were mainly heavy lift varieties with weapons bolted on, but two looked like old Atlas tech. "Back to Mountain Glen…" Ruby ran past as many White Fang as she could, only attacking those that tried to get in her way.

She slid between the legs of the first mech and slammed Crescent Rose into its back. The Huntress jumped to the left and her weapon acted as a pivot. She swung up to the Paladin's head and switched Máni Bláto to sword form. Ruby jabbed her second weapon into the mech's head. The Paladin stopped moving and lurched forward. Ruby jumped off and stared at the next mech in line. All Paladins but one were being engaged by other Riders. Ruby was about to attack the last one when a missile flew in from behind the military lines and hit it right in the face. The Rider looked in that direction. A soldier with a rocket launcher over his shoulder smirked at the burning wreck.

" _Coming in hot!"_ Yang called over the radio. _"Danger close!"_ Ruby turned around and faced the Bullances that were still shooting soldiers on the ground. Machinegun fire rained down from above and shredded the first in seconds. The other two didn't have time to move before the bullets shifted to them. One of them exploded, the other slammed into the ground. The Wyvern flew overhead in a flash. _"Targets down. Let me know if there's anything else you need me for."_

"Listen for soldiers that need help, Goldmane. We're going in."

" _Copy that, Shadeslayer. Good hunting."_

Ruby faced inside again. It looked like the tide had slowed, so either the White Fang was running out of bodies, or the smart ones were hanging back and waiting in ambush. All Riders regrouped just inside the mouth of the mine. The present members of JNPR, CfVY, and the birds joined up as well. It didn't look like any of them had taken a substantial hit.

"Here's what's happening now," Ruby started. "Street Rat, you and Big Green are staying up here to help against the Grimm. The rest of us are splitting up into teams. Snowflake, you're with Champ and Lotus. Jackrabbit, you're with your team. Birds, you're with me. Watch each other's backs. Report in every five minutes if you're able. Find the command center and any holdouts. Avoid big fights. Save those for the military."

"I didn't expect that you'd be one to run from a fight," Raven said.

"I'm not. I'm objective focused." Ruby looked around her assembled groups. "Any questions." No one so much as twitched. "Let's do this Riders." Ruby turned around and ran deeper into the mine, her two partners flanking her on either side. She found an elevator shaft and jumped into it. It looked like the car was at the very bottom over a hundred feet down. Ruby jumped off the side walls to control her speed. She didn't stop until she reached the open-topped elevator car. Judging by the lit up button, that was as deep as the mine went.

Raven and Qrow landed by Ruby's side a second later. "Any reason we dropped all the way to the bottom first, kiddo?" Qrow asked.

"I would put the command center in the most secure place possible. Back home, it's in the center of the building with thick reinforced walls. Here, it's at the bottom of the mine."

"Or they'd keep valuable equipment down here," Raven said. "Either way, I think we'll find something we're looking for."

"There's that too." Ruby stretched her mind out in front of her. Either there weren't a lot of people on that level, or they were blocked by a lot of rock. "Keep your eyes open. I don't know how many people are down here, or if there are any Grimm." Ruby walked forward with both her scythes by her sides.

"Welcome to the real world, Ruby," Qrow said. "You've grown complacent with your mind stuff."

"What would your mother say if she saw you like this?" Raven smirked.

"She's probably going to make you fly laps for making fun of her daughter." Her mom was probably listening in. Thankfully it wasn't a certainty anymore. "Laps around Beacon."

Raven shrugged. "Sounds about right."

They came to a door built into the wall. Considering that was the first Ruby had seen anywhere in the mine, something had to be behind it. She walked over to it and kicked it down. The room was dark. No lights were lit on the walls. Only the light from the main part of the mine illuminated a single Faunus facing away from the newcomers on the other side of the room, one that from afar and behind looked like the one they were looking for.

"Naina." A red light appeared above the center of the room, revealing that Ilia was the only thing in the manmade cavern. Ruby charged in and Raven and Qrow spread out her left and right. "It's over, Ilia! You're surrounded, your forces have been routed. There's no way out. Surrender, and you'll have a fair trial."

"You're right on a few things, Rider," Ilia called while still facing away. "Others, you can only wish." She clenched a fist. Ruby felt the ground shake and rocks cracking behind her. She glanced back… a chunk of the floor had risen up to block an entrance. Who else was there? Ruby turned her head back to Ilia and her heart beat faster. Ilia now faced the Huntsmen and her eyes glowed red. "I'm not the one who's trapped."

Ilia thrust her arms forward and a wall of fire flew out of them. Ruby slammed her hands to the ground and made a hasty ice barrier. It wouldn't hold, but it saved her and her partners for a few seconds. She stretched her mind out as far as it would go and keyed her radio. "Code M! Code M! My location!" Ruby thought she got through to Velvet. She should pass it on.

Qrow and Raven sprinted out of either side of the barrier. Qrow fired his weapon and the flow of fire stopped. Ruby took the time to load a laser mag into Crescent Rose. She had two of those with three shots each. She couldn't waste a shot. The Maiden jumped over her barrier and aimed at Ilia while she was still in the air. She fired and a red beam shot out of her weapon and hit Ilia in the shoulder. The Faunus was knocked back, but Ilia glared up at the Rider like she was hit by a normal Dust round.

Ruby landed and fired two more shots. They both hit Ilia in the chest, but again, she didn't react other than stumbling. She ejected her current magazine, but Ilia shot _lightning_ from her fingers. Ruby took the hit and it hurt like heck, but her Aura and wards held. She used her Semblance to get out of the way. Her muscles twitched involuntarily, but she managed to stay on her feet.

Raven and Qrow jumped at Ilia from both sides. The Maiden raised her hands and ice blocks flew out of them, knocking the birds out of the air. "This is a battle between Maidens," Ilia declared. "Anyone else is just an annoyance."

"If that's how you want to play it." Ruby let her Aura flow. Her eyes glowed white and she closed up Crescent Rose. Her first weapon likely wouldn't take the pounding the coming fight would bring. "You've had a few months to train. I've had years." She twirled Máni Bláto in front of herself, then had it hit the ground behind her.

"I've been trained by someone who has hunted Maidens for centuries." Ilia brought up her sword which Blake said was also a whip. "So I've been trained to kill you."

"You may try." Ruby made hurricane force winds blow from behind her. She rode it and twisted Máni Bláto around for a powerful strike. Ilia punched the floor and a stone pillar rose between the Maidens. Ruby made an ice spike in front of her and that shattered the rock. She never slowed down and debris from both ice and stone slammed into Ilia before Máni Bláto did the same. The Faunus was knocked to the ground. She rolled a few times before springing to her feet. Ruby just stared at Ilia. How the heck wasn't Ilia cut in half?

Ilia threw her hands in front of her and launched a wave of fire at the Rider. Ruby met it with a thick blizzard of her own. Of course, the fire started to beat her back. Ruby grit her teeth. She mainly worked with ice to cover up the fact she was a Maiden. Neglecting other things put her at a disadvantage. She shifted the snow and ice to a water cannon. Steam filled the room and Ruby thought she was pushing back. She increased the water flow and she saw and felt herself pushing.

Something hard slammed into the back of Ruby's knees. It knocked her legs out from under her. Her torrent disappeared and the fire hit her full force. It pushed her through the air until she hit the back wall. The fire kept up until something wrapped around her arms and legs… then her torso… her head and neck… _Oh no…_

The fire disappeared and Ruby tried to look around. She could only move her eyes. From what she could see, her whole body was encased in stone and the layer was thickening and strengthening by the second. Ruby's heart beat harder and faster and the heart rate monitor appeared in her right eye. Her lungs couldn't keep up with her heart with all the rock pressing down on it. She tried to break the stone with pretty much anything, but of all the elements her mom tried to teach her to control, she could barely do anything with stone. "Jeirda." The stone cracked but sealed itself a second later. Ruby was trapped with no way out. She couldn't do anything to fight back.

"Scared little Rider." Ilia sauntered forward and pulled a white glove with Grimm markings from a pouch on her belt. She fit it over her right hand. "I beat Vernal into submission. I'll do the same to you." Ilia picked up Máni Bláto from where it fell.

 _What? Maidens can have more than one set?_ Ruby's eyes bulged. If help didn't arrive soon, she was going to die. She clenched her eyes as hard as she could. _Yang! Yang! Yang! Yang!_

"This Grimm doesn't work like that, human," Ilia growled. "Your power will be mine no matter who is in your thoughts."

 _Grimm?_ Ruby opened her eyes. Ilia held her right palm toward Ruby. A mini portal appeared in the center. A beetle-like Grimm came out of it. _God help me._

On the other side of the room, Raven raised her sword and brought it down, opening a portal. "Yang! Jump!" Ilia's right hand twitched and the beetle shot some sticky stuff onto the rock, just missing Ruby's face. The Faunus whipped around and flung her stolen weapon at Raven. Ruby could only watch as her weapon spun five times in the air before it plunged into Raven's chest. The weapon's momentum swung Raven around and the sword slid out.

"Raven!" Ruby yelled with as much air as she could.

Yang jumped through the portal and charged Ilia with Dawnbreaker in sword form. She fired Ember Celica as she ran, screaming the whole way. Golden sword met sword/whip. Ilia just smirked at Yang. Thick ice formed at the Rider's feet. Ilia pushed Yang away and Yang fell flat on her back. "You're even more pathetic than your sis-"

The rock that blocked the door exploded inward. Pyrrha flew in, eyes glowing and flames beneath her feet. She slammed into Ilia at full speed, knocking her away from Yang. They tumbled out of Ruby's line of sight. Velvet and Coco ran past as well, with the former carrying wireframe replicas of Crescent Rose and Máni Bláto. Ren slid to Yang's side and picked apart the ice with Stormflower.

"I'm fine." Yang punched the ice on her feet and it shattered. "Where's Ruby?"

"Yang," Ruby whispered.

Yang raised her head and locked eyes with her sister. "Ruby!" She jumped to her feet and hooked her fingers around the stone opening around Ruby's face. "I'm getting you out of there."

As much as Ruby wanted that to happen, her life wasn't in immediate danger. "Raven."

Yang blinked and turned around. She stiffened at the sight of her mom laying on the bloody ground. "No!" She ran toward Raven's side.

Ren stood up and started chipping away at the stone with his weapons. "I'll get you out of there."

"Where's Ilia?" Ruby asked.

"Pyrrha has her occupied." Ren broke off a large chunk of stone.

"Stand back." Ruby closed her eyes and tried to focus her thoughts. "Jeirda." The stone around her shattered and she dropped to the floor, collapsing on the ground. She gasped and coughed as she tried to catch her breath. She lifted her head and faced where the fighting was taking place.

Pyrrha sent a massive wall of fire at Ilia, who could barely counter with one of her own. Not to mention that both Coco and Velvet fired miniguns at their opponent. Ilia screamed under the stress. A small portal appeared behind her. She stepped back into that and disappeared.

All gunfire and actual fire stopped. Pyrrha finally touched down and turned around to face the other Maiden. "Ruby, what happened?"

"Raven." Ruby pushed herself off the ground and Ren helped her to her feet. "Raven's hurt bad."

"Velvet! Get over here!" Yang yelled. Velvet ran over to the other Rider's side.

"Coco, check on Qrow." Ruby freed herself from Ren's grip and jogged to the other Riders. Yang held both hands over her birth mother's bleeding chest with Velvet doing the same. She chanted fast in the Ancient Language, not mispronouncing a word, but it wouldn't be enough. Ruby felt Raven fading fast.

The Maiden took several deep breaths and stuck her hands out toward Raven. She called on as much Aura as she could. But her heart was beating too fast and her mind swirling with memories of being chained up or similarly immobilized. She couldn't get enough focus without Cerise' help. With her dragon separated by rock, there was no way she could calm down enough.

Ruby sighed and sagged. Tears tugged at her eyes. "I… can't do anything."

Yang looked up at Ruby, her own eyes leaking. "What do you mean you can't do anything?"

"You know what." Raven coughed, blood spurting from her mouth. Yang faced her mom again and grabbed Raven's right hand. "You know what this kind of injury can do."

"Yeah, but we can fix that! Look at what's been done for me."

Raven managed a humorless laugh and a smile. "You picked up a few things from Summer too."

"She was a good influence." Yang looked away.

"Yang." Raven raised a hand and turned Yang's head back toward her. "I know I wasn't always there for you, but you were always my little Firecracker."

Yang grabbed the hand on her cheek. "I… I love you mom."

Raven's smile grew even more then faltered. The light left her eyes and her head lolled to the side. Her life force completely drained soon after. She was gone.

Ruby gasped as she felt her mom's partner… her aunt die. Yang had to too. The former blonde set Raven's hand over her chest. "Goodbye," Yang whispered. She ran a hand over her mom's face, closing Raven's eyes for the last time.

"Let me through!" Qrow yelled. Ruby turned around and stepped out of the way. Her uncle ran toward his sister at full tilt. "Oh god. Rae…" He looked between Velvet and Ruby. "Is there anything you can do?"

Velvet shook her head. "She's already gone." Qrow's shoulders slumped and he faced his twin's body.

Yang stood up and stared at Ruby. She clenched her teeth in her closed mouth and opened and closed her fists. The younger sister looked away. It was her fault Raven died. Yang stormed away without saying a word.

Ruby shook her head. She could still hear faint gunshots. "We still have a battle to fight." She picked up Máni Bláto and cast a spell to clear it of Raven's blood.

"Probably not much of one at this point." Coco walked up to Ruby's side. "The military was pushing hard before we got down here. Yatsu stayed up top to help out."

Ruby nodded and faced Pyrrha as she ran up. "What happened to Weiss?"

"She's covering our backs," Pyrrha said. "No interference."

"Good idea." Ruby paused. "I'll sweep this floor since there's not a lot of people here. The rest of you, head up and clear floor by floor until you reach the military." She turned around and ran out of the empty room. She tried to put on her battle face, but she didn't know how successful she was. She could only think about being trussed up in stone unable to fight back and Raven being killed… _Dang it, Ruby. Don't think like that..._ _Aaron, Cerise, once we get home, I am not letting you two go for a while._ She clenched her eyes outside a room where she felt more White Fang members. They were the cause of all this. Time to mop up. _Don't think, fight._

* * *

 **Can't remember if I've said this before, but I've always thought Ilia's redemption was too quick in the main series.  
**

 **Speaking of the main series, RWBY is back! I am not a FIRST member, so I'll have to wait for next week for the episode to be released to everyone for free. If you're somehow unaware, the show will only be on RT's website this year. Everyone can watch for free the... Saturday after it comes out for FIRST? Sunday? One of those. Either way, I'll be putting my reactions to the most recent episode down here. But in this case, it's just a reaction to the little clip they put out on Youtube... Ruby, you just gave me diabetes with how sweet you are.**


	49. Changes Pending

**It's election day in the good ole USA. If you're of age get out there and vote. If you ask me, you can't complain if you don't vote.  
**

 **As for my first NaNoWriMo experience, I think it's going well.**

* * *

Ruby crossed her arms and nodded at the small house in front of her. Unlike most buildings in Du Weldenvarden, this one was made entirely out of the stone taken from the ground. Despite this, it still had the detailing that all other elven buildings had, with vines and other plants made out of stone snaking all over the façade. There wasn't a sharp edge anywhere unless it was decorative. _"Aithlin built this by himself?"_ Ruby asked Oromis.

" _Indeed."_ Oromis nodded. _"I had him start work on this once we returned from Remnant."_

" _It's impressive work for a few months."_ Ruby faced the building again. _"_ _I take it you think he can scale this up?"_

" _If he can't now, he will learn."_

" _I don't doubt that."_ Ruby paused. _"But we aren't sending him somewhere in Alagaësia. We're sending him to Menagerie. How's he in combat?"_

" _He is not yet at Arya's level, even before her_ Aura _was unlocked, but he is capable."_

" _But he still needs to get his unlocked. Touriog too. I'm not sending anyone to Menagerie without that kind of protection. Are they at their tree in the city?"_

" _I sent them there when they were done with today's training. If they are willing, they are yours."_ Oromis paused. _"Do not forget what we discussed earlier."_

Ruby nodded. She saw it coming a mile away, even before what happened in the mine. After, it was only a matter of time. She couldn't lie about that to Oromis or Umaroth. _"As soon as Arya or another Rider is ready, not before."_ She walked to Cerise' side and climbed up. Her dragon took off and flew toward Ellesméra.

 _This will save us a trip in the future._ Cerise said.

"Yeah, but we still need to stop at Beacon to ask Pyrrha to unlock Aithlin's Aura."

 _You unlocked mine and nothing bad has happened so far._

"Except your Aura is super low. I don't know if that's just natural or a side effect." Ruby paused. "You think Pyrrha would teach me how to do that safely?"

 _I don't doubt it. All you'd need to do is ask._

"Probably." A brown dragon appeared in the trees below. "There they are." Cerise dove for the forest and landed by Touriog. The young dragon raised his ears and warbled something at a nearby tree-house.

About a minute later, Aithlin left the house and approached Ruby. He gave the other Rider a light bow. _"Master Ruby, this is a surprise."_

" _I didn't know I'd be coming here either. I spoke with Oromis on another matter and he mentioned the house you sung into shape near his hut."_

" _Oh. That."_ Aithlin shook his head. _"It is nothing compared to others."_

Touriog snorted at his Rider. _**You will only get better if you keep practicing and building.**_

Ruby crossed her arms. _"Listen to your dragon Aithlin. Stop comparing your work to other people, and start comparing it to what you've done in the past."_ She let her arms fall to her sides. _"Aithlin, we have a new assignment for you. We would like you and Touriog to start building our settlement on New Vroengard."_

Touriog's ears shot straight up and Aithlin dropped his arms. _"I don't believe I heard you right."_

" _I think you did and you can't believe it. Oromis and I want you to start building our settlement on New Vroengard. We want a Rider and dragon to be in charge of this, not anyone else. You may recruit other elves or Riders to assist, but what is done will be up to you."_

Aithlin shifted on his feet. _"Are you sure you are asking the right Rider?"_

" _I am. Aaron and Nalia are the only other ones with that kind of experience, and that was just digging out a cave on Vroengard."_ Ruby held her hands palm up. _"I can forge weapons and work with metal, but anything else, I'm not the best. It's why I hired a company to build Aaron's and my house in Vale."_

" _I… I…"_ Aithlin shook his head. _"I don't know what to say."_

 _ **Say yes.**_ Touriog bumped his Rider's shoulder. _**You know you want to.**_

" _Before you say anything,"_ Ruby interrupted, _"there's a catch. Even with Shruikan clearing out the Grimm around New Vroengard, it's not exactly a safe place. Before I bring you there, I will need to take you to Beacon to get your_ Aura _unlocked. You will need it for when you encounter Grimm. That goes for both of you. You will need all the protection you can get against Menagerie's Grimm. I'm sure you saw how shaken up Avrart was after we sent him back."_ Aithlin's lips twitched up for a fraction of a second. _"The Grimm on Menagerie are a lot more dangerous. But if you two stick together and with help from the dragons currently living in New Vroengard, you should stay safe."_

After a few seconds, Aithlin nodded. _"I accept your offer, Shadeslayer. I am honored that you think so highly of me."_

Touriog rolled his eyes. _**I don't think you need to speak to Ruby like that.**_

Ruby laughed a little. _"I don't mind as long as people don't treat me like royalty. I turned down that offer for a reason."_ She paused. _"We'll leave as soon as you're ready."_

" _Of course. I will gather everything I will need."_ Aithlin turned around and walked back into his house. Touriog adjusted and laid down so his head faced the tree.

 _You know who those two remind me of,_ Cerise started, _Ren and Nora. Aithlin is more reserved in his actions and words while Touriog is more outgoing and energetic, if a little quieter._

 _I can see it. We've got a few opposites among the Alagaësians. These two and Avrart and Nenva._ Ruby smiled up at her dragon. _Can you imagine if Touriog hatched for Nora?_

Cerise shuddered. _Remnant would explode._

 _Just a bit._ Ruby laughed again, but her happiness tempered. _You think Yang will talk to me today?_

 _She's your sister._ Cerise nudged her Rider. _With all she's said before, I'm surprised she hasn't come back to you._

 _At the same time, I can't blame her. I really messed up in the mine._

Cerise pulled her lips back. _You did not kill Raven. That was all Ilia._

Ruby looked into her dragon's closest eye. _I completely agree. That's not why I'm kicking myself._

 _You're doing it for the same reasons Aaron was when he first came to Remnant. Remember what you said to him._

 _Yeah._ Ruby sighed and leaned against her dragon. _It's so much easier being on the other side._

Cerise continued to stare at her Rider, then looked away. _I guess I can give you that._

Aithlin emerged from his house a few minutes later with a large bag slung over his shoulders. Touriog pulled his head back and stood up. _"We are ready to fly, Masters,"_ Aithlin said.

Ruby nodded and climbed up her dragon and settled in the saddle. _"Follow us. We will have you in Menagerie by nightfall… Well, maybe nightfall here, not there."_

Cerise raised her wings. _**Keep up, Touriog.**_ _I know you're not the fastest flier._ She jumped over the trees and curved west. The brown dragon was right behind her. They flew to the lake that Ruby had always used to get to Remnant. So far, the elves hadn't blocked the spell to leave Du Weldenvarden. Ruby wondered how long that would last.

The red dragon touched down and her Rider dismounted. Touriog landed soon after. Ruby waved Aithlin down from his dragon. _"You're going to want to pay attention to this."_ Aithlin slid off his dragon's back and approached Ruby. _"In New Vroengard, you're going to be isolated, and you'll be the only Rider there for quite some time. If something happens, you will need a way to get out fast. With this spell, you can get to anywhere you've been on Remnant and most places in Alagaësia. You obviously can't get into Du Weldenvarden this way. I can write it down when we get to Beacon if you want. Like scrying or making a fairth, you need to picture where you're going in your mind. Here's how it goes…"_ Ruby turned her attention to the lake and started casting the spell. As far as she knew, Aithlin listened to every word.

The water started swirling and Ruby faced Aithlin. _"I'll have you attempt this after we get your Aura unlocked. But for now, let's get to Beacon."_ The Riders mounted their dragons and Cerise and Touriog jumped into the portal. They flew to the open space on the south side of Halcyon Hall. When the dragons touched down, one of the doors on the dragon-sized rooms opened. Orchid stepped out and chirped at the newcomers. Cerise walked to the overly friendly dragon's side, cutting her off from the others. They had more important things to do than getting hugged by a multi-ton beast.

Ruby led the way across campus to the building that housed most professor's offices. She stretched her mind toward the building to check if her friend was there and not in a class. Pyrrha was exactly where the Rider hoped she would be. Ruby pushed into the building and walked up to the third floor and Pyrrha's office. She was about to knock on the door when she noticed through the glass that Pyrrha was with one of the members of Arya's team. It looked like they were working on a combat stance. Tammy had a set of palm mounted repulsors that shot concentrated air at an opponent… Now that Ruby thought about it, Arya's whole team reminded her of the Defenders, with Arya being Eagleye.

Pyrrha nodded at Tammy and looked up. She said something to her student and Tammy walked to leave the office. The student jumped when she saw Ruby standing outside. She didn't say anything and walked away. She looked over her shoulder once before walking down the stairs. Ruby shook her head. She knew everyone on Arya's team was a fan, but how were they still getting starstruck?

"Ruby, come in," Pyrrha called. The Rider did as asked and Aithlin stepped in behind her. "Well, this is a surprise." Pyrrha raised two fingers to her lips and waited. Aithlin did the same and began the elven greeting. They only went through the second part before lowering their hands. Pyrrha faced Ruby again. "So what can I do for you two?"

"I'm deploying Aithlin and Touriog to New Vroengard. Before they go, they need their Auras unlocked. Even if they're as weak as Aaron's and Nalia's were starting out, they need all the protection they can get."

Pyrrha nodded. "Of course." She stepped toward Aithlin.

"Actually," Ruby put a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder, "could you teach me how to do it? I have a feeling I'm going to need to do this with more Alagaësian Riders in the future."

"I was wondering if you were going to ask." Pyrrha stepped back. "With all the things you can do with your mind, I wouldn't be surprised if you can do this another way. But for now, I'm going to walk you through the method that has been used for centuries. First, place your hands on his shoulders."

Ruby stiffened. "This isn't like the movies where the people in the exchange get attracted to each other, is it?" Aithlin shifted on his feet and faced away from Ruby.

Pyrrha shook her head. "I have unlocked several people's Aura in my life, only one of them I had any affection for, and that started before I unlocked his. Movies only get the words right."

"Good." Ruby sighed and relaxed. She faced the other Rider and put her hands on his shoulders. "Aithlin, this is awkward for me too. We'll get this done as fast as possible."

Aithlin looked Ruby right in the eyes, not that he had much choice. "If this is needed, I will endure."

Ruby nodded. "What now, Pyrrha?"

"Extend your Aura into Aithlin. Let it guide you to his center."

"Got it." Ruby mentally kicked herself. She should have tried that with Cerise. She focused on her Aura and extended it out into Aithlin. The last time she consciously made the effort to spread her Aura to something, she was still getting used to Crescent Rose at Signal. Ever since then it was all instinct, reflex, or she just didn't need it.

Ruby's Aura brushed up what felt like a concentrated ball of Aura, just like Cerise. "I think I found it."

"Use your Aura to coax it open. No one knows why, but the words are the last piece."

Ruby nodded and did as she was told. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee." As Ruby spoke, she felt an energy in the words she didn't put there. Aithlin's Aura ball broke open and spread like water from a bucket as it hits the ground. The elf shivered and his Aura glowed brown. Ruby took her hands of Aithlin's shoulders and stepped away. "How do you feel?

Aithlin raised his hands and turned them over. "I feel… different." He looked around at random points in the room. "Everything else does too."

"You're feeling the Aura in every living thing. If you don't feel it, its inanimate or a Grimm."

The glow around Aithlin subsided. He bowed to Ruby. "I thank you, Ebrithil. I will not let this gift go to waste."

"You're welcome. And Aithlin, you don't need to bow every time you thank me for something. A simple thank you is fine."

"I will remember that for the future." Aithlin nodded.

"It seems stable," Pyrrha said. Ruby faced her fellow Maiden. Pyrrha held her Scroll up to Aithlin. "Aura levels are rising steadily, but slowly." She lowered her Scroll. "Do we know why Alagaësians still have less Aura?"

Ruby shook her head. "Not a clue. I'm still trying to figure out how Orchid has a Semblance. My best guess right now is that both her parents had unlocked Aura. It's going to be a while before we can test that."

Pyrrha nodded then looked at a clock on the wall. "I've got a class in fifteen minutes. I've got to get ready."

"We won't keep you. We have to cross a planet." Ruby laughed. "Thanks for the help, Pyrrha." Ruby left the room with Aithlin right behind her. The head Rider focused her mind on the rookie. His Aura was weak, but then again, it was just unlocked. It would take time to strengthen.

They left the building and walked toward Halcyon hall. About halfway there, Ruby saw a man with a VNN camera and a reporter walking toward her. She sighed. "Aithlin, it looks like I'll have to get Touriog's Aura when we get to New Vroengard."

"May I ask why?" the elf asked.

"Those two." Ruby nodded at the reporters. _"If you have to speak, do so in this language, but try not to at all."_ Aithlin nodded and kept quiet.

The reporters caught up to the Riders and started asking questions. It sounded like they wanted to 'hear from the source' about what happened at the Dust mine, like what Coco and the military said wasn't 'source' enough. Ruby and Aithlin just kept on walking like there weren't a pair of cockroaches surrounding them.

When they reached the dragons, the reporter asked, "What do you have to say about the death of Raven Branwen? Were you able to get any information on the whereabouts of Leonardo Lionheart out of her?"

Ruby stopped herself from climbing up her dragon's side and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. People thought Raven was still a bandit. After Leo 'disappeared,' people piled all the blame on Raven. A few places ran conspiracy stories on how she betrayed team STRQ and possibly killed Summer. Ruby played along to protect her Chief of Intelligence. No one would know to look for Raven if they thought she was still a bandit. That was about to change.

Ruby turned around and faced the cameraman. "You rolling?" The man nodded without moving the camera. "Good. I'm only going to say this once. Raven Branwen was not involved with Leo's disappearance. She was in Vacuo. I know because I ordered her there. I'm sure I still have the reports she sent me on my Scroll."

The reporter glanced at the cameraman, then back at Ruby. "I don't understand."

"Raven's with the Riders. In fact, she was our Chief of Intelligence. She was since we returned from Alagaësia the first time."

"But…" The reporter shook her head. "I thought that she left team STRQ."

"You've done your research, but not enough. Raven did leave team STRQ, but she did so because the Nevermores were after her and she wanted to protect Yang. If she didn't, Yang and our dad would have been killed. Are we all upset she never came back after my mom was killed? Yes, but we know why. She was making sure the Nevermores never came back to hurt us.

"Raven was one of the good guys ever since she graduated Beacon. She's had nothing to do with her tribe for decades. Even though we never knew she was there, she was never far away to keep me and Yang out of trouble.

"So what do I think about her death? I wish I was able to get to know her better. My Uncle has told stories of how they used to work together, how they played pranks on each other and the team. I wish I got to know that Raven instead of mainly business talk when she became the Riders' Chief of Intelligence. We lost a good person in that mine… and I lost an aunt I never really got to know." Ruby turned around and climbed her dragon's side.

Cerise turned away from the reporters and jumped away. Touriog followed soon after. Cerise turned her head back toward her Rider. _Was that necessary?_

 _I had to. She was one of us. I would defend anyone with us to my last breath, or in this case, until my vocal cords are ripped out._

 _I don't doubt it._ Cerise paused and continued to stare at her Rider. _What are you going to do for her now?_

 _Try to clear her name, set up a memorial service when things settle down._ Ruby dipped her head. _She's the first one to die permanently under my command. I have to do something for her._ Cerise narrowed her eyes and faced ahead again. That was... different from her. It was probably nothing.

Ruby drew her Scroll and sighed. She picked Yang out of her contacts and brought her Scroll to her ear. The line rang all five times before clicking. _"You've reached Yang, but I'm probably too busy fighting Grimm to answer. At the beep, you know what to do."_

The line beeped again and Ruby sighed. "Yang, I know you probably won't listen to this, but please watch VNN soon. I know I can't take back what happened, but I hope what I told the reporters helps a little bit. I love you, sis… Bye." Ruby ended the call and put her Scroll back in her pocket.

 _I've told Nalia as much,_ Cerise said. _She and Aaron will get Yang in front of a projector._ She angled toward the river with Touriog right behind her. Both dragons landed on the beach and their Riders dismounted.

"Cerise, coach Aithlin through the spell. I'll unlock Touriog's Aura." Ruby dismounted her dragon and walked up to the brown dragon and put her hands on either side of his snout. She extended her Aura into the dragon and found it fairly quickly. If only she knew to do this when she unlocked Cerise' Aura. That would have saved so much time. She said the words again, and again that energy coursed through her, into Touriog, and his Aura exploded outward. Even starting out, it felt like he had much more than Cerise did. Maybe it was natural, maybe it was a bad thing she tore Cerise' Aura open.

Touriog snorted and stepped back. His scales took on an extra brown glow. He raised his wings and roared at the sky. _**I feel invincible!**_

" _That can happen when you unlock your Aura. Don't test it. It's not as strong as you'd think."_ Ruby turned around and walked to her dragon's side. She stayed silent as Aithlin slowly cast the spell. As she waited, something tugged at the back of her head. She thought she heard the words to unlock Aura somewhere else before in a completely different situation. She might need to ask Umaroth about that when she had the time.

A while later, the water swirled and turned black and purple. Aithlin stepped back from the water's edge. _"Did it work?"_

" _Hold on."_ Ruby took out her Scroll and opened the camera app. She shifted it to her right hand and stuck it through the portal. She took it back out and ran the footage. _"Yes, it did. It looks like you chose the same lake that we like to use."_

Aithlin shrugged. _"Oromis took us here there when we returned the first time."_

" _It's good to be consistent."_ Ruby mounted her dragon and Aithlin mounted his. Cerise leaped into the portal and dove for the shores of Lake Isenstar. Ruby cast the transportation spell from Cerise' back and another portal opened. Cerise jumped through that and they flew over the plot of land called New Vroengard.

Shruikan stood on the beach with five other dragons in front of him. In addition to the yellow and brown, a pink, baby blue, and a black dragon stared up at Shruikan. The pink one looked no more than a month old. The largest dragon stared up at the approaching dragons. _**Welcome back to New Vroengard,**_ he called. He shifted his gaze to the younger dragon. _**Or should I say welcome for the first time.**_

The newcomers touched down beside the young dragons. Aithlin and Touriog stared up at Shruikan, all muscles tense. Ruby dismounted Cerise and stretched her mind up to Shruikan. His anger wasn't gone by a long shot, but a lot of it was replaced by happiness and other positive emotions. Watching over the wild dragons really was a good idea for him.

" _Shruikan,"_ Ruby gestured to the only other bonded pair, _"meet Aithlin and Touriog. They will start building a new Rider city here."_

The massive dragon hummed and focused on the young pair. _ **You have sung trees into shape?**_

" _Yes,"_ Aithlin said curtly. _"Stone as well."_

Ruby shook her head as she faced the young Rider. _"Aithlin, I understand your concern, Shruikan is with us. As long as you don't try to harm him or any of the wild dragons, he's no threat to you."_

Aithlin shook his head as he dismounted Touriog. _"Knowing it is one thing, believing it is another."_

" _Trust me, I know."_ Ruby paused. _"I may be back in the next few days to see if you have a plan and to bring you books on Remmartian building codes. I don't think this is an earthquake prone area, but it's better safe than sorry."_

Aithlin nodded at Ruby. _"Of course… What are building codes?"_

" _Standards that all new buildings need to follow. There aren't any currently in this part of Menagerie, but it wouldn't hurt to get some in place." Weiss is brushing off on me in so many ways…_

" _Very well. Safe travels, Master Ruby."_

 _ **Before you go,**_ Shruikan started, _**have any more dragons hatched elsewhere?**_ His eyes were wide and his ears raised.

Ruby shook her head. _"It's just these three that I didn't know about."_

Shruikan's eyes and ears returned to normal. _**Oh well. I will need to hope for more eggs from here.**_

" _You have a nice Thunder forming here already."_ Ruby smiled at the assembled dragons. The two that she met before stared back, with the yellow one showing her fangs. The others looked at Ruby with awe. Shruikan or Amor must have told them stories… _"Where is Amor? I thought Aaron and Nalia brought him here a while ago?"_

Shruikan snorted. _**He is our… I believe you would call it point of communication between Kuo Kuana and New Vroengard. He may not be fluent in any language, but he is learning. He also knows and likes Blake Belladonna, which makes communication easier. I believe he should almost be at the city by now.**_

" _I'll let Nalia know what he's up to."_ Ruby paused and faced the young dragons again. _"I'd love to stay and meet you all, but I have things to do back in Vale. I'll try to be back before long."_ She turned to Aithlin. _"The land is yours. I can't wait to see what you do with the place."_ The head Rider climbed her dragon and Cerise jumped toward the ocean. Ruby cast the transportation spell again and Cerise dove through, appearing above Isenstar again. She repeated the process once more and they flew above their house in the mountains.

Cerise touched down and Ruby dismounted. They walked into the house side by side. Everyone else that lives there was watching VNN on the projector, or more specifically, Ruby's quick 'interview.' It looked like they were at the end of it. VNN worked quick.

When that segment ended, Yang looked over her shoulder at Ruby. That was the first time they locked eyes since Raven died. The older sister walked out of the sitting area and to the younger. She hugged her sister tight, but not one of her death grips, and it was quickly returned. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I don't blame you. It wasn't your fault."

 _I have to disagree with you there…_ "I forgive you, Yang. That was hard on all of us."

Yang nodded on Ruby's shoulder before pulling her head away. "I shouldn't have run off like that… I just wanted to blow off some steam."

"We aren't the military, Yang. I typically won't punish people for breaking after they lose someone they love. You're fine." Ruby smiled and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "I love you, sis, no matter what."

Yang returned the smile. "Thanks, sis." The two hugged again and separated after only a few seconds. Ruby ran a hand over Halcyon's metallic back as she walked to her husband's side.

The married couple exchanged a quick kiss. "How'd the meeting with Oromis go?" Aaron asked.

Ruby shrugged. "For the stuff I was there for, about as well as could be expected. He had something on top of that. He wanted Aithlin to start working on building up New Vroengard. Cerise and I took him and Touriog there, unlocked their Aura, and brought them to New Vroengard. One more dragon hatched since the two of you brought Amor there."

Nalia hummed and lowered her head to Ruby's level. _How is my hatchling?_

 _He's the point of contact between New Vroengard and the rest of Menagerie,_ Cerise answered.

 _Really?_ Nalia raised her ears. _I wouldn't have called that._

"Neither would I." Ruby paused. "Aaron, could I talk to you about something… alone?"

Aaron nodded at his wife. "Of course." The married couple walked away from the group and to the master bedroom. Aaron closed the door behind him. "What do you need?"

Ruby sighed. "I never said what 'as well as can be expected' meant. Oromis and several Eldunarí that Cerise carries said that if I don't get my head taken care of, they'll withdraw their support for me and push it toward someone else they think is competent."

Aaron's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. The thing is, I agree with them. If I hadn't been immobilized by fear, I could have broken out of that stone easily. Ilia didn't even have a collar. I have years more experience than her. I beat Galbatorix with a little more than what I used in the mine. I guess I've gotten complacent."

"Train with Pyrrha. I'm sure she'd love to help."

"I don't doubt it, but that's not the reason Ilia beat me." Ruby crossed her arms and looked away. "I was back in the North Sanus Mountains again. If I wasn't, I could have saved Raven. I know the wards I put in Máni Bláto. I could have stopped it. I wouldn't even have needed to stop it. I could have taken down Ilia before she even touched my sword. If I wasn't so scared, Raven could very well still be alive."

"Ruby," Aaron put a hand on his wife's shoulder and squeezed, "you didn't kill Raven. Ilia did."

"I'm not saying she didn't. She's now even higher on our most wanted list. If I face her again, I can't freeze up like that."

"So what do you want to do?"

"I want to get rid of my fear without forgetting it." Ruby bit her lip. She hadn't even told Cerise about this part. She locked eyes with Aaron. "That means I need to face it head-on. Chain me to a wall for an hour or two every week or so and let me hang there unt-"

 _RUBY!_ Cerise yelled. Her yelp of pain filtered through the wall.

"No." Aaron pulled back his hand and shook his head hard. "No! That's torture. I would never do that to you."

 _I wouldn't allow it,_ Cerise growled. _You are not going back to that place._

"I need to beat this you two." Ruby turned her head back toward where Cerise lay, then back to Aaron. "Facing my fear like that is the fastest way to do it."

Aaron pulled his lips together and straightened out. "Ruby, come with me." He left the bedroom and Ruby did as told. Cerise growled and approached her Rider, but Aaron held a hand up as he continued walking toward the elevator to the command level. Something had to have passed between them as Cerise stopped walking. She continued to growl/whimper at Ruby but didn't say anything.

The two Riders entered the elevator and rode it down. Aaron then led the way through the command level to the… armory? "Aaron, you know how much I love my guns, but shooting them is only stress relief. It's a little too late at that point."

"We're not here for guns." Aaron walked to a closed metal case that Ruby didn't put there or have any knowledge about. He opened the case revealing… five collars.

Ruby stiffened. "Aaron, why do we have those?" She wanted to yell but it only came out as a whisper.

"These were all made by Yaela after we took down Pruma. Four of these have been modified so they won't separate a Rider from their dragon. They're a little less effective, but should prevent any Rider from using much magic. They might do everything against a less experienced magician. I've tried them, they work. This one…" Aaron pulled out the collar on top with a skull and crossbones painted on it. "This one is the real deal, made with the same specs as the model Vale came up with, only to be used when a Rider's magic needs to be cut off completely if they go rogue after losing their dragon." Aaron turned around and looked Ruby in the eyes. _"If you make me put you in chains, I will wear this for as long as you are in them."_ Nalia's shriek shook the building.

Ruby slumped her whole body. Aaron swore that. There was no going back. "Aaron… why?"

"If you make me put you through that torture, I will subject myself to something cruel as well. You, Yang, and Cerise have felt what that feels like. I haven't. It would level the playing field."

Ruby hung her head. "You'd really do that for me?"

"Without hesitation."

"No." Ruby shook her head and raised it. "You'll never have to."

Aaron nodded and put the collar back in its place. The case closed on its own. Aaron once again faced Ruby. "Ru, I want you to face your fears as much as you do, but that's not the way to do it. Talk to Weiss. She's been through something similar. Start seeing your therapist again. Something tells me there's more bothering you than just that."

"Yeah… maybe I should get a Nora Massage too since she's feeling better."

"That's always a good idea." Aaron hooked an arm around Ruby's shoulders. "Come on. Let's go face our angry dragons together." He guided his wife out of the armory and back toward the elevator.

Ruby rested her head on Aaron's shoulder once they got in the elevator. "Did you talk with Nalia about that before you said it?"

"No. She had no idea."

"You'd be putting her in that same place. Why'd you do it?"

"Because I knew you would drop it. You couldn't let me do that."

Ruby sighed and elbowed her husband. "You jerk, manipulating me like that."

"I'll try not to do so in the future." The doors opened and two growls assaulted the couple's ears. Cerise and Nalia stood right outside, glaring at their own Riders. The growls contained their hurt as well as anger. The Riders stepped out of the elevator and the dragons exchanged a glance.

Nalia returned her glare to Ruby and Aaron. _You two are coming with me._ She reached out with her right paw and grabbed both Riders. Ruby yelped as she was forced back to back with Aaron and carried across the house. From what she could see over Nalia's toes, they were being carried toward the master bedroom.

Nalia carried the Riders to her pad and finally let them go. _You two aren't going anywhere._ She laid down and curled her entire body around Ruby and Aaron and laid a wing over the top. _I will only let you out to use the bathroom._

Ruby rubbed her left arm. "I think she's trying to tell us something."

"I think so too." Aaron sat down with his back against Nalia's belly. "I don't think she thinks either of us are thinking straight."

 _You aren't,_ Nalia growled. _Cerise agrees._

 _Both of you wanted to hurt yourselves,_ Cerise called. _You two need time._

Ruby sighed. "I don't think we have a choice here." She sat down next to her husband and leaned her head on his chest. "Then again, I'm not complaining."

"This always works." Aaron draped an arm over Ruby's shoulders.

Ruby melted into her husband. "Yeah. It does."

* * *

 **Things are now in motion. I won't say what, just know things are coming.  
**

 **Now, as for the Volume 6 premeire with hopefully not too many spoilers for those who haven't seen it. Still, if you haven't seen it, stop reading NOW.**

 **Yep. Sweet Ruby has given me diabetes. Nice to see the team working together again. Adam... I'm now even gladder I killed you off. Who are you old woman Katara and what do you want?**


	50. The Price of Vikitory

**After a few months of job searching, it looks like I've finally got something. Finally, I'll be able to move out! Well... that it for up here. See you on the other side.  
**

* * *

"Battle shell, incoming," Aaron called from the other side of the couch.

Ruby's heart sunk. "No! I'm almost there!" She needed to cross the finish line before she got got. She made Goshi drift and got the speed boost, but it wasn't enough. She heard the telltale wings of the battle shell coming up behind her. "No, no, no…" The blue spiked shell appeared above her. "No, no, no!" It slammed down on top of her head and exploded. "NOOO!"

While she was still in the air, Princess Pear, being controlled by Viki, drove past Ruby and across the finish line. "Yes!" Viki threw her hands up, still holding onto the controller.

Yowzer, controlled by Yaela, crossed soon after. "Second!"

A few AI drivers passed Ruby and finished before her. "Seventh…" Ruby hung her head as she finally passed the finish line.

"Aaaannnd," Lario, controlled by Aaron, crossed the finish line in tenth place. "Not last!"

"Thank you for the win, brother." Viki smiled up at Aaron.

"And the second place instead of third." Yaela gave Aaron a thumb up.

"Us Alagaësians need stick together." Aaron smirked at Ruby. "I bump you up any?"

Ruby growled at her husband. "You did this to me."

"What did I do?" Aaron held his hands up. "How was I supposed to know you were in first?"

"My screen is literally right above yours!" Ruby gestured to the top right corner of the projector.

"I thought you didn't like… what's it called, screen peeking?"

Ruby mumbled random sounds under her breath and into the mic pinned on her hood. She looked up to the Twinge Chat on another projector. There were a lot of people stringing 'O's together, she saw one saying 'V is for Vikitory! 'A few people probably thought they were funny by saying they saw a divorce in the future. It would take a lot more than that to make her even dislike Aaron… for more than five seconds anyway.

"One more race in this Grand Prix, then we'll call it a stream," Viki announced into her own mic.

"You are not coming back to beat me this time!" Ruby stuck a finger at Viki. "This is my game. I haven't lost a Grand Prix in years, not even to Uncle Qrow! His Semblance makes it difficult, but not impossible!"

"Have you ever considered that he let you win?" Cerise asked through her translation band, which was also being broadcast on stream.

Ruby glared at her dragon and stuck a finger at Cerise, not that the viewers would be able to see her. "No! It is pure skill!"

"Keep telling yourself that, Ruby." Cerise laughed and rested her head on her front paws.

The Rider turned back to the screen. "I'll show you all…"

The projection showed the wind up to the race. "May the best driver win." Viki smiled at Ruby. "I will see you at the finish line sist..." Viki's eyes bulged and her mouth dropped open. The skin on her face contorted in pain.

Ruby set her controller to the side. Something was wrong. "Viki?" Viki faced forward and hacked up blood, a _lot_ of blood. "Viki!" Ruby jumped off the couch and ripped the netcam out of its socket. She ran to a nearby computer and hit the big orange end stream button. She turned around and faced Viki. Aaron and Yaela had her laid on the ground, their hands over her and chanting in the Ancient Language. Viki coughed again, adding to the puddle.

Cerise and Nalia approached from either side of the sitting area. _What happened?_ Nalia asked.

"I've got no clue." Ruby ran her hands through her hair. Did she swallow something? Did they miss a recall? Bugs? Poison?

A door opened on the other side of the hall. Yang and Halcyon walked out of their room. "What's going on?" Yang called.

Halcyon stiffened. _I smell blood._ He dashed forward and slid to a stop by Cerise front paws. His ears and wings drooped as he stared at Viki. _What?_

"Oh my God." Yang stopped by her dragon's side. "When'd this happen?"

"Just now." Ruby held her breath, waiting for something from Yaela or Aaron.

"It's not healing!" Yaela said. "There's magic around it." She set back to chanting in the ancient language.

"Magic? We wouldn't do that. Who else has she…" Ruby's heart fell out of her chest. She felt cold but not because the temperature in the house plummeted. She faced her sister. Yang looked as pale as Ruby felt. "Yang, Halcyon, Ellesméra. Cerise, Dras-Leona."

Ruby jumped onto her dragon's back and Cerise ran for the exit. The door barely cleared their heads before Cerise exploded past. She aimed for the river and smashed into the beach beside it. Ruby cast the transportation spell as fast as she could. Cerise jumped in as soon as the first speck of purple appeared.

The city of Dras-Leona lay beneath them. Cerise flew above the keep and hovered there. Ruby jumped off and landed just outside the keep walls. She ignored the startled yelps from the guards nearby and ran into the city. This part of the city was the more well-off part, so either there would be a lot of former slaves there, or very few.

Ruby rounded a corner and found a small crowd in the center of the street. "Dragon Rider! Make a hole!" Some people looked her way and stepped back. Ruby ran up and stopped at the edge of the ring. Her breath caught in her throat. A man a few years older than her laid in a pool of his own blood. The Rider stretched her mind to the man but felt nothing. He was dead.

"No…" Ruby stretched her mind out to cover the whole city. She was half surprised when she found some elf minds in the crowd. They felt just as surprised as Ruby. None of them were familiar, but Ruby thought they could be trusted more than most people related to the city. _**This is Ruby Shadeslayer. Are people dying all over the city?**_

 _ **They are, Silverhand,**_ one of the elves said, sounding depressed. _**I know not why.**_

 _ **The two I saw die were former slaves,**_ another elf started. _**My guess is their former owners grouped together to kill them.**_

 _ **This is magical,**_ a third elf said. _ **I doubt any human possesses the strength to cover a city the size of Dras-Leona.**_

 _ **It's much worse than that.**_ Ruby knelt down and closed the man's eyes. _**It's Pruma and Morzan.**_ She stood back up and started walking back toward the keep. _**One of them is dead. They took half the former slaves with them.**_

The three elves reacted differently. One was shocked, one was depressed, one was furious. _**So that's why we're holding them in Ellesméra,**_ the second elf growled.

 _ **So they are there. Good to know.**_ Ruby ran an arm across her face and took care of whatever tears she had. _**I'm flying there now.**_ The keep rose in front of her and the guards in front dispersed. Cerise stood in the courtyard with her ears pressed flat against her head and teeth bared. Her mind was somewhere in between stone splitting rage and ball curling depression.

 _If I have to choose between the two,_ Cerise started, _I hope it's Pruma who got what she deserved._

 _She deserved to rot in prison only eating leaves for years._ Ruby climbed her dragon's back and pulled out her Scroll. _Head to the lake. I need to call Deynor._ Something else came together in her head. She clenched her teeth as hard as she could. _Why the hell are they both being held in Ellesméra?_

Ruby shook her head and cast the communications spell on her powered down Scroll. Color swirled and solidified into a room that kind of looked like a secretary's office. The man sitting behind a desk looked up and straightened. "Ruby Shadeslayer."

"I don't have time for pleasantries. I need to speak with King Deynor at once." The man left his desk and he ran out of sight. Ruby heard a door open, but not close.

A few minutes later, footsteps returned. Deynor stepped into view soon after. "Ruby, I knew not that you were in Alagaësia."

"I've been here maybe five minutes. Cerise and I are just leaving Dras-Leona. I can't give you an exact number, but I'm guessing hundreds of people in the city and all over Alagaësia were just killed."

The King slumped his shoulders. "What do you mean?"

"Viki began coughing up blood at our home in Vale. Aaron and Yaela found out it was magic-induced. I flew to Dras-Leona as soon as I found out. Former slaves are dead all over the city. I can only guess all over Alagaësia as well."

Deynor clenched his fists. "A messenger from Ellesméra arrived one week ago saying they were close to finding a way to break the curse. It appears they were wrong."

"The elves are too careful to test on something like this… or at least I hope they are." Ruby looked over her Scroll. Cerise was almost at the beach. "I've got to go. I'm heading to Ellesméra to find out what happened. It's faster to head back to Remnant, then to Du Weldenvarden.

"I understand. I wish you luck, Shadeslayer."

"Thank you. For once, I'm going to need it." Ruby cut the energy to the spell and put it back in a pocket. Cerise touched down and her Rider once again cast the transportation spell. The water swirled and Cerise jumped through and flew over the North Fork River in Vale. She landed on the beach and Ruby cast the spell again. One more dive and Du Weldenvarden laid before them.

Cerise touched down and ran across the forest floor until she passed the point where the forest's wards took effect. She jumped over the trees and flew as fast as she could, drawing energy from the Eldunarí as she flew for more speed.

Ruby leaned all the way forward in her saddle until she wrapped her arms around her dragon. _You think Aaron and Yaela saved Viki?_

Cerise hummed sadly. _I hope so. She's your sister, so she's mine too._

 _She was just getting out of her shell, becoming her own person. What will this do to her?_

 _I don't know. If she wants, she may sleep under my wing when we get back._

 _I might too, just to keep an eye on her._ Ruby shook her head. She only had an hour to put on her business face. With what she just saw and what happened back home, she needed all the time she could get to straighten out her head.

Once near Ellesméra, Ruby cleared their entry with Gilderien the Wise and sought out her sister's mind. _Yang, where are you?_

 _I'm around the back of Tialdarí Hall,_ Yang said. _As far as dungeons go, this one's pretty darn nice. Too nice for the scum it's holding._

Cerise adjusted her course. _Is there room for me to land there?_

 _If there's room for Glaedr, there's room for you. He's standing right beside the Wyvern._

 _Got it._ Cerise flew over Tialdarí hall and hovered above the clearing just behind it. The Wyvern's nose stuck out from underneath a few trees with Glaedr's head right beside it. The red dragon landed in the clearing and Ruby slid off. On the ground, the Rider saw Nenva and Moli beside Glaedr as well. Ruby faced where she felt her sister's mind. Yang stood in the entryway to the prison talking with Oromis. Rowan and Avrart stood guard outside, both of them with normal, elven made swords.

" _Which of them was it?"_ Ruby asked as she approached the dungeon tree.

Oromis and Yang turned to her. _"Pruma was stabbed through the heart,"_ the elder Rider said. _"The guards here at the time swear they do not know who."_

" _Then how did someone with a sword get in?"_ Ruby shook her head. _"I need to get in there."_

" _Queen Islanzadí is in there right now questioning the guards,"_ Yang said. _"I guess there're some things that we didn't think of."_

" _Or she needs to hear this from the guards for herself. Frankly, I have a question for her too."_ Ruby walked past the other Riders. She led the way down the stairs to a small dungeon. It didn't feel like there were many minds down there, but there was one mind that she didn't hope to feel. Ruby glared at the frozen form of Morzan as she passed his cell. Two guards also stood in the cell, one watching Morzan, the other facing out. The traitor's mind still felt like it was in hibernation.

Ruby continued through the dungeon until she reached where she heard voices. She stopped outside another cell where Islanzadí spoke to two other guards. Pruma's corpse laid in a pool of her own blood. Ruby couldn't say she was sorry for the traitor, but she would have preferred to have the curse removed before all that happened.

Islanzadí turned her head toward Ruby. _"Shadeslayer. Yang Goldmane has told me about Viki Sarahsdaughter. You have my sympathies."_

" _I'll pass it on."_ Ruby clenched her fists and scowled at the Queen. _"Why were Morzan and Pruma held in the same city? Why were they held in the same dungeon. We discussed the danger of this at length. We're lucky Morzan is not dead too."_

Islanzadí narrowed her eyes. _"I consulted with my wardens in other cities. All of them agreed that this prison was impenetrable."_

" _We've discussed this too. There is no such thing as impenetrable, just things that haven't been broken into yet. Now Pruma's dead, along with I don't know how many people."_

 _"Pruma has only been here for two days. My spellcasters assured me they were close to breaking the spells binding these two to the former slaves. We would have dispelled both and executed them at the same time."_

 _"And you didn't increase security?"_ Ruby turned around, cutting off any retort that Islanzadí would have said. The head Rider stood over Pruma's corpse and glared down at it. Pruma had a large stab wound through the heart. She died with a massive smile on her face, just like she would have if she hadn't been frozen the first time in Dras-Leona. _"Do we know who did this?"_

" _Nay, Shadeslayer,"_ one of the guards said. _"Neither of us saw who killed Pruma, and neither of us killed her."_

Ruby muttered in the Ancient Language, trying to find any spells in the cell. It seemed like all wards were designed to keep those inside from doing much, other than doing what Ruby was. They made sure that the one inside would never leave the cell. Nothing stopped spells coming in from the outside. "Because who would want to break out a Forsworn?"

" _What was that, Silverhand?"_ the other guard asked.

" _The wards here make it so someone can't escape, not to keep anyone or anything out. That's going to have to change. Now."_ Ruby knelt by the corpse and looked it over. She wasn't a forensic expert, or even a novice, so she had no idea what to look for… except maybe…

Ruby ran a program on her bionic eye to measure distance. The wound was 5.5437 inches long and 1.7546 inches thick. The Rider drew Máni Bláto and extended it to sword form. She measured her own blade's width and thickness. The wound was smaller, so it probably wouldn't be a longsword. Then again, all swords were different. Only factory-made models were exactly the same. If she could find the weapon that made the wound…

" _I have a plan,"_ Ruby stood up and faced everyone else. _"I know the kind of blade that killed Pruma. Find the murder weapon, find the murderer."_

The queen stared emotionless at Ruby, then looked between the guards. _"You two, find as many people who use swords as possible."_

" _That goes for us too, Riders,"_ Ruby faced where Yang and Oromis stood outside the cell. She tapped the right side of her head by her bionic eye. _"I'm the only one that can identify the weapon. Group them all up so I can check them."_ The cell emptied and everyone walked toward the exit. Ruby stopped by the two apprentices. "You two, no one enters this building."

Rowan nodded. "Not even a fly will get past us."

"Good. You're getting more confident." Ruby touched her mind to both Avrart's and Rowan's. _Use your minds too. This person may be invisible._ Ruby walked away from the building and toward the city.

Yang fell into step beside her sister. "I can't believe we're going after a Forsworn's murderer," she growled. "We should pin a medal on whoever did it, not throw them in the same place."

"Trust me, I agree. If hundreds of former slaves didn't just die, I would do just that. But someone just murdered I don't know how many people. They need to pay for that."

"If you want them in one piece, you may need to hold me back." Yang cracked her knuckles. "I'm going to knock their head in."

"I'd pin whoever it is down. Give you a better angle." Ruby stopped in front of Tialdarí Hall. "I go east, you go west?"

Yang nodded. "You bringing anybody back or scanning as you go?"

"Might as well scan as I walk." Ruby took a step away but Yang grabbed her arm before she took another. She gave her sister a look. "What else do we need?"

"To check on you," Yang whispered. "Don't tell me you're taking this as well as you're letting people think."

Ruby slumped her body and she let water fill her eyes. She shook her head. "How can anyone be okay with this? That was genocide… Viki might be dead." Ruby straightened out and shook her head. "I am the leader of the Dragon Riders. I can't show any kind of weakness. I need to keep my cool and find Pruma's murderer. When we get back home, I could need some time to calm down. I see lots of cuddling in the near future."

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not." Yang squeezed Ruby's arm. "I'll help when needed. Right now, let's get to work." Yang let her sister go and jogged off to the west. Ruby jogged east and allowed herself a small smile. After all this time and everything they went through, Yang was still her big sister and acted like it. Ruby hoped that wouldn't change anytime soon.

The head Rider saw an elf carrying a sword and what little good mood she had disappeared. Ruby set her bionic eye to scan the weapon. This one was too thick at the hilt. Not the murder weapon. Ruby shook her head. She'd likely have to look through a lot of swords.

As she walked through the city, very few people carried any sort of weapon. She was used to seeing a good chunk of people walking around Vale and Patch carrying at least a knife or a small pistol. In the rest of Alagaësia, most men carried at least one weapon. Then again, where were the threats in Du Weldenvarden? Remnant had Grimm, Alagaësia had its own wildlife in the Beors and bandits between cities. Elves had no reason to carry weapons in their capital.

After an hour of searching and only finding a handful more of people carrying swords, Ruby returned to the clearing in front of the dungeon. She found about two dozen elves with swords standing in front of the dragons. None of them looked like they were soldiers or guards. These would be the likely candidates since the army likely swore loyalty to Islanzadí.

The others tasked with finding swordsmen stood in a group by the entrance to the dungeon. Ruby joined them and asked, _"It looks like the rest of you were more successful than I was."_

" _It was all them."_ Yang jerked a thumb toward Oromis and the two guards.

" _We know those who possess swords,"_ one of the guards said _. "You and Queen Islanzadí ordered that they gather. That is not an order that can be refused."_

Ruby nodded and looked around the clearing. She didn't see the Queen anywhere. _"I take it she has business elsewhere?"_

 _ **She is riding toward our border,**_ Glaedr said. _**She wished to speak with the elves in Dras-Leona and those in other cities herself.**_

" _I'd imagine she would like to speak with King Deynor as well."_ Ruby faced the assembled elves. It was time to narrow down some suspects. She took a few steps toward the line and aimed her bionic eye at the leftmost elf's sword. It scanned the sword's dimensions and found out it was too small. She moved onto the next one and it was too big.

Ruby continued down the line until she found a match. She lingered a little longer and ran a few more scans on the blade. It was a little hotter than the others but that was it. _Yang, seventh sword in, check it magically._ Ruby continued down the line, though she was going much quicker. _Cerise, block any possible escape._ The red dragon snorted and walked behind the suspects. She got a few looks from the elves, but none moved or said anything.

 _It's him, Ruby,_ Yang growled. _There was blood on it recently._

" _For twenty-three of you, I'm sorry we brought you away from your daily activities."_ Ruby started walking down the line while facing the elves. _"One of you is now a mass murderer."_ All elves shifted on their feet except for the murderer. _"You may have killed Pruma, something Yang would have gladly done over a year ago, but you also killed hundreds of former slaves."_ Most elves made a sound of disgust. Ruby walked up to the murderer. _"Why did you do it?"_

All eyes in the clearing turned to the murderer, most of them glaring. The elf in question straightened. _"I did what Yang Goldmane should have done when she got the chance."_

" _Did you know the consequences of your actions?"_

" _I overheard the guards that brought her here."_ The elf stared at Ruby as if she was as interesting as a broken pot. _"Pruma killed my mother and father when the Forsworn attacked Ilirea. She killed so many more than that. The death of hundreds more is a small price to pay to ensure she never kills anyone ever again."_

Ruby scowled. _"Your revenge targeted my husband's sister. She better pull through, or else you're going to be hearing from him, and several angry dragons."_ Ruby stepped back. _"Get him out of my sight."_ Two of the other civilians escorted the murderer away.

The head Rider stayed in place a little longer before turning around and facing Oromis. _"Make sure this doesn't happen again. If you need more help, you will have it. You know where to go. All you need to do is ask."_ Ruby turned her head to her sister. _"Yang, we're leaving. Meet me at the lake."_ She marched to Cerise' side and climbed up. Her dragon jumped over the trees and flew toward the lake just outside of Ellesméra.

A few minutes later, Cerise touched down by the lake. Ruby cast the spell from her dragon's back. The Wyvern flew overhead just as the portal formed. Yang guided her fighter down through the portal, staring at her sister before she disappeared to the other side. Cerise jumped through and dove for the platform by the house. She landed and walked through the opening door with her Rider still on her back.

Ruby slid off Cerise' back and ran in front of her. No one else was in the main hall. Ruby stretched her mind to the rest of the house to find anybody. There was a large gathering of people in the back of the master bedroom on Nalia's side. Viki was there, but she was weak.

The Rider sprinted to her bedroom and pushed the door open without slamming it against the wall. Nalia lay curled up on her pad, her head under her wing. Aaron, Viki, Yaela, Halcyon, and Velvet were under there. Vert stood nearby, his eyes fixed on Nalia. His eyes flicked to Ruby, then back to Nalia. _She is not doing well,_ Vert said. _Velvet only stopped the attack ten minutes ago._

Ruby bit her lower lip. Viki was in that kind of pain for hours? It was Nora all over again… and from what the Rider had heard and seen, just like Pruma. The witch was all about pain. Then again, it looked like others died within minutes. How did they keep Viki alive for so long?

Ruby jogged up to Nalia, but the dragon didn't move. The Rider put a hand on the dragon's wing and Nalia finally raised it. Viki lay on Nalia's pad with her own bedding covering her. Her skin was white as paper. Her right hand rested on Nalia's snout, and her left was held in both of Aaron's. Velvet and Yaela rested their hands on Viki's head and sung softly in the Ancient Language. Halcyon lay at Viki's feet. It was crowded under the wing, but Ruby didn't care.

Viki's eyes turned 'down' to Ruby. Her pupils were wide and unfocused. "Who's there?" she whispered.

"It's me, Viki." Ruby knelt by Aaron's side and grasped Viki's wrist. "I'm back. I'm here."

"Ruby?" Viki sighed. "I'm sorry… I made a mess."

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault, and it wasn't that bad." Ruby glanced at Aaron. _Was it?_

Aaron looked at Ruby like he'd seen a Geist. _If you'd seen the sitting area, you wouldn't be saying that._

Ruby bit both her lips, then smiled at her sister in law. "You're going to be just fine, Viki. You're in the best hands on Remnant right now. You'll be back up before you know it."

Viki closed her eyes. "I'm cold."

Halcyon stood up. _I'll go find something._ He walked out of the wing tent.

Ruby blinked. She thought it was pretty warm under the wing. Aaron's hands were sweaty and more dripped off his forehead. How much blood did she lose? "Here." Ruby unclasped her silk hood, took it off her shoulders, and draped it over Viki. She wasn't sure, but it could have some special enchantments in it. It was made by elves for a Rider after all. "Better?"

Viki smiled and relaxed into her current bed. "Much… I'm thirsty."

"I've got you there, too." Ruby raised her left hand and called on her Maiden Magic. She made a small ball of water appear over Viki's head. The two healers lifted their patient's head and Ruby lowered the water to her sister's mouth. "Drink up. Have as much as you need." Ruby didn't know if Viki knew what was going on or if she was too far gone to care, but her little sister began sipping on the water ball.

About a minute later, Viki's whole body relaxed and her eyes closed. Ruby's heart sunk. There was no warning. "Viki?"

"I put her to sleep." Velvet raised a hand. "She needs it and she deserves it."

 _I'm back!_ Halcyon called as he dragged a blanket from Ruby's and Aaron's bed under Nalia's wing. _I hope this… oh._ Halcyon drooped his mechanical ears. _Well, I brought this._ He opened his mouth and dropped the blanket.

"Thanks, Halcyon," Aaron said. "I'll make sure she knows you brought it."

Ruby took the blanket and draped it over Viki. She then leaned forward and kissed her sister on the forehead. Ruby looked up at Yaela and Velvet. "Will one of you stay with her?"

"I will." Yaela nodded. "If anything happens, I'll let you know."

"Thank you." Ruby crawled out of Nalia's wing tent and stood up. Aaron and Velvet followed soon after. Now that she was among family and didn't expect to see anyone else that day, Ruby let her façade crack. She slumped her body and allowed tears to break through her eyes. "How is she?"

"As I'm sure you already figured out," Velvet started, "she lost a lot of blood, like… a lot. She just kept coughing it up out there. We haven't had time to clean it up."

 _It's… bad,_ Vert said. _I don't know how much blood you have, but I'd say she lost most of hers, if not all.  
_

Ruby faced the wall/door separating the bedroom from the rest of the house, then back to Velvet. "Then how is she…" Even though Viki was asleep, Ruby couldn't bear to finish the sentence.

"Other magic," Aaron said. "I was able to slow the bleeding but not stop it. Velvet came in and… how did you put it?"

"Without overcomplicating it, I convinced her body to make more blood to counteract how much she was losing. But with how it's done, the energy _had_ to come from her. That's another reason why she's very weak. Still, she was losing it more than her body could produce, but it saved her life."

"It still took us way too long to figure out how to stop the bleeding, and everything else." Aaron crossed his arms and looked back at Nalia. "I couldn't do a thing to help her out."

 _It was just us dragons that could keep her calm,_ Nalia said. _We did what we could, but she only calmed down when she stopped coughing up her own blood._

Ruby let her tears fall, not bothering to wipe them off. "I suppose we should clean the sitting area now..." She turned toward the door to the room and it opened before she could take a step. Yang stepped into the room and marched right toward the other Riders. "No shakedown right now, Yang. We've got other priorities."

"No, we don't." Yang stopped right in front of her sister and crossed her arms. "What was that back there?"

"What was what? What did I do?"

"Since when do you get that mad? That's my job. It's one thing to say stuff like that but it's another thing to do it. I don't think I've ever seen you cross that line."

Ruby straightened. "That's what Ruby Shadeslayer, Leader of the Dragon Riders would do. Alagaësians respond well to strength. I can't afford to show any weakness. I'll be torn apart and the Riders will lose legitimacy among Alagaësians." She slumped and hung her head. "Huntress Ruby Rose, who wants nothing more to keep people happy and safe… I hate it. I hate that I have to sound like that. My way or the highway, it doesn't work like that. I don't want to sound like one of those people.

"But… that guy killed Pruma. He knew what would happen if he did. A small price to pay? That elf is as bad as the Forsworn. He killed so many people. He almost killed Viki. I wanted to hurt him for hurting so many others… but that's not what either part of me does."

Ruby looked up and locked eyes with her sister. "I sorry if I scared you, Yang, but that wasn't your little sister out there. That was a general, police chief, or what have you. Your little sister hates that she had to do that, and she's torn apart that so many people were killed under her watch."

"Why can't they be one in the same?"

"You don't want those two halves to be the same. You don't want your little sister to charge into battle leading people who could possibly be killed." Ruby looked toward where Viki was forced to sleep. "You don't want the General in me to calm Viki down. The two don't mix well. I need to do this to stay sane."

"That sounds like you're forcing yourself into a bipolar disorder."

"Maybe, but as long as I can switch into each one at will, I can work with it. If not… get me out of it."

Yang stared at Ruby for almost a minute before relaxing a bit. "As long as my boss is only a jerk to bad guys and doesn't leak over to my baby sister, fine."

"Thanks, Yang… Your baby sister might be a little shaken up and need some help later." Ruby turned around and caught Cerise' look. For once, she couldn't place her dragon's expression. Cerise' emotions didn't reveal anything either. Ruby shook her head and turned to Aaron. He stared back at Nalia's wings with clenched teeth. "Aaron, I don't know if anyone's told you this, but it's okay for guys to show emotion and let tears go."

"I had to relearn that after my coma, but yes." Aaron turned his head back to Ruby. "But both of us breaking down wouldn't do each other any good."

"That's debatable… but thank you… honey." Ruby prepared for something at the new nickname, but nothing came forth.

"You're welcome." Aaron grimaced. "We probably should clean up the area. I don't want Viki to wake up with that out there."

"Yeah." Ruby finally wiped her eyes. "Anything to help her out."

* * *

 **So, if you haven't seen this weeks episode, stop reading. My reaction has to pertain with my version of the relics. Three questions every hundred years? Is there something else to it? This is the all powerful Relic of Knowledge? Either my version of the relics are so dang overpowered compared to Rooster Teeth's or we haven't seen anything yet. Also, when we get there, Jinn won't be a thing. I'm not sure how to feel about Jinn in the first place. With human Salem (I haven't seen episode three so I can't say any specifics) I might incorporate some of that into Salem's pre-Shade backstory, probably somewhere in 'modern day' Surda.  
**

 **Also... RIP Stan Lee. You will be missed.**


	51. Scouting

**Welcome to what is likely one of my last Tuesday morning uploads. Don't worry, I'm nowhere near being done. It's just that the shift I signed up for in my new job goes from like 5 AM to 2 PM, giver or take 30 minutes on either side. Still don't know when that job's going to start, but I'd expect before Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I somehow missed the first part of Hallothanksmas, which is also Ruby's birthday, which is also this series' birthday. Well, hope you had a Merry Hallothanksmas part one and hope you have a Merry Hallothanksmas part two on Thursday (if you live in the US).  
**

 **One more thing, this is the start of the last arc in the first 'half' of Reconstruction. Why 'half?' Hopefully I'm more than halfway done at this point, and come chapter 53, major changes are coming. I can't say more without spoilers, and even then I'm sure some of you can guess it. Ah well. Until then, enjoy this.**

* * *

"Wow," Viki breathed.

Ruby turned around and smiled at her sister. "Pretty impressive, isn't it?" She faced forward again and stared up at Amity Colosseum. "I won the tournament there four years ago in Vacuo."

"How does it fly?"

Cerise laughed beneath Ruby. _Your brother asked the same thing when he first saw this building in Vale. I imagine that's how most Alagaësians will feel when they see it for the first time._

"It will probably run through their heads." Ruby pointed toward the roof of the building. "We're going to watch this from the very top. It's a long way down to the arena floor, but there's an energy shield up there that will stop us from falling through. You just won't be able to see it. Trust me, it's there. Oh, and there's no one up there to stop us from bringing outside food in."

 _Not that Aaron will mind. How many of those giant buckets of popcorn has he eaten over the years?_

"Way more than can be healthy." Ruby lowered her head to hangar level. "But we're going to have to meet a few people first. The Kings and Queens of Alagaësia want to see our tournament. It sounds like they'd like to do something similar in the future on the other side." She shook her head. "Though I'm pretty sure that the elves would win pretty much every time. They're just that good."

"So Arya's team should win?" Viki asked.

"Not necessarily. Training on this side is far different, not to mention Aura and Semblances. Arya could very well be on even ground with just about everyone else."

 _Arya's only one member of her team,_ Cerise added. _The other members contribute just as much as her._

"There is that. Hold on, we're landing." Viki tightened her grip around Ruby as Cerise landed in the hangar designated for the Alagaësians. A crowd of reporters and civilians stood in the entrance to the hangar. They were held back by quite a few uniformed police officers. This wouldn't be a private arrival after all. Headmaster Plum of Haven stood to the side. He was a tall, balding man with a purple jacket with a large Haven emblem just right of the zipper. He was normally a nice guy, but he still had people buying into his conspiracy theory that Ruby was responsible for Lionheart's disappearance and Ozpin's death that wasn't too far from the truth. This could potentially get ugly.

Ruby slid off and Viki followed soon after. Viki's legs buckled as she hit the ground, but Ruby thrust her arms under Viki's to keep her from falling. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Viki removed herself from Ruby's arms. "I just landed off balance."

"Are you sure it's not because of-"

"I'm fine. It's been a week. If I need help, I'll say something."

Ruby sighed. "Sorry. Habit." It had only been a week after Pruma was killed. Ruby wasn't sure if Viki kept rejecting help because she genuinely didn't need it or if she was used to that on the other side. She hoped the former.

Cerise hummed and raised her ears. _Blake's in the crowd._

"Really?" Ruby spun around and faced the line of people. She didn't see Blake right away, then her teammate pushed her way to the front. Ruby jogged over to her Faunus sister. "Blake!" She pulled Blake through the line for a second for a hug, which was eagerly returned. "I didn't think you'd be here."

"It's kind of a last-minute thing." Blake pulled away and stepped back over the line. "The flu's going around Menagerie and my mom caught it. Dad stayed home with her and me and Sun in their place."

Ruby pulled in her lips so her smile wouldn't get out of control. "Is Jamie with you two?"

Blake nodded. "He's with Sun in our hotel room. When I left he was fast asleep."

"Awwww." Ruby bit her lips, preventing her squeal from getting too loud. "I guess we're going to have a full team get together tonight."

"Weiss is here?"

"She will be. Saphira wanted to see Fírnen. You know how Cerise and Vert were starting out."

"Oh yeah. I also remember you burying your face in your pillow when they were out too."

"Yeaaahh." Ruby's face burned and she looked away. "It sounds like they want a second clutch. Don't know when they're going to start trying." She hoped she didn't give anything away.

Blake winced. "Good luck with that… speaking of which, any luck with you and Aaron?"

Ruby shook her head. "Not yet, but we're not giving up."

"Neither of you are ones to do that."

"Not a chance."

 _Ruby,_ Cerise called, _they're here._

 _On my way._ Ruby took a few steps away from Blake. "I'll text you the address of the house we rented. It has one heck of a view and its big enough for all our dragons."

"See you there." Blake turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

Ruby faced her dragon and walked back to Cerise' side. Dragon and Rider stared out of the Colosseum. A few miles away, Nalia led a Bullhead toward the flying building. Ruby took several deep breaths to calm herself. She couldn't act like she did around her team around royalty.

A few minutes later, Nalia and the Bullhead touched down in the hangar. Aaron dismounted and the crew compartment doors on the transport opened. Queen Islanzadí stepped out first. Having been to Remnant before, she couldn't be as shocked as the others at the floating building, not that elves showed much surprise before.

King Deynor stepped out next, wearing a more modest crown over the one he wore in Alagaësia. Only a diamond rested in the front of the molded gold. He looked around the hangar and nodded. "It appears you were right about the quality of Remmartian craftsmanship, Islanzadí."

"I would be more impressed if they could travel that fast when on the ground." King Hrothgar stepped out of the transport and his jaw dropped. "This… this is _all_ metal."

"Yes, it is." Ruby stepped toward the Kings and Queen. All three of them faced her. "It is much easier to mine metal with modern technology, and there's just a lot of it on Remnant in the first place. As for speed on the ground, Mistral and Atlas have high-speed trains that can travel almost one hundred leagues in an hour."

"Bah." The King of the Dwarves waved Ruby off. "Impossible. I find it hard to believe that your dragons can fly that fast with all that metal."

"With all due respect, King Hrothgar,"Aaron started, "that is completely true. Look off the edge of this building and you won't know what is possible and what isn't."

"I doubt this mountain is as tall as mine home." Hrothgar walked toward the hangar exit. Ruby followed at a respectful distance, just in case. The dwarf looked off the edge and jumped back. "Barzul! What magic is this?"

"Not magic, science." Ruby stopped a few dozen feet behind the King. Hrothgar turned to face her. "Don't worry, the Gravity Dust crystal beneath us should keep Amity Colosseum in the air for a few more centuries. That's only a few floors beneath our feet."

Hrothgar slumped and looked out of the hangar again. "Humans built all of this and the city below us?"

"Humans and Faunus, though since two dragons have hatched for Faunus, we're wondering just how different we are."

The dwarf sighed. "What are the chances of you sharing the secrets of your construction?"

"Right now, none. As far as I know, Alagaësia doesn't have any Dust. That's the only reason all of this is possible."

Hrothgar sighed. "I suppose it is for the best." He started walking back toward the other royalty and Ruby followed.

It looked like Headmaster Plum had introduced himself to the regents of Alagaësia. Aaron stood to the side with a poker face, but Ruby could tell he was glaring at the professor. Plum didn't hate the Riders in general, just Ruby. If he said anything harsh, Aaron would defend her, and so would the others.

It sounded like the others were speaking about the event that caused their main problem. "…for the disappearance of Leonardo Lionheart," Islanzadí said. "I can imagine that it caused strife here in the days following."

"It certainly did." Plum nodded, then shot a glare at Ruby. "If only you had arrived sooner."

"I have wished as much since it happened." Ruby crossed her arms. "I saved that pilot's life, which is better than having them both gone."

"Yes. May I also assume that it was a coincidence that the tribe that we think captured Leonardo was the one your former and current Chief of Intelligence came from."

"You know how much of a menace the Branwen tribe is. If we had Riders permanently stationed in Mistral, the tribe would be their number one priority."

Deynor looked between Ruby and Plum. "I do not need to read minds to notice some hostility between you two."

Plum waved an arm in front of himself. "There is no hostility, Please, follow me. I will show the three of you to your suite for today's events." He walked toward the crowd with the monarchs following him.

Islanzadí glanced back toward Ruby. _Do you require assistance with this man?_

 _No. He'll be out of a job at the start of the next semester because of his conspiracy theories. He's got nothing to stand on._ Ruby sighed and faced Aaron. "Shall we head up to our seats?"

Aaron shook his head. "I'm going to get one of those huge buckets of popcorn. I'll see you up there." He turned around and walked toward Viki. They had a little talk, then walked into the dispersing crowd together.

"No refills this time!" Ruby called. "You know what happened in Vacuo." Aaron raised a hand and kept on walking. Ruby shook her head and walked to Cerise' side. She climbed up and settled in the saddle. "Think he'll listen this time?"

 _Maybe._ Cerise snorted. _Probably not._

 _I will make sure he doesn't,_ Nalia said. _I feel whenever he gets sick like that._

 _I can agree there._ Cerise walked toward the edge of the hangar. _I'll keep your spot warm._ She jumped out of the flying building and curved up to the roof. New lines had been painted on the steel, designating areas that were reinforced to carry a dragon's weight. A railing was set up along the inner edge right above the energy shield. Cerise landed near that and laid down. Ruby dismounted and stared down into the bowl of the Colosseum. It was mostly filled. Then again, it was almost time for the opening ceremony.

"What position is Team AETR?" Ruby asked. The answer appeared as a highlight her bionic eye. "First apart from the qualifiers. That'll work. Won't have to wait long at all."

 _That will be nice. Get this done quick so we can enjoy the rest of the tournament._

"Any idea when Yang and Halcyon will be here?"

Cerise snorted. _After the anthems. She'll make me come get her during the qualifiers._

"Sounds about right." Ruby looked over her dragon's head. Blue and green dots flew toward the Colosseum from the north. "It looks like Weiss and Saphira are here."

Cerise raised her head. _It appears Fírnen found his mate as well._

The two on the roof waited for the incoming flight to land. Saphira and Fírnen stood less than a human's width apart from each other after they closed their wings. Weiss slid off her dragon's back and walked toward her partner. "Hey, sis."

"Hey, sis." Ruby met Weiss halfway and hugged her. They separated after only a second. "How was your flight?"

"Fast." Weiss put her hands on her hips and 'glared' at Saphira. "Someone wanted to get out of Atlas like their life depended on it."

Saphira growled at her Rider. _You would too if you were in my position._

 _Storms?_ Cerise asked,

 _Yes. If we waited any longer, we would never have made it._

"Didn't want to cheat this time around?" Ruby asked.

Weiss shook her head. "Save that for emergencies and missions. We like flying with each other."

"I can respect that." Ruby ran a hand underneath Cerise' jaw, drawing out a purr.

" _Ladies and gentlemen,"_ the announcer started, making all those on the roof face the bowl, _"welcome to the forty-third biannual Vytal Festival Tournament."_

Ruby stretched out her mind as far as she could. She felt Yang and Halcyon moving at high speed on the ground. Must have been a train. _Yang, it's starting. Where are you?_

 _It's not my fault we couldn't park the Wyvern closer!_ Yang growled. _Why wouldn't they let us park at the house?_

 _The other dragons can rest there,_ Halcyon said. _Why not me?_

Ruby shook her head as she looked down into the arena. _You should have told me or Cerise earlier._ She leaned on the railing and nodded. Instead of the normal four choirs on the arena floor, there were five, only the fifth was rather small compared to the others. Considering how many people were likely in the building from that Kingdom, that was expected.

" _For nearly a century,"_ the announcer continued, _"the Kingdoms of Vale, Vacuo, Atlas, and Mistral have participated in the Festival, showing all the best they have to offer, from cuisine to Huntsmen. Now, for the first time ever, a fifth Kingdom joins the festivities, including this tournament. Please welcome our brothers and sisters from the Kingdom of Menagerie."_

Most people in the Colosseum rose to their feet. Ruby and Weiss clapped and the dragons gave polite roars. Down on the arena floor, those in the smallest choir waved at the crowd. The jumbotrons showed the parts of the seating reserved for residents of Menagerie, with likely a few more Faunus thrown in for good measure.

It took about a minute for the crowd to calm down. _"We also have special guests from the other side who will be with us for the duration of the tournament."_ The large projections switched to a luxury suite with the Kings and Queen standing behind another railing. If they were surprised, they hid it well. _"Please give a warm Remmartian welcome to King Hrothgar of the Dwarves, Queen Islanzadí of the elves, and King Deynor Anderson of the Bröddring Kingdom."_ The regents accepted the applause by just nodding at the crowd. It looked like they didn't get the memo about waving.

"These next few days could either be really good or really bad for relations between our worlds," Weiss said.

"Ya think?" Ruby asked. "If a reporter or politician asks the right question, we could face an interdimensional war." She looked over her partner's shoulder. Nalia had crested the roof of the Colosseum and flew toward the other dragons. "Looks like Aaron and Viki got their concessions… aaaaannnd Aaron has that giant bucket." Ruby slumped as she stared at the popcorn bucket that was larger than Aaron.

Weiss sighed and brought a hand to her head. "I can't understand how anybody can finish one of those, much less two or three. If he loses it all again, I am _not_ cleaning that up."

Ruby shook her head. "Me neither." Nalia landed on the roof and crouched down. Aaron set his oversized snack on the ground and jumped off. Viki slid off the dragon's back holding a soft drink and… funnel cakes? "Great. Now I'm hungry."

Nalia snorted. _You can have some of Aaron's. He will_ _ **not**_ _be eating it all._

"Yeah." Aaron picked up the bucket and waddled with it over to Ruby's side. "This time, I'll share."

"How thoughtful." Ruby reached up and grabbed a handful of popcorn. "I meant something more along the lines of Viki's funnel cakes, but this'll do."

"I can share if you want," Viki said as she approached the railing.

Ruby shook her head. "If I'd get any of that, I'd need the whole bowl."

"You and your sweets." Weiss shook her head.

"Hey, I know for a fact you have a stash of Gershy bars in your room."

Weiss looked at Ruby like she'd been stabbed in the chest. "You didn't take any, did you?"

"Of course not." Ruby shook her head. "I wouldn't do that to you."

 _We're pulling into the station now!_ Yang called. _Could one of you meet us there?_

Cerise snorted. _Earlier than I thought._ She turned around and jumped off the roof.

Nalia settled down on the edge of the roof. Fírnen walked to his mother's side and they rubbed heads. The sight made Ruby think of something else. "So Weiss, how's it going between you and Neptune?"

Weiss winced. "We're… taking a break."

"Ohhhhhh," Ruby whined. "What happened?"

"I told him how long I'm going to live because of Saphira and what I can potentially do for him… and whatever kids we have. He took it in stride, but as I was explaining, it finally hit me what that all meant. I could live to see my great-great grandchildren's great-great-grandchildren. I'd see them all live and die. Neptune or whoever I'm with would be long gone by then. I think that's why Velvet and Yatsu aren't engaged yet."

Ruby nodded. "I've had the same thoughts. They hurt. I wouldn't want to see any of my kids like that either. I might see Yang like that. I don't know how much losing Halcyon cut off from her lifespan. I don't know if having his Aura preserved will do anything either." She paused. "I hate to sound sappy, but do you love him?"

"Yes," Weiss said without hesitation. "Saphira's even grown to like him. With how much she was against him at first, that's saying something."

"Then as the world's female authority on not taking the hint, get off your break. If he's _the_ one, spend the best years of your lives together. Everyone grows old. Look at Rhunön. Don't let that keep you away from those you love and those who love you."

Weiss sighed, then smirked at Ruby. "You sound like a Hisney movie."

"I know." Ruby brought her hands to her face. "I can't believe I'm giving someone romantic advice from movies where people fall in love in a day."

"I get your point." Weiss elbowed Ruby. "So who's the male authority on not taking the hint?"

"My husband." Ruby jerked a thumb toward Aaron. "I'd say he's the world's authority period."

"What about me?" Aaron asked with a handful of popcorn.

"My point exactly." Ruby and Weiss laughed.

"I'm here!" Yang's voice carried through the air. Cerise appeared over the edge of the building a second later. She landed and Yang jumped off. "Please tell me I didn't miss anything."

"You didn't," Aaron said. "They're just getting to the anthems."

"Oh, good." Yang walked up to the railing and stood on the other side of Weiss. "I was worried there for a bit."

"You didn't." Ruby looked back into the bowl. "Let the tournament begin."

The anthems of the Kingdoms came and passed with about as much excitement as they usually did. Then the new qualifying rounds were up first and the four lowest ranked teams fought for two spots on plain arena floor. Both 'teams' that Menagerie sent won. From what Blake said a week ago, the teams were just made up of Huntsmen and Huntresses that were homegrown. Most never met each other before then. They wouldn't last long like that, but at least they were here.

" _And now, for the first round of the Tournament,"_ the announcer said. _"Team AETR of Beacon versus Team ONKS of Haven."_ The two teams walked out of opposite tunnels. Arya held her head high and didn't acknowledge the crowd while the rest of her team waved in every direction. The elf had gotten over her shy faze before Ruby knew Fírnen hatched. It looked like she was in her all business faze. If she could learn to relax, she could be a great Rider.

 _Cerise, could you keep an eye on Fírnen?_ Ruby asked. _It's not just Arya on the list._

 _Of course._ Cerise didn't make any outside moved to indicate she heard anything. _I'll try to watch both._

 _Thank you._ Both teams went through their introductions, with Arya not quite standing at attention, but close. Arya even got recognition as the first elf to take part in the tournament and she barely even smiled. She _really_ needed to loosen up. Team ONKS was much more relaxed, but their leader, Oscar Pine, only smiled and waved at the crowd.

The random biome selection started and landed on volcano and forest. One was up Arya's alley, the other was the opposite. This could be interesting. "Fírnen," Ruby glanced at said dragon, "Arya knows no strategizing before the match starts, right?"

 _She does._ Fírnen snorted. _She is not one to cheat._

"Good to know." Ruby nodded as the biomes rose and the combatants drew and readied their weapons. Arya drew a Remnant made custom bow and her sword. It looked like the hilt fit into the bow's grip. Ruby felt her lips twitch up. It looked like Remmartian weapon creativity made its way to Arya. The combination could use some work though. The elf reached back, grabbed one of her arrows from her quiver, and knocked it.

The countdown dropped to zero and Arya fired her arrow at Oscar before dropping back to the forest. Tammy followed her leader firing her repulsors all the way. Oscar and one more member of his team followed Arya into the trees. Normally Ruby would have tried to watch the whole fight at once, but with her current goal, she focused only on Arya's section.

The Rider shifted her bionic eye to infrared. Arya and Oscar had engaged in close quarters combat. If Ruby wasn't fast herself, she'd have a hard time following the fight. Arya held Wyrdavinda in her right hand and her bow, now an ovoid shield, in her left. She got two or three sword strikes in one second, but Oscar kept up with his much larger pitchfork. He wasn't as fast, but he was playing it smart. He was on the defensive most of the time, but when he attacked, he hit. The blows weren't powerful, but they started to add up.

Ayra's and Oscar's fight appeared on the jumbotrons. It was just as fierce as when Ruby saw through her bionic eye, but Ruby could now see their faces. It looked like Oscar was tiring while Arya had her same old poker face on, with a little glint in her eyes. Ruby knew that look. This fight was over.

On Oscar's next strike, Arya thrust Wyrdavinda up and caught the pitchfork between two of the prongs. She twisted the blade and yanked the pitchfork right out of Oscar's hands. Now weaponless, Oscar brought up his hands, but against an armed elf, that wouldn't work. Arya swung at her opponent's chest and sent him flying through several trees. No buzzer sounded, so Oscar was still up. Arya sprinted through the trees in time to see Oscar rise to his feet. The elf charged forward and slammed Oscar with her shield. The guy fell to the ground and his Aura dropped into the red.

 _She can fight on her own,_ Ruby started, _but we already knew that._

 _I didn't feel any communication between Fírnen and Arya,_ Cerise said. _He's staying out of her fight, but how do they act other times when they fight together?_

 _That's something to ask him when we meet._

Back in the arena, Arya sheathed her sword and shifted her shield back to a bow. She knocked another arrow and stood still for a second before sprinting off elsewhere. The jumbotrons switched to another fight so Ruby switched back to her bionic eye. It looked like Arya was sprinting toward another part of the forest. Ruby followed that line and found Tammy fighting another of team ONKS in a small clearing.

The Rider found Arya in the trees again. The elf jumped up one of the largest trees in the arena and climbed to the top. She rested on one of the branches and aimed her bow. She pulled back on the string and loosed the arrow. On the jumbotron, the arrow hit the member of ONKS in the head. The guy's head jerked to the side and Tammy blast him to the other side of the clearing. The girl gave Arya a quick salute as a buzzer sounded.

Ruby checked the Aura board. AETR was down to three people while ONKS had two up. _Must have missed one._

 _It was a ring-out in the volcanic section,_ Cerise said. _Roy_ _is fighting the other two on his own._

Ruby faced that section of the arena. Roy's red trench coat billowed behind him as rocks of all sizes flew around him. Since he was telekinetic, he _could_ throw all opponents out of the arena, but that move had been illegal since before team STRQ was born.

Tammy ran along the ground while Arya jumped from tree to tree. Despite the complexity of what she was doing, the elf moved faster through the trees than the human did on the ground. _Did she do something like that in Ellesméra?_ She didn't need an answer to that. It didn't have anything to do with what she was being tested over.

Arya stopped at the edge of the forest biome and nocked another arrow. She aimed at one of her remaining opponents and fired. Stone formed around the guy's feet. He tried to move, then stumbled and nearly fell over. He stared at his feet for one second before getting clocked in the side of the head by a flying rock. Ruby winced. Even through Aura, especially when in the red, that had to hurt.

That left the match a three on one. The last guy on ONKS aimed his LMG at Arya and held down the trigger.

Arya jumped out of the tree and fired another arrow. This one hit the machine gunner in the chest. His torso froze but a quick flex later shattered it. The elf landed and shifted her bow to its shield form and drew Wyrdavinda. She hid behind her shield and ran forward through the hail of bullets. The gunman shifted his aim to Arya's feet, but the elf moved her shield to cover them as well. She never slowed down.

Once she was within a dozen feet, Arya jumped and flipped over the gunman. She landed and kicked the guy's legs out from underneath him. He lost his grip on his weapon as he fell to his back. Arya stood up and placed the point of her blade under her opponent's head. It looked like she said a few things while holding Wyrdavinda in place. The guy then slowly raised his hands above his head, surrendering the fight.

The buzzer sounded once more, bringing the fight to an end. The crowd cheered and Fírnen roared. Arya stepped back from her last opponent, sheathed her sword, and hung her bow on her back. Instead of rejoining her team at the base of the volcano, she walked toward the guy that got hit in the head with a boulder. Ruby leaned forward on the railing. If Arya was doing what her boss thought she was doing, that was several more points in her favor.

Arya knelt by the guy's side and pointed a hand at the stone sealing her former opponent's feet. The rock broke, freeing the trapped feet. Arya then held a hand over the guy's head. A few seconds later, the guy relaxed on the ground. Arya stood up and reached an arm down to her former opponent, which was quickly grabbed. The elf helped the human to his feet and the crowd roared again.

Ruby smiled and nodded. _I think all our initial assessments were right._

 _I believe so._ Cerise mentally hummed. _We may have underestimated her if anything._

 _How was Fírnen during that?_

 _He was growling and tearing up the roof with his claws, but he never interfered. I believe he's congratulating his Rider right now._

 _I believe it._

Down in the arena, Arya finally rejoined her team, with Emalee rejoining after being knocked out. Unlike before the fight, Arya was smiling and laughing with her team. She even exchanged a few high fives with them. Any earlier doubts Ruby had disappeared.

"Hey, Remnant to Ruby," Yang said while shaking her little sister's right arm. "You okay? It's not everyday Aaron is more animated than you are."

Ruby faced her sister. "Have you seen him at a Krakens game?"

"This isn't a Krakens game. This is the Vytal Festival Tournament, your thing." Yang gestured to the arena. "One of us is down there. I thought you'd be fighting Vert for the loudest spectator."

"Oh, I know." Ruby faced the arena again where the biomes were retreating back into the floor. "I was seeing what Arya could do. The rest of the tournament, I'll be normal, excited me."

"You better. That exchange between Arya and Oscar was _insane!"_

"Yeah. How could a human keep up with an elf, even with Aura?"

"Hold on a second," Weiss started, _"_ you were analyzing during a fight?"

"Yeah. Why?"

 _Even I know you wouldn't want to spoil the entertainment with that._ Saphira lowered her head to just above Ruby's. _What are you doing?_

Ruby shook her head. "I'll explain everything at the full team meeting tonight."

"Full team?" Weiss perked up. "Blake's here?"

"Yep. Her little lemur too."

Weiss sucked in her lower lip and made a high-pitched squeak noise. Saphira angled her head down and raised her ears. "I can't wait to meet him!"

 _I will never understand you humans._ Saphira snorted.

 _You've grown up with them,_ Nalia said. _How do you think I or the Eldunarí feel?_

Ruby laughed and faced her dragon. _Cerise, could you tell Fírnen we'd like to meet with him and Arya if she's not moving onto the next round?_

 _I already have,_ Cerise said. _It sounds like Arya has yet to make a decision._

Ruby took out her Scroll and called up an email she hadn't used since her team's last bout in the tournament. She asked the video booth for recordings from Arya's fight. Between rounds, she'd look over the footage to catch things she didn't notice initially and break things down into further detail… that is if it was legal.

" _At this time,"_ the announcer started, _"we would like to recognize those former champions and competitors that have lost their lives in the line of duty."_

Ruby jerked her head up as she put her Scroll away. They moved this part up. She glanced at Yang. Her big sister gripped the railing in front of her and stood as stiff as a statue. "Yang?" Ruby put a hand on her sister's back.

"I know the truth's come out," Yang sighed. "I know all major news networks have run stories on how she was a hero, not a criminal. But how many people really believe that after being told the opposite for so long?"

Ruby dipped her head to face one of the jumbotrons. "I guess we're about to find out." It took a few minutes, but the projections made it to her family. Instead of two separate pictures like most previous teams, Summer and Raven shared one. They stood back to back with their arms crossed and heads facing the camera. Summer smiled like she just killed a horde of Grimm, and probably did, while Raven smirked like she just pulled a prank on somebody. Their epitaphs were on their side of the picture. Summer's was the same as always and Raven's read, 'My night has come, but the light lives on.' Qrow did a good job with that.

Ruby listened to the crowd. She heard a few boos and other assorted jeers, but they were by far in the minority. "Now we know. Feel any better, sis?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah… I just wish I could have gotten to know the real Raven before…"

"Mom's got plenty of stories if you want to hear."

"I think I might take you up on that."

"Just tell me when." Ruby continued watching the faces go by, expecting to see a few more familiar ones in the bunch, but they never showed up. There was no memorial for Rosie, Fox, or Carmine. They died in the line of duty, but none won the Tournament or was a member of a winning team. For a second, Ruby wished that they would recognize all competitors that lost their lives but cast it aside. That wouldn't be possible in any decent timeframe.

Motion down in the arena caught Ruby's eye. It looked like the next two teams were lining up in the tunnels. That kicked her good mood back into gear. "Yang, you wanted to see excited me, you're about to!"

* * *

 **Yeah... Sort of just brushed over Viki's recovery... I wrote this back when I was thinking, "This is getting too long. I need to shorten it and cut out unnecessary stuff." Since Viki isn't a main character, all that is filler to me.  
**

 **Also, from this past week's episode... I don't see much of Salem's backstory I can use. At least the Brothers were dragons.**


	52. People of Interest

**Well, my new job is starting later today. I'm guessing the early morning shifts will start later in the week or early next. I haven't decided whether to upload in the future on Monday nights, early Tuesday mornings, or Tuesdays after I get back from work. Heck, I might not decide until it's that time. I guess we'll all find out together.  
**

* * *

Ruby sighed and brought a hand to her forehead. "I told you this would happen, Aaron. You can't eat that much popcorn and expect to not feel sick afterward."

Aaron groaned and tilted his head on the couch's armrest. "But I only ate half the bucket this time."

"I could take a bath in half that bucket." Ruby shook her head. "Cerise and I are flying out to meet Arya and Fírnen. We'll be back when we can." She leaned down and kissed Aaron on the forehead. "Feel better before then, okay?" Aaron just groaned and stuck a thumb up.

Ruby turned around and walked across the patio to where Cerise lay. _Should we stop at a pharmacy on the way back for some Jums?_

"Probably… didn't I pack some for this?" Ruby jumped up Cerise' side and searched around one of the saddlebags. Sure enough, she found a half-empty bottle of Jums. "Hey Aaron, catch." She threw the bottle toward her husband. Aaron stuck his right hand up and caught it. "You're welcome."

Cerise jumped out of the cliff yard and turned toward a park near Haven Academy. She turned her head back when they were about halfway there. _What would he do without you?_

"He wouldn't be able to tie his shoes, or he'd make the knots super complicated… but he's my rock." Ruby pat her dragon's neck. "What do you think the others will think of your announcement?"

Cerise hummed high and loud, her ears raising. _The question is where will Weiss hang off me, my snout or my neck?_

"Depends on what angle she's at. Whichever's closer."

 _There is that._ Cerise faced forward again and tilted her head down. _They're already here._ She angled her body and her wings down, bringing the young pair into Ruby's line of sight. Unlike before her match, Arya stood in a relaxed posture with legs at shoulder width and shoulders down. There was more to her than she let on.

Cerise landed in the park and her Rider dismounted. Ruby walked around the front of her dragon to the apprentice. Instead of giving a polite bow, Arya took a few steps forward and extended her hand. _"It is good to see you again, Masters."_

Ruby took the outstretched hand and smiled. _"It's good to see you too. You fought well today."_

" _Thank you, Master."_ Arya took her hand back. _"May I ask why you wanted to see us?"_

 _ **We heard from Fírnen,**_ Cerise started, _ **but we need to hear from you. Will you be one of the members on your team entering the doubles round?**_

Arya shook her head. _"No. I have no desire to win the tournament. Others in my team do. I will leave them the opportunity."_

Ruby nodded and exchanged a quick glance with Cerise. That was a point for her already. The head Rider faced the apprentice again. _"Arya, I'm sure you have your own methods of evaluating yourself and your team, but I have my own. This is not for Beacon, nor is it for your time there. This is for your growth as a Rider. Cerise will be asking Fírnen questions at the same time, but we may switch at any time."_

Arya nodded. _"I understand."_

 _ **As do I,**_ Fírnen said.

" _Arya, come with me."_ Ruby gestured to another part of the park where there weren't a lot of people. She drew her Scroll and navigated to the first of many recordings she got from the video booth. _"First off, before the fight, you were acting like a soldier, like no one else was in the Colosseum."_ She showed that video to Arya. _"Right after, you were celebrating with your team like anyone else would. Anyone else would think that's someone not wanting to get distracted during a fight. Something tells me there's something more behind it."_

" _You are right."_ Arya nodded. _"Early on at Beacon, I developed a reputation of focusing on results first, everything else second. My team rose through the ranks that way. A few months ago, I changed my approach, and we got even better. However, my reputation stayed. I figured I could use that to my advantage in the tournament."_

Ruby paused the video and lowered her Scroll. _"Why did you change your approach?"_

Arya hesitated. _"May I ask how that is relevant to my growth as a Rider?"_

" _For many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that all elves and most humans look up to the Riders. If anything happens in Alagaësia, we'll likely be the ones leading response effort. The same thing could happen here."_

Arya hesitated before nodding. _"My original way of leading my team left little room for error, or anything other than training. It drained them, and they grew to dislike me and each other. Our team fell in the ranks. Something needed to change, but I didn't know what. I researched what you did with your team to see if I could take anything from that._

" _I was not expecting what I found. You weren't strict, you didn't expect perfection. I also found part of a…_ Twinge Stream _with you and Viki. I didn't see anything I did in any of that."_

" _I don't run a military or a police force,"_ Ruby started. _"I'm just in charge of a bunch of people that want to make the world a better place. It's the same now as it was back then."_

Arya faced Ruby then forward again. _"I grew up being taught that the Riders were the symbols of grace and nobility. Not… that."_

" _I'm sure most were. Others, well, apparently Brom shared a few personality traits with Yang before the Fall."_ Ruby paused. _"Almost a century ago, the four Kingdoms fought a war over art, over personal expression. Thankfully the side for those things won. A certain level of formality is needed in my position, but around family and friends, I don't hold myself back. Ask Weiss about it, or really any soldier, and they'll tell you where they bond with their teammates."_

" _So how you acted on that clip…"_

" _That's me around my family and friends, and really, the more I can be like that the better. Around your team, I'd suggest being yourself. If you're in your room or in classes, don't try to be anything you're not. They'll trust you more, and they'll be able to guess what you're doing better. The same can be said for me, Cerise, Aaron, Nalia, and the rest of my command staff, that is if you're comfortable with it. None of us like acting formally around each other. I'm sure you've heard about what happens on the battlefield."_

" _I will try to remember that, Master."_

Ruby nodded and raised her Scroll. She navigated to the next video in line. _"At the beginning of the fight, your team separated. What was the planning behind that?"_ She continued to ask various questions about the fight, whether they were about Arya's part or not. It sounded like Arya had a pretty good strategy that was set in motion down to the kinds of arrow she fired. Being the Rider's resident weapons nut, Ruby suggested a magnetic sheath for Wyrdavinda that wrapped around the sword when not in use. That at least worked for other traditional weapon wielders.

" _Last questions for you."_ Ruby opened the last video she got of the fight. _"Directly after the fight, you went over to one of your fallen opponents and helped with a potential head injury. Most people would just leave him for the medics after the fight. What was behind that decision?"_

" _Like you said, he had a head injury. He was an opponent in a tournament fight, not an enemy. It was only right to help."_

Ruby nodded. The follow-up would knock Arya through a loop. _"Would you do the same for a fallen enemy?"_

Arya blinked and her mouth dropped open. _"I believe I heard you wrong."_

" _I don't think so. I just don't think you have an answer ready for what I asked, so I'll ask again. Would you do the same for a fallen enemy?"_

The elf faced away. Ruby could see the gears turning in Arya's head. Arya took a long time to answer. It looked like she wanted to answer a few times but stopped herself before she could. After the fourth time or so, Arya locked eyes with Ruby. _"It would depend on the crime and the injury. If they betrayed me, the Riders, or an ally, I would not. But a life-threatening injury for other less severe crimes, I would."_

Ruby nodded. _"Thank you for your time and attention, Arya. I believe Cerise has some questions for you too, and I have some for Fírnen."_ She turned around and walked toward where the dragons stood. Cerise walked from her position toward Arya. The pair stopped at the halfway point and touched each other's minds. _Arya's ticking all the boxes. How about Fírnen?_

 _He is doing well._ Cerise mentally hummed but stayed silent on the outside. _Everything he said is what we would expect from the position._

 _But what do they think of each other? Compare notes on the way back to the house?_

 _Sounds like a plan._ Cerise continued toward Arya and Ruby ran a hand across her dragon's scales as she walked toward Fírnen.

 _ **What do you have for me, Shadeslayer?**_ Fírnen asked.

 _ **Some questions that are for you and only for you,**_ Ruby thought to the dragon. _**Not even Arya may know what I ask you.**_

Fírnen's ears stood on end, then pressed flat against his head. _**Why are you asking me to keep things from my Rider?**_

 _ **If it makes you feel any better, I doubt she doesn't know the answers at some level. These are all about her and what you see in her that she may not see herself.**_

Fírnen's ears returned to their normal positions. _**Why wouldn't I tell Arya those things?**_

 _ **I don't care if you do, just don't tell her I asked.**_

 _ **This is a test, isn't it?**_

 _ **Yes, it is.**_

Fírnen looked to the side, then back at Ruby. _ **I will not tell my Rider what you ask me.**_

 _ **Thank you.**_ Ruby paused. _**What do you think of Arya's leadership capability?**_

Fírnen puffed his chest out. _**Arya is a great leader. As you could tell from the fight, her team is well coordinated, has multiple forms of non-verbal communication, and strategies to take down multiple opponents.**_

 _ **How is she with team input when creating these plans?**_

 _ **She has improved since she started at Beacon.**_

 _ **That's good to hear, but that's not what I asked.**_

Fírnen shifted on his feet. _**Arya knows that she needs to improve. She did not accept input from her team for her first month. She is trying, but she is fighting herself to do so.**_

Ruby nodded. It sounded like Arya started off a lot like Weiss. That was the biggest mark against her so far. But like Weiss, Arya could overcome it, and it sounded like she was working on doing just that. _**How well does she work with other teams?**_

 _ **She has tried to start multiple team training sessions, but only one first-year team has agreed to it, and only once. If I could guess, Arya is trying to be too formal when putting forth the proposal. No other first-year teams are like that.**_

 _ **I can understand that… Hypothetically, if more people were added to her team, how would she react?**_

 _ **Before, she would only see advantages in combat. Now, she would make sure they feel welcome on the team. She sees the importance of comradery in the team. Battle integration would be much slower than it would have been months ago.**_

 _ **I have two more questions. Do you think anything or anyone is holding her back from being even better?**_

Fírnen's ears pressed flat against his head. _**I should not be saying this, and Arya would never admit it, but I believe her mother is holding Arya back.**_

Ruby blinked. _**Queen Islanzadí? She's never given me that impression.**_

 _ **We have a… complicated relationship with her. The Queen is glad that I hatched, but not for Arya, especially when I did.**_

 _ **She's questioning who you hatched for?**_ That didn't sound like any elf that Ruby knew of, especially not their Queen.

 _ **She has never questioned my choice, but that of my Rider.**_ Fírnen let loose a light growl. _**I do not care that the situation wasn't 'proper.' I knew Arya was my Rider the second her hand touched my egg. If I didn't hatch for her when I did, I might never have gotten the chance. I have no regrets, neither does Arya. Her mother shouldn't either.**_

 _ **Arya also feels like she has to keep up certain expectations. That comes from being the daughter of the Queen. She is not rebellious, but she doesn't want to hide who she really is.**_ Fírnen closed his lips and raised his ears. _**Thank you for telling her that she does not have to live up to those with her team, or around you.**_

 _ **If you ask me, if people aren't comfortable around each other, they don't work as well together.**_ Ruby nodded. _**Well, you answered both my questions in there. Thank you for your time. I will let you get back to your Rider.**_ Ruby backed away from the dragon.

Fírnen snorted and turned toward his Rider but stopped before taking any steps. He faced Ruby once more. _**Has Saphira told you her news?**_

 _ **I don't think so. What is it?**_

The dragon's pupils bulged for a second before returning to normal. _**I swore I'd leave that to her. Even if I didn't, it's not my place.**_ He turned away again and walked toward his Rider. He stayed at a respectful distance while Cerise and Arya finished up. About a minute later, Cerise snorted and stepped back. Arya nodded at the dragon and walked to her dragon's side. The elf ran a hand under her dragon's snout before mounting him. Fírnen jumped out of the park and flew up the mountain toward Haven.

Ruby smiled at the pair as they disappeared behind a few buildings. _They work well together._

 _That they do._ Cerise walked to her Rider's side. _Shall we go meet the others?_

 _Yeah. Let's blow their minds._ Ruby climbed up her dragon's side. Cerise jumped out of the park and flew toward the house the Riders rented for their stay. _What does Arya think of Fírnen?_

 _The world of course, but she doesn't know if he'll be the best leader._

 _He hasn't exactly had many opportunities, especially since he's here and all other dragons his age aren't anywhere near here. Maybe we could get him and Orchid together. It wouldn't be much, but it would be something. That or get him back to Alagaësia to work with the others… Well, we do need to train everyone in being apart from their partners._

Cerise snorted. _**We**_ _still need to do that._

 _Yeah. When we put the others through that, I'll send you with the dragons._

 _And I'll make sure the Eldunarí give you enough protection._

 _That month's not going to be fun._

 _No, it won't._ Cerise paused. _What did Fírnen think of Arya?_

 _Pretty much the exact opposite. He adores Arya and thinks she's a great leader. If she has any problems, she'll fix them… or they'll come from her mother._

Cerise' ears stood up and she turned her head back a little. _Really? I never would have called that._

 _Me neither. I hope it's just her overprotective mom, not anything more. Still, I'd say Arya is a definite candidate._

Cerise faced forward again. _Fírnen, it's too soon to tell._

 _Agreed. Should we tell the others tonight?_

 _We have a candidate, so yes._

 _It's going to shock a few people, but it's necessary._ Cerise dipped her head. _Looks like Weiss and Saphira are here._ She angled down, revealing the blue dragon curled up in the yard of the house. Nalia lay on the other side, leaving just enough room for Cerise to land.

 _It's going to be a tight fit down there._

 _Don't worry. Nalia and I are used to it. If there's a problem, it will be from Saphira._

 _Got it. Play nice._

Cerise snorted. _When don't I?_ She flared her wings and landed beside the curled-up dragon. She crouched and Ruby slid off. _Make sure your husband hasn't made a mess, will you?_

"Since you don't smell anything, I'm guessing that's a no." Ruby walked around her dragon's snout and toward the blue dragon. "Hey, Saphira. Comfortable?"

Saphira hummed, but it was much quieter than a dragon's hum normally was. She touched her mind to Ruby's and the Rider felt the dragon's happiness roll off her. _I am, but not as much as the tiny one under my wing._

"Tiny one?" Ruby cocked her head, then it clicked. "Oh! _That_ tiny one!" She covered her mouth with her hands. "Please tell me he isn't sleeping."

 _He isn't._ Saphira laughed, sounding just as light and happy as her head.

"Good." Ruby sighed as she walked around Saphira. The wing wasn't closed like she thought from the air. It just provided a canopy for those underneath. Weiss and Blake sat on one of Saphira's paws and Saphira's head hung just beside her Rider's. A baby boy with a pair of lemur ears sticking out of his head lay in Weiss' lap. The CEO smiled down at the baby while stroking his furred ears.

Ruby contained her squeal but didn't stop her legs from bouncing. She walked toward her sisters, her eyes locked on baby Jamie the whole way. "Oh my gosh! He's so cute!"

Weiss and Blake looked up while Saphira kept her eyes glued on the baby. "He is, isn't he?" Blake asked.

"He gets that from his mother." Weiss elbowed her teammate without disturbing Jamie.

"There's that, but he definitely gets his strength from Sun."

"Oh really?" Ruby leaned over Jamie and smiled at him. The baby finally noticed her. Jamie smiled up at her and giggled. "Hi, Jamie." Ruby reached a finger forward and the baby latched on with all of his own. His grip was pretty strong for a baby. "Wow, you were right."

"You think I'd lie about my baby?" Blake smirked. "You're better than that."

"Not lie. Exaggerate, yes, but not lie." A thought came to Ruby's head, not all of it based on the cuteness factor. "Blake, can I get a video of all this?"

"Ruby, you don't need to ask about something like that."

"Yeah, I do." Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. "I've said publicly that dragons can rock babies to sleep, but most people have never seen that gentler side…"

Blake's face evened out. "You want to use my baby… for a PR campaign?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" Ruby slumped over and poked the tips of her index fingers together.

Blake stared at Ruby for a few more seconds before sighing. "Well, I suppose any video that we take would get out there eventually."

"You can change your mind anytime between now and when Coco uploads it." Ruby took out her Scroll and opened the camera app. She started recording and nodded at Saphira.

The blue dragon hummed and inched her head closer to Jamie. She sniffed and hummed even more. The baby giggled and reached up for Saphira's snout. The dragon lowered her snout to nuzzle Jamie's face. That drew out even more laughs. Ruby's former smile regrew on her face. This was so cute. Saphira pulled her head back. She hummed increasing in pitch while rotating her head until it was upside down. That drew the biggest laughs yet, including some from Weiss and Blake.

 _This should get people to trust dragons a little more… and since it's all happening on Weiss' lap, it'll be a few points for her too._

"Dinner is ready!" Viki called from inside the rental house.

Ruby ended the recording and put her Scroll away. "Let's go eat. Have either of you had Viki's beef stew?"

Both Weiss and Blake shook their heads. "I've been in Menagerie too much," Blake said.

"I'll probably like it more than most things I have it Atlas." Weiss handed Jamie back to his mother.

"C'mon." Ruby air batted a hand at her partner. "The few meals I've had at your place are great."

"My chefs try to stay professional at all times." Weiss stood up and straightened her dress. "That, and they haven't taken kindly to my new tastes."

"What? They don't like redneck cuisine?" Ruby smirked.

Weiss returned the gesture. "Not a bit."

"Am I missing a joke here?" Blake asked as she stood up cradling her baby.

"A bit, yeah." Ruby giggled and walked out of Saphira's wing tent and into the house. Yang, Sun and Aaron were finishing up setting the table. Aaron didn't look nearly as green as before. "Feeling better, honey?"

Aaron looked up. "A bit, yeah. Still not the best though."

"We all warned you." Ruby kissed Aaron on the cheek and sat at the table. The rest of team RWBAY sat around the table while Sun and Viki carried the stew pot and a basket of buns respectively. Blake also set Jamie in a high chair and had her own set of baby food in front of her.

"Dinner is served," Sun announced as he set the huge pot on the table. "If this tastes half as good as it smells, I'll be content with my life."

"Thank you." Viki slid on the bun basket. "I've been working on it all day."

"If Sun's good for anything," Blake started, "it's manual labor."

"Hey!" Sun used his tail to hit Blake in the back of the head. "I'm good for more than that."

"True." Blake shrugged. "The only thing I can fix is Gambol Shroud."

Weiss raised a hand. "Same here, sis."

The dinner talk went on with the same levity with only a little talk about the tournament. That part was headed up mostly by Ruby. The dragons even joined in on a few parts from the outside through the wide-open glass doorway. Everyone was in such a good mood. Ruby didn't like that she could very well destroy it.

After everything was cleaned up from dinner, the whole group gathered outside between the dragons. The discussion from dinner carried on outside, but Ruby could tell Weiss and Saphira were leading them places. Fírnen did say Saphira had something.

After a moment of silence, Weiss stood up from her dragon's paw. "We have an announcement to make, or rather, she does." She nodded at her dragon.

Saphira rose her head and her ears stuck up. _Two days past, we discovered that I am carrying my first clutch._

Ruby's jaw dropped, then her lips curved upward. "Oh my gosh!" She jumped off her dragon's right paw and clapped. Everyone else gave Saphira their own congratulations. Nalia even draped a wing over the young dragon. Ruby wanted to launch herself at Saphira… but would that be alright? Just because Weiss was a hugger that didn't mean her dragon was.

Saphira looked straight at the excited Rider. _Ruby, please, hug me before you explode. I don't want to clean you up._

"EEEE!" Ruby used her Semblance and launched herself at Saphira. She wrapped her arms around the dragon's neck. "I'm so happy for you! You'll be a great mother! Your hatchlings will be so cute and they'll grow up into beautiful and powerful dragons!"

 _Ruby… I need to breathe._

"Sorry." Ruby dropped to the ground and backed away. She rubbed her bionic arm. "I don't know my own strength when I'm excited."

 _A likely story._ Saphira snorted smoke at Ruby. _I thank you for your kind words._

All the others said congratulations in their own way while Ruby returned to her dragon's right paw. She wiped the soot off her face as she listened in on what everyone else was saying. When everyone was finished, Cerise sighed. _Well, that ruined both of our announcements._

Yang scoffed on Cerise' other paw. "What, are you carrying too?"

Cerise blinked. _Yes._

Yang's jaw dropped. "That was supposed to be a joke, but I'm happy it's not."

"Really?" Weiss jumped off her seat on Saphira's tail.

 _It sounds like we found out the day before Saphira did,_ Cerise hummed. _Vert's ecstatic. This time we're thinking they'll all be wild dragons._

Weiss squealed and ran toward Cerise. She jumped and latched herself onto the dragon's face. Ruby only heard mumbles coming from her partner, but whatever the words were, they were for Cerise, not her.

Sun threw his hands up, then brought them back down. "Is it dragon mating season or something?"

Nalia cocked her head. _It is, but I'm surprised we're all on the same cycle. I guess all the back and forth between here and Alagaësia leveled us out._

"You're feeling it too?" Blake asked.

 _All dragons do. It's just that all males alive are too young or consider me their mother._ Nalia pulled her lips back for a second. _Well, there are Shruikan and Glaedr…_

"Okay!" Aaron stood up from one of his dragon's paws. "I did _not_ need to know that!" Everyone not bonded to a dragon laughed while those who were blushed and faced the ground. They all knew what happened there.

After Cerise took in all of her own congratulations, Weiss faced Ruby. "You said you had two announcements, and judging by the other two, you're pregnant."

Ruby shook her head. "I wish." She paused. "I don't know if those two announcements ruined this one, or this one ruins the other two. I'm sure you all know that Cerise and I flew out to meet Arya and Fírnen earlier, but it wasn't a social visit. We were testing them, and it looks like we have a candidate for my eventual successor as leader of the Dragon Riders."

No one spoke, no one moved, Ruby wasn't sure if anyone breathed in the aftermath of her announcement. "Suc… successor?" Yang finally asked.

"Is this about what Oromis said?" Aaron asked.

"This started way before that." Ruby flicked her eyes to Viki who sat next to her brother. The former slave still didn't know about the Eldunarí, and as much as it killed Ruby, she didn't think Viki could keep them a secret. Viki would find out eventually about Arya, but it would be better if she heard now. Ruby focused on Aaron again. "This started in the Vault of Souls when I truly became the leader of the Riders. I don't know if you heard it, but I was told that I wouldn't even be considered for the position back before the Fall."

 _Who told you that?_ Nalia growled.

Ruby hesitated. "Vrael."

Viki looked between Ruby and Nalia. "Who's Vrael?"

"The leader of the Riders before Ruby," Aaron said. "I don't understand the magic behind it, but… I'll compare it to the dialogue in video games."

"Oh." Viki nodded.

 _Thanks, Aaron,_ Ruby thought to her second in command.

"Why?" Weiss asked. "You killed a Shade-"

 _-you brought down many of the Forsworn-_ Saphira continued.

"-you led a combined attack on Urû'baen-"

 _-you killed Galbatorix-_

"-and you're helping rebuild the Riders now."

 _Why would they not want you in charge?_

Ruby blinked and looked between Weiss and Saphira. "What just happened there?"

Both dragon and Rider blinked, then looked at each other. Weiss shrugged. "Something that's happened a few times while talking business… or how we feel about Whitley."

 _Don't change the subject,_ Saphira snorted.

Ruby sighed. "Yeah, I'm a war hero. But with all the bad that's happened in between the good, if I was a soldier in any Remmartian military, I'd be medically or honorably discharged, or both if that's possible. There's no way I'd stay active with my PTSD. I've made so many boneheaded decisions that would have the old Riders rolling over in their graves. Like how I wasted valuable Rider resources on finding out how to stop part of my head from making my and Aaron's relationship difficult," Aaron shifted on Nalia's leg, his face getting red, "or how I blew how many people could know some of our biggest secrets." Blake glanced at Sun, then back at Ruby with a knowing light in her eyes. "Qrow doesn't get along with her, but it would have been nice to get Winter on our side." Weiss perked up at that and gave Ruby a small smile.

"No offense, Weiss," Sun started, "but she's an Atlas Specialist. Can we really trust her?"

 _The headmasters of the Academies, including Ironwood, have a group to protect the Maidens, among other things,_ Cerise said. _We agreed that they were capable of sharing our knowledge as well._

"Except Professor Plum." Ruby shook her head. "Maybe whoever his replacement is for next year, but not him. I don't even think Glynda or Ironwood have filled him in on what's going on beneath Haven."

"You're not going to fight this?" Blake asked.

"Right now, I have no intention to. Honestly, I miss the days when it was just team RWBAY and our dragons. It was just us, we watched each other's backs, there weren't many people on Remnant calling for our heads… I know the odds of getting the team back together for real are slim to none, but in the future, that might change. I am so much better at small group tactics rather than battle strategy."

"Ruby, just say the word and we'll back you up," Yang said.

 _They can't fight all of us,_ Halcyon growled from Yang's side.

"And cause another Rider Civil War? Not a chance." Ruby shook her head.

 _None of your loyalty is in question,_ Cerise said. _We would all fight by each other's side, to the death if it came to that._

"Also, this may seem counterproductive, but… very few of you ever challenge me. I'd like to think that means I'm a good leader and my plans work, but what if I lead us off a cliff? It could be nice to get competing points of view." Ruby paused. "It comes down to competence… and politics. We all know how I feel about that."

Weiss sighed. "How long do you have?"

"As soon as Arya or whoever my successor is ready. But that's as it currently stands. Oromis may ask me to stay on longer, or there could be a conflict where a change in leadership isn't a good thing. No matter what the situation is, I expect all of you to give my successor the same respect you give me." There were nods all around, but everyone stayed silent. "Sorry guys. I've just been holding onto this for too long."

The house' doorbell sounded inside. Ruby popped her head up and faced the house. "I killed the mood, I'll see who it is." She stood off her dragon's paw and walked into the house. Ruby crossed the open first floor and opened the door. To her surprise, one of Arya's opponents from earlier stood on the other side. "Hi. You're Oscar Pine, right?"

"Yeah." Oscar rubbed the back of his neck. "It's… nice to finally meet you."

Ruby nodded, but something was off… like why would he come here in the first place? "That was a nice fight against Arya earlier. Not many people can fight an elf for that long."

"Thanks. I've…" Oscar narrowed his eyes and looked away from Ruby. "Shut up, I'm getting there."

Ruby quirked her face. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah…" Oscar raised his head. "I'm supposed to tell you," the two locked eyes, "I'd like my cane back."

Ruby stiffened. That was the code phrase. She stretched her mind into Oscar's. Sure enough, there were two minds in there, two Auras, two souls. One she had known for years. She let her shoulders drop. "I don't have it. It's with Glynda back at Beacon." She searched outside with her mind for any prying eyes. "Come in. Everyone else is out back."

Oscar stepped inside the house. "Everyone else?"

"My command staff… minus Qrow and plus Viki." Ruby stepped in front of Oscar and looked him over. Judging by his overalls, some tan lines, and his weapon, he was a farmer. He had the build of one too. It was a wonder he was so fast. "You're the one Ozpin infected."

Oscar shifted on his feet. "Infected?"

"Surely he's told you about what he is?"

"He's… told me his situation and what you think of him. It sounds like there's a big difference."

"Of course, a parasite would make his presence sound less threatening." Oscar just stared at Ruby with an open mouth. "If and when you feel like a slave in your own body, you'll know what I mean."

"I… uh…"

Ruby sighed. "Sorry, Oscar. I'm not mad at you. You seem like a good guy. The thing in your head, not so much… But he knows the most about Salem on Remnant and he can't die until she's killed, so we need him. Come on Oscar. I need to introduce you to everyone." Oscar nodded, then Ruby turned around and led the way to the backyard.

Cerise glared through the open doors at Oscar as he approached, but to his credit, he didn't shrink from it. Ruby entered the circle created by the dragons. She and Oscar got a few weird looks. "Everyone, there's someone I'd like you to meet, or should I say reintroduce?"

Oscar stepped forward, his upper body slumped. "Hi, uh. My name is Oscar Pine. But you may know me as… Professor Ozpin?" He sounded unsure on that last part.

Everyone but Viki jumped to their feet. Saphira and Nalia raised their heads and ears. Nalia then pulled her ears back and peeled her lips apart. _That explains Cerise the past minute._

"Ozpin?" Weiss asked. "How?"

"Long story short," Ruby started, "he's in a position similar to the Maidens, only worse."

"If I may," Oscar started, "I… er… he…" He sighed. "Just so you know, I'll still be here." He stiffened and his Aura flared. After that, he straightened and clasped his hands behind his back. "It is so good to see you all again." His voice was distorted, like there were two people talking at once. Ruby stretched her mind to Oscar. The boy's mind was no longer dominant.

Ruby scowled. "Ozpin, what the hell?"

Ozpin raised Oscar's hand toward Ruby. "Oscar has given me permission to do this." Ruby crossed her arms and looked away. She'd given her mom permission twice, but it was her or Galbatorix, and Yang needed to hear something from her. Neither was very long. With Ozpin… he still probably wasn't hostile, but he was taking control in a non-combat situation, and he'd take full control in the future.

"Ruby, did you really not tell the others about my existence?" Ozpin asked.

"Glynda asked us not to," Aaron said. "She said that only vital people needed know. For us, that was Ruby, Oromis, me, and our dragons. She listed us by name."

"Despite my protests that my whole command staff needed to know." Ruby returned her glare to Ozpin. "Glynda's been putting up with you for so long. I'm trusting she knows something I don't."

Ozpin nodded. "How much do they know about the rest?"

Ruby hesitated, then sighed and faced Viki. "Could you go wait inside? We're going to be talking business."

"O… of course." Viki stood up off Nalia's paw and walked toward the house. She looked over her shoulder at Oscar before she stepped inside and closed the doors.

"Well, Ozpin," Ruby faced the parasite in Oscar's body. "We all know about the relics and how the Maidens get to them, and now we all know you're a parasite. Am I missing anything?"

Oscar's hijacked shoulders slumped. "I am sorry you feel that way about me." He faced the others in the dragon circle. "I am sure the rest of you have your own opinions of my current situation."

"More like confusion at this point." Sun rubbed the back of his head. "How are you alive?"

"How do you have two Auras?" Weiss asked.

"I think I technically do too," Ruby said. "Just my mom's is very weak at this point."

"I assure you all," Ozpin continued, "I am the same man you knew during your time at Beacon." Ruby bit her lip to keep herself from a snide remark. "I still wholeheartedly support everything you Riders do, and I will do my best to help your standing at Haven. I can assure you, Professor Plum will not be Haven's headmaster for the next school year."

"Finally, some good news," Ruby muttered. "I don't suppose you have any plans for Salem?"

Ozpin faced Ruby. "As you can imagine, I have been out of touch for several months."

"The big things, Vacuo hasn't descended into Civil War, so the rogue tribes probably know we're onto them, or Raven dismantled them before she was killed. I didn't need to know for sure. Either way, I'm still expecting them to move when our backs are turned."

"The White Fang's pretty much gone too," Yang said. "We lost Raven, but we won." She dipped her head and didn't say any more.

"The biggest thing is we found out who killed Vernal," Blake said. "Ilia Amitola, one of my former friends from my White Fang days."

"If it wasn't confirmed before, it is now," Ruby started. "The White Fang is, or was, working with Salem. Ilia put on a glove that a beatle like Grimm popped out of and spat something at me. I'd have to guess that she was trying to suck my Maiden Magic out of me."

Ozpin stiffened. "She has resorted to that tactic again." He brought a hand to his chin. "I have only known Salem's minions to use the glove when they couldn't otherwise kill the current Maiden."

"So I should be expecting that again?"

"Possibly, but not for a while. Salem is not kind to those who fail her."

"Considering just about everyone my mom knew about has failed her recently, how long are we talking?"

"It could be months, it could be years until retaliation."

"Well, whichever it is, we'll be ready." Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Now bring Oscar back. We were trying to have a nice party."

Ozpin closed Oscar's eyes and their Aura flared again. Oscar sighed and opened his eyes. "Wow, uh…" he rubbed the back of his head and shrunk away from Ruby. "You're scary when you get mad."

Ruby sighed and allowed herself to relax. "I know, and I hate getting like that."

"You sure?" Yang asked with eyebrows raised. "You seemed pretty comfortable there."

"No one's used your True Name against you, Yang."

"But I was there when the Eldunarí messed with our heads."

Ruby winced. "Yeah…" She shook her head. "Is there any chance that we could go back to where we were beforehand?"

The others exchanged glances. _I don't think so,_ Nalia said.

"Well then… I guess I'm going to bed. Oscar, you know the way out." Ruby turned around and walked into the house. She probably wouldn't get that much sleep that night, but oh well. She needed to try.

As she neared the staircase, Viki walked toward her from another part of the house. "Ruby? I've heard you mention it before, but I don't know who they are. Who are the Maidens?"

Ruby stiffened and sighed. That did just happen, didn't it? Well, at least with them, the only ones that knew what she was and could hurt her already knew. She couldn't tell Viki about the Eldunarí, but this she could... and she would be another option in case the worst happened. "Viki, do not tell what I'm about to tell you to anyone outside my team, CfVY, or JNPR."

* * *

 **Now the first 'half' of Reconstruction is over. There's going to be no break in uploads, but be ready for a major time skip, the biggest one so far. Honestly, its going to happen a lot in the future too.  
**

 **Now, for last weeks episode... Qrow, I know Ozpin used pretty much everyone he'd ever known, but you just punched a 14 year old kid! Come on, old man! Not cool! Huh... I just realized between this and canon, everyone's opinions of Ozpin are switched. In canon, Ruby is the only one that doesn't outright hate Ozpin and in this Ruby is the only one that does. Not intentional at all.**

 **PSA: If you haven't seen Wreck-it-Ralph 2, stick around until after the credits. It's worth the wait.**


	53. Frustration

**Welcome to the new upload schedule, because screw waking up even earlier to get this uploaded (at least I'll get a nice paycheck). It could take a while for me to get used to it, but hopefully not too long.  
**

* * *

Ruby dove out of the way of another fireball and into a small rut. She popped out of it, formed a massive ice spike, and launched it at her opponent. The other Maiden punched the ground and a small wall of stone popped out. Ruby jumped fully out of the rut and charged the stone wall. She pushed her left arm in front of her and slammed it into the stone. The wall shattered, peppering its creator with chunks of itself. The Maiden made some of the rocks form a gauntlet around her left hand. She swung around and punched her opponent in the stomach with her bionic fist, then her stone gauntlet. The other Maiden flew through the air and slammed into a nearby cliff face.

The Rider drew Máni Bláto in its sword form and used her Semblance to run forward. Before the other Maiden could recover, Ruby had the edge of her magically guarded blade pressed against her opponent's neck. She blinked at her sword, then her opponent. "Pyrrha, did I really just beat you?"

Pyrrha nodded over the blade. "I think you just did."

Ruby smiled and pulled her weapon back. "I guess there's a first time for everything." She helped her friend out of the indent in the rock. "Sorry I shoved you into a cliff like that."

"Don't worry about it." Pyrrha waved a hand in front of herself. "That's how some fights go."

"I know. I just thought that was a little harsh for a spar." Ruby shrugged. She couldn't help but think she only beat Pyrrha because this was her first fight after her second baby. "You ready for another round, or do we wait a bit?"

Pyrrha looked around the area. "I think we've devastated the island enough for one day.

Ruby turned around and nodded. Some fires still burned, stone and ice spikes grew everywhere, and dozens of trees lay uprooted or snapped in half. "Yeah. Probably. So glad Sharktooth Island is uninhabited." She raised her head to where Cerise flew above the island. "We're done here. Could you pick us up?"

 _I'm on my way._ Cerise pulled her wings to her sides and dove for the island. She landed beside the two Maidens and shook the ground. Ruby smiled up at her dragon. She'd grown a lot in the past few years, yet she was still the same fierce yet cuddly dragon that she was way back when. _Good work Ruby._ She dipped her snout to Ruby's level.

"Thanks, Cerise." Ruby rubbed her dragon's snout. "Ready to head home?"

 _I am._ Cerise settled on her belly. _Climb up and let's fly._

Ruby did as she was told and settled in the saddle. She helped Pyrrha up as well. "We're ready."

 _Hold on._ Cerise jumped into the air and flew west, away from mainland Alagaësia.

As Cerise glided down toward the ocean, Ruby heard something in her pocket. She took out her Scroll and blinked in surprise. One of the elves in Islanzadí's court was on her Scroll. She didn't know his name, just his face. _"Yes?"_

" _Shadeslayer,"_ the elf gave a polite bow, _"the Queen requests your presence in Ellesméra."_

" _Is this about the Dagshelgr Invocation?"_

The elf shook his head. _"Our spellcasters believe they have severed the connection between Morzan and the former slaves of Dras-Leona."_

Ruby stiffened and nodded. _"Cerise and I will be there as soon as possible. Do you already have elves in human cities?"_

" _We do, and they know what to look for. They have also informed us that the connection has been broken."_

" _Thank you for telling me. I will be there as soon as possible."_ Ruby put her Scroll back in a pocket and turned around to face Pyrrha. "You hear all that?"

Pyrrha nodded. "I understood enough."

 _I'll drop you off at home,_ Cerise said. _Say hi to Sarah for us._

"I will if you two make sure that no one else is killed like that."

 _Will do._ Cerise landed at the edge of the beach. Ruby cast the between worlds spell from her dragon's back. A minute later the water swirled and Cerise jumped through. The dragon angled for JNPR's duplex in the residential district. They hadn't lived in the building long, only about a year since Jaune and Pyrrha needed more space with their second child. Since it was a new construction, Ren and Nora moved in next door.

Cerise landed in the backyard and Pyrrha jumped off. The huntress waved as the dragon flew toward the strait. One spell later and she flew over Du Weldenvarden. _It's about time they found a way to sever that bond._

 _Three and a half years._ Ruby nodded. _Two too late. If only Leo didn't betray us. So many people would still be alive._

 _And now, the deaths of so many will be avenged._ Cerise growled. _By the end of the day, the last of the Forsworn will be dead._

 _Yeah…_ Ruby bit her lip and turned away.

Cerise turned her head back with her teeth bared but didn't slow down. _What are you thinking? That Morzan should live and walk again?_

 _No. He was a terrible person that should never see the light of day again. He doesn't even deserve to be unfrozen. If he escapes, who knows what he would do? But… killing him in his state?_

 _Then don't do it yourself. Let me._

Ruby locked eyes with her dragon. Part of her wanted to say yes. The other… _Cerise, we're not like that. We're not executioners, we're not assassins, we're not murderers. We don't seek revenge. We don't compromise those for anyone… no matter how much we want to._

Cerise closed her lips. _Ruby, I know what you believe. I want to too. But Morzan was Galbatorix' right-hand man. He helped make it possible to take down the old Order. He killed so many people and dragons. He deserves to die._

 _No one deserves to die… but he's too much of a threat to be left alive._ Ruby sighed. _Cerise, I don't know what to do._

 _If it makes you feel any better,_ Cerise faced forward again, _his fate is out of our hands. We cannot stop the elves from doing what they will._

 _We can… just not without turning all of Alagaësia against us and possibly declaring war._

Cerise snorted. _You've been in a good mood lately._

 _Yeah, well, I wish tomorrow night wouldn't have to happen. There is so much there that I don't want to deal with._

 _Many people on Remnant may not agree with that._

 _Until they experience it and wake up the next day covered in gashes, scars, covered in blood, and/or missing parts of themselves, if they wake up at all._

Cerise grumbled. _There is that._

Ruby shivered. _It's a good thing Aaron and I have wards._ She shook her head. _Enough of those thoughts… I don't even want happy thoughts with where we're going._

The rest of the flight continued in silence, with the only communication between dragon and Rider being Ruby occasionally rubbing Cerise' scales. A few hours later, Gilderien the Wise granted them access to Ellesméra. Cerise turned toward the prison behind Tialdarí hall. She landed in the surprisingly empty clearing right outside. Glaedr was nowhere in sight. Ruby thought for sure he and Oromis would be there.

The Rider shook her head and slid off her dragon's back. Ruby walked into the prison, paying the guards outside no mind. This time, there were more sets of guards in the stairwell, each one more well-armed than the last. The elves took no chances after what happened to Pruma.

Ruby reached the prison block and entered Morzan's cell. The Forsworn was still as frozen as the day the Maiden made him like that. Queen Islanzadí, Invidia, and Brom also stood in the cell, both of them glaring down at the human popsicle. The former Rider gripped his sword so hard his knuckles turned white.

The Queen turned around to face Ruby. _"Shadeslayer, you are later than I expected."_

" _My apologies. Cerise is between armor sets so I couldn't hang her jets safely."_ Ruby locked her eyes on Invidia. _"You think you severed his connection?"_

Invidia nodded. _"I know I did. If Morzan dies, no one else will."_

" _Do you mind if I check myself?"_

" _By all means."_ Invidia gestured at the frozen traitor.

Ruby focused on Morzan's body and started chanting in the Ancient Language. She'd learned a few spells over the years from the elves and Eldunarí that could detect that kind of bond. She went through all she knew before relaxing. _"I'm feeling nothing. Morzan is separated from the former slaves."_

" _Finally,"_ Brom growled. Before Ruby could do anything, Brom drew Unbitr and swung it. The dark blue blade cut right through Morzan's neck. There wasn't a speck of red anywhere on it. The frozen head fell to the floor and shattered on impact. Ruby stared with her mouth open at Brom. She didn't expect that. It was probably a good thing everyone was facing Brom and not her.

The former Rider sighed and let his sword arm hang by his side. His upper body slumped forward. _"It's done. Saphira, you are avenged."_ Brom sheathed Undbitr but stayed hunched over.

Ruby crossed her arms. _"You've had your revenge. What now?"_

Brom straightened up and faced Ruby. _"I would like to return to my duties, training the Riders of the future."_

Ruby nodded. _"Make sure they know the dangers of seeking revenge. We don't need our apprentices getting themselves or others killed."_

Brom stared at Ruby for a few seconds, then nodded. _"We are agreed."_

The head Rider faced Invidia. _"You and your team did good work. You should be proud."_

Invidia straightened. _"Thank you, Shadeslayer. I will pass your kind words to the elves that assisted me."_

Ruby turned to the last live person in the room. _"I will spread the word on Remnant of Morzan's death. All embassies in all Kingdoms will know of this. There will be songs sung all over Remnant."_

" _Indeed there will be."_ Islanzadí turned between the two Riders in the cell. _"You two have done us all a great service by vanquishing this fiend."_

" _I was just doing my job."_ Ruby shrugged.

" _It was my pleasure."_ Brom bowed to Islanzadí. Ruby hoped her face stayed passive. Maybe it was a good thing Brom jumped the gun and no one understood the real meaning of her words.

" _Where are Oromis and Glaedr?"_ Ruby asked. _"I figured they would want to see this too."_

Any happiness in Islanzadí vanished. _"Oromis had another of his attacks while checking for the same things you did. Glaedr brought him back to their hut long before you arrived."_

" _Oh."_ Ruby looked down and to the right. Oromis' problem wasn't nearly as bad as Nora's was, but it still wasn't good. The pain blocking spell used on Nora didn't work on him either. The Rider raised her head and faced the Queen. _"I must be off. I have duties on Remnant that I need to take care of other than spreading the word."_

" _Of course."_ Islanzadí nodded. _"I will not keep you."_

Ruby turned around and left the cell. As she walked up to the stairs to the exit, she noticed something on one of the guard's belts. She stopped and stared at what looked like a genuine Dustlock pistol, or at least one that was elven made. It had a trigger, relatively short barrel, and an oversized hammer by modern standards. Ruby continued walking and tried to keep her face and shoulders level. _Alagaësia has firearms… At least they didn't go right to assault rifles… maybe…_

The head Rider left the prison and walked to her dragon. Cerise hadn't moved an inch from where she landed. _That went well,_ she said.

 _Don't start._ Ruby climbed her dragon's side. _Just get me to the lake so we can get home._

Cerise jumped over the trees and flew toward the nearest lake. _Are you okay, Gem?_

 _Let's see, Brom just executed Morzan without prompting, the technological infection has reached Dustlock or whatever they're calling those guns stage, and Aaron and I have to come back here tomorrow night. What is there to feel okay about?_

 _You beat Pyrrha._

 _After she was out of commission for almost a year from carrying Sarah. She couldn't improve while I did._ Ruby dipped her head. _Mom's getting harder to reach too._

 _Gem, so many of those things are beyond your control._

 _Like that makes any of them better._ Ruby shook her head. _I just… want milk, cookies, a cold room and warm blankets… I don't want to think._ Cerise turned her head back. She hummed sadly but said nothing.

The dragon landed by the lake and Ruby cast the spell from her dragon's back. Cerise jumped through the new portal. They flew right above their house in the mountains. The dragon landed on the secondary pad and knelt down on it. Ruby jumped off her dragon's back and walked through the doors into the command level. She barely even thought about the magic that opened the door when she got close anymore. It was just an automatic door without electricity.

Ruby walked into the room in the command center used for communication across Remnant without using the CCT. One wall was a mirror while the one opposite that had the Rider's logo painted on surrounded by blue. She could contact multiple people at a time with the oversized mirror, but in this case, it would be better to contact one embassy at a time.

The Rider cast the spell to call others. Colors near the center of the mirror blended into each other and formed into a room with the entire back wall covered in foliage. Lord Däthedr sat behind a desk writing something. He looked up from his work and at Ruby. _"Greetings, Shadeslayer."_ The elf nodded. _"To what do I owe this pleasure?"_

" _You are the head elf in Vale and the first one on Remnant to know. Morzan is dead. No former slaves died with him."_

Däthedr straightened in his seat. _"Is that so?"_

" _It is. I was there when Brom cut the traitor's head off. Since it was still frozen, it shattered on the ground. There's no coming back from that."_

A genuine smile appeared on Däthedr's face, one of the first times Ruby had seen any emotion out of him. _"That is great news. I will inform everyone here at once."_

Ruby nodded. _"I am informing all other embassies on Remnant as well. I will leave you to your work."_ She ended the spell and suppressed a grimace. "Why is it okay to celebrate someone's death?" She half expected an answer from Cerise or the Eldunarí, but Cerise stayed silent and the Eldunarí were too far underground to reach her.

The Rider shook her head and faced the mirror again. She proceeded to call every other Alagaësian embassy on Remnant one by one, saying much the same thing as she did to Däthedr. None of the elves did anything other than smile. The dwarves and humans looked like they were going to start partying right then and there, even the ones in Mistral when it was late at night. Ruby hoped she kept an even face. Beneath the surface, her anger boiled up.

When all the embassies were informed, Ruby magically called her husband. Maybe he would be a little more sensible. The mirror showed the inside of a pocket. "Hey, Aaron, you got a moment?"

A few seconds later, fingers appeared and grabbed the Scroll. Aaron took his Scroll out of his pocket and lifted it to his face. It looked like he got a little bit of a tan since he started guarding the highway construction crews. "Hi, Ruby. Let me get out of the sun here." Aaron walked until he stopped by a wall of green scales. The area around him darkened and took a green tint. He took off his sunglasses and tipped up his hat. "How was your short trip?"

"A mixed bag." Ruby sighed and crossed her arms. "I beat Pyrrha, finally, but you know, Sarah." Aaron nodded but stayed silent. "As we were leaving, I got a call from the elves saying that Morzan is separated from the slaves. We flew there and confirmed it. The last of the Forsworn is dead."

Aaron stiffened and Nalia yelped. The dragon moved her head with translation band over her head into view. "Who? How?"

"Brom executed him. No prompting. I confirmed that Morzan was separated from them, then Brom just cut his head off."

Aaron relaxed and Nalia growled, but it wasn't her angry growl. "Then what's the problem?" Aaron asked. "The last of the Forsworn is dead. We should be celebrating."

Ruby dropped her jaw, then glared at her husband. "Seriously, Aaron?" She swiped her left hand in front of her and stopped the energy flow to the spell at the same time. "Of _course_ he wouldn't be sensible! He's Alagaësian. That's what they do. Steal a loaf of bread? Get your hand cut off! Rob a bank? Get publicly hanged! Kill someone? You don't get a trial. You get executed on the spot!" She leaned her forehead against the painted wall. "Aaron, after all we'd been through, I'd think at least you'd get that we don't do that."

The Rider pushed off the wall and stalked out of the room. Ruby skulked to the elevator and rode it up. When she reached the house level, she realized how hot she was getting. She took several slow and deep breaths before stepping out. She was still angry, but she shouldn't take it out on whoever was in the Hall.

Cerise lay near the sitting area with Viki, Yang, and Halcyon standing right in front of the dragon. Ruby walked over to them and hoped she wouldn't explode… then she remembered what Viki did that day. If the former slave passed, that could be huge for her. "Hey guys," Ruby called when she got close. "How's it going?"

Yang turned her head to Ruby and sighed. "Compared to her," Yang gestured at Viki, "my day has gone terribly."

"Really?" Ruby faced her little sister. "I take it you have good news?"

Viki nodded and smiled. "I passed. I got my GED, or at least I will when it gets through the mail."

Ruby's smile rivaled Viki's. "Congratulations!" She hugged her sister in law and it was returned just as hard. "I'm so proud of you, Viki."

"Thank you, sister." Viki squeezed Ruby once before pulling away.

"So what do you want to do now?"

"Well, for now, I think I'll stick to streaming. But in the future… I'm thinking about baking school, maybe open my own bakery in the city or on Patch."

Ruby blinked and glanced at her sister. _You know about this?_

 _First time I'm hearing it._ Yang shrugged.

 _If you do that,_ Halcyon started, speaking to everyone, _I need taste buds._

"I'm working on it, Halcyon." Ruby sighed. "With my backlog of bionic recipients, it's not my priority."

 _I know. I just really want to taste Viki's cooking._

Viki blushed. "Thanks, Halcyon." She pat the metal dragon on the head.

"Hey Vik," Yang started, "can you take Halcyon's Core out to the Bullhead? Ruby and I need to talk."

"Of course." Viki turned toward the main landing pad and Halcyon trotted along beside her.

Yang faced Ruby and crossed her arms. "Cerise told me what happened. You feeling okay?"

Ruby slumped her whole body. "No. Brom just… executed him."

"Can you really blame him?"

"Yes!" Ruby bit her lower lip. "No…" She sighed. "I wasn't there, Yang. I didn't see Galbatorix rise to power. I'm glad I wasn't, and I'm glad no Eldunarí are near to show me what happened on Vroengard."

 _But we do know his pain,_ Cerise growled. _Remember the collar?_

Ruby shivered. "How could I forget?"

 _You said you would want me to burn down that building and everyone in it if they ever put that on you again._

"Yeah but… neither of us are dead."

"Trust me, Ruby," Yang started. "That doesn't matter." She grimaced. "If I could, I'd kill Silia and her dragon again, especially her dragon. I'd do it over and over again with no remorse."

"We're not executioners. If someone dies on our watch, we failed."

Yang sighed then set a hand on one of her sister's shoulders. "Ruby, you know I don't want _you_ to change. Right now, I'm asking the leader of the Dragon Riders. What did Brom do wrong?"

Ruby dipped her head. "He didn't wait for orders and took revenge instead of dealing justice."

"That's it." Yang removed her hand and stepped back. "But you've been stressed since Aaron left for the Armen Highway project. What's up with that? Something going on between you two?"

"No… Yes?" Ruby turned away and bit her lip. "We're going to the Dagshelgr Invocation tomorrow night."

"You two have done that before. I thought you said that it was one of the most beautiful things you've experienced."

"We're not helping out. We're… participating." Ruby shivered.

"Oh… wait, what?" Yang stared at Ruby like she suddenly grew a second head. "You two? Really?"

"Yep." Ruby popped the 'p' and felt her face burn hotter.

Yang shook her head. "I have to be getting things mixed up. Please tell me that's not the one that brings out everything's primal need to reproduce."

Ruby shook her head. "I wish. From the sound of it, emphasis on primal." She shivered again.

"Uh…" Yang rubbed the back of her neck. "You don't seem too excited about that. Aaron's not forcing you into this, is he?"

"No. We're _not_ going for _that_. During the Dagshelgr Invocation, anything and anyone that can get pregnant _will_ get pregnant."

Yang relaxed her body. "Oh. I thought you wanted to do it all naturally."

"We've tried that, Yang. We've _been_ trying for almost three years. We started adding magic in about a year ago and still nothing. If this doesn't work… Aaron and I can't have a baby together."

"That'll do it." Yang nodded.

"I don't want any of that other stuff. Neither of us do. I'm hoping it's a thing where we don't remember any of it when we wake up."

"Ruby, really, you haven't waited that long. It takes some people years."

"It _has_ been years." Ruby crossed her arms. "It doesn't help that so many of our friends had kids of their own in that time. Pyrrha, Blake, Cerise, Saphira, Velvet…" She shook her head. "I guess I'm getting jealous."

"Soooo… What happens if that doesn't work?"

Ruby closed her eyes and let her arms fall. "We adopt." She opened her eyes and faced Yang. "We've got no problem with it, heck, Aaron was adopted himself. But… we want our own, you know?"

"Yeah. I can see why you'd want a mini-me. I wouldn't mind one myself someday."

Ruby smiled at her sister. "You need a boyfriend before that could happen, sis." She gently punched Yang's right arm.

"Yeah, there's that little detail. Gotta find a guy who sees _me,_ not the actress-yeah, one movie and that's already happened-not the Rider, not just my body." Yang looked over her shoulder. "I should probably get to Viki. I've kept her waiting long enough."

"Have fun on set, you two." Ruby hugged her big sister.

"We will. See you next week." Yang pat Ruby's back before pulling away. "I better hear some good news from you when I get back."

"I'll try." Ruby nodded at her sister. Yang turned around and walked to the main landing pad. Ruby looked up at Cerise. "I suppose I should find something to do while Aaron cools down, shouldn't I?"

 _You never called Weiss,_ Cerise suggested.

"Oh yeah. I need to talk to her about other things too." Ruby walked toward the master bedroom. The massive door opened to let Cerise in as well. The Rider walked toward the full-length mirror by her dresser and started casting the spell before she stood in front of it. Colors blended into each other and a picture of Weiss' office appeared inside. Weiss sat behind her desk looking at her computer screen. Saphira lay on her platform behind her Rider.

The dragon snorted in Ruby's direction. Weiss faced her dragon, then followed Saphira's eyes. "Ruby!" Weiss pressed something on her desk. "Klein, hold my calls for the rest of the day. Ruby's calling." Weiss stepped away from her desk and walked over to the mirror in her office. "Hey, sis. How've you been?"

"There's good, there's bad. You seem to be pretty happy."

"Without boring you with technical details, our profits are up, public opinion is up," Weiss' smile grew, "and tomorrow Atlas' council is voting to repeal the business heir laws. It sounds like it's going to go in our favor."

"That's good. Does that mean you'll be stepping down soon?"

"Probably. I already have someone in mind to take my place. He was one of my first hires, he's been in charge of all operations on Anima since then, he's a friend of the Riders, and he's a Faunus. My grandfather would be so proud. My father, not so much. And, on the more personal side…" Weiss blushed and looked away. "Neptune and I might start trying for a baby soon."

That got a small smile out of Ruby. "Hope you have as much luck as Blake, Pyrrha, and Velvet."

Weiss crossed her arms. "Since when do you believe in luck?"

Ruby's smile disappeared. "Since I've gone almost three years without as much as a false positive.

Weiss dipped her head and looked away. "Right." She faced Ruby again. "Something tells me you didn't call me just to hear my updates."

"I didn't. Morzan's dead." Ruby raised a hand when Saphira snapped her head toward the mirror and Weiss slouched. "No one else died. Just Morzan."

"Oh, thank god." Weiss sighed. "I didn't want a repeat of what happened." She paused. "How'd it happen? That doesn't sound like something you'd order."

"Brom took it upon himself before I could stop him"

Weiss shook her head. "Well, Morzan did kill Saphira." She turned her head toward her dragon. "The _other_ Saphira. Dragons have to have shared names at some point."

"Try being a Ruby at any high school or college." Ruby paused. "Also, Aaron and I are going to be in Du Weldenvarden tomorrow night so we'll be out of touch. If anything happens, you and Saphira are in charge of things on Remnant."

Weiss blinked and her smile returned. "Wow. You haven't said that in years."

"That doesn't mean I never stopped trusting you." Ruby crossed her arms and shook her head. "There are times when I wonder if you shouldn't be my second in command."

"Something going on between you and Aaron?"

"Not really. He just has a hard time making snap decisions."

"I can see that. Oh! Ruby, I almost forgot. Professor Tobi ordered a few hundred Rose Arms weapons for Haven. That should be able to get you a few more bionics. Should I order the materials for you?"

"Please and thank you." Ruby relaxed. "Good ol' Toto. Friendly as a puppy, fierce as a wolf."

"There is that." Saphira grunted behind her Rider. Weiss turned back, then faced Ruby. "Saphira's telling me it's time for our nightly flight before heading home. You don't know how mad she gets when that's delayed."

"Well, when you're cooped up in the office for most of the day, I kind of get it. Cerise wants to get up there at least once a day."

"So you do get it. I'll see you next week, sis." Weiss turned around and walked toward her dragon.

Ruby ended the spell and sighed. The time appeared in her bionic eye. It was still a little early for what she wanted to do. So instead, she did just about everything but call Aaron. She made herself dinner, she watched a little bit of the news, then a few shows on Scrollflix. Through all that, she was thinking about everything. Yes, Aaron said something that made her furious and she had every right to be mad about that… but at the same time, she didn't handle it the best, or at all. The only things she knew about the old Order and the Fall were what others told her. That, and quite a few people on Remnant, even the biggest pacifists, might agree that Morzan didn't deserve to live… _Did I really once think that killing Shruikan was an option?_

When the sun had long since sank beneath the ocean, Ruby changed into her pajamas and stood in front of the mirror in her room. One rule she and Aaron made after a particularly bad fight years ago was that they'll never go to bed angry at each other, even when on opposite sides of Remnant or different planets. This was one of those situations. Ruby grabbed her left arm with her right and cast the calling spell. The mirror's colors solidified on a dark green, one Ruby recognized from numerous nights under Nalia's wing with her husband. "Hey, Aaron."

A few seconds later, Aaron grabbed his Scroll and brought it in front of his face. It looked like he wasn't wearing a shirt, so he was ready for bed as well. "Hey, Ruby."

He was about to say something else, but Ruby cut him off. "I'll start this time. I'm sorry I blew you off like that. You know how I get about stuff like that. On top of that, I was stressed out about tomorrow night and the fact that the technological infection is worse than we thought. The elves have Dustlocks now. They probably call it something else but you get the point."

Aaron sighed. "I'm sorry. You're right. I do know how you feel about those things. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of revenge too. I've learned the hard way that only gets people hurt."

Ruby gave her husband a small smile. "I forgive you."

Aaron returned the gesture. "And I forgive you."

Ruby sighed, releasing all tension from her body. "I wish you were here to complete the ritual."

"Same here. The humidity's killing me." Aaron shook his head. "I'm getting too used to air conditioning.

"Your human air conditioner can't wait to have you back tomorrow." Ruby winced. "Here's hoping that part doesn't come out tomorrow night."

"Yeah." Aaron rubbed the back of his head. "There won't be any explaining that away without revealing what you are… or what we're doing."

"Yeah… Well, I love you. Goodnight, honey."

"Love you too, Ru. Goodnight." Aaron set his Scroll back down. Ruby ended the flow of magic and her husband disappeared.

 _Feel better?_ Cerise asked.

"Much." Ruby turned around and walked toward her bed. She crawled onto it and set her wedding ring on the dresser next to her. "'Night, Cerise."

' _Night, Gem._ Cerise laid her head right next to Ruby's bed,

"You and Nalia know where the two of you are going tomorrow night?"

 _I'm going to Ceris, and I'm sure you can understand why, Nalia is going to Sílthrim. We want to avoid Glaedr just in case._

"Makes sense." Ruby sighed and closed her eyes. "Hopefully we're not making a terrible decision."

* * *

 **Time-skips! That's going to be a common thing going forward.**

 **Anyway, last week's episode... Why am I happy to see Neo? She wants to kill Ruby! Not allowed! Also, I don't know whether Ruby is my spirit animal or I want to adopt her as a little sister. "Food always makes me feel better" and that whole bit about salt making any food better... Warning: Prolonged exposure to Ruby Rose can give you type 2 diabetes.**


	54. Inside

**THE AVENGERS 4 TRAILER IS OUT! ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN!  
**

 **Eh-hem. Anyway, on a more serious note, I'd like to readdress something that has come up in a few reviews and PMs. My view of fantiction is to prepare myself for writing original works in the future. What I put here is all practice and it also shows how much I've improved over the years (geeze, it's been years since I've started this). That being said, I still don't catch everything. Oftentimes, I don't know something is a problem until someone says something. I read all reviews across all my stories and all PMs for anything that might help. I _do_ know that the pacing has been crap lately, and I'm doing my best to fix that. Rest assured, stuff will happen soon (laughs** **evilly).**

* * *

Ruby opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Less than two seconds later, Cerise' head was over her own. _Good morning, Gem._ Cerise hummed and nuzzled her Rider's face with her snout.

"Morning, Cerise." Ruby let her dragon do what she wanted, but it confused the Rider. Cerise didn't typically do that anymore, not that Ruby minded one bit that it was back. "Someone slept on the right side of the bed."

Cerise pulled her head back and snorted. _I always do, well, depending on what direction you're looking._

"True." Ruby yawned and stretched above her head. While she did that, Cerise pulled her head to the side of the bed, grabbed the blankets and comforters in her lips, and pulled them off her Rider. Ruby kept her arms behind her head as she stared at her dragon. That was definitely new. "Uh, Cerise?"

 _Yes, Gem?_ Cerise opened her lips and the bedding fell onto the bed itself.

"You feeling alright?"

 _I am, thank you for asking. And you?_

Ruby blinked. "I'm fine?" She made a quick once-over of herself with eyes and mind. There was something on her stomach that she couldn't see. She brushed the area, but it didn't budge. She groaned and leaned her head further back into her pillow. Whatever it was, it didn't feel hostile. It was kind of just… there. She'd ask Aaron when he got home later that day. Cerise' ears drooped for a second, then stood back up. "I'm fine."

 _I'm glad to hear that._ Cerise pulled her head away from her Rider.

Ruby sat up and kicked her legs over the side of the bed. "I'm gonna shower." She grabbed a fresh set of knock around clothes from her dresser and walked toward the master bathroom. A half hour later, she walked out feeling refreshed. She faced her dragon and almost fell flat on her face. Cerise stood over a freshly made bed and was fluffing one of Ruby's pillows between two of her toes. Considering they were the only two in the building for at least another hour, Cerise had to be the one who made the bed. "Uhh, what?"

Cerise faced her Rider and backed away from the bed. _Did I do it right?_

Ruby walked up to the bed with her mouth hanging open. "Well, yeah, but…" She looked up at her dragon. "Am I forgetting an anniversary?"

 _Not that I know of._

"Then what's going on?"

Cerise looked away and her ears drooped. _We've both wondered why it takes a tragedy for us to get so close._ She faced Ruby again. _I'm trying to fix that._

Ruby sighed and stepped toward her dresser while running a hand across Cerise' cheek. "I love your idea Cerise, but today of all days?" She picked her wedding ring up off her dresser and fit it over her ring finger. Her hair instantly dried and straightened from the top of her head down past her shoulders. She faced her dragon again. "But with what's going on tonight… Next weekend when we don't have anything going on, I'd definitely be up for it. Now, I'm just not in the mood for that."

Cerise whimpered and lowered her head to her Rider's level. _But I am._ She stretched her mind into Ruby's.

The Rider sighed and slouched as every one of Cerise' loving, joyful, and grateful emotional waves poured off her. All of it was directed toward Ruby. "Oh…" Ruby didn't tell her lips to curve up, they did it out of reflex. "Okay. You've convinced me. But if anything weird happens tonight, I'm blaming you."

 _As long as I get you until we go to Alagaësia, fine with me._ Cerise hummed and moved her snout closer to her Rider. Ruby grabbed on and stood on the tips of her toes to touch her nose met her dragon's. Cerise turned her head so that one of her eyes met both of Ruby's. She was so big now that was all they could manage.

Ruby tilted her chin forward and kissed Cerise between the nostrils. She fell back on her feet. "Just a cuddle day unless something happens?"

 _That works for me._ Cerise tipped her head forward and pressed it into her Rider. Ruby took the hint and hugged her dragon's face with arms and legs. Cerise lifted her Rider up and walked toward the Hall. _I take it you're hungry?_

"Breakfast is nice. Sorry I can't whip up something for you."

 _Don't worry. I ate yesterday. I should apologize for the same thing._

Ruby rolled her eyes and rubbed her face against Cerise'. "You're fine. You already made my bed, which I'm surprised you could do that. I'm not as bad in the kitchen as I used to be."

Cerise snorted. _You can only make things right out of the box._

"He, he. Not a lie." Ruby stayed on her dragon's snout until she was dropped off right outside the kitchen. She started making herself an omelet with all the fixings. Word had gotten out that the two leaders of the Riders still ate meat. Quite a few elves didn't like that. They never said it to Ruby or Aaron, but the Riders got a few glares thrown their way, that is until the Riders or the dragons noticed them.

As soon as her overstuffed breakfast was done, Ruby rejoined Cerise and they walked together to the sitting area. The Rider turned on the massive projector and brought up Scrollflix. The two proceeded to partake in one of their favorite pastimes, watching old movies about dragons and laughing at everything they got wrong. When Ruby finished with her omelet, she leaned against her dragon's head with her right arm draped over Cerise' neck. The Rider traced the outlines of her dragon's scales and even scratched behind Cerise' ears. At one point, Cerise offered to return the favor. Not for lack of trying, it didn't work. Her toes were too big and her claws would rip Ruby's clothes to shreds.

About halfway through the second movie, the house' intercom buzzed. Ruby groaned. There' went cuddle time with Cerise. She paused the movie, walked out of the scaled cave Cerise made, and hit the right button on one of the end tables. "What's the situation, Yaela?" She released the button.

" _There's an armed bank robber trying to escape police by car,"_ Yaela said. _"Vale dispatch has asked us to capture him."_

Ruby sighed, then held down the button. "Got it. We'll be out in a few-"

 _I'll take it myself, Yaela,_ Cerise interrupted as she jumped to her feet. _Ruby would need a few minutes we might not have._ She turned around and ran toward the main exit.

Ruby dropped her jaw. "Cerise!" Her dragon sealed her mind and didn't stop. Cerise jumped out of the house as soon as the door opened wide enough. Ruby threw her hands up. "Unbelievable! What is with her today?"

" _Ruby? Is everything okay?"_

The Rider held the button again. "With me, yeah. Cerise, I don't know what's gotten into her."

" _Well, she isn't even ten years old."_

"Sometimes she acts her age. Thanks, Yaela. Keep me updated." Ruby walked away from the intercom and crossed her arms. _Something_ was up with Cerise. She went through periods of cuddliness and protectiveness, mainly while she was carrying eggs, but never to this extreme. Was she carrying her third clutch? She and Vert had flown off together recently, but even they weren't that lucky. They were lucky to have two at their age.

She sighed and started walking toward her room. "What now?" Ruby bit her lower lip. "What now?" That question had come up a lot lately for a lot of different things. The one that came up most often wasn't for 'now,' but for what to do when they beat Salem. What then? That wasn't a question Ruby could answer herself. She needed approval.

Ruby changed into one of her combat outfits, this one resembling what she wore all the time during her first year at Beacon with the exception of her living rose emblem keeping her silk hood in place along with the two cross pins. It was more fitting for her future audience. She walked toward a seldom-used corner of the room and held her Scroll up to the wall.

The mechanism clicked and part of the wall slid inward then two the side, revealing a winding staircase. Ruby entered the secret passageway and started walking down. It was no Vault of Souls staircase, so unfortunately none of the dragons could go all the way to the bottom. Until a new Vault was dug on New Vroengard, this would have to do.

On the bright side, it allowed for a few more security measures. Ruby came to the end of the staircase and stood in a room with only a table of wristbands and a door. She grabbed the band with the magical marker and slid it over her left wrist. The Rider walked to the door and it opened automatically.

The room on the other side was made completely from white tile, auto-turrets, AK-250s, and a couple Paladins. All guns trained on Ruby with dozens of red dots lighting up her body. All bots shouted things like 'stand down or you will be fired upon,' but Ruby just walked through like she didn't have an army about to shoot her. Once she reached the halfway tile, she stopped and took off the wristband. Ruby threw the band to the back right corner of the room, where it fell into a chute to be taken back to the table in the other room to be resorted. She walked across the rest of the room with the guns still pointed at her. As soon as she passed the dotted yellow line, all defenses faced the entryway again.

Ruby continued down another spiral staircase to a room that was filled with gold, silver, gemstones, artwork, and countless other expensive items. This vault could make some of Weiss' look like a piggy bank. All the gifts the Riders got from Alagaësia finally had a purpose, distraction. The Rider walked past all of it to the far wall where a tapestry of the main 'road' in Ellesméra hung. She placed her left hand on the wall right beside the tapestry. The spells in a diamond in the rock analyzed her hand and the rest of Ruby to determine if she was a Rider. The wall behind the tapestry swung outward revealing the third and final staircase.

The Rider walked down that and through a slew of other spells that made sure she wasn't hostile. Of course, she could put wards around herself to make all of this unnecessary, but she put these measures in for a reason. She wasn't above her own rules.

Ruby entered the final chamber and looked around. A hundred Eldunarí sat on their own padded pedestals with their names on plaques underneath them. Cuaroc sat in a throne opposite the staircase and under Umaroth. Since coming to Remnant, Ruby had upgraded the guardian's armor and weaponry. In addition to his sword, he now had a heavy machinegun since the light variety was too small for him. Even then, he could hold his firearm like Aaron holds his V4 in submachinegun form.

" _Masters,"_ Ruby started, _"I've come to ask about our future." Geez, this is like the complete opposite of a few minutes ago._

 _ **Speak your mind, Shadeslayer,**_ Umaroth said.

" _We know what we're doing in Alagaësia. When we earn people's trust again, we're going to return to being the keepers of the peace everywhere and defend the land from all threats. There, we can do that because we're the only ones with the capability. Here, every Kingdom has their own militaries and police forces that can do that job. Everyone has Huntsmen and Huntresses too, and there are a lot more of them than there are of us."_

 _ **That may be, but we have strengths and skills that they cannot hope to match.**_

Ruby shook her head. _"You're thinking in terms of Alagaësia. The only real advantage we have over anybody is magic. Even with her Aura unlocked, Arya isn't that much more skilled than her peers at Beacon. There are things that we can't affect with magic as well. There isn't much stopping Atlas from sending a fully automated fleet to attack New Vroengard. The Alagaësian Grimm are becoming more common across Remnant. We can't affect them at all. We might as well be normal Huntsmen against them."_

 _ **Are you saying that we are weak?**_ Umaroth didn't sound accusatory, rather he was leading Ruby somewhere. The Rider had gotten used to that.

" _Not at all. We're the strongest Huntsman organization on Remnant. Everyone knows us and we have the respect of at least one council member in all kingdoms and quite a few military commanders too. But that's a double-edged sword. There have been councils in all Kingdoms that have tried to dismantle Huntsmen organizations that have gotten too strong before. Some have succeeded. Quite a few people are wary of us because we have the best air superiority fighter in the world with the Wyvern. Halcyon's may be the only one now, but we all know other Eldunarí want their chance in their own fighter. If we build more, the Kingdoms may have every right to be worried."_

Umaroth mentally hummed. _**You never asked your question.**_

" _Right now we have our short-term goal: kill Salem. What do we do after that? What do we want the Riders to become?"_ Ruby stood in silence as she waited for a response. None was forthcoming. She could only watch as the colors shifted in many of the Eldunarí around the room. From her experience, the Eldunarí were coming up with their own solutions and they would put them forward when they were ready.

 _ **Ruby,**_ Umaroth began again, _ **there are those among us who do not believe that you should be among these discussions.**_

Ruby's eyes twitched. _"I am still the leader of the Dragon Riders, and I will be until you all clear Arya or someone else to take my place. Until that happens, I have as much of a say in our future as any of you, even more because I am the one who speaks for all of you."_

It felt like Umaroth mentally nodded with that. _**As you should be.**_ He paused. _**We would like to propose a solution. Not all land can be protected by a Kingdom's military at all times. We could assist primarily in those areas while we leave the major cities to the Kingdoms.**_

Ruby shook her head. _"If you're proposing what I think you are, the councils could very well see that as a land grab. If it's less, that's basic Huntsman Organization territory."_ She paused. _"With how Remnant is run, I don't think we'll be able to operate in the same way we did before."_

 _ **Then what do you propose?**_

Ruby bit her lip. _"I don't like this, and I doubt any of you will either. If we want to keep doing what we're doing well into the future, we may have to sacrifice some of our independence and loan some of our Riders to the Kingdoms' military and police forces."_ The Rider felt the tension fill the air. If the dragons still had bodies, she knew she'd be of the receiving end of dozens of glares and growls.

 _ **We are not subject to other's supervision,**_ Umaroth growled. _**We never have been, and we never will be.**_

" _With all due respect, that didn't work out too well the last time."_ Ruby fought off the mental lance from Umaroth and likely several others and stood her ground. If they actually tried to hurt her, there wouldn't be much she could do to stop it. _"You asked what I propose, and you're hearing it. Let me finish before you cast judgment."_

The light mental attack stopped but Umaroth's growl didn't. _**Speak.**_

" _I'm not saying our Riders would be completely under the control of the Kingdoms. There is precedent on Remnant and in Alagaësia. Before Vacuo fully committed to Vale in the Great War, they sent a few divisions to help push back Mistral. Then Mantle attacked Vacuo city and they were brought into the war on Vale's side. Those divisions were still under orders from Vacuo and they only worked with the Valans, not for them. In my readings on the dwarf clan wars, some clans preferred to do the same thing, as fully committing to a war would lead to their defeat and collapse._

" _We could do something similar. Sure, our Riders would be in the command structure, but they would still report to us. We could work anywhere, hospitals, KBI Hostage Rescue, EMS, Violet and Orchid are still interested in becoming detectives. We're strong against Grimm, so we could be working with Huntsmen or military in securing the Kingdoms' borders. That kind of cooperation would mean that we're working within the law and we'd get all the protections that soldiers, police, medics, and all the rest have. Is it ideal? No. But it will go a long way in making sure the Kingdoms don't decide to invade New Vroengard."_

Umoroth's growl finally ended. _**We will consider your request, Shadeslayer.**_

" _That is all I ask."_ Ruby turned around and left the Vault. She had a feeling she was no longer wanted there. Considering Umaroth didn't call out to stop her, she was right. Ruby walked up through the stairs, treasure room, and guard room without stopping. Anyone leaving the Vault was safe. If they made it that far in the first place, they were allowed in. No need to overprotect that.

About halfway back to the surface, Ruby felt her dragon's mind searching for her. The Rider kept her dragon out, returning the favor from earlier. At first, Cerise tried to break in but relented. Ruby climbed up the last of the stairs and the master bedroom appeared in front of her. Cerise lay on Nalia's pad with her head facing the secret passageway.

Ruby let her defenses fall and Cerise dove in immediately. _Gem, why did you block me?_ She used her same loving tone from before, not angry at all.

The Rider couldn't return the favor. "Why did you block me?" Ruby walked out of the passageway and the door closed behind her, leaving no indication that it was there in the first place. "Why did you run off? Cerise, we were having a great time together. We would have been so in sync out there and we could have gone right back to it when we were done."

Cerise drooped her ears. _I didn't want you getting hurt._

Ruby dropped her jaw and continued to stare at her dragon, too shocked to shake her head. "Okay, what's up? First you're in full on cuddle mode, next you run off on a cakewalk mission by yourself to keep me safe? What's going on? Can you smell really early cancer or something in me?"

Cerise sighed. _I'm sorry, Gem. I did not want to hurt you. I just wanted you to find out on your own._

"Find out what?"

The dragon hummed and raised her ears again. _Remember what you felt on your stomach this morning?_

Ruby groaned. "I almost forgot it, thank you very much."

 _You are very welcome for the reminder, Gem. You will not want to forget._ Cerise lowered her snout and inched it forward. _That was never on you._ She touched her snout to Ruby's stomach. _It's_ _ **in**_ _you._

"In me?" Ruby stepped back and held and faced her stomach. Something was _in_ her? That was… wait. If it was a problem, Cerise would have said right away. She would not be so cuddly or loving if something was trying to eat her alive. From the emotions she put out…

Ruby's breath caught in her throat. She inched her head up to look Cerise in one of her eyes. "You mean?" the Rider whispered.

Cerise hummed high and loud while nuzzling Ruby's belly. _Congratulations, Gem._

Ruby returned her eyes to her stomach. She stretched her mind down into her body. There was indeed a growing life force inside her. Not a tapeworm, not a tick, a human.

"Ohmygosh… Ohmygosh…" Ruby's knees grew weak. She locked eyes with her dragon again. Cerise eyes shone like when she found out she was carrying the first time. "Where are my pregnancy tests?"

* * *

"The last known nests are here, here, and here." Aaron pointed to three spots on the map in front of him and the Huntsman team replacing him. "Every other one is more than a day away. You should have plenty of warning before any sizable Grimm attack should come your way."

Arslan, the leader of the replacement team, nodded. "I take it these are the new kind?"

"If they weren't, they'd already be gone."

"I guess we have our targets." Arslan took her eyes off the map and faced Aaron. "You sure didn't leave a lot of work for us."

"Escort duty's a little different where I'm from. We take out the threats before they have a chance to do damage.

"A few years ago, that wouldn't have been possible." Arslan crossed her arms. "And now the world's longest highway is being built."

"I try." Aaron looked at his Scroll and the time on it. "I've got to get going. Don't want to upset the missus." He picked his Scroll off the table and backed away.

"You get to that. We'll keep the workmen safe." The rest of Arslan's team grouped up around the table.

Aaron left the trailer and looked over the current construction site. After all his time on Remnant and on the site, he still didn't know what most of the equipment did or even what it was called. All he knew was that the crew was able to pave a mile a day and build the protective walls at the same pace. The engineers had a way to keep the road safe from Grimm, but it all went over Aaron's head when explained.

He turned away and walked toward where his dragon lay. "Ready to go, Nalia?"

 _I was ready the day we got here,_ Nalia grumbled. _I don't know how you humans can take the smell of all this_

"I'm not." Aaron shook his head. "Ellesméra is going to smell so good tonight."

 _That it is._ Nalia leaned her back toward her Rider. _Climb on and let's get going._

"As you wish." Aaron jumped up and pulled himself up to the saddle. Nalia rolled back and the force swung her Rider into the saddle. Aaron checked the CCT signal on his Scroll, then called his wife. He got four and a half rings before she answered. "Hey, Ru. We're on our way back."

" _Good."_ Ruby sniffed. _"Get here as fast as you can."_

Aaron stiffened. "What's going on?"

" _Just get here!"_ The line clicked on Ruby's end.

Aaron took his Scroll away from his ear, then locked eyes with his dragon. Nalia's visible pupil filled her whole eye. "Nalia?"

 _Ocean. Hang on._ Nalia jumped away from the construction site and flew north as fast as she could. Aaron barely managed to hold onto his Scroll. Nalia dove for the beach as soon as it came into sight. When she landed, Aaron began chanting in the Ancient Language as fast as he could. The water just barely shifted color and Nalia jumped in. They went through the same process at lake Isenstar.

Nalia dove for the main landing pad and landed hard. Aaron jumped off and slid under the still opening dragon door. He sprang to his feet and stretched his mind out to find his wife. Ruby was with Cerise in the master. Both of them blocked their minds so well Aaron couldn't even read their emotions. He ran for the room and slammed into the door, somehow not breaking it.

Ruby sat on Aaron's side of the bed, her feet hanging off the side. Her husband could hear her crying clear across the room. Cerise lay on her pad, her head and neck laying on the bed with her jaw on her Rider's lap. The dragon raised her head, hummed… happily, then rested her head back on Ruby's lap. Ruby's and Cerise' states didn't mix. What was going on?

Aaron jogged to the bed, never taking his eyes off his wife. The floor shook beneath him and the dragon door to the bedroom started to open. Nalia was inside. Aaron rounded the bed and kneeled in front of his wife. He reached a hand out and squeezed one of Ruby's knees. "Ruby, what's wrong?" The floor shook again as Nalia entered the bedroom and stood above the bed.

Ruby took her hands off her face. Her eyes were red and puffy. Salt lines stained her cheeks. But her smile… Aaron had never seen that pure joy from his wife, only from Nalia when she saw Fírnen's egg in the throne room. "Nothing. Nothing is wrong at all."

"You sounded so urgent. What's going on?"

"This." Ruby pointed at her stomach. "Use your mind."

Aaron stared at Ruby's belly, his concern disappearing. Now everything mixed. He did as his wife said and stretched his mind out. There was a little life growing inside Ruby. Aaron looked up and locked eyes with Ruby. "You're pregnant?"

Ruby let out a big breath that came out as a laugh. "Yes." She nodded like a bobblehead and grabbed something from her right. She brought it in front of Aaron and showed him a positive pregnancy test. "Yes. I am."

Aaron let his own excitement take over him. He stood up and brought Ruby into a tight hug. They locked lips and held each other close. Nalia let loose a soft roar and lowered her head to Ruby's side not occupied by Cerise. The married couple stayed like that for quite some time with the dragons occasionally nuzzling the two Riders.

After a while, the couple separated their lips but pressed their foreheads together. "We did it," Aaron whispered.

Ruby giggled. "Yes, we did. Our last ditch effort worked. Now we don't have to participate tonight."

"That is such a good thing." Aaron laughed a little himself. "I'm going to be a father." Part of his excitement fell away when he realized something.

"And I'm going to be a mother." Ruby didn't sound like she noticed her husband's change. Aaron stepped out of Ruby's arms and turned around. He ran his hands through his hair. "Aaron? Are you alright?"

"I don't know." Aaron turned around and faced Ruby. "I'm ecstatic that we're having a baby. I've been hoping for this since our wedding day. But… I've read all sorts of parenting guides since then. In quite a few of them, they say that parents raise their kids like they were raised themselves. I was raised by a master thief. I wouldn't-"

Ruby stood up from the bed and kissed Aaron on the cheek. "You wouldn't raise him or her to be a criminal. You won't hurt our baby like that thief hurt you. The fact that you're worried about this is proof you aren't a bad person."

Aaron dipped his head. "What about that one time I almost hit you?"

His wife turned his head back up. Ruby had her poker face on. Her eyes bored into Aaron's. "If you're that worried, swear it like you did back then. Swear that you'll never hurt any of our babies. Swear it, and we can forget this ever happened."

Aaron never moved his eyes. _"I will never hurt any children, whether they are ours or someone else'."_

Ruby relaxed and her smile of pure joy returned. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" She pulled Aaron into another hug. "You're going to be a great dad."

"And you're going to be a super mom."

"Hmmm, nope. Supermom is my mom. She can keep that. I'll take something else."

"If you insist."

Cerise hummed and raised her head. _Nalia, what's better than super?_

Nalia cocked her head and raised it to Cerise' level. _Mega?_

 _Megamom. I like it._

 _Alliteration. It works well._

The married couple separated and faced their dragons. "Is this going to be a thing with you two now?"

Nalia and Cerise exchanged a glance. _Did it ever stop?_ Nalia asked.

 _You two are having a hatchling of your own,_ Cerise hummed. _We might act much the same as you two did when you found out I was carrying._

Ruby sighed. "I suppose that's only fair." She smiled at Aaron. "So, are we still going to the Invocation?" Cerise stiffened.

"As long as we're helping, not participating." Aaron nodded at Cerise. "You might want to ask your dragon if its okay"

 _I don't have a problem with it._ Cerise shifted on her feet. _But… how are we going to get there? Maybe you should take a Bullhead. They're smoother than either of us. Safer for you in your state._

Ruby giggled and reached a hand up to her dragon's jaw. "Don't worry too much. If I'm not worried about my baby, you shouldn't be either."

Cerise growled. _I will not let any harm to come to your hatchling._

"Thank you, but there's no need to be overprotective. Leave that to me." Ruby pulled Cerise' snout down and rubbed her head against her dragon.

 _Fine. But if your hatchling is scared of anything, I will do everything I can to eliminate it._

"I think that's all of us, Cerise," Aaron said.

Nalia shoulder bumped the other dragon. _Do you miss your own hatchlings?_

Cerise turned her head away from Nalia. _Maybe… It's been too long since I've been to New Vroengard to see them._

"Maybe we can stop there before coming back here." Ruby walked around her bed to the side of her dragon. She climbed up Cerise' side and settled in the saddle. "Besides, I can't bear to be off your back for nine months."

Cerise hummed. _That would be terrible._

Aaron nodded as he climbed Nalia's side. "Good thing you can wait a few months for that."

* * *

As the sun started to rise over Du Weldenvarden, the last notes of the Dagshelgr Invocation faded away. Ruby sighed and leaned onto Aaron. She'd gone through the whole thing without stopping. She didn't even know what words she said a minute ago. It all just rolled off her tongue. But the effects of the Invocation could still be heard. All sorts of animals called out for each other, the house around her felt more alive than usual. The forest felt like it just woke up from a long sleep. The head of the Riders felt exactly the opposite way. "Ready for bed, Aaron?"

Her husband yawned and covered his mouth with a hand. "Yeah. That took a lot out of me." Aaron and Ruby walked away from the opening in their bedroom and walked around where Cerise lay to the bed. They opened their own bags, changed into their pajamas, and crawled into bed next to each other. Cerise lay her massive head over them as well. She hummed and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Aaron." Ruby snuggled in close to her husband and rested her head on his left shoulder.

Aaron brought his wife in closer with that arm. "But it's morning."

Ruby elbowed Aaron. "You know what I mean." She closed her eyes and she dove into the deepest part of her mind. She ended up standing in the clearing on Patch. "Mom, you'll never guess-"

"EEEEEEE!" Her mom ran out of the trees and grabbed her in a huge hug. Summer lifted Ruby off the ground and spun her in a circle. "I'msohappyforyouGem! Iknewitwouldhappeneventually! Ifyouneedanyparentingtipsjustletmeknow! I'dbehappytohelp!"

Ruby finally returned her mom's hug. "Thanks, mom. Just stick around long enough for that to happen."

"Of course!" Summer set her daughter down and locked eyes with Ruby. Even in Ruby's head, the former Winter Maiden had aged. Parts of her black and red hair was turning gray. More lines had appeared on her face and arms. But at her core, Summer was still the same energetic woman as before. "I want to see my grandchild before I kick the bucket for real."

"I'm happy I could help with that." Ruby paused. "You're acting awfully cheerful. It's like you're the one who's pregnant."

Summer held up a finger. "When I found out Raven was pregnant, I was hungover worse than Qrow ever was." She stuck another finger up. "When I found out I was pregnant, I felt soooo guilty and I thought Raven would chew me out. Now that I'm clear of mind and conscience, I want to celebrate this thing right." She giggled, then put her hands on her hips. "Now where's Aaron? He's just as responsible for this as you."

Ruby stiffened. "Are you sure? After-"

"Don't say it!" Summer closed her eyes and covered her ears. "I've tried to block all that out. If he doesn't make it weird, I won't."

Ruby nodded. "I'll tell him that." She tilted her head back and stretched her mind out until she felt Aaron, Cerise, and Nalia. _Aaron, mom wants to talk to you._

Aaron's surprise radiated off him. _Really? After everythi-_

 _If you don't make it weird, she won't._

 _How does this involve me?_ Nalia asked.

 _You've been in this relationship from the beginning,_ Ruby chirped. _I think it's about time you've met my mom._

 _You'll like her,_ Cerise said. _She's like an older Ruby._

 _If you say so,_ Nalia said. _What do I do?_

 _Let me guide you,_ Ruby said. _Don't worry about a thing._ She started pulling Nalia and Aaron into her head while Cerise already knew the way. Soon after, the dragons appeared in the sky with Aaron on Nalia's back. Cerise dove for the ground while Nalia took a while to look around before following.

Cerise touched down quickly followed by Nalia. Both of them were only the size of elephants. The older dragon looked directly at Ruby. _This space should not be possible._

"Eh." Ruby shrugged. "You know me. The impossible becomes possible around me."

"She has a point, Nalia." Aaron pat his dragon's neck as he dismounted. "You should know this by now." His feet touched the ground, but not for long.

Summer teleported over and lifted Aaron off the ground in another spinning hug. "CongratulationsAaron! You'llbeagreatdad! Ifyoueverwantdadjokesfeelfreetoask! Yourbabyisgoingtobesostrongandcute!" She set Aaron down and stuck a finger at his nose. "Don't you worry about being a bad dad. With one exception, you have been a great husband for my little girl. You'll be just as great for your child." Summer gestured at Cerise. "If I'm wrong, you know what will happen."

Aaron nodded. "I would expect nothing less."

"Right answer." Summer turned to face Nalia. "So, you're the fourth wheel in this relationship."

 _I am._ Nalia hummed and lowered her head to Summer's level. _It is an honor to finally meet the mother of-_

Summer stuck out her right arm and poked Nalia's nose. "Boop." Ruby sucked in air and curled her lips back, holding in a laugh. She looked at Cerise out of the corner of her eye. Her dragon was in much the same position.

Nalia drew her head back and cocked it. _What did you just do?_

"I booped you on the snoot." Summer shrugged. "Simple as that."

 _You… what my what?_

Ruby's laugh exploded out of her. Cerise joined her Rider in laughing at Nalia. "Oh my gosh! How don't you know that?" Ruby asked.

 _Have you ever interacted with any kids ever?_ Cerise laughed

Nalia growled at the other pair. _What is so funny?_

"I don't know either," Aaron said.

Summer joined in Ruby's and Cerise' laughter. "How are you married to my daughter and you don't know that?"

"I don't know!" Ruby yelled in between laughs. "I guess I still have to teach him a lot."

Summer sighed as she stopped laughing. "Well, come on all of you. I've got something prepared at the house."

"Got it, mom." Ruby walked to Aaron's side and hooked her right arm through his left. "When we get back to Remnant, I need to introduce you to the wonderful world of memes."

* * *

 **How the heck is Summer the first one to boop a dragon on the snoot? I am ashamed that it took me this long to make it happen.**

 **As for last week's episode... Ruby continues to prove she's best girl. HOLY CRAP! SILVER EYES! NEED MORE INFO! Also, glad RT finally showed the downside of Qrow's alcoholism and its not just a joke anymore.**

 **And it's that time of year again. Sorry, Velvet. We're going to turn the bunnies into roadkill!**

 **If you don't need a personal sob story, stop reading now.**

 **I've just... not been in a good place the past few weeks. Really, writing this, my original work at the end of NaNoWriMo, a little bit of XCOM, and Bison football have. That may sound like quite a bit, but really, it's not. Hearing from people every week here helps more than you could know.**


	55. The 'P' Bomb

**Thank you all for the reviews last week. That was a real pick me up at work (but my gosh, am I getting terrible at responding to them... some you you might be getting two in the next few days.). I don't want to get too sappy today, so we'll just get into it.  
**

* * *

"Theoretically, this should work," Weiss finished up her explanation.

Aaron stared at the white box with an antenna attached to the bottom of his Scroll. "I honestly don't know anything you just said."

Weiss sighed and shook her head. "Think into the antenna and it should go to Ruby and Aithlin."

"Got it." Aaron faced the mirrors which his wife and Aithlin stood in. Ruby stood just upstairs in the master bedroom while Aithlin sat in one of the buildings in the shell of the city of Mor'ranar Vera on New Vroengard. "You two ready?"

"Ready when you are." Ruby nodded.

"I believe I have this right." Aithlin flipped his own Scroll over in his hands. "This technology confuses me. I believe I have this… app installed correctly, but I am not certain."

"We'll find out soon enough. I'm making the call." Aaron hit the images on his Scroll corresponding to the other two Riders. He extended his mind into the antenna as he was told. There were two other minds, but they were bleached. Aaron could only feel life forces and the mind itself, no emotions, no personality.

In the mirrors, Ruby stared at her Scroll and Aithlin drew his blade halfway. _Aaron, please tell me that's you._ Ruby's thoughts came out of the Scroll's attachment, not from upstairs. Unlike the rest of her mind, Ruby's mental voice sounded like her. Aithlin jumped and stared at his Scroll.

 _It is,_ Aaron thought back. _Aithlin, can you hear us?_

 _I can._ Aithlin returned his sword to his sheath. _I can hear you, but I can't feel you._

 _The two of you are blank slates._ Ruby bit her lip. _I mean, it's great we can do this, but can other people just listen in?_

Aaron faced Weiss, the only other one in the room. _Is it just the three of us, or do either of you feel a fourth?_

Ruby shook her head. _No, I just feel two minds._

 _I as well,_ Aithlin said.

Ruby blinked. _Hold on, I'm extending my mind._ Aaron didn't feel any change in either of the minds he felt. _Nope. I'm not feeling anything past you._

"Weiss," Aaron started out loud, "could you come over here? Ruby wants to check the range on these things."

Weiss nodded and faced the mirror where Ruby stood. "Just tell me when." Ruby gave her partner a thumb up. Weiss slowly approached Aaron, her eyes never leaving her leader. The CEO was only a foot away from the Scroll when Ruby held up a hand.

 _I feel you now,_ Ruby said. _You two look like you're right on top of each other._

 _Pretty much._ Aaron nodded. _At least we won't have to deal with eavesdropping._

Weiss backed away but kept her eyes on the Scroll. _Can you still hear me?_

 _I can,_ Ruby said. _Looks like people can listen in, but only if they stretch their mind to the receivers._

 _Is anyone else' Scroll warming up?_ Aithlin asked.

Aaron brought his left hand to the Scroll. It had gotten hot, especially around the attachment. _Mine is._

 _Mine too._ Ruby shook her head. "End the call, Aaron. Don't want to fry these things." Aaron did as told, then set the Scroll on the table in front of him. Ruby put her own Scroll away and faced Weiss. "I'd consider this a successful test."

"Despite the overheating problems, anyway." Weiss picked up Aaron's Scroll and pulled off the attachments. "I'm not sure what we can do about how each other's minds feel over the connection. I'll have my techs run some diagnostics. The overheating will be our priority. I think we can run without feeling exactly who is on the line as long as we all identify ourselves."

Ruby nodded. "And these all go through the satellites, not the CCT, right?"

"Yes. We won't need to worry about our transmissions being intercepted from there, not that they'd get anything without us knowing."

The Leader of the Dragon Riders relaxed and smiled. "Good work, Weiss. Thank you for all you've done at the SDC."

Weiss returned the smile. "You're welcome, Ruby. I believe my successor as CEO will continue to support us. We saved his family in Eastern Menagerie… Armitage?"

"Blake called it Menagerie this morning," Aaron said. "You're not the only one. It's going to take a while to get used to."

"You haven't lived here your whole life." Weiss elbowed Aaron. "How do you think we feel?"

Aithlin looked 'offscreen' in his mirror. "My apologies, Masters. I must take my leave. My mining team has returned from the cliffs."

Ruby nodded. "You're dismissed. Do your good work." Aithlin disappeared from his mirror. Aaron cut the energy flow to that particular mirror. "Now that we're alone, can you two come up here and help with the final prep?"

"Just tell me what to do," Aaron said.

"Did you remember everything this time?" Weiss asked.

"I've gotten better, Ice Princess." Ruby stuck her tongue out at Weiss.

"You put Avrart on logistics for a reason. You're no good at that stuff."

"Be careful, Weiss." Aaron elbowed his teammate. "Your boss could decide to put you through more basic training." His Scroll rang and he checked the caller ID. Glynda was on the other side. Aaron sighed, answered the call, and brought his Scroll to his right ear. "Rider Aaron Benson."

" _Mr. Benson, did you forget about our meeting today?"_ Glynda asked.

Aaron stiffened, then slumped. He forgot all about it when Weiss and Saphira arrived. "Honestly, yes. I'm on my way." He pulled his Scroll away from his head and ended the call.

Ruby crossed her arms. "Where are you on your way to?"

"My meeting with Glynda that I was supposed to be at twenty minutes ago"

"Oh, that." Ruby relaxed her arms. Her eyes looked to the floor beneath her. "Well, it is important."

Weiss sighed and brought a hand to her face. "Really, Aaron? You could have gone to that while I performed the test."

"Yeah. I've gotta go." Aaron walked out of the command center and walked toward the secondary landing pad. _Nalia, why didn't you say anything earlier?_

 _I wanted to spend more time with Amor,_ Nalia snorted. _You'll understand soon when your own youngling hatches._

 _Humans don't hatch, Nalia._ Aaron pushed out the double doors to the landing pad.

Nalia pulled her teeth back. _I am not a hatchling, myself. I know how humans are born._

Aaron climbed Nalia's side and settled in the saddle. _If you and Cerise are going to be teasing us until Ruby gives birth, you have to be willing to accept it too._

 _Fine, but I expect you and Ruby to dish out what we give you._ Nalia jumped off the pad and angled toward Beacon. All other bonded dragons were already inside the house so there were no roars.

At the same time, no purple scales shone through the trees. _Where did Amor go?_ Aaron asked.

 _I think he wants to mate with Orchid._

 _Doesn't he know she has her eyes on Touriog?_

 _I don't think he cares._ Nalia snorted. _Orchid may be a gentle giant, but she's going to make Amor eat his tail._

 _As she should._ Aaron paused. _Speaking of dragons, how many Riders are going to Beacon when the semester starts?_

 _Hmm. Violet and Orchid, of course, Liliana and Fomak are ready. Then there's Pewter and…_ Nalia hummed. _Lavi. She's a strong one._

 _Coming from you and Irolon, I'd expect nothing different._ Aaron pat his dragon's neck _. I'd be worried if she was timid._

 _I would make sure none of my hatchlings are passive._ Nalia aimed for the open area beside Halcyon Hall. Since Orchid found a cave in the mountains she liked, the building was empty until the start of the semester. When that time came, more dragons would fill it than ever before. That would be something to see, almost like the training grounds in Doru Araeba. Almost.

Aaron walked across campus to the central tower. He rode the elevator to the top and stepped into Glynda's office. Beacon's headmistress sat behind her desk looking over several screens and papers. Glynda raised her head and faced Aaron. She crossed her arms and scowled. "I thought you had grown past this since your days as a student."

"My apologies. I have been distracted this past week and have not been thinking straight."

"At least you kept your honesty, but what can possibly distract you for a week?"

Aaron hesitated before speaking. "I cannot reveal that information until later in the day."

Glynda sighed. "I did not call you here to grill you on your poor memory. It appears there are more Alagaësians that would like to attend Beacon or the other academies."

"Really? This is the first time I'm hearing about this."

"I was contacted by Lord Däthedr this morning. It appears the Kingdoms in Alagaësia have come to an agreement. After seeing what you and your team could do, they want Huntsmen and Huntresses of their own. By the way Däthedr phrased it, I'm assuming they also want ways to protect themselves from any possible Remmartian attack."

Aaron crossed his arms. "How many?"

"In addition to Lilian, two each from the Brödring Kingdom, Surda, the dwarves, elves, and Urgals."

"Urgals?" Aaron blinked and tightened his grip on his arms. "Oromis finally set his plan in motion."

"It would appear so."

Aaron turned his head to the side. "Most of the specifics of the technological infection go over my head, but it sounds like Alagaësia is going down the same path as Vacuo. I'm sure Ruby has told you that at least the elves have Dustlocks now, right?"

"I asked Däthedr about that this morning. It appears that the technology came from the dwarves. They call the weapons flintlocks. He would not explain how the weapons were made, nor what powers them, but it cannot be Dust."

"I'm sure Ruby would love to see how one of those work." Aaron paused. "I'm also worried about how some of the Alagaësians work and get along with Remmartians."

"While we still have a long way to go, Beacon is still the most accepting Academy on Remnant, at least until the one in Armitage is built."

Aaron shook his head. "That's not what I'm worried about. All races got along well enough before the Riders fell, but there were still prejudices among all of them. Some humans in Teirm thought that elves replaced human babies with changelings and took the actual babies back to Du Weldenvarden, never to be seen again. That one, along with many others, has no grounding in reality, but similar things exist among all races.

"The Urgals have it the worst. They're viewed like Orcs in so many movies and books here; huge, horned brutes that think with their weapons over their heads. That's on the more civilized side." Aaron shivered. "I grew up being taught and believing some of those things. Even after all my time with the Riders, I can't just shut it off, no matter how much I want to. That's gotten me into more than a few fights with Ruby."

Glynda stayed silent for a while before speaking. "You are the most knowledgeable on Alagaësia. Should I ask them to decrease their numbers?"

Aaron shook his head. "No, but we should wait a few years before accepting any more. We need to judge their reactions to each other, the locals, and the environment. This could determine how much more communication we can have with Alagaësia in general."

"We are all in agreement on that." Glynda gestured to the chair across from her. "Now, may we discuss the particulars of the new students?"

"We can." Aaron took the seat.

 _Can you?_ Nalia asked. _You're going to be late for the party. I doubt the effects of Ruby's pregnancy have started yet, but you're flying against the wind if you stay long._

 _I know, but I made a commitment that needs to be honored. I'll apologize to Ruby when we get home._

 _It's your funeral. I won't protect you from her. She'll hurt me worse._

 _Probably._ Aaron picked up the folder closest to him and opened it. "Okay, who's first?"

* * *

Ruby hummed to herself as she strained the third jar of pickles. Once that one was empty, she set the bottle of pickle juice alongside the other two. Velvet called ahead and asked for the drink in particular. At just over seven months into her pregnancy, she deserved it. The cravings hadn't hit Ruby yet, so none of it looked or sounded appetizing. It would come.

Weiss looked over Ruby's shoulder. "Are you sure those can survive without their juice?"

"Uhhhh…" Ruby looked between the pickle jars and juice bottles. "Hopefully in the fridge? I don't know. Viki and Aaron are the cooks here."

"And neither of them are here." Weiss shook her head. "You still haven't gotten any better at planning."

"Party planning, no. Battle planning, yes. It not my fault Aaron is gone either. _He's_ the one who set up the meeting. Besides, he put the roasts in the crock pots." Ruby gestured at the two pots sitting on the counter behind her."

"I suppose… and they do smell good."

Ruby gasped and brought a hand to her chest. "No! The vegan says meat smells good."

"When it's cooked right, I can appreciate the smell. That's it. I still can't believe that you still eat meat with what you can feel in your head."

"I can't believe you _never_ liked bacon."

Near the sitting area, Saphira raised her head and turned it to the two Riders. _You should listen to your leader, Weiss. You do not know what you are missing._

Weiss covered her ears. "I am not hearing this right now."

"Not from me anyway." Ruby shook her head. "Light teasing, no pressuring." Motion on the other side of the main door caught her eye. A blue Bullhead was curving down to the landing pad. "Looks like the others are here."

"I'll make sure everything else here is ready." Weiss took Ruby's spot at the counter.

"Thanks, sis." Ruby left the kitchen and walked toward the dragon door. She waved at where Nora and Ren cuddled on one of the couches as she passed. Velvet sat directly across from them with Cerise and Vert behind her. It was going to be a full house… well, full sitting area anyway.

The normal door in the dragon door opened and Jaune stood on the other side. He held the door open and a little boy in a brown shirt and khakis stepped through. Rusty looked up at Ruby and a huge smile burst onto his face. "Auntie Ruby!" He waddle-ran forward with his arms stretched out in front of him. "Up! Up! Up!"

"Hey there, Rus." Ruby hooked her hands around her 'nephew' and picked him up so he essentially sat in the crook of her left arm. "You've gotten big. You might be as big as me someday soon."

"Yay!" Rusty rubbed his face against his aunt's and Ruby returned the favor.

"Don't spoil him too much, Ruby," Jaune called. "There's one more out here."

"Don't worry." Ruby set Rusty back on the floor. "I've got plenty of energy for everyone." She paused on her way back up. _Just one? Who didn't make it?_ She straightened up and faced the door.

Pyrrha stepped in with a baby carrier hanging in her left hand. "Hello, Ruby. I hope Rusty didn't ambush you."

"Nothing I couldn't handle." Ruby gave the other Maiden a one-armed hug which was all that Pyrrha could do. The Rider pulled back and faced the baby in the carrier. Little Sarah Nikos had her father's eyes, but her mother's nose and hair, not that her hair was very long. The five-month-old smiled up at Ruby and giggled. "Hi, Sarah." Ruby extended a pinky and caressed the side of Sarah's head, drawing out more giggles. "She still just as giggly as when I last saw her?"

"I'd say she's even more like that." Pyrrha smiled at her baby girl. "Nora's been around lately."

"I don't doubt that." Ruby faced the door again. Blake, Yang, and Viki had walked in and Jaune left the door. Ruby looked at Pyrrha again. "I've set up a little area for your carrier by the couches."

"Thank you." Pyrrha walked toward the other members of her team. Jaune joined his wife soon after.

Ruby faced her three returning sisters. They were all grouped up nicely, and since there weren't any cameras around… "Hey, sisses!" She took a few steps forward and threw herself at the other women. Ruby pulled them all into a group hug. They all grunted, but Yang and Viki returned it right away. Blake never did.

"Ruby… right arm…" Blake croaked.

"Sorry." Ruby released her sisters and rubbed the back of her neck. "Group hugs don't happen as much as they used to."

"It's okay." Blake rolled out her neck. "I was at a weird angle."

"Yeah. Kinda." Ruby paused. "Where're Jamie and Sun? I thought you said that they'd be coming too."

Blake shook her head. "Change of plans this morning. Jamie got sick on the flight to Vale. Sun's staying with him at the hotel."

"Oooohhhhh," Ruby whined. "Is there anything I can do? Does he have a fever? Is he throwing up? Is he-"

"Relax, Ruby." Blake waved her teammate off. "If it was bad, I'd be on my hands and knees in front of either you or Velvet begging you to come help my lemur. Besides, Yang said she flagged down Orchid."

Yang shrugged. "Orchid and Violet were flying in that direction. I let them know where the hotel is, and you know how nurse Orchid is."

"That I do." Ruby nodded. "Blake, the offer is still on the table."

Blake shook her head. "We're settled in, and I think you have a full house here anyway."

"Kinda true." Ruby shrugged. Blake walked past the Rider toward where everyone else stood. Ruby returned her attention to the other two still standing by her. "How'd your time on set go?"

"It's weird trying to act around a dragon that's not there." Yang crossed her arms. "I think I still managed just fine."

"I… don't know about it." Viki shifted on her feet. "Too many cameras, too many people telling me what to do… I'm not a fan. Too much like my old life."

Ruby pulled the smile off her face. "What?" She flicked her eyes to Yang. "Even as an extra?"

"Some of the people on set are a little heavy-handed this time around." Yang shook her head. "I translated everything they said into something that's a little friendlier, well, every time I caught something anyway." She scowled. "Maybe I should let them know that if they want to keep a real Rider on set, they'll need to understand what not to say around me and Viki."

"That would be nice," Viki mumbled.

"Back to happier things," Ruby gestured to the sitting area, "we've got a bunch of snacks set out over there. Weiss is taking care of that so it should all at least look good."

"Could you put Halcyon's Core back in his body?" Yang took the Core off her belt and handed it to Viki. "I need to talk to Ruby for a sec." Viki took the core and walked toward Yang's room

"What's this about, Yang?" Ruby asked. "Something come up with Halcyon?"

 _Only that I wish I could crush some of those people who insulted Viki's intelligence,_ Halcyon called. _Them, and quite a few other jerks on set. I miss the days when I could just growl at people who irk me and they shy away, if they don't run away scared._

"Nah, it's about what you told me… right before I left." Yang walked to stand by her sister's side, facing away from the others in the house. "I don't really know how to ask this without getting punched in the face, but… did it work?"

"Did what… Oh. That." Ruby looked away and tried to put on her best disappointed face. She also put more energy into the wards concealing her baby's life force. Ruby shook her head. "Nothing so far, but by now I'd think something would have happened."

Yang sighed and hooked an arm over her sister's shoulders. She pulled Ruby close in a side hug. "I'm sorry, sis. I know how much you wanted this."

"Thanks, Yang." Ruby sighed. "I guess… we wait for one of us to bring the next step up. I don't want to talk about it right now… I didn't when you brought it up either." She shot Yang a weak but real glare. She was forced to lie to her sister to see her reaction with everyone else'. Well, it was more of a half-truth than a lie.

Yang winced. "Sorry."

Ruby shook her head and took a deep breath. "Well, we should probably be social with the others." She turned around and walked toward the party that was going on without her. Ruby took a seat on a still open couch and Cerise walked around everyone to lay behind and beside her Rider. Yang waited for Viki and Halcyon to join them before picking a seat herself.

After a bit of adult talking, Rusty tugged on his mother's skirt. "Mommy, I'm bored."

 _Bored?_ Halcyon perked his ears up and faced the toddler. _No. I will not have that in this house._ He walked over to Rusty and grabbed one of the boy's sleeves in his mechanical lips. _You are coming with me._

Rusty smiled at Halcyon then up at his mother. "Please, mommy?"

Pyrrha shrugged as best as she could while holding Sarah. "It's his house, it's his rules."

"Yay!" Rusty climbed onto Halcyon's back and the mechanical dragon carried him off.

Yang smirked at her dragon as he carried the toddler away. "I never expected he'd be this good with kids."

"He's their size now," Nora chirped. "It would make sense that he acts like them too."

"And he said he didn't want to be a dog." Yang shook her head. "He isn't, but around Rusty, he might as well be."

"We're going to have to have a kids table around here sooner or later," Ruby said. "There's going to be a lot of them." She smiled at Velvet and the twins the Faunus was carrying.

"Hopefully more coming soon," Weiss said. "Neptune and I are looking forward to the chance."

Ruby's cheeks burned and she faced away from her partner. "So… both of you are excited to be free of that."

Weiss groaned and hung her head off the back of her couch. "More than you can know. I'm planning on announcing I'm stepping down after the end of the fiscal year. Stocks will plummet of course, but they should be able to recover by the end of the quarter."

"How's Whitley liking this?" Blake asked.

Weiss laughed and Saphira joined in. "He isn't."

 _Since he quit when the old laws were in place,_ Saphira started, _he doesn't get the monthly stipend like Weiss will get._

"I'll have the Lien to live like a queen doing what I love, not that I will on that first part, and Whitley will have to settle for managing a logistics company or whatever others will have him. After what he did with his last weapons shipment, I doubt that will be very many. The stipend I get will be more than Whitley makes in a year now. I told Winter about all this, she actually smiled."

"She and Qrow will finally agree on something," Velvet said.

"And here I thought Vacuo would freeze over before that happened."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Don't I know it."

Ruby looked toward the main dragon door as she felt her husband touch her mind. "It looks like Aaron and Nalia are finally here."

"Where were they?" Ren asked. "It's not like them to be late."

Ruby sighed. "Aaron forgot about a meeting with Glynda. Don't worry, I'll berate him tonight."

A few minutes of conversation later, Aaron and Nalia stepped inside. The Rider sat by his wife's side and draped an arm over her shoulders. Despite what she said a few minutes earlier, she melted into him. "Sorry I'm late," Aaron said before kissing Ruby's forehead. "Glynda went a little long, even for her."

"You're fine." Ruby kissed Aaron's cheek. "You haven't missed much."

"Now that you're both here," Pyrrha started, "I can ask this. How bad is the technological infection in Alagaësia?"

Ruby sighed. "Like I'm sure you've heard, they have guns now."

Aaron shook his head. "And I thought them getting crossbows was bad enough."

"I think I heard someone say something about a dwarf steam engine when we were last in Ellesméra." Ruby shook her head. "They're not even taking anything from here back with them."

"They're industrializing?" Velvet asked.

"It was just something I overheard. Not sure how trustworthy rumors even in the Ancient Language are." Ruby paused. "I hate to make this comparison, but Alagaësia might be turning steampunk."

"Really, Ruby?" Weiss shot her partner a look, then blinked and looked away. "Actually, you might not be far off."

"Steam power worked for us until we found out how to make power directly from Dust," Blake started. "That could be what they use for power without any Dust there."

"The thing is they shouldn't have that kind of tech for a few more centuries," Aaron said. "Let's hope Barty is right with how Alagaësia will be different from Vacuo."

Ruby nodded. Dr. Oobleck had theorized that since all technology Alagaësia was developing was their own and not directly taken from Remnant coupled with the fact that the Kingdoms of Alagaësia are more structured than Vacuo ever was that Alagaësia could still keep its identity and that the Kingdoms shouldn't fall apart. But that was only a theory. Time would tell if he was right.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Jaune asked. "What _can_ we do about it?"

"I don't know." Ruby shrugged. "I kind of torqued off a bunch of our allies a few days ago, and I wouldn't say they're in a talking mood at the moment. I won't say what with non-command staff in hearing range."

"You can get friends mad at you?" Nora asked.

"Allies, not exactly friends. There's a big difference."

"Sooo… on a happier note," Yang looked around the crowd, "did anyone see Professor Peculiar 2 last night?"

"No!" Nora burst to her feet and jabbed a finger in Yang's direction. "No spoilers, Xiao Long!"

"Really?" Yang smirked. "Not even saying that he j-"

Nora drew Manganild and held her hammer at the ready. "Choose your words wisely Xiao Long. They may be your last."

Ruby snorted while trying to hold back a laugh. "Easy, Nora, no fighting in the house."

Yang held her hands up. "Okay. No spoilers from me." She didn't sound too worried.

"Good." Nora collapsed her weapon and sat back down like she didn't just threaten Yang's life.

Ruby turned her head a few degrees toward her husband. _I haven't told them. Is now good enough?_

Aaron turned his eyes toward his wife. _I don't want to keep this a secret anymore. Go for it, however you want to._

Ruby nodded then faced everyone. "Aaron and I have been talking about something for a while. We might need to do some remodeling around here."

Weiss' jaw dropped. "Remodeling?" She sighed. "We just built this place. What could possibly be wrong with it?"

"This is the first time I'm hearing about this." Yang faced Viki. "You hear about any of this?" Her sister in law shook her head. Yang faced Ruby again. "Are you talking about command level or living level?"

"I'm talking about the house, and maybe repurposing would be a better word. There's no major construction or anything like that, just painting and putting new pieces of furniture together."

"I can help with that," Viki spoke up for the first time in a while.

"So what are we talking about?" Yang asked. "And why did you keep me and Viki out of this? We live here too."

"It's not that big of a deal." Ruby internally smiled. _Time to drop the bomb._ "We just need to convert one of the guest rooms into a nursery."

Yang, for the most part, looked confused. What Ruby said earlier had to throw her through a loop. Everyone else locked their eyes on Ruby. Saphira and Vert raised their ears. They also sniffed the air. It looked like Weiss was a few words away from exploding into a squealing little girl. Halcyon sprinted back over with Rusty still on his back. The boy looked even more confused than Yang but all of that was directed at Halcyon. Ruby felt a few more minds on her and it felt like they were searching for something. "N... nursery?" Blake asked.

"Yeah. We got nine months, so no rush."

"Wait, _what?"_ Yang jumped in her seat and her mouth hung open. "You said it didn't work!"

Ruby smiled. "It didn't. We found out the day before."

"Just say it, Ruby!" Weiss bounced on her seat, her top teeth resting on her lower lip.

"Okay." Ruby relaxed and released her barely contained smile. "I'm pregnant." She cut the energy flow to the wards concealing her baby's presence. The minds searching her locked on to the new life force when the wards fell. All telepaths' faces lit up simultaneously.

"Oh my gosh, Ruby!" Yang stood up and took a step forward.

"EEEEEEE!" A white streak burst forward and picked Ruby up from her seat in a hug. "Congratulations, Ruby!" Weiss yelled. She started jumping in place while Ruby stayed rooted to the ground. The pregnant woman laughed, returned the hug, and started jumping with her partner. Ruby and Weiss laughed harder and started jumping in a circle.

A strong hand held Ruby down. "Excuse me, Weiss," Yang growled. "She was my sister first."

"Hmpf." Weiss pulled away from Ruby and crossed her arms.

Yang glared at Weiss for another second then turned to her sister. None of the hostility made the turn. "Ruby, you sly fox!" She punched her sister's shoulder. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"I wanted to see your reaction with everyone else'." Ruby giggled. "You didn't disappoint."

"I try." Yang pulled Ruby into a back breaking hug. Halcyon hummed and rubbed his side against Ruby's legs.

Cerise growled. _Yang, you will hurt the baby and my Rider._

"Sorry." Yang set Ruby down and stepped away. She held her arms out like she was ready to catch Ruby if she fell. "Don't want either of those." She paused. "How many other people know?"

"Everyone in this room and dad. He was a mess. I asked him not to tell anyone. The only reason I told him was because I knew he wouldn't be here."

"He should know. I just wish I could have seen his face."

"You can." Ruby tapped the right side of her head. "I recorded the whole thing."

Yang smirked. "Now I can make fun of him for real."

"Weiss just hugged me!" Aaron called. "Should I be worried?"

"You're going to be a father!" Weiss squealed as she stepped back from Aaron. "I'm happy for you, and you should be happy too!"

 _My Rider isn't as cold-hearted as you seem to believe,_ Saphira said as she walked over to Aaron. _You should know this by now._

Aaron shrugged. "I'm just not used to being her target."

"Something tells me you better get used to it," Ruby giggled. She continued to receive hugs and congratulations from everyone in the room, including from the dragons. Pyrrha and Jaune had to explain the situation to Rusty, after which the boy squealed and latched onto Ruby's right leg. For once, Ruby enjoyed every second of being the center of attention. It was going to be a long nine months, but the end result would be worth it.

* * *

 **No joke here, in my** _ **original**_ **outline from years ago, the events in this chapter were in chapter 50 of A Rose's Scales, back when we knew nothing about Salem and when A Rose's Scales and Reversal were planned to be the same story. Oh, how the outline has changed. Now we're onto stuff that I couldn't comprehend when I started this out.**

 **Now, last weeks episode... Old woman Katara looked a lot like Amber when she was younger. Protect the Ruby! Her smile must live! JAUNE'S SISTER! Looks like I was right about Weiss and babies. Atlas... jerks.**

 **Still that time of year... Horns up, ears down. We goin' to Texas! HOP UNTIL FRISCO!**


	56. Next Generation

**A few weeks ago, I had a mild panic attack. I knew the baby was going to be born soon, but I didn't know how soon. If it was going to happen on Christmas Day (or Eve as it is now) I needed to change something quick. I was NOT going to deal with that symbolism. Thankfully I didn't have to and that whole mess was avoided. Instead, you get this.  
**

* * *

"Thank you for coming, Aaron," Ruby cooed as she hung on to her husband's right arm. They walked out of St Patch's together and toward the greenspace currently being used as a landing area. Cerise and Nalia looked in their Riders' direction while Yang climbed into the Riders' unarmed Bullhead.

"You've been trying to get me to come for years." Aaron shrugged his left shoulder, not disturbing his pregnant wife. "You convinced Nalia on a few things, and I figured I should at least see what this is before writing it off completely."

Ruby looked up at Aaron with big puppy dog eyes, something that he had given into more and more in recent months. "And?"

"I need to come back more to get a better idea. I can't judge all that off one service."

Ruby's eyes brightened. "Thank you!" She rubbed her face against Aaron's shoulder as they continued to walk.

"Uh, Ruby?" Aaron glanced around the parking lot. Most of the people in the lot itself didn't pay attention, but there were a few cameras across the street between the trees. Probably tabloids, but too many people believed those for Aaron's liking. "We're in public."

"I don't care." Ruby moved her head faster. "Blame it on the mood swings."

Aaron sighed. Ruby's mood swings were either a blessing or a curse. She was absolutely adorable when she got clingy like this and terrifying when her cravings weren't met in less than five minutes. "It wouldn't be a lie." Aaron faced forward again. He led the way across the grass and to the Bullhead. Yang waved from the cockpit as they got close.

Ruby let go of Aaron's arm and stepped up into the Bullhead. She turned around, slumped her shoulders, and pushed her lower lip out. "Do you have to leave?"

"You know I do. I've got to make sure the initiations for the Alagaësians goes smoothly."

"Glynda and Pyrrha can do that on their own," Ruby whined. "I wanted a cuddle day…"

"You do have Cerise for that." Aaron gestured at the dragon on the other side of the Bullhead. "I doubt she'd complain."

Cerise hummed and Ruby's eyes rolled into the back of her head. The Rider's body slumped even more and the smile on her face returned. "Yeah… that sounds lovely."

"Besides, I doubt this is going to last the whole day. Just try to stay like this for when I get home."

Ruby focused back on Aaron. "I can try, but you know me lately. No promises."

Aaron nodded and stepped back from the Bullhead. "I love you. See you later."

"Love you too." Ruby waved as she stepped into the cockpit. The Bullhead's engines wound up and the transport lifted off the ground. It angled toward the mainland and flew off at a leisurely pace. Cerise jumped off the ground and followed the Bullhead.

 _You know that she's going to be a completely different person next time you see her, right?_ Nalia asked.

Aaron nodded. "With how the last few days have been going, oh yeah." He shook his head. "Let's get to Beacon. I'm sure they want us there early for a reason."

 _You mean other than to avoid Orchid's hugging ambush?_ Nalia tilted her back toward her Rider.

"I'd hope that she's more concerned with helping her Rider focus." Aaron pulled himself onto Nalia's back. "It's a big day for both of them. I doubt either of them want to mess it up."

 _Indeed. If they can keep their heads and Orchid doesn't intervene, Violet will do well._ Nalia jumped away from the landing pad and flew toward Beacon. _That is a big if. As far as I know, those two haven't been apart since we sent Orchid to New Vroengard for a month._

"They're trained better than that. Even a Deathstalker shouldn't scare Violet by now… a normal one anyway. Alagaësian Grimm have been popping up more and more lately."

 _Even then she should be able to take it. I have every confidence in her._

"As do I." Aaron paused. "With how much we're going to be teaching students magic this year, I'd almost think we should be paid by Beacon."

Nalia snorted and turned her head back. _Really, Aaron? Since when do you care about being paid?_

"Since in a few months, I'm going to be a father. I don't want to take funds away from the Riders that could be used elsewhere. If we were self-sufficient, I wouldn't worry about it. Since we aren't, I need something to help me raise our baby. Besides, I don't think we could raise our baby like the Riders did on Vorengard with Vale right there."

Nalia's pupils dilated and she hummed. _And you thought you would be a terrible father._

"That's one thing, Nalia. I want to provide, but that doesn't mean I'll be good at all the other stuff."

 _Give yourself some credit, Aaron. Stop worrying. It's not like Ruby, Cerise, or I will let you harm your baby._

"There is that…" Aaron shook his head. "We've still got a few months. Focus on the here and now."

 _I can deal with that._ Nalia faced forward again and angled down toward the open grass by Halcyon Hall. She landed and no dragon walked out to meet them. Violet and Orchid must have been somewhere else. Arya and Fírnen wouldn't arrive until later in the day.

Aaron walked across campus to the Proving Grounds where he was going to meet with another professor for observing the initiation. From what Aaron understood, he'd be focusing on all the Alagaësians while the professor would focus on everyone else. That could get complicated when the students paired up, but the teachers would figure that out when the time came.

The Rider pushed his way into the Proving Ground and walked down the halls until he found the room marked 'INITIATION OBSERVATION.' Aaron held his Scroll up to the scanner on the wall. The door clicked and Aaron pushed the door open. He nearly did a double take when he saw who else was in the room. "Oscar. I didn't expect to see you here."

Oscar turned in his chair toward the Rider. "Aaron, it's good to see you again. As for why I'm here, my current path allows me to get my Masters and Ph.D. at the same time. Glynda saw fit to hire me on as an assistant for Doctor Oobleck."

Aaron closed the door behind him. "Does he know about you?"

"Since he is Glynda's deputy Headmaster, yes."

"Ruby's not going to be happy when she finds out you're here." Aaron pulled a chair from the back wall and sat down facing the screens.

Oscar dipped his head. "Probably. You just heard how much Ozpin and I are blending together. It still sounds weird to me."

"You really are starting to sound like Ozpin." Aaron crossed his arms. "So why was I called here so early?"

"To familiarize yourself with how all these cameras operate and the criteria for student evaluation." Oscar pushed a stack of papers in front of Aaron. "I'm sure you have things you're looking for in the Riders and Alagaësians, but these forms will help determine their initial rankings, class placements, and who will be team leaders."

"That could be a little tricky with the Urgals. You've been told about how they choose their leaders, right?"

Oscar nodded. "Oromis explained it when he first proposed the idea when we first met." He blinked and shook his head. "When he and Ozpin met. It's getting hard to keep track of who's who." He paused as he picked up his mug. "Yeah, yeah, we're the same person and all that." He took a sip from his cup.

Aaron sniffed the air. "I don't smell coffee."

"I can't stand the stuff." Oscar shook his head. "Ozpin has to deal with hot chocolate from now on."

"If Ruby was here, she'd give you a high five." Aaron opened the folder in front of him and started looking through it. It looked like there was a separate form for each Alagaësian, but they all had the same information and questions. They looked mainly like forms to document observations and nothing deeper. If these would be used to determine the students' placement at Beacon, Aaron hoped he put the right things down.

About an hour later, students started to assemble on the cliffside for the beginning of their initiation. Three dragons lay on the grass. It looked like Orchid had taken a liking to the two younger dragons. Lavi returned Orchid's hugs creating a tangle of purple and orange, but Fomak shirked away and stayed still. His sand-colored scales did nothing to disguise him in the forest.

A few minutes later, a Bullhead landed to the right of all the initiates. Glynda and Barty stepped out and walked to the front of all the students. The mob of initiates made their way onto the catapults. Aaron wondered how many of them knew what they were standing on…

"Hold on a second." Aaron stood up and looked closer at one of the screens. "Do the Alagaësians have their Aura unlocked?"

"They do," Oscar said. "Glynda and Pyrrha spent the day doing that yesterday. They all have parachutes as well and have been instructed in their use. We would not throw those who are unprepared off a cliff at a hundred miles an hour."

Aaron gave Oscar a look. "Isn't that what was done to me?"

Oscar shrugged. "We didn't know you didn't have your Aura unlocked at the time. Also, with you riding a dragon, we figured you had ways of stopping your fall."

"Barely." Aaron faced the projection again. It looked like Goodwitch was about to start.

" _Good morning, students,"_ the Headmistress started, _"welcome to your Beacon Initiation. The purpose of this day is twofold; to grade you on how well you fight and work together as well as to determine team placements. Your objective will be to retrieve a relic from somewhere deep inside the forest and bring it back here with your partner. Do not hesitate to kill all Grimm in your path. They will not do so for you. To better simulate an actual mission, you are all on your own out there. No professors or Huntsmen will come to save you if you are in trouble. You must rely on yourselves and each other to survive."_

Aaron shook his head. "Not even the harshest trainer on Vroengard is that brutal."

"We aren't either," Oscar said. "There are indeed professors out in the forest clearing out the worst of the Grimm, and they will not let any student die."

"What?" Aaron stared at Oscar. "Why lie to them?"

"It is a tradition dating back several decades, while I was reincarnating in Armen to the Ozpin that you knew. It has improved how well the students fight. There have been fewer serious injuries and no deaths since then."

Aaron blinked and faced the screens again. "That's… I don't know."

"Be thankful we are not like Atlas and there really are no professors watching over the initiates."

On the screens, Barty stepped forward. _"A Huntsman must be able to work well with others in order for cohesion in a time of need, sometimes with complete strangers. At the same time, teamwork with those closest to you cannot be beaten. As such, the person you first lock eyes with will be your partner for the next four years."_ Some of the students shifted on their feet, especially the Alagaësians.

" _All of you will need to develop your own landing strategies,"_ Glynda continued. _"Alagaësians, since you are new to how things are done on Remnant and your new abilities, your parachutes will be your landing strategy for today. Do not worry about packing it up after you land. Professors will retrieve them after all of you have returned. Are there any questions?"_

" _You never explained why we needed these things,"_ one of the dwarves yelled.

" _I'd think that would be obvious."_ Glynda hit something on her Scroll and the dwarf was flung into the air. The dwarf next to him stared after his kinsman, then flew off himself. It looked like the second one flew a lot farther. One by one, the platforms launched all students into the air above the Emerald Forest. All parachutes deployed except three. Aaron tried to find where those three landed. It turned out they were all elves, like they could have been anyone else. Aaron found the dwarves on other cameras. They swore the whole way down, well, as far as they went before their parachutes got stuck in the trees.

Aaron set up several screens to follow all the Alagaësians, with the ones with Liliana front and center. He also said he'd watch over Violet since, unlike Pewter, he hadn't seen her fight much. No dragons flew to their Riders, so they passed at least that part.

Violet was the first one of Aaron's lot to find Grimm. The Faunus Rider drew her tonfa and extended the new Brightsteel blades on the ends of her weapons. A small pack of Beowolves rushed her from the trees. The Alpha took the lead and charged its 'prey.' Violet waited until the Grimm was right on top of her before she plunged her blades into the bottom of the creature's head. The blades formed an X over the Alpha's skull. Violet withdrew her blades and the Grimm began to disintegrate.

The Rider faced the rest of her opponents. The Grimm pack surrounded Violet, then charged all at once. Violet held her weapons straight out from her body and held down the triggers. She turned in a circle as her shots cut down the Beowolves. When the Grimm got too close, she stopped firing and sped up her turn, her blades tearing right through the Grimm. By the time she stopped spinning, all Grimm around her lay dead and evaporating. Violet looked over her kills then pumped a fist. She smiled up at what looked like the starting cliff. She giggled a little before continuing through the forest.

Aaron nodded and wrote down his observations for the fight. He couldn't really fault Violet from contacting Orchid during her initiation. He did the same with Nalia. The Rider turned his attention back to the screens. It looked like Liliana had found a group of Ursai. This fight wouldn't be as easy. At least there wasn't a Major among them.

Liliana raised her sand-colored sword and her shield and stared down the three bears. The first Ursa charged and Liliana moved her shield to block. She was pushed back a little, but her arm never gave. She swung her sword up and dismembered the Ursa. The Grimm screamed and the Rider jammed her sword down the creature's throat. The elf pulled back and faced the other two. She jumped at one of them and decapitated it before it had the chance to raise a paw. The last Ursa tried to claw at Liliana's back, but the Rider spun out of the way. She then stabbed that Grimm through the eye before touching down.

Aaron nodded and began writing down what he saw in that fight. Brom taught Liliana well. She'd make a good Rider someday. Aaron looked back up at the projector and stiffened. A trio of Ckríða snuck up on Liliana. The elf didn't look like she knew the Alagaësian Creeps were there. "Come on. Turn around…"

Right as one of the Ckríða pounced, an Urgal burst from the trees and brought his ax down on the Grimm's head. Liliana turned around and dropped into a defensive stance. The Urgal pulled his ax back then chopped into another creature's back. Liliana then lunged forward and skewered the last Grimm.

Aaron sighed. That could have been bad. Now it looked like an elven Rider would be partnered with an Urgal for their time at Beacon. That would test a few things. Aaron glanced over every other screen he was assigned. A few minutes later, every Alagaësian had paired up with someone else. Some paired with another Alagaësian, some a Remmartian. Violet found a rabbit Faunus girl with what Aaron thought was a combination of a longsword and LMG. It looked like they were just talking, something Violet excelled at.

Over the next half hour, Aaron observed several dozen skirmishes between students and Grimm. Violet and her partner, who Oscar said was Navila Ramsey, a Jackrabbit Faunus out of Armen, didn't let each other be touched. Those two met up with another pair of Faunus and they traveled together. Violet took the lead, twirling one of her tonfa as she walked. It looked like that team, if it indeed became a team, was an interesting one. There was a brute of a man with buffalo horns that could very well be mistaken for an Urgal from a distance that looked like he enjoyed listening to Violet. The other student who had feathers instead of hair constantly scanned his surroundings, always on edge… actually, the only things that differentiated them from other teams was that there was a Rider among them and that they were all Faunus. The strong man, over-cautious, neutral, and happy-go-lucky combination appeared to be a common thing.

A little later, Violet's group arrived at the ruin containing the relics, the last one to do so. The only things left were the white bishop pieces. Violet and the big guy grabbed them and they started walking back toward the cliff. They were fine for the time being.

Aaron shifted his attention back to Liliana's team. She and the Urgal had met up with a Faunus and a Remmartian human along the way. They were punching their way through a wall of Beowolves and Ursai. They were making swift progress, but Liliana wasn't the one leading the charge. That was left to the reptilian Faunus woman. With an Urgal and a Rider on the team, that could prove troublesome. Still, they made it to the top of the cliff and gave their pieces to Glynda and Oobleck. That group would almost certainly be a team.

Most of the rest of the teams made it to the top of the cliff in short order, leaving Violet's team alone in the forest, not that they were far away. They were just taking their time and fighting all Grimm along the way. Nothing really touched them except for one lucky Beowolf's that swiped at the big guy's back.

The bird Faunus stepped in front of the ground and held an arm out in front of them. They all dropped into defensive positions. Violet's confident smile slowly disappeared. Aaron searched nearby cameras and found what was going on. A Dauthwlido charged through the trees toward the student, only this one had a red stripe running down its back. None of the Alagaësian Deathstalkers Aaron had seen had that. Something told him that this one was much more dangerous.

The giant scorpion charged into the clearing without stopping. The students dove out of the way and they came up shooting. The Dauthwlido lowered its tail and spun around. Violet flattened herself on the ground but it slammed Navila into a tree and the bird into a nearby rock.

The brute ran around the clearing and five copies of himself popped up around him, each with their own club rifle. They all charged, picking up impressive speed, and collided with the scorpion. The impact flipped the Dauthwlido upside down and into a few other trees. The buffalo pumped a fist as all his clones went back into him.

Before anyone could celebrate, the scorpion righted itself. Its tail twitched and broke into two. A few plates on its back raised and shot spikes out at the buffalo. Aaron stood up in his chair and clenched the desk in front of him. That was new. "How did that thing get past the professors?"

"I'd like to know that reason too," Oscar said. "They weren't supposed to let any Alagaësian Grimm of that size pass."

The Dauthwlido continued its ranged assault until Violet ran in from the side and jammed her blades into the tops of the open plates. She held down her triggers until one of the scorpion's tails smacked her off. The Dauthwlido turned toward the downed Rider. It launched its other tail at Violet and the Rider barely rolled out of the way. Violet pointed a hand at the ground and said something. The ground rose and solidified around the stinger. Violet tilted her head and her mouth moved again.

Navila charged in from the side with her weapon trailing behind her. She raised her longsword then brought it down on the appendage. The blade severed the stinger and the tail pulled away. The Dauthwlido backed up then smacked Navila away with one of its claws. It then charged the downed student and stabbed its remaining stinger down into Navila. The girl's Aura flared blue and collapsed, letting the stinger through into her shoulder. Navila screamed and squirmed around.

Aaron swore under his breath and turned his eyes to the screen with the dragons. All three stood on the edge of the cliff, growling at the forest below. "Oscar, tell Glynda to let the dragons do what they do."

"I was going to anyway." Oscar pulled out his Scroll and dialed Glynda.

Aaron returned his attention back to the screen with Violet's team. Violet had picked up Navila's longsword and was talking with the buffalo. A few seconds later, the big guy picked Violet up and threw her at the scorpion. Violet and the longsword flew straight at the Dauthwlido and into the Grimm's head. The Grimm slumped and fell to the ground.

Violet withdrew the sword and ran to her partner's side. She pointed at where the bird Faunus had yet to rise after being hit to the side. The buffalo ran to his own partner's side and picked him up. Violet pulled the stinger out of Navila's shoulder and covered the wound with her hands. A minute later Orchid landed in the clearing and stood over the fallen student. Aaron couldn't find a good angle, but it looked like Orchid was licking Navila's injury. When Orchid stepped away, it looked like most of the blood was gone, but that didn't mean the injury was completely healed.

The Rider tried to help her partner up, but Navila kept falling down. Violet then motioned for her partner to get on her back. Navila complied and Violet picked her up. On the other side of the clearing, the bird stood up with his own power. Orchid snorted, faced her Rider, and took off again. The team continued to proceed up to the cliff, this time with very few Grimm blocking them. The bird was able to take them all out.

When they made it up to the cliff, Aaron breathed a sigh of relief. Orchid jumped forward again and positioned herself above her Rider. She nudged her Rider and Navila as they walked. Violet didn't even stop when she threw her relic at Glynda and Oobleck. Her team boarded the Bullhead and the transport lifted off immediately.

Aaron wrote down a few more quick notes then shoved his paper toward Oscar. "I'm going to check on them." He left the room and took out his Scroll. It looked like he had a text from Ruby, just who he wanted to talk to. He opened it up and winced. 'Oatmeal raisin cookies.' Her most recent craving with a period. She would not be happy when Aaron got home. At least she put all that aside when business came up. Aaron texted back, 'New type of Grimm, nearly killed Violet's partner. Checking on them now.' He put his Scroll away and left the building.

 _I see them coming in,_ Nalia called. _They're flying toward the docks._

 _On my way._ Aaron turned and jogged in that direction. A Bullhead flew over him with Orchid right behind it. They landed at the docks and the doors on the transport opened. Violet stepped out, this time only supporting Navila, not carrying her. Orchid stepped to their side and began licking Navila's shoulder again.

Violet looked up at Aaron. "What are you doing here? Never mind. Navila needs help."

The rabbit Faunus' head fell to the side. "Whoo are yooouu taing tooo?"

 _It's not working!_ Orchid whimpered. _I don't know why! I thought I could heal internal injuries now!_

Aaron looked closer at Navila's injury. Her shoulder was turning black. "Deathstalker poison. Get her to the infirmary now."

 _I'm faster._ Orchid crouched as low as she could.

Violet nodded. "Sorry, Navila, this is going to feel a little weird. Adur." The other Faunus lifted off the ground and over Violet's back."

"Feeee weir? I don' fee a ting." Navila lowered onto Orchid's back.

"That's not good." Violet jumped up behind her partner and pat her dragon's side. "Let's go, girl." Orchid raised to her feet and pounced off toward the infirmary.

Aaron faced the Bullhead again. The bird and the buffalo were just disembarking. "Are either of you injured?"

The buffalo shook his head. "Nah, just a little out of breath." He looked right at Aaron and straightened. "Oh. You're…"

"Yeah, I'm him. Are either of you hurt?"

The bird shook his head and straightened up. "I am unharmed. The Deathstalker just knocked my breath away."

"And I thought I could take hits." The buffalo elbowed the bird. "You barely took a scratch." He faced Aaron again. "I'm Thunder, by the way, and this is Hawk."

" _Dartmouth_ Hawk." Hawk shook his head. "Why do city folk insist on calling me Hawk?"

"Sorry, it's just easier." Thunder shook his head. "We should probably check with the others. Navila was… babbling on the flight over." Thunder and Dartmouth walked away from the docks.

Nalia hummed sadly and walked up to Aaron. _I hope she'll recover._

"Orchid's kisses have to be doing something." Aaron shook his head. "Deathstalker poison works fast. I'd imagine even faster for that one." He took out his Scroll and checked his texts. Ruby had returned his text, this one a lot calmer. 'Alright. We'll talk when you get back. The cookies are now optional.' "She says optional now…" Aaron sighed and put his Scroll away. "Nalia, quick stop downtown, then we fly home."

 _Agreed._ Nalia lowered herself to the ground. _I don't want you to lose a hand._

Aaron climbed up his dragon's side and settled in the saddle. "That one was too close." Nalia jumped away from the docks and flew toward Ruby's recent favorite bakery. Aaron was in and out of Maddie Su's quick and easy, they knew his order. After that, Nalia flew home as fast as she could. Keeping Ruby waiting when she had a craving was _not_ a good idea.

Nalia landed on the pad beside the house and Aaron jumped off. The Rider waited for the dragon door to open before stepping inside. "Ruby, I'm h-"

A flurry of rose petals appeared in front of him and cold metal rested beneath his chin. Slanted silver eyes bored into Aaron's. "You're late. Cookies. Now." Ruby growled without separating her teeth.

Aaron held his left hand up while he slowly brought his right with the cookie bag forward. "Here you go."

Ruby turned her head to the bag. She blinked and smiled, all malice gone. "Thank you!" She folded up Máni Bláto and kissed Aaron's cheek. She turned around, grabbed a cookie out of the bag and stuffed it into her mouth whole. The pregnant woman burped then grabbed another cookie while walking toward her dragon.

"Uh, Ruby?" Aaron started. Ruby turned back to him, her glare returning but the crumbs on her lips lessening the effect. "The Grimm?"

"What?" Ruby straightened up and her glare disappeared. "Oh. That." She shook her head and let the hand holding the bag drop to her side. "Sorry. I got ahead of myself. What was different about this Grimm?"

"First of all, the only visual difference was a red stripe down its back. Then its tail split in two and it shot something out of plates in its back."

Ruby quirked her eyes. "What?"

"The Dauthwlido shot spikes from its back like a machinegun. The thing was as fast as Beowolf too."

Ruby raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Do you have any recordings of this?"

Aaron shook his head. "Violet's partner was hurt pretty bad. I didn't wait around for any of that."

"I guess I'll have to call Glynda." Ruby crossed her arms, still holding onto the cookie bag. "New Grimm. First time we've seen something from Salem in years. Well, besides the failed Vacuan civil war… and the hack a year ago."

"Yeah. That was a thing. Thank you Avrart and your paper copies."

"It's not like they got much on us anyway." Ruby paused. "So who were you working with in there?"

Aaron hesitated. "Oscar. He's going for his doctorate at Beacon."

Ruby tensed. "Oscar? The one that Ozpin possessed?"

"Yes. Oscar's still himself for the most part, but he's starting to sound a lot like Ozpin."

Ruby clenched her fists. "That good for nothing _parasite!"_ She ripped open the bag and stuffed another cookie in her mouth. "He couldn't possess some bad guy so that he would be an improvement. He _had_ to take over a sweet kid." She continued to rant while eating cookies and pacing in a circle. Aaron had learned the hard way it was better for Ruby to blow off all her steam than to try to intervene, especially if the rant wasn't aimed at him. She'd apologize right before bed, one of the few times her mood swings rarely affected her.

Ruby stopped with a cookie halfway between the bag and her mouth. She clenched her eyes and breathed through her teeth. The cookie and bag dropped from her hands as she wrapped her hands beneath her baby bump. Aaron knew that look, though the reason hadn't happened in a while. He walked to his wife's side, hooked his right arm through her left, and guided her over to the nearest couch. They sat down together and Aaron pulled Ruby close to his side. Ruby pressed her face into the top of Aaron's shoulder and pulled it closer. She started sweating and her breathing grew quick and ragged. Cerise walked over, hummed, and touched her snout to the back of her Rider's head. Nalia rested her head right by Ruby's feet.

After a couple minutes of that, Ruby relaxed somewhat and breathed heavy into Aaron's shoulder. "Cramps… suck," she gasped between breaths.

"Are you sure you want to do this naturally?" Aaron asked.

Ruby pulled her head off Aaron. "Unless something happens that could hurt me or our baby, yes. It's how it's done in Alagaesia, it's how a lot of people do it here. I'm not better than any of them."

"Okay, but if something happens-"

"-I'll expect you to do something." Ruby sighed. "Thank you for getting me over here…" She looked back at where she dropped her snacks, then back to Aaron. "I'm sorry. I texted you that those were optional and I still jumped on you like that. That shouldn't have happened."

"You're fine." Aaron waved her off. "It's not your fault. You weren't you."

Ruby smiled at Aaron like she was that morning, then she shook her head and faced away. "I swear, these mood swings are _not_ natural. Why do pain and business have to be the only things that can get me sane again?"

 _I could help with that,_ Cerise said.

"No help, magical or mental." Ruby reached back and rubbed her dragon's snout. "But thanks for the offer."

 _If you ever change your mind,_ Nalia rose her head to Ruby's level, _don't hesitate to tell us._

"I won't, but for now…" Ruby took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'd like to get back to my cookies before I explode on someone again."

"I'll get them." Aaron walked over to where Ruby dropped the bag and picked it up. She still had a few left. Then again, she was somewhat thinking straight. Aaron brought the bag back to Ruby. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Ruby took the bag and Aaron's wrist before he could take it back. At first, Aaron thought his wife was about to snap on him again, but the kind look in her eyes said something different. "I don't say this enough. Thank you for putting up with me when I get like that. I get pretty scary when I get my cravings… and when anything upsets me at all."

"You're welcome, Ruby." Aaron kissed his wife's forehead. "As long as you don't start cutting off body parts, I can handle it."

* * *

 **Trust me, you're glad you got this version of the chapter. The first draft had something terrible happen that really didn't need to and no future consequences, sort of like Yang's paralysis and nothing coming of that. Yeah... I do regret that whole thing a bit.  
**

 **Anyway, last week's episode... I was really hoping for Winter, not the Queen of Hearts. Ruby continues to be adorable and a great. Dang, Jaune! Oscar is 14! Don't be so rough. Look what you made him do!**

 **Hope you all have a Merry Christmas tomorrow.**


	57. Needed Lecture

**I can't remember if I've said this before, but what I'm calling book 4.5 in the Inheritance Cycle came out today. I actually got it in the mail on the 29th, but I haven't had time to read much because of other family events. From the part I have read... there are a few unintentional parallels between Ruby and Eragon in future chapters in this. Don't ask me how it happened.  
**

* * *

Ruby looked at the screen in front of her and bit her lip. "That's a lot of people."

Pyrrha laughed behind her. "Don't tell me you've never gotten over public speaking. How many interviews have you done?"

"This is completely different." Ruby faced the professor. "I can do Q and A sessions. I can be serious or laid back for either. I can do snippets of serious talk, but a whole hour of lecture? This is new. When I said yes to this, it was just one class, not Barty's, not Peter's, not extra credit for just about everyone else." She faced the screen again and sagged her shoulders. Not a single seat in the house lay empty. "That's a full auditorium."

"Don't worry." Pyrrha squeezed Ruby's shoulder. "You'll do fine."

"At least someone has confidence in me."

 _I do too,_ Cerise called. _I know you can do it, even if you need a little help from me._

"Thanks, Cerise." Ruby sighed. "The great Ruby Rose Benson, brought to her knees by public speaking. If our enemies could weaponize that, I'd be in trouble."

"I don't think they can in the way you're thinking." Pyrrha paused. "Some advice before you go out there, don't stress out too much. You've gone over this material so many times… right?"

"My days of having zero preperation for a speech are behind me. I learned that the hard way second year here." Ruby shivered. "Never again."

"Good. Also, don't worry about putting on a professional face the whole time. Tell jokes when appropriate. Be yourself. That's how most of these people know you in the first place."

"Except maybe the Alagaësians. I'm sure they all have their own images in their heads of the one who killed a Shade and Galbatorix… if they know that last part at all." Ruby paused. "How are they all adjusting anyway?"

Pyrrha hesitated. "I hate to say this, but they all have their own problems. With the exception of Lilianna, the elves act like they're above the other students, even after they're beaten in one-on-one combat. They're respectful enough, but it feels more passive-aggressive than anything else."

"So they're Atlesian?" Ruby asked.

"For the most part, yes." Pyrrha paused. "As I expected, the humans are getting along with others the best. They're among their own people after all. The culture shock is still extreme and they're the ones who ask for help from their team or professors the most."

"The Urgals... we've had several instances of them starting fights with other students or trying to usurp their team leaders. They've all failed and have fallen in line only recently."

"Aaron was worried about that. They respond well to force. If they're beaten, they should know who their superiors are."

"That appears to be the case, with their own teams and professors anyway. They don't get along well with other teams. No full team fights have broken out yet, but I can't help thinking its only a matter of time."

"I guess that's that. Nothing we can do until something happens. And the dwarves?"

"They're upset humans and Faunus can build all this." Pyrrha gestured at the room as a whole. "I think they're trying to reverse engineer everything they get their hands on."

Ruby sighed. "Well, at least most electrical things should be beyond them."

Pyrrha looked to the side. "One of them has caused a disturbance in the cafeteria multiple times. He shouted things about 'the real gods' and that we're all heretics."

"He must be the one from Dûrgrimst Quan." Ruby shook her head. "I need ice cream."

"I'm sure we can stop by someplace after we're done here."

Ruby was about to retort but held it back. She didn't want to lose it again in public, even if she was just with her friend. "No, Pyrrha." She held the underside of her baby bump. "I'm pregnant. I _want_ ice cream."

Pyrrha blinked. "Oh. Well, I'll see if I can have something waiting for you for when you're done." She looked at the clock on the wall. "But now, I need to go introduce you to the crowd." She walked toward the door then out of the prep room.

"Cerise," Ruby faced where her dragon lay by Halcyon hall, "help keep my heart steady will you?"

 _Of course, Gem,_ Cerise hummed. _We don't want videos of you freaking out on the CCT._

"Thank you." Ruby rolled her eyes. "That's exactly what I was worried about." She focused back on the screen.

Pyrrha had stepped into the center of the sparring arena. "Thank you all for coming today. Instead of our usual lecture and sparring sessions, we have a guest speaker today. All your professors here believe this to be just as vital as knowing how to fight Grimm. If you're here with Doctor Oobleck, he has asked me to tell you that all material shared today will be testable." Ruby snorted. That was one way to make sure that students remembered what she had to say.

"Now I'd like to introduce a good friend of mine and one of the best Huntresses I've ever known. Please welcome Dragon Rider Ruby Rose Benson."

The polite applause started and Ruby walked out of the prep room and into the arena. She waved at the crowd and nodded at Pyrrha as the professor walked by her. Ruby took the time to look around the room. She knew the faces of all Alagaësians at Beacon, and all but two humans were in the stands. They looked the most interested in Ruby, even the Urgals. Violet and her team sat in one of the front rows, with the Rider being the most animated of just about everyone in the room.

Ruby waited for the crowd to quiet down. "Thank you, Pyrrha." She nodded at her friend. "I'll slip you that twenty when we're done here." That got a little bit of a laugh out of the crowd. That should have set the stage for how serious this was going to be. Ruby faced the students. "As Pyrrha said, I'm Ruby Rose, but if you have any questions, feel free to just call me Ruby, not Mrs. Rose, not Mrs. Benson, not Mrs. Rose-Benson hyphenated like a weird person," another laugh, "just Ruby… or Shadeslayer if you're in the know 'cause that just sounds cool." One more laugh and Ruby looked around the crowd. The Remmartians, who had seen years of Ruby on news stations and talk shows, laughed and leaned back like this was nothing new. The Alagaësians besides Arya stared at Ruby with varying faces of disbelief. It looked like Ruby was right about them. The Rider rested her hands on her baby bump. "And in case anyone was wondering, yes, I am eight and a half months pregnant." That time she got more polite applause instead of laughter, especially from the women in the room. "So if I go into labor while we're in here, if you don't have medical experience, especially if you're a guy, get out. It could get messy."

The Rider waited for the crowd to quiet down again before continuing. "Anyway, I'm not here to tell jokes. I'm not here to test your strength. I'm not even here to tell you how everyday Huntsmen can fight like us. I'm here to tell you about the frequently unseen part of all of our jobs, what happens after all the Grimm are gone and the people are safe, well, as safe as they can be with Grimm in the area.

"Immediately after a Grimm attack, people are scared, for many reasons. The Grimm could come back, people are injured or dead, homes are destroyed, people can't find their families, kids are… kids, and so many more things that seem unimaginable right now. As long as the people are scared, there's the possibility of the Grimm coming back. It may not be in our job description to be counselors after an attack, but it would be irresponsible for us to leave with those we're protecting being under threat." As soon as she said 'counselors, Ruby noticed quite a few eyes glaze over. She expected it, but it still hurt. "Really, this could be a whole class, but I'm condensing as much of it as I can into an hour. I will admit, I have no degree in battlefield counseling. Everything I know has been learned on the battlefield. I also have experience on both sides of the counseling. Of course, everyone is different, so you'd need to treat everyone as an individual, not another assignment with the same rules."

Ruby went on to explain several techniques and strategies she learned since she fought the Nevermores. She used a few specific examples, but she never called anyone by their real names. Violet knew when she was being mentioned. She sunk into her chair and didn't take notes for the first time. She also didn't look at anyone but Ruby. Her face shifted between pained and 'do you really think of me like that?'

About a half hour into the lecture, Ruby noticed some commotion near the back of the room. One of the students she thought was diligently taking notes was folding his paper, quite a bit too. The guy lifted it up revealed a paper glider. Ruby continued on without stopping. The student threw it and the Rider raised her left hand. "Hitta." The glider banked toward Ruby and flew straight to her natural hand. The paper stopped right between her index and middle finger. Ruby cocked her head at the guy who threw it. "Really? What are we, twelve?" The guy froze in place and looked at the lecturer like she was a Deathstalker.

Ruby brought the paper down and raised her eyebrows. There were handwritten words on there. "Let's see what you have to say…" She unfolded the paper and thought of how best to humiliate the guy. She never even opened her mouth. Her diplomatic smile disintegrated as her face leveled out. She wanted to tear the paper to shreds, she wanted to burn it to ash, but she didn't want to destroy the evidence. "Professor Nikos?" Ruby looked off stage. "I believe this is your jurisdiction."

Pyrrha walked onto the arena floor and toward Ruby. The Rider handed the paper over. Pyrrha glanced it over and grimaced. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Mrs. Rose." She left Ruby's side and climbed up the rows of seating until she reached the troublemaker's. "Mr. Hauser, you and your team are coming with me. _Now."_ Pyrrha never raised her voice, but the air shook with her last word. She didn't use her Maiden abilities to do that either. That was just her.

Hauser looked at the three guys to his right, one of them being a representative from Surda, then they all stood up and followed Pyrrha away. Ruby glared at the team until they disappeared around a corner. She nodded and huffed. "I didn't think I'd have to help take out the trash while I was here." That got another laugh and even some applause, especially from the Faunus in the room. Apparently she took out the right guy. "Now, as I was saying, never underestimate the power of a friendly smile…"

The rest of Ruby's lecture went by without a hitch. Pyrrha even returned for closing statements. The Rider left the arena, and as soon as she was out of sight, she groaned and pressed her forehead against the nearest wall. "Pyrrha, please tell me you came through with the ice cream."

"It's over here," Pyrrha said. Ruby turned around and her jaw dropped. Pyrrha brought a full gallon of cookie dough ice cream with a spoon resting on top. "This was something that came up in both of my pregnancies. I figured you being you would appreciate the cookie dough."

"Oh, Pyrrha, I could kiss you." Ruby ripped off the lid of the gallon, grabbed the spoon, and set to work. "Oh, yes, this works."

"Glad I could help." Pyrrha laughed. "I know the feeling."

Ruby picked up the bucket with the handle and walked out of the room. "Thanks, Pyrrha. See you at home." She stuck the spoon in and scooped up another bite as she walked for the door.

"You're eating that on the go?" Pyrrha sounded more than a little confused.

"Yep. I gave up on caring what I look like in front of people at three months." Ruby waved with the spoon as she left the room. She hummed and continued eating as she walked through the halls of Beacon then out into the courtyards. The pregnant woman ignored the stares from people as she headed for her dragon by Halcyon Hall. She might regret that later, but that could wait until after her cravings and mood swings disappeared. That could be a while.

"Ruby!" Violet called behind her. Ruby turned around and barely held onto her ice cream as her trainee hugged her. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Long time no see." Ruby wrapped her spoon hand around Violet. "I've been kind of busy."

"I get it." Violet pulled away and gestured at Ruby's baby bump. "You've had other priorities."

"Just a bit… and there's been… complications."

 _Complications?_ Orchid pounced out of nowhere and looked Ruby up and down. _Is there anything that I can help with?_ She opened her mouth and her glowing purple tongue lolled out.

"Nah. We're good. It's just complicated getting on and off Cerise with all this extra weight and surface area." Ruby raised her chin and pointed the right side of her cheek at the dragon. "But if you want to offer some non-Semblance help…" Orchid hummed and raised her ears. She stuck her head forward and licked Ruby's face repeatedly. The Rider giggled, stuck her spoon in her ice cream, and rubbed the dragon's jaw. "I missed you too."

Violet giggled. "I don't think she could ever turn down an opportunity to love someone."

"Hey, Violet!" someone called from the other side of Orchid. "Why'd you run off?"

"Sorry, Navila," Violet called. "I had to say hi to Ruby."

"Wait, Ruby?" A girl with white and blue hair and rabbit ears poked her head around Orchid. Ruby recognized her from the pictures Violet posted on Flutter. Navila blinked and pressed her lips together. "Oh. _That_ Ruby." She walked around the dragon and stood by Violet's side. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Same here." Ruby nodded. "I can't believe it's taken me this long to meet Violet's team."

Two more students walked around Orchid and joined the other two, the last two members of the team. The bison—with a 'z,' as Thunder pointed out to everyone who said it with an 's'—Faunus shifted on his feet. "Uh, Ruby, it's, uh…" He reached behind his back and pulled out his weapon. "Could you sign my club?"

Ruby stared at the green and yellow assault rifle club with an open mouth. Violet backhanded her teammate's chest. "Thunder! Really?" Navila rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"It's fine," Ruby started. "I don't have a problem with people asking, but… your weapon?"

Thunder nodded like a bobblehead. "Yes. I'm a big fan. You're a weapons nut. I'm a weapons nut. It works."

"Are you sure? I don't want to mess up your weapon."

"You won't. I've been wanting this for a while."

"If you say so." Ruby set down her ice cream and pulled a marker from her belt that she kept in case someone asked for an autograph. Thunder turned his weapon so a relatively flat surface faced Ruby. The Rider uncapped the marker and proceeded to sign. "So why a club? It's not exactly the most lethal weapon out there."

"Have you seen my arms?"

Ruby looked up after signing her first name. Thunder's arms were thicker than Yangs. He might be able to outlift Nora… well, pre-scar Nora anyway. "Wow. You might be able to pull off some of Port's stories."

"Well, I haven't ripped an Ursa in half, but I've done it with a Beowolf."

"That I believe." Ruby wrote 'Shadeslayer' instead of 'Rose' because except on the occasion of little kids, people liked the sound of that over anything else. "There you go." Ruby capped the marker and put it back on her belt.

"Thank you so much!" Thunder turned his weapon and stared at the new writing on his weapon. "Oh, ho, ho, ho! The guys back home will never believe this."

Ruby faced the last member of the team. "You've been quiet."

The student straightened. "I am Dartmouth Hawk of the Windy Coast tribe." He nodded. "Many thanks for beating the Vaar in the North. I know of no Faunus in Vacuo that does not thank you for that."

"You're welcome." Ruby nodded back at him. "I didn't think anybody could be worse than the Nevermores, and if the Vaar weren't, they were close."

"About them…" Violet said from… above? Ruby faced the voice and blinked, Violet sat on Orchid's snout with her arms pulling her knees close. "Thanks for not naming me in anything you said."

"Of course. I didn't in my book, and I never will without your permission." Ruby touched her mind to Violet's. _Do they know?_

"They all know." Violet nodded. "I told them about a month ago. Orchid didn't let me go for about an hour."

 _I… may have gone a little overboard,_ Orchid said. _Thunder said it was a one-sided makeout session._ Navila scoffed at that.

Thunder shivered. "That's what it looked like. I got the heck out of there."

Navila glared at Thunder. "Won't you just stop and admit what you were really doing?"

Thunder returned the glare. "You're one to talk. You recorded how much?"

"It was cute! Don't tell me you don't think dogs licking their humans isn't cute."

"Those are dogs! Not sapient dragons!" Thunder clenched his fists. Ruby kept her mouth shut and looked between the two students. She thought she sensed some hostility between the two.

"Guys, please don't fight," Violet whimpered. Ruby glanced up at her trainee. It would take a lot more to stop these two. Thunder and Navila kept raising their voices, but they never once reached for their weapons. Violet also started raising her voice until she stood up on top of Orchid's snout. "Team VDNT! Fall in!" Navila and Thunder fell silent, stood at attention, and faced Violet. Dartmouth took his place in the line.

Orchid lowered her Rider to the ground. Violet stepped off her dragon's snout and marched toward her team. "Dartmouth, at ease. You're not the problem here." The bird Faunus nodded and stepped away. Violet positioned herself between the rabbit and the bison Faunus. "I don't know what it is with you two. I don't know what started this, but it needs to stop. I'm not going to lecture you two out here. You're going back to the room, and we're going to make sure you have a _civilized_ discussion on how to fix this when I get back. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Navila and Thunder said at the same time.

"Good. Dismissed." Violet turned away and crossed her arms. Naliva and Thunder glanced at each other, then walked off toward Halcyon Hall. Dartmouth gave them a little distance before following himself. Thunder's backpack caught Ruby's eye… he had a copy of her book in her backpack... She would have happily signed that, but his _weapon?_

Ruby waited until they were all out of hearing range before speaking. "Good job handling that."

Violet sighed and slumped her body. "I don't like yelling at them."

"You learned to do that faster than I did. It took until my third year to put my foot down. I didn't like doing it then, and I still don't. Unfortunately, as leaders, we sometimes have to do that to get our point across. At least when people like us get mad, people pay attention."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it."

"No, it doesn't." Ruby put a hand on Violet's shoulder. "Be glad you just have to see your team through school. I have to lead all the Riders here and in Alagaësia and set the path for all future Riders. That's not easy."

That got a chuckle out of Violet. "Thanks, Ruby."

"Anytime." Ruby looked up at Orchid. "So, do the two of you get like that often?"

 _You mean my Flower on my head?_ Orchid lowered her head to the ground and Violet climbed on. _Yes. This happens all the time now._

"We like being close together." Violet laid down on her dragon's face. "It's comforting."

"Don't I know it." Ruby picked up her ice cream again. "I'll let you get back to your team. I'm going to spend time with Cerise."

Violet nodded. "It was nice seeing you in person again. I've missed our talks."

"So have I." Ruby rested a hand on her expanded belly. "I might have a mini-me next time we meet."

Violet glanced down at Ruby's baby bump, then at her mentor's face and smiled. "That would be nice. See you later." She waved as Orchid turned around and followed after their team.

Ruby sighed and got another scoop of ice cream before walking at a slightly different angle from her trainee. _Cerise, why didn't he tell me he had one of my books?_

 _Maybe his weapon meant that much to him,_ Cerise suggested. _If he's a weapon nut, it would make sense._

 _Maybe… let's cuddle a bit before I have to drive home._ She shuddered. _I miss flying with you._

 _I miss carrying you,_ Cerise mentally hummed. Her audible hum came seconds later. _This will have to do for a few more weeks._

The Rider walked around the building and Cerise came into view. Her dragon was sprawled out with one of her wings raised in open invitation. _Mind if we stay here until I'm done with my ice cream?_

 _I wouldn't mind,_ Cerise cocked her head, _as long as I get some._

Ruby stopped in place and she clenched her fists. It had been a long time since Aaron made the mistake of asking for one of her cravings. As far as she knew, her husband hadn't healed that scar… but Ruby couldn't get that angry again. She couldn't risk hurting those she loved again. _Cerise… no._

Cerise' ears fell down and her wing sagged a little. _Sorry. I thought you were in a good mood._

 _I was…. And am. I want to cuddle more than I want to fight._ Ruby resumed walking toward her dragon. _I haven't spent enough time with you lately. I'm still not sharing my ice cream._

 _I don't want it._ Cerise shook her head. _It's not even enough for a snack._

 _Good._ Ruby didn't stop again until she reached her dragon's side. She sat down against her dragon's belly. Cerise curled her neck around and rested her snout on her Rider's lap. Ruby leaned into her dragon's neck and started eating her snack. She sighed and melted into her dragon. _Yeah. This is nice._

* * *

"Ren, I mean it, take this." Aaron pushed the check across the table toward his friend.

"We can't." Ren held a hand up and shook his head. "It's not ours to take."

"We've been such a burden since Ruby's been grounded. It's only right."

Nora blew raspberries at Aaron. "Come on. If I wasn't a burden when I could barely eat for myself, having Ruby here full time is nothing. She's been nothing but great since she's been here."

Aaron shivered. "You didn't see her when her cravings and mood swings first kicked in."

"That was at your house, not here." Nora put her hands on her hips. "Can you honestly tell me if we stayed with you when my scar was acting up, you would have charged us?"

"No." Aaron sighed. "You'll understand when you have your own babies." Some of the light left Nora's eyes and she looked at Ren. Her husband returned the look. "Something wrong?"

"A little, yeah." Nora relaxed her left arm while she brought her right up to her chest. "Velvet's spells make it so I can't feel pain, but I know when and where it's happening. My scar's been active for two weeks straight."

"As far as anyone can tell," Ren continued, "it just hurts Nora without causing any more physical damage. Still, neither of us want to chance it. We're going to be adopting in the next few months."

"Even with the spells, I sometimes feel something." Nora shook her head. "Childbirth would probably hurt less than the scar."

"I'm... sorry to hear that." Aaron turned his head away.

"There's nothing to be sorry about." Ren shook his head. "It's not your fault."

Nora craned her neck to look past Aaron. "Where's Ruby? I thought she'd be back by now."

"Nalia talked to Cerise not too long ago. They're on their way back. Cerise said Ruby doesn't want anything, so she wants a bottle of pickle juice." Aaron passed Ren and opened the fridge. Almost half of the thing was filled with the most common things Ruby craved. "Another thing, we've taken over your fridge."

"If it wasn't her, it would be me." Nora stuck a thumb at herself. "I'd figure out how to fill it, probably with different types of syrup to try."

"That, I believe." Aaron took out a jar of pickle juice and a bag of shredded cheese from the bottom drawer. Ruby sometimes liked nachos with her pickle juice… somehow, so Aaron was giving her that option as well.

About a minute later, Aaron heard the garage door open. He walked over to the door to the garage and opened that. One of the cars in the garage turned off and Ruby stepped out the driver's side door. She faced Aaron and sighed. "Driving is _sooooo_ boring…"

"Well, you're not exactly driving a motorcycle or a… sports car I think they're called."

"Pft. Like I could have any fun with those driving through downtown." Ruby walked up to Aaron and pecked him on the lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. "How was your day, Honey?"

"Probably as boring as your drive." Aaron pulled out of Ruby's embrace and stepped back into the house. They walked at a snail's pace toward the kitchen. "It was a lot of calls. Avrart, Ironwood, Qrow... Aithlin and Brom actually had some interesting things to say."

"And those are?"

"Mor'ranar Vera is ready to start hosting dragon training, and Brom will be moving his group there from Ilirea in the next few weeks."

Ruby stopped walking. Her eyes shone and her smile glowed. "Really?" She gently grabbed her husband's closest hand.

Aaron knew that look and that touch. Ruby was one push away from getting into her adorable cuddling mood. That push was sitting on the kitchen table. "Yeah. Oromis might be doing the same in a month or two. You can call them yourself if you want."

"I trust you." Ruby relaxed her shoulders and stood a little closer to Aaron, their arms less than an inch apart. They stepped into the kitchen and Ruby gasped. Ren and Nora looked over their shoulders from their positions by the stove and fridge. "How'd you know?" Ruby stepped toward the table and picked up the bottle of pickle juice.

"Call it a guess." Aaron shrugged. "I can make you some of the nachos you like too."

Ruby took a long draught from the bottle, then shook her head. "Nah. Pyrrha got me a gallon of ice cream earlier. It's gone now. Half for me, half for our baby." She rubbed her expanded belly. "I think she likes it."

"Makes sense," Nora said. "I don't know how many gallons Pyrrha went through when she was pregnant."

Ruby giggled. "That's what she said." She looked at the piece of paper on the table. "Guys, you shouldn't leave this out. It could get lost." She picked up the check and held it out toward Ren.

"We don't want it." Ren shook his head. "You wouldn't charge us if we stayed at your house, we won't charge you here."

"Oh." Ruby sighed and put the check back on the table. "You guys are the best." She hooked an arm around Ren's and Nora's necks and pulled them into a hug. Both of them returned it right away. They had plenty of time to get used to that.

Ruby pulled away and faced Aaron. Her eyes were dilated to near their fullest extent, her smile stretched from ear to ear, and her arms hung loose at her sides with her palms facing her husband. She just passed the barrier to her full-on cuddle mood. Aaron was hers until her mood changed. That could be five minutes, it could be until they went to bed. Ruby walked over to her husband and latched herself onto his right arm. She rested her head on Aaron's shoulder and hummed. "Let's sit down."

"The couch is open." Aaron slowly turned around so Ruby just had to shuffle her feet to keep up. They walked together to the couch. Ruby's upper body didn't move until she sat down. She kicked her legs up and sat sidesaddle on Aaron's lap and her arms moved to wrap around his neck. Her face pressed against his. "Comfortable?" Aaron asked.

"Very." Ruby kissed Aaron on the cheek before wiggling even closer. A little later, she jumped a little and gasped. "She kicked!" She rested a hand on the top of her expanded stomach. "She's kick _ing!"_

"Really?" Aaron brought a hand up and rested it right by Ruby's. He didn't feel anything for a few seconds, then he felt something move inside his wife. He felt Nalia use his senses to feel as well. His baby girl... "She's going to be a strong baby."

"Yes, she is." Ruby giggled and rubbed her face against Aaron's. She kissed her husband's cheek a few times then started nuzzling again. A little later, she started nibbling on her husband's earlobe. Aaron wasn't sure how to feel about that, but he didn't want to interrupt his wife. When she got like this, she didn't care if all the affection wasn't returned. She said as much one of the first times she got like this. Just being held was enough. It didn't matter who she was with either, Cerise, Nalia, Yang, even Viki. She'd latch onto any of them, without all the kissing and nibbling with her sisters, but she'd always return to Aaron when she saw him.

After about an hour of this, she stopped and pulled her head away. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened like she'd seen a Geist. Aaron's heart stopped. That wasn't a good sign. "We haven't talked about names, have we?"

Aaron tried to relax his muscles without letting Ruby know he tensed in the first place. "No, we haven't."

Ruby locked eyes with Aaron. "So, uh, just start suggesting some and we'll narrow down the list later?"

"She's half Remmartian, half Alagaësian. Suggest names from both sides?"

Ruby nodded then stared off into the distance. "Cherry."

Aaron took a few seconds to think. "Sierra."

"…Azul."

"…Katrina." The two kept up with name suggestions for a good while. Aaron saw something moving in Ruby's right eye, likely the list of all the names suggested. As time drew on, Ruby's eyelids slowly drifted downward and the names she suggested took longer and longer to come out. When they closed completely, Ruby's head slumped onto her husband's shoulder.

Aaron sighed. The past few months, when Ruby was tired, she fell asleep. This wasn't the first time this happened. The hard part was getting out of the tangle of limbs without waking her up. Aaron pulled his wife's arms off his shoulders first. He then leaned her head down onto one of the armrests. Aaron carefully slid out from underneath his wife and laid her feet on the opposite armrest.

Ruby was still fast asleep, but she had a pained look on her face. Aaron put a hand on her right shoulder and a content smile replaced that. Ruby needed contact from her husband or someone or some _thing_ else. When Aaron was gone or otherwise unavailable, that usually fell to Ren and Nora's cat.

Speaking of which, Aaron felt something soft press against his legs followed by a purr. He looked out at the cat that he rescued from Bullworth years ago. "Hey, Strudel. Ruby's asleep if you're interested." The cat jumped onto the couch and walked on Ruby's chest. She settled down with her head pressed against the human's chin. Ruby's hands came up and rested on the cat's back.

Aaron rested a hand on Ruby's belly and stretched his mind into it. His daughter was growing strong. It wouldn't be long now. Then he could finally do something instead of having to wait and have nature take its course. Aaron was going to make sure his daughter was raised right, the way his parents raised him. No one was going to hurt his family. If they did, they would hurt much, much worse.

* * *

 **Enjoy the fluff and filler while you can. It won't last much longer.  
**

 **Well, since there was no new episode (for free) this past week, nothing new to say about the series. So instead, I'll say hope you all had a Merry Christmas, have a DD tonight, have a happy new year, and HOP UNTIL FRISCO!**


	58. Commitment

**So, I finished The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm (official small IC anthology) last week. Took a grand total of like five hours. As expected, I can't take much, but maybe I can worth in a few names and parallels at some point.  
**

 **Don't have anything else to say, so let's get to it.**

* * *

" _Ruby, it's not too late to back out,"_ Glynda said over the Scroll. _"No students have chosen their mission and there are plenty to choose from. Losing one will not leave students without something to do."_

"I'm sitting in my car right now, Glynda," Ruby said. "You caught me right before I turned it on. Besides, I'm going to be watching the screens from the command center. I can keep an eye on them while staying safe. Besides, it's two blocks away from the nearest hospital. If something happens, I'm close."

Glynda sighed. _"I could cancel this mission myself."_

"Please don't. I want to get out of the house. I love Ren and Nora, but I need some time away." Ruby paused. "Plus, the nearest hospital from their house is five blocks further away. Doing this mission would actually be safer."

" _There's no talking you out of this, is there?"_

"Unless I'm actually in the hospital or there's a crisis somewhere, I don't go back on my commitments."

"… _Very well. I will keep your mission on the boards. I trust you to make wise decisions."_

"Thank you. I'll make sure this team has a good experience."

" _I should hope so. I'll send you their information if a team chooses your mission."_ The line clicked on Glynda's end.

Ruby took her Scroll away from her ear and pocketed it. She reached for the rental car's ignition but she didn't make it before the contraction returned. "Gosh dangit." Ruby clenched her eyes and grit her teeth. She'd given up hope that these things were just cramps. These had gotten more common in the past week and had really picked up less than twenty-four hours ago. Ruby waited it out before opening her eyes again. She took several deep breaths before starting the engine.

Cerise whimpered in her Rider's head. _I agree with Glynda. You shouldn't be going out there today._

 _It's wall patrol, Cerise, not an extermination mission._ Ruby pulled out of the garage and drove toward the wall command center. _I'm just going to be sitting in a chair watching and listening to the team. I'm not even bringing my weapons. I made a commitment, and I'm sticking to it._

 _You made it before you were pregnant. No one would fault you if you backed out._

 _Like I told Glynda, the command center is much closer to a hospital. If my baby decides to introduce herself today, it'll be much easier to get to a hospital from there._

Cerise mentally growled. _Fine, but I'm still telling everyone to expect the news in the next few days._

 _I don't mind that. I want everyone to meet my baby girl._ Ruby rubbed her baby bump since she was stopped at a red light.

About twenty minutes later, Ruby drove into the parking lot of the wall command center. She walked into the building and was escorted to the Huntsmen Ops section of the building. It hadn't changed much since the field trips she went on when she was at Signal and Beacon. If anything, it looked more high tech. Her guide led her to a large office with no actual windows, just a live projection of what was going on outside. Another wall was covered with other monitors, some showing the city, other specific parts of the wall. Her guide also gave her a quick overview of all the electronics in the room and how to operate various cameras, as well as a rundown of how the special gear the team would get worked.

When her guide left, Ruby experimented with various cameras and other tools the software provided. There was a lot more functionality than Ruby expected as she ran through everything. She took notes on her bionic eye for Yaela. It would be smart to get some of the software going around the base in the mountains and New Vroengard.

About a half hour after she arrived, Ruby got a text from Beacon. It looked like someone chose her mission. She honestly didn't know if anyone would since guard duty wasn't the most exciting mission out there. She opened the message to see who she'd be working with… Her jaw dropped. "Team VDNT?" Ruby tilted her head back. The first years didn't know who they were shadowing until after they chose the mission, right? She couldn't remember. It had been too long. _Cerise? Did we know we were shadowing Barty until we met with him?_

 _I believe you got a text right before you met with him, but that's it,_ Cerise said. _There was nothing beforehand._

 _She still might have seen you flying this way._ Ruby sighed. _Ah well. I could be stuck with that team that might as well be team CRDL._ She grabbed a roll of masking tape and a black marker from a drawer and started labeling the trackers, earpieces, and body cams. She'd be treating this team like any other one she prepared for.

An hour later, someone knocked on her door. "It's open." Ruby stood up from her chair.

The door opened and Violet stepped through. "Team VDNT reporting for d-" Violet stopped mid-step. "Wait, _Ruby?"_ The rest of her team stacked up behind her and looked inside.

"Yes, it's me." Ruby crossed her arms. _"Violet, did you know you would be shadowing me when you took this mission?"_

Violet shook her head and waved her hands in front of her. _"No! I didn't! We voted on which mission we wanted, and this ended up being it!"_

Ruby relaxed her arms and smiled. "In that case, welcome to the wall." Team VDNT fully entered the room. "Are you all ready for your first mission?"

Violet straightened and saluted Ruby. "Team VDNT is ready and raring to go!"

Thunder pointed a thumb at Violet. "What she said."

"I've been waiting for some payback against a Deathstalker." Navila shrugged. "Hope to lay into one from the wall."

"I have been training for this for years," Dartmouth said. "It is time to test my skills."

"Well, I'm afraid that's not going to happen today." Ruby sat back in her chair and gestured at the four across from her. Team VDNT sat down in order and all focused on Ruby. "The Grimmcast is pretty clear for most of the day, just maybe a few Beowolves thinking they can climb the walls. There's nothing major going on in the city to attract Grimm, and there's nothing going on in outlying villages that could attract any of them."

Violet shrugged. "With our job, a slow day's a good day."

"Exactly." Ruby gestured at the gear on the table. "Here's some of the standard equipment that wall teams get. You'll each get an earpiece for this mission. These are only connected to each other, my office, and wall command. The mics are always on, so if you don't want command knowing everything you say, watch it. Still, I don't think they're too strict. JNPR's done wall duty a few times and Nora was never reprimanded." Ruby paused. "But of course only Violet knows JNPR."

"They're Pyrrha Nikos' team, right?" Navila asked.

Ruby nodded. Of course, Pyrrha would be the one their team's known for. "Next, there's the trackers. These will track your position in case you leave the wall for one reason or another. This is also how I'll send you information like maps or sensitive orders. This is all closed circuit, so you won't need to worry about anyone else finding out where you are. At the same time, keep these on you at all times. If it stays still for a certain amount of time, it will send a warning to us and that sends people here into a panic.

"Lastly, there's the body cams. These are pretty self-explanatory. The more footage we can get out there, the better. We can see what you see, maybe even something else. Also, you could be called off the wall for tasks in the city, which you would likely need these active for any investigation afterward."

Ruby glanced at the checklist hung on the wall. "It looks like that's everything." She faced Violet. "Can Orchid carry you all yet?"

Violet shook her head. "Three of us maybe. Not all four."

"Then the four of you will be taking a shuttle to the north wall by Forever Fall. You will patrol along the green section, and the separation between sections should be fairly obvious. I'll let you determine how you'll split up and if you will. I'll be supplying advice and orders as you go. See you on the wall."

"You got it, boss." Violet stood up and grabbed all the gear with her name on it. The rest of the team did the same before filing out of the room.

Ruby waited until they were a fair distance away before turning toward her desk and fitting her own earpiece over her ear. She heard the voices of the team in her ear. "Comms check. Team VDNT, do you read?"

" _Oh! Uh, yes,"_ Violet said. _"We hear you. I just didn't expect that."_

"You'll hear me if I have something to say and I'll hear if you have questions or if something goes wrong." Ruby turned her own mic off. She didn't know why the earpieces were like that, but she wasn't complaining too much, especially since she groaned from the cramp that occurred about halfway through the briefing. It was disappearing, but it still hurt.

When the pain became bearable, Ruby took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, that one hurt."

 _Do you need me to help?_ Cerise asked.

 _Only if one occurs when there's trouble. We're doing this as naturally as possible._

 _If you say so,_ Cerise growled. _If something unexpected happens again, that goes out the window._

 _Agreed. I don't want any more surprises like that one._ Ruby shook her head and faced the projections again. It looked like VDNT reached the wall. Violet ordered her team to fan out along the wall and report back Grimm numbers and locations. They spread out and took up different positions along the parapets. As Ruby expected, there wasn't a Grimm in sight. This was going to be a boring day.

About an hour into the shift, Ruby sighed and leaned her head back. She called up the shortlist of baby names on her bionic eye. They were down to five: Sierra, Azul, Nussa, Dana, and Tina, three Alagaësian and two Remmartian. It's just how the process of elimination went. Still, there were four too many.

Ruby also pulled up a list of the most popular baby names of the past few years. Her daughter would not be in the same class with three other people with the same name. She would be a trendsetter, not follower. Ruby scrolled down the list… and found Azul in there. She slumped, her favorite name out of the five eliminated.

She continued down the list and stopped at one she didn't expect to see. _Nalia_ was the twenty-seventh most popular name over the past five years. "Really?" Ruby put 'Nalia green' in a search and sure enough, the first result was a green rectangle the shade of the scales on Nalia's face. "Huh. I didn't know that."

 _Does that make her an honorary Remmartian?_ Cerise asked.

 _I think that happened long ago… another one's coming on._ Ruby breathed through her teeth while she tried to keep an eye on the projectors. This one went on for almost a minute before finally dulling away. Ruby wiped an arm across her sweaty forehead. _These are getting more common… Cerise, if this continues, I'll consider going to the hospital right after we're done here._

 _Thank you. You are finally making sense._

 _Maybe._ Something buzzed for Ruby's attention. She looked at the appropriate screen and keyed her mic again. "Navila, check your tracker. You've got ground level movement a few hundred yards northeast of you."

" _I see it,"_ Navila said. _"It doesn't look too big. I can handle it."_

"Make sure it's Grimm before you fire. It wouldn't be the best thing to shoot hikers."

" _That's some paperwork I don't want to do."_ Navila paused and Ruby checked the projection with Navila's body cam. The trees were thick in that area, concealing the ground below. _"I'm not seeing anything… Wait, they're coming out of the trees."_ A small pack of Beowolves prowled out of the forest and walked alongside the wall. _"I see 'em now. Permission to open fire?"_

"It's up to your discretion, but keep in mind you have a non-silenced LMG and there's a residential area right behind you."

" _I can take care of silencing if you want,"_ Violet offered.

" _If you could, that would be nice. Until then, I think these are Orchid's kills."_ A few seconds later, Orchid dove past the wall and slammed the Grimm beneath her. _"Nice job."_

The rest of the eight-hour shift was painfully slow, literally for Ruby. The rate cramps and contractions came sped up. Some hurt less, some more. At one point, Ruby called Nora to see if she could take over for the rest of the week. The other Huntress squealed and agreed five times in one second followed by a lot of congratulations. Ruby texted Aaron what was going on soon after. He texted back that he and Nalia were already flying back from Armen. After Ruby called VDNT back, she breathed a huge sigh of relief. She was almost done.

Someone knocked on the door to Ruby's office. "Come in." The door opened and team VDNT stepped in. All of them but Dartmouth looked a little redder than when they first came arrived. "So, how was your first day on the job?"

"Uneventful." Violet plopped into her chair. "Wish I brought some sunscreen."

"Yep. That's a thing with no shade up on the walls." Ruby looked over the team. "Not much happened, but there were still a few things I noticed out there…" She continued to debrief the team, praying that she didn't have another contraction with them in the room. Since there wasn't much combat, she mainly focused on their communication and tactics. It was good that they already had ways to signal that they were being serious, but they still didn't have much in the way of team tactics. It was good that they could fight solo, but they wouldn't get far through minimal teamwork.

"One more thing before I let you go for the day." Ruby leaned forward in her chair. "I will not be the Huntress you will be with the rest of the week. My friend Nora will be taking over."

Violet shifted on her feet. "Is everything alright, Ruby"

"Yes. It's just that-" Ruby sucked in air through her teeth as the latest contraction hit. This was the worst one yet. She braced her arms against the table so she wouldn't double over on her baby. She clenched her eyes and rode it out, feeling like it took an hour. Somewhere in there someone grabbed her right shoulder. It wasn't much, but it was something. Just when it hurt the most, something felt like it was flooding out of her, taking a good chunk of her pain with it.

Even after it stopped, Ruby kept her eyes clenched and breathed heavily. "That hurt."

"Uh, Ruby," Violet said from Ruby's right, "look down."

Ruby opened her eyes, already staring at the floor. The carpet was… wet? Now that she felt it, so was her chair… _Oh… I think my water broke._

 _Hospital. Now._ Cerise ordered.

 _You got it, boss._ Ruby looked straight in front of her. The three members of team VDNT stood in front of their chairs while their leader stood to Ruby's right. "I'm not certain, but I think I'm going into labor."

Violet gasped. "You're having your baby?" she squealed. Ruby looked up at her and nodded. Violet lit up a little more before she completely deflated. "Oh my gosh. You're _having_ your baby." Everyone but Dartmouth started making concerned and scared sounding groans and whines.

"Should I leave?" Thunder stuck a thumb over his shoulder at the door.

"Can't you just…" Navila gestured with both hands at Ruby's belly, "magic this?"

Ruby shook her head. "We're doing this naturally… but at a hospital in case something goes wrong. I've got a car in the lot."

"We will get you to the hospital." Dartmouth walked around the desk and stood on Ruby's left. "Navila, you have your license. You'll drive." Ruby stared at Dartmouth with her jaw dropped and eyes quirked. Where did this come from? He locked eyes with Ruby's. "My mother was the village healer. I have helped deliver many babies in my time."

"That'll do it." Ruby stood up, assisted by Violet and Dartmouth. She took the car keys from a pocket and underhanded them to Navila. She slowly walked to the door with the two students flanking her. She ignored the stares from other people as she left the building. They wouldn't be in the best shape either if they were going into labor.

 _Breathe, Gem,_ Cerise soothed. _It will be over soon. It's not as bad as you'd think._

 _Easy for you to say!_ Ruby shot back. _You were barely in any pain when you laid any of your eggs._

 _Maybe everything you've heard is exaggerated._

 _I doubt it… but nature? Please?_

* * *

"WHY THE HELL ARE WE DOING IT LIKE THIS?" Ruby slammed her head back down onto her pillow and screamed. Aaron wondered how his wife still had a voice. She'd been screaming like that for two hours, likely a little more than that since that's when he came in. It hurt so much to see her like this, figuratively and literally. Ruby held Aaron's left hand in her own with a death grip that drained wards and Aura. Better than her right hand which crumpled and snapped the metal rail of the bed.

Aaron kissed his wife's hand. "Ruby, just say the word and I'll-"

"Don't you dare!" Ruby snapped her head to Aaron with a glare that could melt steel. "Don't you fucking dare!" She clenched her eyes, straightened her head and kept screaming.

Aaron winced. Ruby's language had gotten quite colorful since he'd been in the room. Aaron tried to touch his wife's mind, but he only felt part of her pain and screaming, the same thing he felt every other time. He wanted to help, but this is what they agreed upon. Natural, no magic unless there were problems.

 _Please, do it,_ Cerise begged. _She's in so much pain._

 _You know why he can't,_ Nalia countered. _Ruby will have all of our heads._

Cerise whimpered. _I thought it was all exaggerated, not this._

 _Weren't you listening when we were talking to Blake?_ Aaron kissed Ruby's hand again. "You're doing great, Ru. Just a little-"

"Shut up!" Ruby screamed. "Shut up! Don't talk to me! You did this to me!" Her head lolled away from Aaron. She didn't scream anymore, but she still whimpered.

Aaron kept his mouth shut. He brought his right hand up and started rubbing the back of Ruby's left. The doctors and nurses were saying things, but Aaron paid them no mind. He didn't hear a word they said after he turned down the offer to catch the baby. That wasn't how things were done in Alagaësia.

Ruby turned her head back toward Aaron, water covering her eyes. "Why aren't you talking? I need… you…" She straightened out again and screamed at the ceiling.

"You're doing great, Ru," Aaron soothed. "I'm right here. Cerise is using my eyes and ears. We love you, you're safe."

Ruby's head tilted toward Aaron. Her lips twitched up once before she faced the doctors. She clenched her eyes and pushed her head into her pillow. She screamed her loudest yet, this time with a voice crack. A baby started crying at the…

Aaron took a sharp breath and froze in place. He wanted to look, but he couldn't turn his head. Ruby silenced but her mouth stayed open. Her expression didn't change, yet her face lit up the room. Aaron finally turned his head toward the crying. One of the nurses held his baby girl and a pair of scissors. He cut something and nodded. "Delivery successful." Another nurse wrapped the baby girl in a towel.

Ruby took her hand out of Aaron's and held both of hers toward her baby. "Bring her here," she whispered. The nurse did as told and rested the baby girl in Ruby's arms.

Aaron stood up to get a better look at his daughter. He felt Cerise pull out of his head but Nalia still used his eyes and ears. The baby girl had about an inch of red hair growing from her head already. Her eyes were closed most of the time, but when they were open, familiar silver eyes took in the world. She also had her mother's nose and cheeks, well, pre-transformation anyway. "She's beautiful."

Ruby didn't answer. She was too busy whispering a thousand miles an hour in the Ancient Language while not mispronouncing anything. Her eyes darted all over her daughter, not blinking. Most if not all of the excess fluid drained off the newborn leaving her completely clean. Aaron wondered if their baby would ever need any vaccines after this treatment. Despite the action, he saw the undiluted love in Ruby's eyes for the baby girl.

A few minutes later, Ruby stopped and stared at their daughter's face. She smiled and laughed. "She's not just beautiful." The new mom caressed her baby girl's face. "She's perfect. Our perfect little angel." Ruby took her eyes off the baby and her smile fell away. Her smile returned, glowing more than before. She aimed it down at their girl, then up at her husband. "Angel?"

Aaron faced his newborn daughter. He smiled and nodded. "Angel. I like it." He reached out an index and ran it down Angel's right cheek, the first time he touched his daughter. Her face was so soft, so pure, unmarked by life. Their baby girl finally stopped crying. The touch of both her parents did that? "Hi, Angel. I'm your daddy."

Ruby giggled. "And I'm your mommy." She leaned forward and kissed the top of Angel's head. "We love you so much."

"Yes, we do." Aaron leaned farther over the bed and kissed his daughter on the cheek.

"You're such a good giiirl." Ruby's voice wavered on the last word and she let her head fall back to the pillow. "Aaron, we're done with the magic free time. If you could…"

"Of course." Aaron straightened out and held his hands over his wife's belly. He opened his mouth to start chanting in the Ancient Language but stopped himself and faced his baby girl. He wasn't as good of a singer as Ruby, much less Weiss, but maybe it would be good enough for Angel. Aaron focused back on his wife and started singing words of healing. He just let the notes happen as he went, having no idea how to normally work music into spells. All he knew is that it worked to some degree. Two sets of silver eyes focused him, with a knowing smile accompanying one of them. Somewhere in there, a nurse laid another blanket over the new mother. All doctors and nurses left right after. Ruby's belly slowly returned to its normal size and shape. Aaron healed what he knew about, but despite reading so many articles and books since he found out Ruby was pregnant, he didn't know the after effects it had on the mother. That was more Velvet's line of work.

After Aaron did all he could, he faced his wife. "Better?"

Ruby half-lidded her eyes. "Much," she sighed. "Aaron, if we ever have another baby, we are not doing it like this again." She laughed through that last phrase. "We're going to use magic from the beginning."

"Agreed." Aaron nodded. "Toward the end there, Cerise was begging me to do that anyway."

 _You were in so much pain,_ Cerise started. _Now, I can't think of a time I felt you happier._

"I can't think of a time, either." Ruby returned her attention to Angel and kissed the newborn's forehead. "Aaron? You want a closer look?" She gestured with her head to the bed next to her.

"Of course." Aaron waited for Ruby to scoot over before climbing into the bed himself. He reached for Angel but hesitated. "May I?"

Ruby giggled. "She may look like me, but she's half you. She's your daughter too." She faced Angel. "It's time to go see your daddy." She kissed her baby's forehead, then handed the bundle of joy to her husband.

Aaron took his daughter and held her close to his heart. He stared at his baby girl with an open mouth, taking in every detail, no matter how small. Angel wiggled around in the towel but stopped when her eyes were roughly pointed in her dad's direction. Aaron held many babies before in his life, but none of them relaxed in his arms as much as Angel did.

Nalia hummed in her Rider's head. _She's beautiful. Congratulations, Aaron._

"Thanks, Nalia. Can't wait for you two to meet." Aaron continued to just take in the sight in front of him. His flesh and blood, his daughter, his baby girl. After so many years of trying, after months more of worrying if the baby would be okay, Aaron held his newborn daughter in his arms. He could hardly believe this was happening.

"Remnant to Aaron," Ruby elbowed her husband, "you feeling okay?"

"My baby girl," he whispered. _"Our_ baby girl." Aaron felt something wet run down his right cheek.

Ruby wiped the tear off with a finger. "I know. We did a good job, didn't we?"

Aaron took his eyes off Angel and faced Ruby. "From what I've seen so far, flawless."

"For once, I have to agree." Ruby leaned toward Aaron and her husband met her halfway for a kiss.

Aaron pulled away and looked Ruby up and down. "How you feeling?"

"I feel like I've lost a lot of weight." Ruby giggled. "Thank you for helping with that, and being here through everything." She faced her now normal sized belly. "I'd still rather do that than be stabbed in the stomach, but not by much…" She jerked her head up, then to Aaron. "Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry for the things I said. I wasn't myself. You're an amazing person. I blame you for this, but not in the way I meant at the time. I didn't mean-"

Aaron leaned forward and cut Ruby off with another kiss. "There's nothing to forgive. You did nothing wrong."

Ruby's gorgeous smile returned. "Thanks, Honey."

"Anytime, Ru." They kissed again and both new parents faced their child. Angel had started mumbling baby words while she wasn't the center of attention… _That's probably a good idea._ "Ruby, put an arm around my shoulders."

Ruby did as told and cocked her head. "What's going on?"

"This." Aaron slid toward Ruby until their sides were touching from shoulders to hips. He then picked Angel up and set her down right in between the two of them. "Well?"

"I like it." Ruby returned her smile of pure joy to Angel. "I like it a lot." She bent down and kissed her baby girl's hair. "I missed you. Yes, I did." The next hour proceeded a lot like that. Ruby continued doting on their baby while Aaron mainly stuck with brushing Angel's hair and face. He was still better with animals and babies. That would need to change really quick. He tried saying things along the lines Ruby was, but it almost never felt right. It never felt like him.

After a while, someone knocked on the door to the room, and one of the nurses from earlier stepped in. "Okay, you two. We need to take your daughter now."

Aaron jerked his head toward the man. He searched for any weapons and saw none. He called on his Semblance and formed an Aura barrier between the man and the bed. "You will do no such thing," he growled through his teeth. The new father lifted Angel up and set her on her mother's lap. "Angel is not going anywhere."

He tried to stand up but Ruby kept him on the bed. "Aaron, no. It's okay."

"Okay?" Aaron turned on his wife. "How is this okay?"

"Tests. Early vaccines. Make sure she's healthy. You know this."

Aaron took a few deep breaths and forced himself to relax. "Yes… Yes, I do." He let the Aura barrier fall, but he never took his eyes off the nurse. For his part, the guy never flinched. Ruby handed Angel over and the nurse cradled the baby like she was his own. Aaron touched his mind to both Angel's and the nurse' and stayed there even as they left the room.

"That really necessary?" Ruby asked.

Aaron pressed his teeth together. "No one is taking my baby girl."

Ruby sighed and rested her head on Aaron's shoulder. "Not even Sa… our current opponent is that bold, or stupid. They know that if they even look at Angel the wrong way, all of the Riders and probably a good chunk of the elves would start coming after them, and we wouldn't stop until they are six feet under… or exploded into bits."

"Maybe." Aaron climbed out of the bed and began pacing. "She sent Pruma after you. She poisoned Ozpin. She had Adam killed even though he likely was working for her. I don't know what she'd do." Ruby giggled up at her husband and Aaron stopped his pacing. "I don't see what's funny about this."

"I'm not laughing at this. I'm laughing at the time when you were worried that you wouldn't be a good father. So far, you're doing just great."

Aaron stared at his wife then kept pacing. Ruby just finished giving birth. She probably wasn't thinking right. There were so many things that could go wrong. What if that nurse was paid off like that one who tried to poison him while he was in a coma? Or… the nurse could be intercepted by someone who was. The vaccinations could have been replaced with a poison. There were so many things that could go wrong without supervision… but if he left someone could do the same thing to Ruby. Aaron bit his lip. Who was more important, his wife or newborn daughter?

Something stabbed into Angel. Aaron snapped his head toward his daughter and felt the minds of everyone in the surrounding area. Angel was the only one in any pain or scared at all. Looking a little deeper… it was just a shot. Aaron grumbled to himself and kept pacing.

Fifty-six and a half minutes later, Aaron felt the nurse walking back with Angel. "They're almost here," he told Ruby.

Angel's crying filtered through the door. The nurse knocked on the door and opened it. Aaron faced the man, ready to pounce if need be. "Angel gave us no problems," the nurse announced. "She was such a good girl." Aaron said nothing and continued to stare.

"I'd expect no different from my daughter." Ruby stuck her arms out. The nurse set Angel down in her mother's arms. The newborn stopped crying as soon as she lay in her Ruby's care. "I missed you so much, Angel." She kissed her daughter on the nose.

The nurse faced Aaron. "There are a lot of people out in the waiting room to see you three."

Aaron faced his wife for her answer. Ruby was too busy kissing Angel's bandage to notice. "Send them in." The nurse nodded and left the room. Aaron approached the bed and looked over his daughter. The bandage was the only different thing he could see. He whispered a few spells to find out if there was anything else wrong with Angel but found nothing. Aaron relaxed and sighed. "She's perfectly fine."

"I could have told you that." Ruby rubbed her face against Angel's.

Aaron sat on the side of Ruby's bed and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I just don't want anything to happen to her."

"Just try not to be as overprotective as my dad used to be."

"I'll do my best." Aaron moved his hand from Ruby's shoulder to brush his daughter's face.

A few minutes later, the door slowly opened and Yang stuck her head in. "Is it safe?"

"Perfectly." Ruby smiled at her sister. "Want to meet your niece?"

"Do I?" Yang stepped into the room and walked to the side of the bed opposite Aaron. She gasped and covered her heart with a hand. "Ruby! Did you just clone yourself? I thought you wanted to do this naturally."

Ruby laughed. "Nope. Nature wasn't working, so now we have another Rose clone on Remnant."

Yang laughed and reached a hand toward the newborn. "So what's her name?"

"Angel," Aaron said, his good mood returning. "Ruby said it just out of the blue and we liked it."

"I like it." Yang caressed Angel's face. "It fits." She leaned down to Angel's eye level. "Hey there, cutie. I'm your Auntie Yang. We're going to have so much fun together."

"Where're the others?" Ruby asked. "I expected there to be more of you."

"Most of them are trying to keep Weiss from barging in here and scaring your baby." Yang straightened up and crossed her arms. "Dad couldn't find a ride from Patch."

Ruby's jaw dropped and she turned her head around. "Cerise!"

 _Telling Vert to move his tail now,_ Cerise said. _I'm staying here._

"Thank you." Ruby faced Angel again. "Grandpa's going to be a little late, but he'll be here."

Someone knocked and the door opened a crack. Weiss snuck through crouched and crouch-walked toward Ruby. "I heard there's a new cutest baby in Vale."

"Don't tell Velvet you said that." Ruby giggled. She grabbed one of Angel's arms in two of her fingers. She made her daughter wave at her partner. "Angel, say hi to your Auntie Weiss."

Weiss waved with her fingers. "Hi, Angel." She stopped at Ruby's bedside, only her head sticking over the edge. "Oh, you're so cute!" She stuck a finger out and poked Angel's stomach, but she didn't get a response.

"Something tells me when she laughs, she'll get even cuter." Aaron nodded at his wife. "It works for Ruby, and they have the same face."

Ruby blushed. "Oh, stop." She shook her head and looked between her two sisters. "Anyway, there's something I've wanted to ask you two. Do you want to be Angel's godmothers?"

"Yes!" Weiss blurted out. "Anything for her." She stood up a little, kissed Angel's forehead, then returned to her previous position.

Yang smirked. "What she said." She elbowed Weiss and received a weak glare.

"Thank you. I couldn't think of anyone else."

Aaron looked toward the hall. He felt several familiar minds on the other side. "You can all come in, just not all at once. Don't scare my daughter." He faced Angel again. _My daughter… I like the sound of that._

* * *

 **If this seems more realistic than the other births I've written (back in Nevermore), that's because I actually did some research on them. Is it 100%, heck no, but it's closer than I've been before. Now, we have best Ruby! Mama Ruby!  
**

 **Last week's episode... All hail the Great One! PYRRHA'S MOM! Dangnabbit Qrow! Dang Ruby, I like this new you.**

 **I may not have been able to see it live (thank you crappy job...) but we climbed the Stairway to Seven! We got another one! GO B7SON! If there's any EWU fans here, your team played great. Nothing to be ashamed of.**


	59. Welcome Home

**A little thing about Angel here. I put her in my current XCOM 2 campaign (she's a freaking BEAST by the way) and I found her teen/adult look. The game's modded to all heck, so you probably won't guess it. Either way, it's going to be a while before any it'll show up... In fact, I still haven't written it.  
**

* * *

Aaron grimaced as he watched the live VNN footage from outside the hospital. So many people waited outside to see the 'Rider Baby' as so many people were calling Angel. All Aaron and Ruby wanted to do was get home and introduce their baby girl to the dragons, her fiercest protectors. That, and to spend time with Angel outside of the hospital and all the constant oversight.

Ruby walked out of the bathroom securing her silk hood with her living emblem. "Are Yang and Halcyon here yet with the Bullhead?"

"Not yet." Aaron shook his head. "At least all their attention is focused on the ground."

Ruby faced the projection and grimaced. "I am not taking my baby through that."

"Neither am I." Aaron turned off the projector and faced his wife. "Are you ready to head home?"

"Oh, yeah." Ruby nodded. "I'm nowhere near a hundred percent, but I've spent way too much time in here." She paused and the now familiar joyful smile took over her face. "Now we get Angel home. We get her all to ourselves." Aaron nodded. If Ruby was okay with letting strangers watch over Angel, there probably wasn't anything to be worried about. That being said, he still didn't like letting other people take care of his newborn. Angel should have been within sight of Aaron or Ruby at all times. That's how it was in Alagaësia, and that was one thing Aaron thought should carry over to Remnant, not that anyone listened.

"I'll get you checked out." Aaron kissed Ruby on the cheek.

"Thank you. I'll join you when they bring Angel here." Ruby picked up the brand new baby carrier and set it on the bed beside her.

Aaron left the room and walked toward the reception desk on their floor. He nodded at the elven guards as he passed. The elven embassy in Vale offered almost half their guards to help make sure that the new family wasn't disturbed as they left the hospital. For once, Aaron was thankful that the elves were so insistent on paying back their debt. He made it to the desk undisturbed and filled out most of the paperwork without interruption.

When he reached the last page, he heard Ruby's happy giggle. Aaron looked over his shoulder and couldn't hold back a smile. Ruby held the baby carrier close to her face with her free hand inside. "Oh, you're such a smart girl! Yes, you are!" Two elves followed about a dozen feet behind her, both of them smiling at the Rider in front of them.

"You seem happy," Aaron said as his wife reached his side.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Ruby redirected her smile to her husband. "I've got my baby and my husband right here. All that's missing is our dragons."

Aaron nodded. "We'll introduce them soon enough." He paused. "They need your signature in a few places here, then we're good."

"Then could you hold Angel?" Ruby held the carrier out toward Aaron.

"I would be delighted to." Aaron grabbed the carrier's handle and looked inside. On Ruby's insistence, Angel was clothed in a white onesie with gold trim with a similarly colored hat on her head. She looked up at her father with wide, curious eyes. "Hi, Angel." Aaron reached a hand into the carrier and caressed his baby's face. "Are you ready to go home?" Angel cooed and kicked her legs but didn't smile or laugh. With Ruby as her mother, that would come with time.

"All done." Ruby set the pen down and pushed the paper toward the receptionist. She turned toward the carrier and looked inside it. "We're taking you home now, Angel. You're going to meet the rest of your family."

Aaron started walking toward the roof with Ruby continuing to dote over their baby. He stretched his mind out to find their ride home. _Yang, we're heading to the roof. You almost here?_

 _We're still on the pad at home,_ Yang said. _We were waiting for you to call. Didn't want to give the cameras time to rearrange themselves._

 _But we're off the ground now,_ Halcyon hummed. _Baby Force One is inbound._

 _Thank you._ Aaron faced his wife. "It sounds like Yang is just leaving home. We might be waiting a few minutes."

"That just gives us more face to face with this wittle one." Ruby poked Angel's nose. "Boop!"

Aaron smiled at the sight then focused on the hall ahead of him. While Ruby kept Angel happy, he would make sure that no one would disturb them. The elves were just backup… that's what the Alagaësian in him said anyway. That part of him said that he was the man of the house, that he needed to provide and protect. He could still do that, he _was_ doing that, but on Remnant the father could do everything that the mother could and vice versa. He liked that, but he didn't know if he _could_ do what Ruby did.

The group came to the roof access and stood to the side in case any air ambulances came through. A few minutes later, Yang touched Aaron's mind and likely everyone else'. _We're coming in for a landing._

 _Coming, sis,_ Ruby said.

Aaron led the way through the door and looked up. The Rider's Bullhead turned to the side so the crew compartment doors faced those on the roof. No sound came from the engines thanks to a request from Ruby. Aaron waited for the transport to touch down before approaching. There wasn't any need to scare his baby girl with sudden, intense wind.

He stepped inside the transport and faced the row of seats. This was the biggest problem with living in the mountains. The only way in and out was by air or hiking through Grimm territory, not ideal for taking babies through. Aaron had started digging an underground tunnel to the city, but he didn't expect the sheer amount of underground… things beneath the city. He was still trying to figure out how to connect the existing tunnel to the beginning of the Armen Highway while still having it secured.

Ruby stepped into the Bullhead beside Aaron and whined. "The carrier wasn't meant for these seats, was it?"

"I don't think so." Aaron set the carrier on one of the seats facing backward and looked for any existing straps that would work with the carrier. "Use magic?"

"Yeah." Ruby knelt down next to the carrier and began singing in the Ancient Language.

Aaron heard the growing sound of engines outside. He poked his head out of the Bullhead and glared at the news Bullheads circling the hospital. The elves still on the landing pad did the same. "Yang, close us up." Aaron stepped back inside and the doors closed.

"There you go," Halcyon said over the transport's intercom. "No more onlookers."

"Thanks, Halcyon." Aaron rested a hand on the bulkhead separating the crew compartment from the cockpit. "Take it nice and easy on the way back, okay? No rush. Just nice and smooth for Angel."

"Of course." Halcyon's hum came over the speakers and not the engines. "I'm honored to carry Angel on her first flight."

Yang stepped out of the cockpit and faced her sister. "I hate to speed you up, Ruby, but this is an active air pad. There's an ambulance about a minute out."

"We're fine." Ruby stood up and tried to lift the baby carrier with her bionic arm. Her arm and legs strained, but the carrier didn't move. Aaron didn't hear anything from his daughter either. "She's not going anywhere. We're good to go."

"Strap yourselves in," Halcyon said. "We're gonna move fast at first and slow down when we're out of the way." Aaron and Ruby sat down and strapped in on both sides of their daughter while Yang reentered the cockpit. "Hang on we're taking off… now."

Aaron felt himself being pushed into his seat. Angel turned her head as much as she could and made some uncomfortable cooing sounds. "It's okay, Angel. We do this all the time." The transport sped up and banked harder than expected and the newborn started crying.

 _I'm sorry!_ Halcyon thought this time. _The ambulance wasn't slowing down. I had to move._

"It's okay. It's okay." Ruby trailed her natural fingers down Angel's left arm. "You're okay. Nothing bad is going to happen."

Aaron ran a finger down Angel's face. _"There is nothing to be worried about."_ Angel's head turned roughly in her father's direction but didn't stop crying. _"You are safe. Halcyon is a good flier. You will be back in my or your mother's arms when we leave here."_ He leaned downand kissed Angel's forehead. The baby quieted down but didn't quite relax.

Ruby turned her smile to her husband then back to her baby. "You'll know what your daddy just said someday, well, more than you already do." She picked up Angel's left arm with two fingers. Ruby leaned down and kissed her baby's hand. "Nothing to be afraid of." She lowered Angel's arm back to the padding and tried to pull her hand back but Angel's tiny fingers wrapped around one of her mother's. Ruby giggled and faced her husband. "I'm stuck."

Despite multiple assurances from both her parents, Angel didn't relax until the Bullhead touched down. Aaron and Ruby freed themselves from their own restraints and focused their attention back on their baby. Ruby freed the baby carrier from its magic but set it right back down. She unbuckled Angel and held her baby over her heart. "Let's go meet the rest of your family, Angel."

Aaron pat the ceiling. "Halcyon, the doors."

"Yang, actually," Yang called. "Halcyon's already out. I'm going to run ahead and put him in his shell." The doors opened, revealing Cerise and Nalia standing side by side with their necks intertwined with their heads facing the transport. Yang stepped out of the cockpit then ran out of the Bullhead and into the house.

Ruby walked out of the Bullhead and stopped well short of the dragons. "I know both of you want to introduce yourselves, but please, one at a time, and slowly." Nalia hummed, rubbed her face against Cerise', and backed away. Cerise raised her wings and walked toward her Rider. She hung her head over Ruby and Angel before slowly lowering it. "Angel, this is Cerise, my dragon and my soulmate."

 _It's nice to meet you, Angel,_ Cerise hummed. She sniffed Angel three times before nuzzling the newborn and humming even more. Despite the extreme size difference, Cerise was being so gentle she wouldn't have ripped paper.

Nalia walked over to Aaron while not taking her eyes off Angel. _She's beautiful._

"Yes, she is." Aaron put a hand on his dragon's snout. "Thank you for being so patient."

 _With humans, this is not something you can rush._ Nalia flicked her tongue out. _I now know Angel's smell. I'll be able to find her if she goes missing._

 _Thank you. I suppose that gives you an unfair advantage in hide and seek if you ever play that with Angel._

Nalia snorted. _She has a huge advantage while I'm hiding. It's only fair for it to go the other way too._

"Aaron?" Ruby called. Aaron faced his wife. "You want to do the honors?" She bounced Angel in her arms.

Aaron straightened and nodded. "Of course." He walked over and took his baby from his wife. Angel immediately relaxed into his arms, something that he was still getting used to, but something that he wouldn't change for the world.

Aaron turned back toward his dragon and walked toward her. "Angel, I want you to meet my dragon." Nalia hummed and moved her head over Angel like Cerise did. "Her name is Nalia. She's the fastest dragon alive and one of the most loyal. If you have a problem, she'll be there in a flash."

 _Anytime, anywhere you need me,_ Nalia dipped her head to Angel's level, her right eye a foot away from the baby's face, _I'll be there._ She closed her eye, hummed, and inched her head toward Angel's until scale met skin. Aaron felt his daughter stiffen in his arms, then relax again. The new father breathed a sigh of relief. He knew the dragons liked babies, but he didn't know if Angel would like them.

Aaron felt a pat on the back. "All acquainted?" Ruby asked.

"I think so," Aaron said. "I think they like each other."

Nalia hummed and pulled her head back. _She is your daughter. I love her like she was my own._

"Great. Now I feel like a jerk for not returning the favor."

 _Yes. You kind of are._ Nalia snorted and touched her snout Angel's head again.

Ruby stroked her baby girl's cheek. "Congratulations, Angel. You are now the safest baby on Remnant."

A red tint covered everything as Cerise spread her wings. _We take our job very seriously here._

 _No people, Grimm, or bugs will hurt hatchlings under our protection._ Nalia pulled her head away and turned toward the house. The dragon door opened, revealing Yang and Halcyon on the other side.

Halcyon dashed out of the house toward Aaron and Angel. He stopped right in front of them and raised his neck. _May I?_

Aaron knelt down and turned so Angel could face the android dragon. "And this is Halcyon, Auntie Yang's dragon. He may be small and has a big heart that matches his scales."

 _Hi there, Angel._ Halcyon stuck his tongue out and licked Angel's face twice before stopping and lowering his ears. Aaron didn't feel any protests from Angel, so nothing was wrong with her. Halcyon turned his head toward the new mother. _Ruby, I don't suppose that you could make my tongue a little wet? Not too much, just enough so I don't hurt Angel._

"I think that can be arranged," Ruby said. "I might ask Orchid if I could use hers for comparison."

 _Thank you._ Halcyon faced Angel again and nuzzled his snout under Angel's chin. _Aaron, Ruby, I don't know if I can ask this but… can I be her guardian dragon?_

Aaron glanced at Ruby then focused back on Halcyon. "How do you mean?"

 _I hate to make this comparison… like one of those Mistrili Shepherds from the videos that Ruby occasionally watches._

"Really?" Ruby asked. "I thought you hated those comparisons."

 _I do._ Halcyon showed his fangs for less than a second before he repositioned his head under Angel's chin. _I know how Nalia and Cerise feel, that they would never hurt her on purpose, but they could squish Angel if they sneeze, or roll over, or any of that. I barely weigh more than Aaron. It would take a much bigger accident for me to hurt her. Like a Mistrili Shepherd, I can keep another set of eyes on her and make sure she doesn't get into trouble. If she needs someone or something in the night, that can be me._ Halcyon flared his lips a few times. _If she treats me like a pet, things could change._

Aaron looked up at Yang. The other Rider stared at Halcyon with her jaw dropped. "You know about this?"

Yang held her hands up. "This is a first. I'm just as surprised as you are."

 _ **I want to do this,**_ Halcyon swore. _**I want to help.**_

Aaron looked up at Ruby. "I have no problems."

Ruby crossed her arms and bit her lip. "How to let her know you're not a pet… Uncle Halcyon?"

Halcyon hummed again. _That'll work._

"As long as I don't have to pretend to be married to him," Yang pointed at her dragon, "we're good."

"That won't happen." Aaron stood up slowly and walked into the house.

"Yeah. That would be creepy," another voice said behind Aaron.

The Rider jerked his head toward it while he kept Angel facing away. Qrow stood on the edge of the landing pad, hands behind his back. Aaron sighed and fully faced Qrow. "A little warning next time?"

"Nah. You're a father now. You've got to learn to protect your kid at a moment's notice."

Ruby giggled. "He's got you there, Aaron." She jogged over to her uncle and hugged him. "Good to see you, Uncle Qrow!"

"Right back atcha, kiddo." Qrow ruffled Ruby's hair. "Heard you finally had your kid. Came to see if the rumors were true."

"As you can see, they are." Aaron bounced Angel in his arms and smiled at his baby girl. "Angel Rose. She was worth the wait."

"I'd hope so." Qrow approached Aaron, a smirk growing on his face. "I've seen that face before, over twenty years ago. The rest of her, Angel looks a little bigger."

Ruby groaned. "She felt big enough. Eleven pounds, eight ounces."

"Almost three pounds heavier than you were." Qrow sighed. "I wish I was just here to see Angel. We've got a problem, two actually, and I don't know which is worse."

Ruby raised her head. "What kind of problems?"

"Both ends of the spectrum, combat and PR."

"Okay. Well, I think it's time for Angel's nap any…" Ruby blinked at Angel. "Oh. She's already asleep."

Aaron returned his attention to his daughter. "How'd I miss this?"

"It's a little early for you to be missing things." Qrow grabbed his flask from his belt. "I'll meet you in the co-"

Ruby launched forward and grabbed Qrow's flask hand just below the wrist. "No. Drinking. Around. My. Baby." She growled out each word through clenched teeth. She threw Qrow's arm down and approached Aaron. By the time she reached for Angel, she was smiling again like she didn't just threaten Qrow's life. "Come to mama!" Ruby lifted her baby from her husband's arms and carried her inside. "You're going to your very own crib." Cerise followed her Rider inside.

The three humans left outside stood in a rough line and stared after Ruby. "I think this is going to be an alcohol-free house for quite some time," Aaron said.

Yang rubbed the back of her neck. "Qrow, you got any room at your place for a six-pack of Bush Lite?"

"Not for that crap." Qrow shook his head, still not facing away from Ruby. "I thought you'd have better taste."

 _I don't care,_ Halcyon said. _It's not like I can drink anything._

 _Didn't Qrow say that we had problems?_ Nalia asked.

Qrow cleared his throat and clipped his flask to his belt. "I do, and I'll meet the command staff in the command center." He turned around, jumped off the landing pad, and transformed into a bird.

Aaron sighed. "Yang, is Weiss still here?"

"I think she was working on something in the nursery," Yang said. "Why?"

"With Ruby and I out of action for a while, Weiss is in command on Remnant. She definitely needs to hear what Qrow has to say."

"Qrow said command staff. That's all of us."

"Maybe… I'll meet you all there. I need to talk with Ruby first." Aaron walked into the house and toward the master. He opened the human-sized door but hesitated before walking in. On the other side of the room, Ruby and Cerise stood over the crib next to the bed. Ruby leaned down and picked Angel up and bounced her in her arms. The baby's crying carried across the room. Aaron approached his wife. When he got close, he smelled something… bad.

Ruby looked up at Aaron with her mouth at a diagonal slant. "Angel made a stinky. I've got to take care of this before I join you." She started walking toward the changing station by the bathroom.

Aaron fell into step beside his wife. "Actually, maybe you should stay with Angel."

"Qrow said said we have big problems. I need to be there."

"Ruby, we have Angel to take care of now. One of us should be with her at all times. I can be the messenger. You can take care of Angel. She prefers you anyway."

Ruby sighed. "Thanks, Aaron." She stopped mid-step. "Wait, what?"

Aaron stopped and faced his wife. Ruby had a look somewhere between fear and concern on her face. "I can be the messenger while you take care of Angel."

"No. After that."

"Angel prefers you?"

Ruby dropped her shoulders. "Why?" She shook her head. "After the meeting, we need to talk." She walked past Aaron to the changing station. Cerise cast him a sideways glance as she passed.

Aaron stared after them for a second before heading for the door to the Hall. _Nalia, did I say something wrong?_

 _Yes, you did._ Nalia sounded disappointed. _I'm sure Ruby will tell you later. I'll leave that to her._

The Rider left the room and looked up at his dragon. Nalia hung her head and wings. _What did I do?_

 _Just get to your meeting. That's a discussion for you and Ruby alone._ Nalia stepped on the pad to open the master bedroom for her. She stepped inside without another word to her Rider.

Aaron shook his head and walked toward the elevator to the command level. _Did I say something?_ He pushed that aside for now and entered the elevator. He needed to focus. Once on the command level, he made his way for the command center. The whole team minus Ruby was in the room, in addition to Yaela and Qrow.

"Ruby behind ya?" Qrow asked.

"Angel needed a diaper change." Aaron closed the door behind him. "Ruby won't be joining us later either. She's staying with Angel."

"As she should." Qrow nodded and faced the room. "I'll cut to the chase. We've got a couple major problems, one that could take us down, another that could hurt us or someone else important. First off, one of my old contacts has told me Barry Price is back." Qrow faced Weiss. "That name sound familiar, Ice Queen."

Weiss crossed her arms. "That's Ice Princess to you. The Ice Queen is upstairs… but yes, the name is familiar, but he died when I was ten."

"That's what Atlas wanted us to think. They didn't want people to know the best sniper Remnant has ever seen went rogue. Remember when Vacuo's entire council was killed? That was him."

"Why haven't I heard of this?" Aaron asked.

"It was two years before you showed up, and we thought he was killed for real five years ago before this little group formed. There'd be no reason for you to know about a threat that no longer exists."

"Does General Ironwood know about this?" Weiss asked.

"I report to here and Ozpin, not Jimmy." Qrow scoffed. "I can't believe he hired that psychopath in the first place."

"Do we know who his target is?" Blake asked.

Qrow shrugged. "All my guy got was that he'd been seen somewhere in Vacuo City. Still, only the wealthiest tribes could afford to hire him as an assassin if he's still charging the rates he was back after he killed Vacuo's council. I doubt he's out and about just to settle the grudge of a street gang.

"This guy is an ex-Atlas specialist." Qrow grimaced. "He's not one to make mistakes like this. Either he's getting cocky, he's slipping, or he wants people to know he's back in the game. One of those is significantly scarier than the rest."

"You think he's going after one of us?" Yang asked.

"If that's the case, I need to tell my guy to disappear, still going to anyway. You all might want to put on a few more wards, or however that whole thing works."

"What's this guy look like?" Blake asked.

Qrow nodded at Yaela. The elf hit a few buttons on her computer and an image of a man with a huge sniper rifle appeared at the front of the room. The most distinguishable feature were the three parallel scars running from above his right eye to the bottom left of his chin. "Stereotypical bad guy look, even when he worked for Atlas. Hell, I'd guess so many villains in today's movies were inspired by this guy."

Aaron brought a hand to his chin. "Do the elves know about him?"

"All my contacts do." Qrow grunted. "I was worried about them when Islanzadí first lent them to me. Now, not so much."

"I don't suppose any of them are in Armitage?" Blake asked. "I have to be back next week for turning on the CCT for the first time."

Qrow nodded. "I'll let them know. If they guard as well as they spy, you won't even know they're there until something happens." He paused. "Speaking of them, one of the elves let me know that Mistral intelligence has found the Branwen tribe and they're moving on them today.

Aaron stiffened. "Barzul. Do we know when?"

Qrow looked at the clock on the wall. "Five minutes, give or take a few seconds."

"Oh, this isn't good." Yang ran her hands through her hair.

Blake flattened her ears against her head and grimaced. "I can't believe we didn't want those murderers to be found."

"We can't plant anything on them in time, can we?" Weiss asked.

Aaron shook his head. "If we had an hour of warning, yes. Not five minutes. Kírtan is too far into Du Weldenvarden."

"Then I'm glad I didn't rush more." Qrow shrugged. "Found out about a half hour ago."

"Well, we're back under investigation," Yang announced.

"Mistral's courts have already determined they found no evidence we were involved in Lionheart's disappearance," Weiss explained. "None of us had a motive to kill or kidnap him. They might take another pass at us, but they shouldn't be launching a full investigation into us."

"But if they do and bring in the truth seekers," Aaron faced the only elf in the room, "we need more lessons on double meanings."

Yang nodded. "Some of us more than others." She faced her partner. "Sorry Blake, but you're not the best liar anymore."

Blake shrugged. "Haven't had reason to practice."

"At this point," Qrow continued, "there's nothing we can do without compromising ourselves or declaring war on Mistral. I don't think we want to do either of those things."

Weiss started pacing in a five-foot area. "What could go wrong here… We're under investigation, they find some evidence they didn't have beforehand, people start to trust us less…" She stopped in place and nodded. "I think we can turn that one around."

"Ya got something, Weiss?" Yang asked.

"I think so." Weiss turned around and faced Aaron. "I'd need to run this by Ruby and Coco, but I don't think us 'failing' our initial investigation could be a bad thing."

Aaron inclined his head. "I'm listening."

"This isn't something that we can spin our way, but something that just will be." Weiss paused. "Since you and Nalia were first on the scene, we had initial jurisdiction. We found out that the Branwen tribe was responsible, and Mistral intelligence had no reason to believe otherwise. Yes, people might start to lose faith in our tracking skills, especially if we find many other tribes that could have Lionheart but so will our opponents."

"There is that." Aaron nodded.

"None of our cases have gone cold, have they?" Blake asked.

"Not one." Yang shook her head. "There goes our perfect record, but if people start to underestimate us even a little, that could help."

"If I may," Yaela spoke up, "if this does become a problem, I have an idea."

"Let's hear it." Aaron nodded.

"I… will admit I have only seen this in movies or CCT shows, but I think this could work. If we can, why don't we make it look like he wanted to disappear?" Yaela looked around the assembled faces. "I mean, a rogue tribe would be the perfect cover. Assassination, kidnapping, there're all sorts of reasons the Branwen tribe would attack a councilman. If and when Mistral finds out the tribe had nothing to do with Lionheart's disappearance, they'll investigate him. We have the files that Lionheart had on what he did. I don't think anyone looked too deep into him since he was the one who was kidnapped. I could bury those files deep inside Lionheart's computer, deeper than anyone would have looked before. If Mistral looks at us for his disappearance, it would be to ask if we're holding him somewhere."

Weiss slowly nodded. "With a little refinement, that could work." She faced Aaron. "Are you and Ruby giving orders while you're on leave?"

Aaron shook his head. "I'm not, and I doubt Ruby is. Either way, we trust you."

Weiss faced Qrow. "How much does Toto know?"

"Everything Lionheart knew when he was still one of us," Qrow said. "He also knows what we've done with Lionheart. He's with us all the way."

"Then work with Yaela and make this happen. The less blowback on us, the better." Weiss sighed. "I guess now we wait until Mistral tells us about the raid or until it's on the news."

"Qrow, you got anything else?" Aaron asked.

"That's it." Qrow shook his head. "I've got some of my own work to do."

"I don't think Ruby would mind if you stuck around a little to actually meet Angel."

Qrow winced. "I would. I don't trust my Semblance around babies."

Aaron straightened and nodded. Bad luck. He didn't need any of that around Angel. "Okay then. Next time I see you, I hope you have better news."

"Same here." Qrow stuffed his hands in his pockets and left the room.

"Aaron?" Weiss said. Aaron turned around to face her. "You're done here. Go upstairs and spend time with your wife and daughter. That's an order. The three of you look so cute together… five of you if you count the dragons."

"It's five. Ruby wants to talk with me anyway." Aaron turned out of the room and walked to the elevator. Qrow had already disappeared. The Rider still didn't know how the older man did that. He rode the elevator up and stepped into the main hall. Viki was in the kitchen preparing dinner. She waved at her brother but didn't approach.

Aaron pushed open the door to the master and quiet music spilled out. Ruby sang and Cerise hummed along. Both stood over the crib, gazing down into it. Nalia lay on her own pad with her eyes closed but ears facing the music. Aaron slowly approached his wife so he wouldn't disturb her, Cerise, or Angel. It took until he was only a few feet away before he heard what Ruby was signing. He should have figured it out with Cerise' humming.

Ruby brushed Angel's face with a pinky. "No, I won't leave you alone. When the night comes my stars will fill the sky. Hear the whispers in the night. I won't leave you alone. When the night comes I'll be right by your side. Hear the whispers in the night." She leaned down and kissed Angel's forehead. "Have a nice nap, Angel." She stood up and backed away from Angel's crib.

Aaron stuck out his right arm and caught his wife's shoulders. "You know she's going to grow up thinking a rock song is a lullaby, right?"

"Maybe. I know it's not the original meaning of the song at all, but that song is one a telepath sings to her babies." Ruby turned her head to her husband and her smile disappeared. "But we need to talk. Now." She walked out of Aaron's arm and onto Nalia's pad. The dragon opened her eyes and raised a wing.

Aaron stepped under the offered wing tent and it closed over him. "Okay, Ruby, what did I do?"

"What makes you think that Angel loves me more than you?" Ruby's voice was barely above a whisper.

"I thought it was obvious. You talk to her more and do all those little… things with her."

Ruby shook her head and crossed her arms. "Aaron, where is this worry coming from?"

Aaron sighed. "You're so good with her. You know what you're doing. You're always talking to her. I can never find anything to say and I have no idea what I'm doing otherwise. I'm… afraid of becoming a deadbeat dad."

Ruby froze and stared at Aaron like he just killed someone, then sighed and relaxed. "Wrong term, Aaron, and I can tell you right now, you have nothing to be worried about. You think I know what I'm doing? I'm making this up as I go along. For all I know, Angel could hate all my babbling and touching.

"Have you really not seen the way Angel relaxes into your arms? She does that for me and you and no one else. Nothing to say? What do you call everything you said in the hospital and the flight over? That had more substance than constantly telling Angel how cute she is. If she somehow understands what we're saying, I don't know which she'd prefer."

Ruby grabbed Aaron's right hand and held it in both of hers. "So what if you're better with animals than kids? Be the best dad you can be and I don't think Angel will ever know. So what if you're more stoic than energetic? Most people aren't as bouncy as me. Besides, us free spirits need a rock to ground us."

Aaron sighed. "I'm sorry I'm worrying you like this, Ruby."

"Hey, you put up with me literally crying over spilled milk when I was pregnant, multiple times. I don't remember you complaining once. I can put up with your worries for a few times." Ruby kissed Aaron on the cheek. "Anyway, I don't think us fighting or ignoring each other would be the best example for Angel."

"I don't think so either. Thank you, Ru."

"Anytime, honey."

* * *

 **Dragons are cute. They're the best. But don't let their cuteness fool you. If you touch their Angel... well, I'll leave it to your imagination.  
**

 **Not much to say about the most recent episode, but f*** Adam, that Jaeger's going down, and GOSH DANGIT QROW! COMPARE RUBY TO SUMMER ALREADY!**


	60. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

**Not gonna lie, I'm probably gonna get some hate for this one, not just the 'ha, ha, I'll head to the bunker now' kind. For better or worse, I'm sticking with it.  
**

* * *

Ruby groaned and fell back on the bed. "Mom, how did you do it?"

Her mom giggled above her. "I wondered how long it would take you to break." Ruby lifted her head and stared at her mom. Summer cradled Angel in her arms with that same joyful smile that Ruby had on her face so much now. "You were such a wonderful baby… but your first few months you were a pain in the butt. I barely got any sleep. Still, my only regret is that I didn't get to see you grow up with my own eyes… and having to see Yang grow up way too fast."

"We don't blame you, mom." Ruby sat and slumped forward with her arms hanging between her legs. "Any advice?"

"I take it magic isn't an option?" Summer asked as she bounced Angel in her arms.

Ruby shook her head. "Not a chance. I don't know what that could do to her, and I don't want her to become reliant on it."

Summer nodded. "Every baby is different. Keep on doing what you're doing, maybe experiment with a few things, but the sooner you settle into a routine, the better. Also, be prepared to lose a lot of sleep. You and Aaron won't be getting much for a long time." Angel cooed and wiggled in her grandma's arms. Summer's smile widened and she rubbed her nose against Angel's. "No, they won't! You're going to keep them up all night! Yes, you will! Yes, you will!"

Ruby wanted to smile, but she couldn't. This would probably be the last time those two would meet each other like this… and it was about to end. The Rider stood up from her mom's bed. "Mom, I'm sorry, but It's time for us to go. I don't know what being in here could do to Angel, so…" She trailed off, unwilling to finish her thought.

"Okay." Summer slowly blinked, her eyes watery when their lids raised. "I understand. I don't blame you." She leaned down and kissed Angel on the forehead. "I love you, Angel. Grandma loves you. Never forget it." She glanced at her daughter and nodded.

"Sorry, mom." Ruby took her baby from Summer and bounced Angel in her arms. "I wish we had more time."

"We all do." Summer hugged her daughter and her daughter returned it with just her head. "I love you, Gem. You're already a good mom. Be a better mom than I ever could be."

"That's hard to beat, but I'll try." Ruby stepped out of her mom's arms. "Bye, mom."

Summer smiled sadly. "Bye, Ruby." She reached up and pinched Ruby's left ear.

Ruby jerked awake at the touch. She tilted her head toward Angel's crib. Her baby didn't make a sound. The mother sighed and rested her head back on her pillow. "Mom, you're lucky Angel's still asleep." Ruby tilted her head in the other direction. Aaron and Nalia were already gone. They didn't wake her up either, another rarity…

Wait, what time was it? A clock appeared in the top right corner of her vision. "Oh, boy." Blake was speaking on the CCT in less than an hour. Ruby rolled out of bed and walked to her dresser. She put on one of her combat skirts but brought a top and her silk hood to her bed. By that time, Cerise was blinking her sleep away.

"Angel," Ruby sang. "Time to wake up." She bent down and picked her baby up from her crib. Angel's eyes flittered open when her head was level with her mother's heart. "There you are! Have a nice sleep?" Angel gurgled and wiggled around in Ruby's arms. She faced Ruby's chest and started pawing at her mommy's pajama top. "Someone's hungry."

After feeding and burping her baby, Ruby put on the rest of her combat outfit and carried Angel out of the room with her dragon following. Out in the Hall, Nalia and Aaron sat in front of the large projector watching the morning news. Viki was in the kitchen cooking something that smelled delicious. Ruby walked over to her husband first. "Honey?" Aaron turned his head back. "Can you watch Angel while I have breakfast?"

"Of course." Aaron stood up and reached his arms out. Ruby carefully set her daughter in her husband's arms. Aaron pulled Angel close to his chest. Nalia hummed and looked over her Rider's shoulder. "Good morning, Angel. How'd you sleep last night?"

Ruby turned away and walked toward the kitchen. Viki flipped something on the stove that looked like a pancake. While her pancakes were on par with Ren's, that wasn't what Ruby smelled. "Morning, Viki. Whatcha cooking up today?"

Viki turned around and smiled at Ruby. "Good morning, Ruby. It's nothing special today, just pancakes and hash browns."

" _Just_ those things? I think you underestimate yourself."

Viki blushed and turned away. "Thank you." She took some of the pancakes and hash browns and put them on a large plate. The chef poured syrup all over the pancakes and a little bit on the hash browns, something Ruby picked up from Aaron years ago. Viki handed it to her sister in law but hesitated on releasing it. "Ruby, can you be honest with me?"

"When aren't I?" Ruby took her breakfast and set it on the counter. "Is something wrong?"

"Not at all." Viki shook her head. "I asked Aaron this earlier, and he fully supported me, but I want to ask you too." She paused. "Do you really think I could open a restaurant or bakery in Vale?"

"Oohhhh." Ruby nodded. "Yes and no." Viki's shoulders slumped. "Yes because you have some of the best food I've ever had. I'm not just saying that because you're my sister. You know how much Weiss loves your stuff, and she's picky... well, not as much as she was when we first met, but still. I don't think she'd hesitate to give you a job up in Atlas.

"No because as of right now, you don't have any leadership experience. Every time I've joined you on _your_ streams in a game that's set up in teams, you've handed leadership over to me. No one else I know of does that."

"You're a better leader," Viki mumbled. "You have experience."

"But if you open your own place, _you_ would be the boss. _You_ would decide what's on the menu. _You_ would be in charge of hiring, firing, ordering, all that stuff. I wouldn't be able to help you with that. I have to do all that stuff for the Riders already, and I wouldn't know your store and employees as much as you do. Can you honestly say you're ready for that?"

Viki dipped her head. "No."

"Hey." Ruby stuck a finger under Viki's chin and raised her sister's head. "Just because you're not ready now doesn't mean you can't do it in the future. I love the idea, and I'd be one of the first in line on opening day, if not _the_ first. You just need training in the area. That, I can't help with. The Riders aren't exactly a normal business or nonprofit. I'd suggest calling Weiss. She can help you, or she'll know someone who does."

Viki sighed. "Okay, I'll call her."

"That's a step in the right direction." Ruby gave Viki a quick hug, then grabbed her breakfast and some silverware and walked for the projector 'room.' She sat with her husband and watched the news. All anyone could talk about the last few days were the files found buried in Lionheart's computer. While the files didn't explicitly say that the traitor had those Huntsmen killed, the investigation and speculation were starting to turn in that direction.

A little later, VNN switched gears to talk about the transformation of Menagerie to the Kingdom of Armitage. Blake's speech was coming up. Yang and Halcyon left their room and joined the others in front of the projector. Yaela even came up from the command level for it. Viki walked over from the kitchen and sat next to her brother.

" _And now,"_ Lisa Lavender started, _"for the first time in history, we go live to our crew on the ground in Kuo Kuana, the capital of the Kingdom of Armitage."_

The projector changed to a live look at a press conference at the base of the new CCT tower in Kuo Kuana. The tower had the same color tone and detailing as the rest of the city, at least from what was visible anyway. Several familiar faces sat on the stage, all of them were related to Blake in some way. There was also another Faunus in an SDC uniform on stage. Ruby thought he was the one that Weiss wanted to be succeeded by.

Blake stood up from her seat and walked to the podium. She adjusted the mic for a second before looking over the crowd. _"These past few years have brought many good things for the Faunus. Laws across all kingdoms are outlawing discrimination against us. Our place of exile has turned into the home that puts us in a position equal to the other Kingdoms. And as of today, we have the connectivity that has been denied to us for so long. This new CCT tower behind me will finally allow us to communicate with anyone across Remnant instantly. We can respond to world events as we have never before. And, as I'm told by the one who oversaw the installation of the systems inside, this tower will be the first on Remnant to be able to function without being connected to the others. While the other towers are down for maintenance, we will be the ones supplying southern Anima and western Sanus with their communication capability."_ The crowd assembled applauded the announcement.

"Dang," Yang said. "I didn't know that part."

"Weiss didn't until recently either." Ruby shrugged. "Something about the technology just becoming feasible. The satellites probably had something to do with that."

Blake raised a hand and the crowd quieted. _"There are also several strides forward in the future for us. With the Riders inhabiting the east coast of the island, the Grimm threats to our lands have decreased as the wild dragons hunt them to train, and this trend will continue as more dragons hatch and more Riders arrive. We could very well be looking at industrial, agricultural, or civil expansion in the next few years. The CCT and the instant communication will also make Armitage more attractive for numerous new trade routes. While our current harbor cannot hold as much traffic as we are expecting, we are currently in negotiations with construction companies to expand our harbor for the excess trade."_ Blake stretched her arms out to her sides. _"We are all sitting or standing in the central courtyard of what will be Concordia Huntsmen Academy. Next fall, this place will open its doors to staff and students from all Kingdoms, regardless if they're human, Faunus, or Alagaësian."_

"If those currently at Beacon work out," Aaron said.

" _As far as we've come,"_ Blake continued, _"we still have a long way to go. For every law and regulation the Kingdoms pass, people will find ways around them. Even though the Schnee Dust Company has transformed from near slave drivers to one of the most pro-Faunus companies in the rest of the world, there are still others that would like to see us beneath them. We can't let th-"_

A glowing red line came out of nowhere and hit Blake in the chest. Ruby jumped to her feet. She knew what that was. A second laser shot came right after hitting Blake in the shoulder. Her Aura flared purple and failed. A third shot hit her right in the forehead. Only then did the cameras cut their feeds.

Ruby stood still for a few seconds with her mouth hanging open. She snapped her mouth shut and clenched her fists. "We gotta go. Aaron, call Brom and hope he's in New Vroengard, not Ilirea. Yang, get my weapons out of the armory too. I'm going to get the portal set up." Yang burst off the couch and sprinted for the elevator. Halcyon started to run for the hangar outside but Ruby put a hand on his back. The android dragon whipped his head back with his lips peeled. "We don't have time to prep the Bullhead or Wyvern. Go with Yaela to the command center and protect Angel."

Halcyon closed his lips and relaxed his shoulders. _No harm will come to your hatchling under my watch._ Yaela took Angel from Aaron and walked after Yang, Halcyon right by her side.

Ruby turned around and ran to Nalia. "I need your speed." She jumped and grabbed the dragon's saddle but she didn't bother climbing on.

 _Hold on._ Nalia pounced for the dragon door but had to wait for it to open. She flattened herself against the floor and crawled through the opening. When her tail passed, she jumped off the landing pad and flew toward the nearest river as fast as her wings could carry her. When the water came into sight, Nalia dove for the beach. Ruby let her legs flail behind her with the wind. Halfway to the ground, Nalia snapped her wings open and slowed down. Ruby let go of the saddle, still going full speed.

"Letta!" Ruby stopped in place just five feet above the ground. She cut that magic as she started the between worlds spell. She spoke the fastest she ever did with that spell and finished it in record time. The Rider looked skyward. Nalia landed seconds after Ruby did, so there were no other dragons in the sky. While she had to have cast that spell hundreds of times by then, the spell still drained her energy. She had to pull way too much from the Eldunarí the dragon held. "Come on guys, where are you?"

It took sixty precious seconds for Cerise to appear in the sky. She pinned her wings to her sides and dove for the portal. Ruby barely saw a green and yellow blur on her dragon's back as they plunged into the black and purple swirl. Ruby grabbed onto Nalia's closest leg.

The dragon tensed to dive but another mind entered Ruby's. _Wait for us!_ Velvet called. Nalia stopped in place and Ruby looked up. A purple and two green dragons appeared in the sky with Vert in the lead. They all nosed down for the river. Vert entered the portal at full speed, while Orchid and Fírnen took it slower… and Fírnen had a whole team on his back. With the Grimm on Menagerie, the more help, the better.

Seeing no more help coming, Ruby pat Nalia's leg. The dragon dove through the portal and over Alagaësia. To the Rider's surprise, there was already a portal open in Isenstar. Weiss and Saphira stood on the shores of the lake. They sure had time to get that ready.

Nalia flew through the second portal and into the now crowded skies of Kuo Kuana. She searched for the CCT for a second, then flew toward the new tower. Ruby searched the courtyard in front of the tower. Most of the people attending the event had scattered. News crews cowered alongside the buildings around the courtyard. Several more people hid behind the stage. Ruby stretched her mind down there… she didn't feel Blake at all.

Ruby dropped from Nalia's leg onto the stage. She rolled on impact and off the side. The Rider caught herself on her hands and knees and looked up. Her blood froze. Sun held his wife in his arms, tears running down his face. Blake had an expression of shock on her face. A circular hole about an inch in diameter burned into the exact center of her forehead. It wasn't bleeding due to the cauterization from the laser. Ruby saw a complete cross-section of Blake's head all the way to Sun's abs.

No magic or science could heal that. All her life force was already drained. Blake was dead.

" _I am sorry, Silverhand,"_ someone said behind Ruby. A Faunus woman… _elf_ woman with dog ears… _Invidia_ sat on the ground with her back against the stage. _"I could not save her. None of the wards I put on her had any effect."_

Ruby took a deep breath and nodded. Now wasn't the time for mourning. She stretched her mind out to cover the entire city. Panic was slowly spreading across the city, and some of it wasn't because of the sniper. If the Riders didn't act now, there would be many more people to mourn. _"Where did the shot come from?"_

Invidia poked her head up and over the stage. _"The building with the three peaks."_ The Rider looked up as well. The building was on a hill about a half mile away and had an unobstructed view of the courtyard. _"My partner ran up there after the first shot, but now he is dead too."_

" _Got it. Get the Belladonnas to safety."_

" _As you wish."_ Invidia crouch walked around Ruby.

The Rider looked at the sky and stretched her mind up to her dragon and those on her. _I need my helmet and weapons._

 _Care package inbound._ Cerise growled. She curved around and flew above her Rider. She rolled, flinging three things off. Ruby held her hands out for her two weapons and positioned her head under her helmet. The travel forms of Crescent Rose and Máni Bláto slammed into her hands and her helmet slipped over her head. Her HUD glowed to life with information fed to her by Yaela back in Vale. The Rider stood up and extended her weapons.

"Connect to all Riders in the area and team AETR." Her helmet connected to her Scroll, then to the Scrolls of everyone under her command. All calls were answered automatically. "We have two problems here, there's an assassin on the loose and a Grimm attack is on its way. We need to deal with both. Jackrabbit, Medkit, you're on medical duty. Find where the city is setting up triage and help there. Meadow, Yote, keep them and the triage site safe." Orchid and Vert flew off together. "Perimeter control will be led by Street Rat and Big Green. Blues, AETR, follow them." Cerise flew by Nalia and Aaron jumped dragons. Nalia then flew toward the outskirts of the city with Saphira and Fírnen following. "Everyone else, we're going after that sniper."

"Ruby!" Sun yelled behind the Rider. Ruby turned her head toward the widower. Every muscle on his body tensed. His teeth were bared and clenched. His eyes burned with an intensity Ruby had only seen from Yang when Halcyon was killed. "You're going after that son of a bitch, right?"

Ruby looked Sun up and down without moving her head. There was no stopping him from going after the sniper. Might as well bring him with and keep him safe. "We're going up fast. Be ready for it." Ruby looked up and waited for Cerise to circle around once more. "Adur." She and Sun shot off the ground like a pair of bullets. Cerise stretched her front paws forward and caught both people without slowing.

 _I feel one person in that building,_ Yang growled. _He's asleep… he's our guy._

 _Looks like that elf did something before he was killed._ Ruby glared at the building and searched the surrounding area. Plenty of cover for other agents or room for Grimm to move. _Wolf's Bane, drop us off out front._

Cerise flew over the building and hovered above a dirt road. She dropped the two in her front paws and Yang jumped off her back. _I'll keep you covered._ She started to circle the area.

Ruby faced her sister. "Goldmane," Yang faced Ruby, her eyes red, her anger almost matching Sun's, "make sure we're not disturbed." Yang nodded and drew Dawnbreaker in its shotgun form. Ruby collapsed Crescent Rose completely and Máni Bláto to sword form. She walked into the building with Sun right behind her.

They walked up the stairs to the second floor. An elf lay in a doorway about a dozen feet down the hall with a hole where his heart was. This one Ruby didn't know, but she would. She knelt down by his side and closed his open eyelids. _"You will be remembered."_

Ruby looked into the room and clenched her teeth. A man lay sprawled across the floor with a sniper rifle lying by his side. The Rider rose to her feet and stalked over to the man. A trio of parallel scars ran across his face. "Got you, you son of a bitch." She heard something spinning through the air. Ruby looked over his right shoulder. Sun swung both his nunchucks faster and faster. "Not now, Sun. Maybe later."

The Rider kicked the rifle away from Barry Price. She knelt by the sniper's side and peeled his lips back. None of his teeth looked off, but her bionic eye picked out an irregularity in one of his front teeth. "Hitta." The tooth popped out right away and into Ruby's open hand. No dead man's switch for him. "Adur." The man rose shoulders first. His head lolled forward and he still didn't make a sound. Ruby shoved him into the wall, then used her other magic to freeze the assassin to the wood.

Ruby pointed the point of her sword at the assassin. "Vakna." The murderer groaned and lifted his head. His eyes slowly opened but they didn't seem focused. "Barry Price, you are under arrest for the murder of Blake Belladonna and an agent of Queen Islanzadí."

The murderer laughed. "Congratulations. You're the first one to catch me red-handed. You'll also be the last." He pushed his tongue right through the open space in his teeth. He stopped laughing and instead glared at Ruby.

"Looking for this?" Ruby held the cyanide tooth between thumb and index finger at Barry's eye level. "The oldest trick in the book. We also know one of your successors. She let us know about other ways Specialists are trained to end themselves to avoid interrogation, and they all use the hands in some way. You're ours."

"You'll never make me talk." The murderer spit at Ruby. The Rider's wards deflected it right back at Barry.

Ruby shrugged and collapsed Máni Bláto. "I think you're right. You're too well trained. Nothing we can do on Remnant legally would even phase you… good thing you don't have to be on Remnant. Not only did you kill an elf, but you killed a liberator of Ilirea. That's two Alagaësian Kingdoms that are now calling for your head. As luck would have it, I'm technically in command of the Alagaësian Air Force and the head of several investigative services there as well. Since you're in my custody, I can legally move you to anywhere on the other side and do what I want."

"You think cops can be rough here?" Sun swung one of his nunchucks around and brought it down on a table. The wood exploded and sent splinters everywhere. "They'll actually get medieval on you over there."

The murderer laughed again. "Do that, and you'll destroy yourself."

"And how is that?" Ruby cocked her head.

"My current employer has the video of the Air Sailor carrying Lionheart plunging into a lake with no splash. The water also happened to be black and purple at that point. Sound familiar? When I don't report in forty-eight hours after the first shot, that video will be released."

Ruby tried to stay relaxed outside while everything inside tumbled around. _Oh gosh. That's not good. There goes everything. Crap. What can we… oh. That'll work._ She turned her helmeted head to Sun. "Rough him up." _No permanent damage. Keep him distracted while I search his head. When he falls asleep, you're done._

Sun nodded. "Gladly." He stalked over to the prisoner.

The Rider turned around and left the room. She ignored the new sounds coming from it and sent her mind into the assassin's. To her surprise, pain wasn't the first thing on the murderer's mind. He was internally laughing at Sun's efforts. He never noticed the intruder slip past his pitiful defenses.

Ruby searched for everything that might even be somewhat related to Blake's assassination. Names, locations, payments, things like that. Not only did she find the bastard that ordered Blake's assassination, but those who ordered and paid for several other assassinations. If those people weren't on the Riders' most wanted list, they were now. He was even hired by the Nevermores once to take out Sienna Kahn, but he had to fake his own death before that could happen. Ruby took notes on her bionic eye so she could send it directly to Yaela without listing everything verbally.

As soon as she recorded all information she thought valuable, she stepped back into the room. Blood stained a good chunk of the ice that held Price in place. Almost every inch of his skin was bruised or leaking red. Ruby clenched her teeth. This would be good for her plan, but a huge part of her screamed this went too far. "Slytha." The assassin's head lolled forward.

Sun turned around and glared at Ruby. "You couldn't have taken a little longer?"

"We need him to be able to speak. If Yaela can't track down the one who paid him before he reports in, we need to track his call. And since he only takes payment in person and not over the CCT, he'll lead us right to his employer."

"I didn't know you thought like that."

"The Ruby you know doesn't. The leader of the Dragon Riders will do anything to get justice for one of us. I'll hate myself later for letting you do this." Ruby whispered a tracking spell in the Ancient Language. Price wouldn't get away for long. The Rider keyed her mic. "Shadeslayer to Wolf's Bane. We're bringing the garbage out to you." Ruby picked the assassin up and flung him over her shoulder.

Sun led the way out of the building. Nothing came to stop them and all gunfire sounded like it was miles away. They wouldn't be disturbed. They left the building and Cerise landed in the street. The dragon snarled at the passed-out murderer. _I wish we could just kill him._

"We may still get the chance." Ruby threw the assassin on the ground. Her dragon picked the guy up in a claw. "Get him to the police station."

"You're gonna need me for that." Sun walked to Cerise' side and climbed onto her back. The dragon tossed a glare at Ruby, kicked off the ground, and flew toward the center of the city. Ruby stared after her dragon. That glare felt like it was directed at her, not something that just was fixed on the dragon's face.

Yang walked around the corner of the building and up to Ruby. Her eyes were still just as red as before. "Did I hear that bastard getting flogged?" she growled.

"Unfortunately, yes." Ruby shook her head. "We needed that for my plan." She looked over the city, past the CCT to where the heaviest fighting was. Dragons breathed fire onto the Grimm below. A couple Megachnii towered above the rest. As Ruby watched, Nalia swooped down from above and clawed the hill sized spider's head off. "Yang, you ready to face down giant spiders?"

"I couldn't care less about what they are," Yang growled. "Blake's dead. Someone's gotta pay."

Ruby looked her sister in the eyes through her visor. "Give 'em hell." Yang nodded and ran past her sister and toward the fighting. Ruby turned around and reentered the building. She opened another channel, this one going through the satellites and back to Vale. "Shadeslayer to base, I'm sending you all the intel I got from the assassin." She sent the file through that same link. "All stuff relevant to Blake's assassination is at the top."

" _Transmission received,"_ Yaela said. _"I didn't expect him. Not sure how Snowflake will take this."_

"She'll take the mission. That's what matters." Ruby walked back into the room and took her gloves out of their pouch. She picked up the laser sniper and ejected the magazine. It wasn't her design for the laser, so there was that. Also unlike hers, there wasn't a number on the side showing how many shots she had left. That would have to wait until the police decided to release the evidence.

This was the third instance of a laser weapon being used against the Riders in some way. They didn't start showing up until after she modified Crescent Rose. That couldn't be a coincidence. "Base, also run a search on the CCT for laser schematics. I want to know where all of these are coming from."

" _Copy that. Will do."_

Ruby set the weapon back down and looked out the window overlooking the battle. "I don't suppose one of our camera satellites is over the area?"

" _Negative. None pass over Armitage either. We can't divert any of them in time."_

"We'll have to do this the old-fashioned way." Ruby jumped out the window and activated her Semblance. She flew through the air, eventually arching down toward the ground. She still made it halfway to the battle before landing. She jumped with her Semblance again and drew and extended both her weapons to rifle form. Two targeting reticles appeared on her visor. She adjusted her aim until both targets lined up with a Ptero's head. She fired and two Dust rounds flew out of her weapons. Both hit right on target and the beast's head exploded.

The force stopped Ruby's forward momentum and she plummeted to the ground. She extended her weapons to scythe form and fired at the Grimm below her. The Deathstalker tanked both shots and roared up at Ruby. The Huntress swung both scythes forward and hooked the back of the Grimm's head. Her momentum carried her toward the Grimm's back. She fired again and the scythes pulled the head of the monster clean off.

"This is Shadeslayer. I'm joining the battle." She charged into the horde of Grimm, slicing and dicing them as she ran. Creeps and Beowolves were few and far in between. Deathstalkers, King Taijitu, Arachnii, and countless other Grimm native to the continent spread across the battlefield. Not even the largest 'common' Grimm on the planet stood up to her. Remmartian, Alagaësian, it didn't matter. Ruby lost a sister. She needed to blow off steam the best way she knew how.

Ruby didn't know how long she was out there. She didn't know how many Grimm she killed. She didn't even know if she took a hit. She just knew that when the sun had set, there were no more Grimm, she was out of ammo, her visor was cracked, she was missing one of her sleeves, and that arm hurt like hell. The Rider took in her surroundings. Several dragons that weren't present at the start of the battle flew overhead. She was a few miles away from the walls of Kuo Kuana. _Cerise, I need a pickup._

 _I'm coming to you,_ Cerise called. _Are you hurt?_

 _Not really._ Ruby closed up her weapons, though Crescent Rose took a little longer than normal. _I think something's borked with my left arm, but otherwise I'm fine._

 _Everyone else is meeting at the triage site. I'm taking you there._

 _Works for me._ As her adrenaline cooled, Ruby remembered why she was out there in the first place. She hung her head and let the tears come. _Blake…_

 _I know._ Cerise hummed sadly. _I can't believe it either._

Ruby sniffed. _All because of that damn sniper…_ She looked at where Crescent Rose hung on her hip. Was her weapon's laser function the cause of all of it? She looked up to the sky. Cerise was gliding down to her. _Why?_

 _I don't know, Ruby, but we'll find out soon enough._ Cerise touched down beside her Rider and laid on her belly. She was missing a few more scales that would have to be magically regrown, but there was no blood. _Climb on._

Ruby did as told without using her left arm. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms as far around her dragon as possible. Cerise took off and flew for the city. Ruby didn't say anything else on the flight. She was numb, in more ways than one. She wanted this day to be a bad dream. Was she really talking with her mom that morning?

Cerise flew over a plaza near the center of the city. Dozens of tents filled the area. Only one space didn't have any, and Orchid took up a good chunk of it. Cerise landed by her first hatched daughter and crouched down. Ruby took her helmet off and clipped it onto the saddle. She slid off her dragon's back and walked toward the other. "Orchid, I need your help." Ruby raised her left arm.

Orchid turned her head to Ruby. _Of course._ She stuck her tongue out already glowing purple. She licked the entirety of Ruby's arm three times, though only one was necessary to take away the pain. After the third, her arm felt like it was wrapped in the fluffiest blanket on Remnant. Orchid locked eyes with Ruby and hummed sadly. _I am so sorry about Blake._ She lifted her head to lick Ruby's face.

Ruby put a hand on Orchid's snout to stop the kiss. "Save it for those who need it… and this isn't something I want to feel happy about." Ruby turned away and walked into the maze of triage tents. The place wasn't as crowded as she expected it. Then again, Ruby didn't think the walls were that badly damaged. There probably weren't too many injured or dead. The extra help with of Invidia, Velvet, and Orchid had to help things along too.

On the exact opposite side of the plaza, Ruby found the surviving members of her team. Aaron, Weiss, and Yang stood in a triangle. Yang kept blinking her tears away, her irises flicking between lilac and red each time. Weiss crossed her arms and kept shaking her hung head. Aaron shifted on his feet and clenched his hands over and over.

"How you all doing?" Ruby asked.

Aaron faced his wife, fire in his eyes. "You get anything out of the bastard that did this?"

"Yeah." Ruby nodded as she joined her team. "If it was on paper, it would be enough to put him and many others away for life."

"We have locations?" Yang asked.

"Waiting on Yaela for that." Ruby paused. "But we do know who ordered the hit." She faced Weiss. "Unless there's another Whitley Schnee in the world, your brother ordered Blake's death."

* * *

Salem couldn't help but smile as her Seer on Menagerie retreated from the battle. This assassination wasn't her plan, but she was glad to take advantage of it. Blake Belladonna was dead, something many others had tried to do, including a Forsworn. Salem might seek the service of this assassin in the future. As much as Ruby Kingkiller refused to admit it, she would seek revenge for her 'sister.' If she stepped one toe into the light, Remnant would know she's not the person she claims to be. If not, the Riders would be diminished for a time. The defeat of the Grimm was expected. It was of no consequence.

She felt a furious mind storming through her castle right toward her. With the events in Kuo Kuana, she expected it and welcomed it. It was time she took more control over her Maiden. The doors on the other end of the throne room smashed open. "We had a deal, Salem!" Ilia yelled. "I help you, you leave Menagerie to the Faunus." The temperature in the room rose to unbearable temperatures for most humans.

"You are correct," Salem started. "We _had_ a deal. That was altered when you failed to kill or take the powers from Ruby Kingkiller or Pyrrha Nikos. Furthermore, the territory of Menagerie no longer exists. It is the Kingdom of Armitage now."

"You were always planning on something like this, weren't you?"

"Of course. I need the people of that island for my plans." Salem stood up from her throne, turned around, and faced the angry Maiden. Ilia's eyes burned red. The stone around her glowed orange. It was cute, really. "So are you."

"Screw you! I'm done with you!"

" _I_ decide when you are done with me, not you."

Ilia threw a fist forward, sending a lance of white fire at the Shade. "Letta." Salem didn't target the fire, but the flow of Aura pouring off her Maiden. The fire disappeared and the room returned to a normal temperature.

Ilia gasped and fell to her knees. "What did you do?"

"I put you in your place." Salem brought up her right arm. "Hitta." Ilia flew across the room toward the Shade, her neck slamming into Salem's outstretched hand. The Shade clamped her fingers around her pet's neck. "I only need you to get into the vault at Haven Academy. I could kill you right now and search for the next Maiden, but with the Riders here, I don't have the time to wait. I prefer to have willing servants, but I can work around that. In fact, you _will_ be a willing servant again."

Right on cue, Tyrian ran into the room, his blades ready. "I heard fighting, my Queen. Are you well?"

"I am, but our Maiden is not." Salem threw Ilia across the floor and she stopped by Tyrian's feet. "Sedate this filth and take her to my lab. I have much work to do on her."

"Of course, your Grace." Tyrian bowed and at the same time jabbed his mechanical tail into Ilia's neck. The Maiden slacked and fell unconscious. The assassin picked Ilia up and carried her over his shoulder out of the room.

Salem stared out over her land once more. After so many centuries of preparation, she would see if her work would pay off.

* * *

 **So... yeah... Probably not as controversial as the most recent episode (which I still don't know why people take it so much) but I'm pretty sure a lot of people won't be happy.  
**

 **As for the most recent episode... epic mech fight! Is that Renora confirmed? Fight vs Adam... I'm surprised Yang could fight that well. Bumblebee's probably going to be canon next episode, and I'm pretty sure I saw a spoiler for next week...**

 **Now to the deeper part of the bunker to hide from all that other stuff.**


	61. Tenth Life

**In case any of you were wondering about Maria... She's not going to make an appearance. Since Silver Eyed Warriors don't exist in this, there goes a lot of her relevance. She still existed as the Grimm Reaper, but retired on her own terms... Also, old age took her, not any Grimm or assassin.  
**

 **Not to try to get some of the assassins you guys sent off my tail...**

* * *

Ruby sniffed and ran an arm under her eyes as Ghira stepped down from the podium. No wonder he was head of Armitage's council. He had such a way with words… Now it was her turn to go up there and _really_ make Ghira look good. Ruby stood up from her seat, walked up the stone stage, and hesitated at the top step. Blake's closed casket lay at the back of the stage with the flag of the Dragon Riders draped over it. In the back of Ruby's head, she knew she'd be speaking at Blake's funeral. She just wished it hadn't been so soon.

The Rider stepped up to the podium and looked over the front row. It was filled with Blake's immediate family and her team who might as well have been family. Aaron and Ghira were the rocks among them. They shed a few tears, but that was it. On the exact opposite end of the spectrum, Kali's eyes were as red as they could get. Her cheeks and dress were soaked with her sorrow. Weiss wasn't much better. Sun tried to put on a brave face, but it was failing with each passing minute. Jamie sat by his father's side, looking between him and the podium. Ruby knew that look of confusion. She'd seen it way too many times. She likely had a look like that herself during her mom's funeral.

Ruby cleared her throat and called her speech up on her bionic eye. "When I first met Blake, she was… mysterious to say the least. My first encounter with her wasn't like most. We only had enough interaction for her to save me from a spoiled, rich bully. Our second wasn't much better. My annoyingly extroverted big sister dragged me over to talk to her. It took some awkwardness, but I found out she liked to read, more than me at the time. One day later, the bully, the mysterious, the extrovert, and socially awkward me were assigned to team RWBY.

"Blake was a great teammate, but more importantly, she was a great friend. It took a while to gain her trust, but after what she had gone through with the White Fang, I don't blame her. Even Weiss Schnee, who at the time was recovering from her own biases, didn't hold Blake's past against her. Underneath that stoic surface, there was a girl that liked to have fun and deeply cared about her teammates. She'd have our backs no matter what happened. After she helped rescue me from the Nevermores, she stuck around almost as much as Yang and Cerise. That's hard competition. When Yang got her concussion, I think Blake beat me with how much she helped.

"She was a freedom fighter. She didn't care who it was. She stood up to injustice everywhere she was, whether that was on Remnant or Alagaësia. I don't think it's been widely said around here, but Blake founded and ran an Underground Highway on the other side. In its short life, it was successful. They barely had enough time to get more than one run in before the city it ran out of was liberated."

Ruby sighed. "Blake was my sister in all but blood. She was taken from all of us before her time. Every minute I'm awake, I wonder how things could have gone differently, If I was there, I could have done something differently. The sniper might never have made the shot… but Blake was a realist. She'd say something along the lines of 'what could you have done differently? I had two elves as bodyguards. What could you have anticipated that they didn't?' And she'd be right. She was always hard on herself and the team about learning from mistakes."

The Rider tilted her head up. "Hey, Blake. If you can hear me, could you set aside some books for me up there? We'll have plenty of time to read and catch up later." Ruby closed her eyes. "We miss you, sis. The world's going to be a lot darker without you here." She turned around and faced Blake's casket while keeping within the mic's range. "Thank you, Blake, for everything." She faced the crowd again, nodded, then motioned to her husband.

Aaron walked onto the stage and the two heads of the Riders took positions on either side of Blake's casket. They picked up the flag and began folding it. When it was small enough, Ruby took over the folding herself. Before she walked off the stage, she placed a hand on the wood. "Goodbye, Blake." She walked off the stage with the folded flag and handed it to Sun. "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Sun nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Auntie Ruby?" Jamie squeaked from his dad's side. "Do you know where mommy went?"

Ruby kept her lips closed and locked her eyes on Sun's. The father shook his head. "I told you, Jamie. She's not going to be coming home."

"But why?"

Ruby walked toward where the dragons lay. That was Sun's work, not hers. When she passed the stage, Cerise aligned herself with Blake's casket. Blake was about to receive an honor previously reserved for Riders, Kings, and Queens. Ruby expected to fight Umaroth over it but he allowed it nearly right away. The leader of the Riders raised her left arm with fingers extended. She blinked away a few more tears and lowered her arm. Cerise opened her mouth and released a ball of red flame onto the wood.

Blake's casket caught right away. Spells kept the stench of burning flesh away. A minute in, the blaze changed color from Cerise red to the normal shades of wood fire. Ruby remained standing with her hands behind her back, trying to hold back tears. Goodbyes were hard, especially permanent ones. After about an hour, the flames died out, leaving only ash in their place.

Ruby dipped her head and for the first time that day, she let her tears flow freely. Her part was done. The service was over. It was time for her to mourn her sister with everyone else… and get ready to take down the bastard that forced all this to happen in the first place.

As the crowd milled about, Ruby approached Armitage's head councilman. "Ghira, may I speak with you for a second, alone?"

Ghira looked down at his distraught wife and rubbed her back. "I will join you when I can." Kali nodded and joined Sun and Jamie as they walked away from the stage. "What can I do for you?"

Ruby shook her head. "Not here. We're too open."

The former chief straightened. "I see." He gestured at a nearby building. "We should not be disturbed in there." He led the way into the building and an office space right inside. Ruby closed the door behind her while Ghira crossed his arms. "What is this about?"

The leader of the Riders locked eyes with the head councilman. "How good of an actor are you?"

Ghira's jaw dropped and he stared at Ruby like a Grimm mask popped onto her face. "I beg your pardon?"

"According to my plan, Barry Price must escape confinement. In fact…" Ruby closed her eyes and focused on her tracking spells. "… he's already halfway to Anima."

Ruby opened her eyes to see Ghira's face red with rage and fists clenched. "What did you just say?" he growled.

"Don't worry. I know exactly where he is. He'll be back in your custody or another Kingdom's soon enough."

"Why would you let him escape?"

"We're not just after him. We're after the one that paid him. I have an elf following Price everywhere he goes and recording everything he says, along with a tracking spell that lets me and the other Riders know where he is in the world. I know who ordered the hit, I know where he is, I know who else he wanted dead. But since he's in Atlas and because of who he is, we have to abide by their stricter laws when it comes to how we got our information. We need Price to contact his employer, then we can get approval from Ironwood and take down a bunch of bad people all at once. However, since we'll likely be arresting Price in Mistral, he'll be going to a prison there. I'll update you on any and all developments as they happen."

Ghira turned away, only a scowl still on his face. "You have this under control?"

"I do." Ruby paused. "Trust me, I want Price behind bars as much as you do. He killed my sister. I hate that he's out there right now a free man, even if he's under twenty-four-seven surveillance. If he steps a toe out of line, he'll be taken down in seconds."

The head councilman sighed. "I trust you to take care of this. I just don't like that I can't do anything."

"I know that feeling. It comes up more than you'd think." Ruby heard heavy footsteps on wood behind her. "I think we're about to get some bad news."

A second later, one of Ghira's guards burst through the door. "Councilman! We have a…" she paused and looked between her charge and Ruby. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It is no problem." Ghira waved a hand in front of himself and sounded much like he did during the eulogy. "We were just finishing."

The guard straightened back up. "Barry Price has escaped."

Ruby stiffened but stayed silent. Ghira clenched his fists once again. "What?"

"His cell is empty. No one saw him leave."

Ruby passed the guard and ran out of the building. She stared at where the police station lay in the city. _Cerise, if you could._

Cerise jumped from where she lay and flew in that direction. _No one's dead, no one's out cold. No more casualties._

 _At least he's clean._ Ruby stretched her mind out to all other Riders still in Kuo Kuana. _Aaron, Nalia, you're coming with us back to base. Everyone else, fan out and wait for your next assignments. Operation: Tenth Life is a go._ Ruby put on her poker face and started walking to the ocean while ignoring Kali's renewed wails. She ignored the stares from people as she passed. When she reached the water, she started casting the between worlds spell. By the time she finished, Cerise, Aaron, and Nalia reached her side. They passed through Isenstar without incident and landed on the pad on the command level.

Ruby dismounted her dragon and walked into the building with Aaron right behind her. Yaela stood outside the command center holding the door. "What do we got, Yaela?"

"Invidia has done her job well." Yaela walked back into the command center and sat at her computer. Ruby and Aaron followed her in. The projector at the front of the room showed various camera views, one of a small motorboat from on the boat, the outside of a seedy bar halfway up Mistral City, and Whitley's compound as seen from a sniper's scope three miles away. "Price still has no idea he's sharing his boat with an elf."

"He take one of the guard's Scrolls?" Aaron asked.

"He did, and it has since gone offline. Invidia said Price threw it into the ocean. She has been in his head this whole time. Her texts report he expects nothing. Price did make one call before he threw away the Scroll. I have a recording if you want to hear it."

Ruby nodded. "Do it."

Yaela hit a key on her keyboard. Some background ocean noise filled the room along with a powerful engine. _"Were you successful?"_ an unknown voice asked.

" _Partly,"_ Price said. _"Alpha target's dead. Bravo is still alive. A pixie got to me and knocked me out. The queen pixie said I killed the other."_

" _You said you could do this clean."_

" _No one knew that pixie was there. Not me, not your employer, not the black market. I can't prepare for something that doesn't exist."_

" _Are you being followed?"_

" _I doubt it. They're cowards. They don't want people knowing about their black ops. They let me go"_

Silence filled the room for a time. _"Half the targets eliminated, half the pay."_

" _ **Full**_ _pay. I killed a pixie, apparently there on orders from the actual Queen. You know what she said when Shadeshagger got hit. I need all that Lien and I need to disappear, or else your employer will never get my services again."_

Another long silence took over the recording. _"Very well. Meet at the agreed location?"_

" _Tonight at midnight MST. I should be able to hop an airship to Mistral when I hit land."_

" _I look forward to meeting with you."_

" _I know your type. No, you're not."_ The line clicked and the ocean noise disappeared.

"Yang's gonna have fun knocking in heads tonight," Aaron said.

"Yes, she will." Ruby paused. "Call Toto. Let him know what's going on. I'll call Ironwood and see if we can get-" Angel's gurgling cut her off. Ruby snapped her head toward the sound. She walked around the row of computers and toward the front row. She held back a gasp and covered her mouth with a few fingers. Halcyon was curled up around Angel with a couple baby blankets under and over him. Angel's head rested on one of Halcyon's paws. She wiggled around and kept on gurgling.

Halcyon lifted his head off the blanket. _You better send a picture of this to Yang._

Ruby took a picture with her bionic eye and sent it over the CCT to her sister. "Done. Thank you for watching her again."

Halcyon hummed. _It was my pleasure._ He licked the top of Angel's head twice. _Yaela bottle fed her some of the time. She slept with me the rest._

"That's my good girl," Ruby sang. Angel tilted her head in her mom's direction. "Hi, Angel." Ruby knelt down to pick up her baby. Angel wiggled deeper into her mommy's arms as Ruby stood up. "Did you enjoy your time with Uncle Halcyon?" Angel moved her limbs around and cooed happily. "Good to hear." She kissed Angel on the nose, then locked eyes with her husband across the room. "Aaron…"

He nodded. "Toto, then Ironwood."

"I'll give the others their assignments we discussed this morning," Yaela said.

"Thank you. Call me only if things go sour." Ruby walked out of the command center rocking Angel in her arms. Halcyon trotted alongside her "I'm sorry I left you like that three days in a row." Ruby kissed Angel on the forehead. "I promise I won't do it again." Another kiss in the same place. "I didn't want you to get sick traveling." Another one. "But now you get me the rest of the day." Another. "I love you, Angel." Another. "So much." One last kiss before she rubbed her nose against her baby girl's forehead. It was nice to have a little happiness after everything that happened. Angel would learn what happened to her Auntie Blake eventually, but that wouldn't be for a long time. For now, she would be a happy baby and one of, if not _the_ safest baby on Remnant.

* * *

Yang couldn't help but smile at the video Ruby just sent her. Halcyon was playing 'where's the baby' with Angel using his wings in place of hands. The newborn smiled and the beginnings of a cute giggle came out of her mouth. That on top of the first picture she recieved showed that there was still some good in the world. "Halcyon, you would have made a good father."

The Rider put her Scroll away and peeked over the edge of the building. The line for the nightclub across the street stretched around the block. Junior's back in Vale may have been underground, but at least it was classy. Even back in her partygoer days, Yang wouldn't have set foot in this dump. Windows on the second story were boarded up, parts of that had collapsed, and numerous holes covered the brick façade. The only thing that was halfway decent was the neon Lucy's sign between floors. Either this place was nice on the inside, or something, or multiple less than legal things were going on in the back rooms. Velvet had already confirmed one of them. _Invidia, do you still have eyes on Price?_

 _I do,_ the elf thought back. _He is on this third mug of mead. How isn't he drunk?_

 _He's probably good at hiding it like my Uncle. Velvet, anyone coming in the back door?_

 _Multiple, but not our guy._ Velvet mentally retched, probably physically too. _Why'd Coco volunteer the team for this work?_

 _Don't ask me. She's the one who… wait a second._ A brand new luxury SUV turned down the road. Everything Yang saw so far was beat up or a couple new pickup trucks. The SUV stopped right by the entrance to the building. The driver stepped out, walked around the vehicle, and opened the back door. A man in a black suit with a briefcase handcuffed to his right hand stepped out. It wasn't Shitley, but likely someone that worked for him. _Invidia, heads up. We've got a suit coming in._

 _I will watch,_ Invidia said.

Yang dipped back over the edge of the roof and keyed her Scroll. "Goldmane to base, we've got a possible contact. Showed up in a black Indi."

" _Copy that, Goldmane,"_ Aaron said. _"We see it on the cameras. Mistral PD, did you copy?"_

" _Ten-four, Vale,"_ Neptune said. _"We're waiting for your signal. You got the plates on that SUV?"_ Yang repositioned on the roof and read the plates. About a minute later, the line clicked again. _"The car belongs to Whitley Schnee, driven by a Nancy Clover."_

"That confirms the involvement of someone who works for him. I'll keep you updated." Yang peeked over the half-wall again. The Indi had pulled to the side of the road but its engine was still on. It looked like they could be expecting a quick getaway. _Invidia, status?_

 _Price and the man with the case left the bar and have entered the back hallway. I am following them now. They don't know I am here. I will start recording and transmitting when they stop._

 _Got it. CfVY, as soon as they mention Blake, move in._ Yang keyed her Scroll again. "Our targets have contacted each other. Our elf on the inside will transmit when they start talking. We move when they mention the assassination." Yang drew Dawnbreaker and extended Ember Celica and Halcyon. They probably wouldn't be needed, but it would be a nice show of force.

The sound of a closing door came over the Scroll. _"If that case is one Lien short, you and your boss are finished,"_ Price growled.

" _There's no need to be hostile,"_ the man with the case said. _"Five million Lien, as per our contract."_ Something metal fell on something wooden.

There was a pause, then a creepy laugh. _"Oh, your boss delivered. If you ever need someone else in the Riders whacked, call me when they lose interest."_

" _We will. Remember, you failed to kill your secondary target."_

" _And I expect a new contract when I come out of hiding… I just wish I could have mounted Belladonna's ears on my wall."_

Yang stood up and keyed her Scroll once more. "Everyone, move in." She jumped off the roof of her building and marched toward the club entrance. The bouncer, who was somewhere between her dad and Yatsuhashi in size, positioned himself between Yang and the door. The Rider blinked and a red haze tugged at the edges of her vision. She pointed her blade at the bouncer's neck. "Step aside or you'll be arrested for obstruction." Sirens and lights came down either side of the road. The bouncer raised his hands and stepped aside. "That's what I thought." The people in line began to scatter. Yang ignored all of that and continued on.

The Rider pushed her way inside and finally heard the booming dubstep inside. How did that crap get popular? Yang entered the main area. The dance floor was filled with people from high school age to their fifties. Quite a few of the kids were drinking. The stench of a whole amalgamation of drugs filled the air. If this was what happened up front, what happened in back?

 _CfVY, be ready to block the rear exit. Things could get hairy up here when the cops come in._ Yang noticed a couple people stare at her. _Or when word gets around that I'm in here with weapons drawn._

 _Will do,_ Velvet said. _I'm sending Vert up front to help the police._

Yang walked straight for the back hallway, not stopping for anything. That is until a skinny guy with a pistol on his hip stepped in front of her. The Rider growled. "If you like your face in its current arrangement, you'll-" the moron drew his gun and fired. Yang caught it on her blade. She jumped forward and punched the gunman in the face, knocking him flat on his back and out cold.

Ignoring the call of shots fired, Yang ran through the back hallway to where she felt Invidia's mind. She shoulder checked the door and stared at her two targets. Price' jaw dropped as he reached for the pistol on his hip. Yang pounced forward and thrust Dawnbreaker's pommel into the assassin's gut. Price flew across the room and into a concrete wall. He fell out of the new indent and drew his pistol. Yang punched her left fist forward, firing a shot. The blast hit the weapon and it shattered. Price flinched and held his gun hand in the other.

Yang pointed the tip of her sword at her partner's murderer. The flame at the end of Ember Halcyon burned halfway down Dawnbreaker. "Go ahead. Keep resisting. Make my day." She heard steps behind her. She whipped her head around. "Adur." The man with the case floated about a foot off the ground. He wouldn't be going anywhere. Yang returned her glare to the assassin. "Put your hands behind your head and you can go to prison without any stab, bullet, or burn wounds."

Price growled and intertwined his finger behind her head. "How the hell'd you find me?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Yang spun the bastard around and pushed him against the wall. "You're lucky Blake wouldn't want me to tear your head off." She grabbed the handcuffs from her belt and slapped them over Price' wrists. She then took another pair and put one loop around the chain of the first and the other around a pipe hanging from the ceiling.

Yang turned around and faced the man with the briefcase still handcuffed to himself. "You. You are going to-"

"Please don't hurt me!" he blurted out. "I'm just the delivery man. I'm just doing what I was paid to do."

Yang almost smirked. "Who do you work for?"

"Whitley Schnee. He wanted that Faunus dead. Not me! I didn't mind her."

"Thank you." Yang looked at the ceiling above the invisible Invidia and gave a salute. Let them look. They wouldn't find anything. _Coco, come give me a hand with these guys. We'll take 'em out back, avoid the mess in the main room._ Yang brought up her Scroll again. "Mistral PD, I've got two in custody. Have someone meet us out back to pick 'em up."

" _Copy that, Rider,"_ Neptune said. _"I'll meet you there myself."_

Coco entered the room with her minigun collapsed into a purse. "Which one am I taking?"

"This one." Yang cut the flow of energy keeping the suit up. He fell to the ground and stumbled into Coco. "I got the murderer." She unlocked the cuff around the pipe, yanked Price' hands behind his back, and pushed him forward.

"Goldmane to base, we got the assassin. Please tell me you got enough to go after the head honcho." Price looked back and scowled. He didn't like something there.

" _Street Rat is working on that now,"_ Yaela said. _"Shadeslayer will be informed as well."_

"Thank you. Just so you know, my team might be sticking around a while. Looks like a huge bust here. Drugs, likely prostitution-"

"It's not likely, it is," Coco called as she left the room. "If you want details, ask the guy in the storage room back here that Yastu made a permanent soprano after what he said to Velvet."

"Check that, _definite_ prostitution, underage drinking, it's all here. It could take a while to sort through all this."

" _Copy that,"_ Yaela said. _"I'll let Street Rat and Shadeslayer know."_

"Thank you. Goldmane out." Yang ended the call and shoved Price forward. "Get moving, you son of a bitch. I won't tell you a second time." She continued pushing Price away and Invidia followed invisibly out of the room.

* * *

"You ever think we'd be doing this, Winter?" Weiss asked her sister.

"No." Winter took the binoculars away from her eyes. "I thought I'd be arresting father in his own office for white collar crimes. Nothing like this."

 _I saw this coming,_ Saphira growled beneath the sisters. _I knew from the beginning that he would do anything to get what he wants._

"Except having morals." Weiss shook her head. "He would never stoop to that level."

"No, he would not." Winter paused. "I am surprised it's taking the General so long to get the warrant."

"Probably something Whitley's done." Weiss shook her head. "I swear, most of my first month as CEO was tearing down father's shadier business dealings. Every few weeks I still run into something that I didn't approve that one of his policies did. I'm getting tired of it."

"Are the rumors true, then?"

"What rumors?"

"That you will be stepping down as CEO?"

Weiss sighed. "I don't know how that got out, but yes. When all CCT towers can operate on their own, I'll be stepping down. The renovations of Schnee Manor should be done too. After that, unless Ruby needs me to take care of the Atlas branch, I'll be moving to Vale. At the same time, unless there's a major emergency somewhere, Saphira and I are just going to disappear for a month. We've had next to no time to ourselves." Weiss rubbed her dragon's neck. "I think we're missing out on a lot of each other."

Saphira turned her head back and hummed. _I have to agree. We have not gotten much flight time together, Little One._

Weiss' Scroll clicked. _"General Ironwood to Specialist and Rider Schnee, you have your warrant to arrest Whitley Schnee for the assassination of Blake Belladonna. You may move in."_

"Copy that, General." Winter changed the channel on her Scroll and so did Weiss. "Ground team, move in. Do not draw your weapons unless threatened."

 _Hold on._ Saphira jumped off the cliff she stood on and snapped her wings open. Blue lights from the military police beneath her flashed their way toward Whitley's secluded mansion. The dragon circled around the building and landed behind the house and inside the overcompensating fence.

The sisters slid off Saphira's back and rested their hands on their weapons. "Ocean," Weiss snapped her head to Saphira, "you know what to do." The dragon snorted and jumped into the sky again.

A couple of guards with the Schnee snowflake on their white jackets ran out of the mansion and leveled their weapons at the intruders. "Put your hands behind your heads!" one of them ordered.

Winter stepped forward. "We have a warrant for the arrest of Whitley Schnee. Stand aside or-" the goon on the left fired his weapon. Winter drew her saber and caught the bullet on the flat of the blade. Weiss drew Hvítr Vætta and rushed that guard. The goon shifted his aim to Weiss and fired at her twice before the Huntress cut the weapon in half. The Rider then elbowed the guard in the face, knocking him to the ground. The other guard fell on his face beside the first.

Winter stepped beside her fallen opponent. "We just lost our element of surprise."

Weiss stretched her mind into the house. "Most of Whitley's security is focused up front on the MPs. Whitley is on the third floor moving down." The younger sister ran into the house and stared at the grand staircase that was almost an exact copy of the one that used to be at Schnee Manor. He still had ambitions.

The sisters ran up either side of the staircase and entered a long hall. Weiss looked to the left, where she felt her brother. As she watched, another guard shoved Whitley into a room halfway down the hall before disappearing. "Thank you for trapping yourself."

Weiss ran in that direction and stopped in front of a vault door. Something told her the door wouldn't open from the outside from any normal means. Winter jogged up to Weiss' side and grimaced at the door. "Do they have a way out?"

After searching her 'brother's mind, Weiss shook her head. "Not one. I don't think they thought this one through."

"I'll call for code breakers." Winter pulled out her Scroll.

"Hold that thought." Weiss inspected every inch of the door and came up with a Yang-esque plan. "We're going to brute force this."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "Pull the door off?"

"With Ocean's help." Weiss sheathed Hvítr Vætta and wiggled her fingers. _You hear that, Saphira?_

 _What's mine is yours,_ Saphira growled.

 _Thank you._ Weiss stepped back from the door and rolled her neck out. "We're ready." One of Winter's black glyphs appeared just in front of the door. Weiss added one of her own as well. She drew on her dragon's strength for the coming spell. "Hitta." Steel groaned and Weiss felt the floor warp beneath her feet. Rivets popped out of the door as fast as bullets and embedded themselves in the wall behind Weiss. After about a minute of this, the door left the rest of the Vault behind and stopped at Winter's glyph. The sisters let their glyphs fade and the vault door fell to the floor, shattering the tile beneath it.

Winter ran into the room with Weiss right behind her. Only two other people were in the room, Whitley and his guard. The guard aimed his rifle at Winter and the Specialist charged before he could fire. She cut the weapon in half and used her momentum to spin around and punch the man in the stomach.

Weiss glared at the snake in the room. "Whitley, you have a lot to answer for."

Whitley looked around him, then grabbed a pistol off the table. "Not to you."

Before he raised it a foot, Weiss pounced on him. She pinned his gun hand to the table and delivered a left hook to Whitley's face. Her brother hit the wall behind him and slumped to the floor. Weiss shook off her left hand and sighed. "That felt good. Who needs therapy?"

"I'm just upset you beat me to it." Winter walked to her sister's side and pulled Whitley off the floor. "Whitley Schnee, you are under arrest for the murder of Blake Belladonna and the attempted murder of Weiss Schnee."

"I did no such thing," Whitley growled.

"We have recorded confessions from your assassin and your courier," Weiss said. "Well, my attempted murder is only provable in Alagaësia, so you won't face charges for that here. Unless you want to be extradited to there, you will cooperate." She scowled. "You should have stayed to normal business. You're no good as a crime boss."

Whitley averted his gaze. "I want my lawyer."

"Of course you do." Winter cuffed Whitley and escorted him out of the Vault.

Weiss faced where she felt her dragon. _Any problems out there?_

 _None,_ Saphira said. _Whitley's security has surrendered. The MPs are now looking for Grimm._

 _Good._ Weiss slumped her whole body. _After we report in, we're going back to Kuo Kuana. We need to mourn Blake properly, without worrying about a mission._

Saphira hummed sadly. _We have avenged her, now we mourn her._

Weiss took out her Scroll and keyed the mic. "Snowflake to base, mission accomplished. We've got Whitley in custody."

" _Copy that, Snowflake,"_ Aaron said. _"Well done. We'll spread the word. Unless you need to clear up things there, you are clear to come on home."_

"Thank you, Street Rat. Snowflake out." Weiss faced the barely conscious guard on the other side of the room. "Come on, you. You're following your boss."

* * *

Aaron sighed as he ended the call with Ghira. Armitage's head councilman sounded relieved that those responsible for Blake's assassination were in custody, but at the same time sounding sad. Aaron couldn't blame him. Everyone with connections to the Riders outside the building had been notified of the entire operation's success. Coco would take a while to get the operation in Mistral sorted out, then she'd address the media. Before that happened, one more person needed to know.

"Yaela, call me if something comes up," Aaron said. Yaela nodded and the Rider left the room. He looked down the hall, away from the landing pad on the level. Ruby stood at the far end with a hand over her mouth, her cheeks shining with tears. Halcyon lay by her feet curled around Angel. Aaron slowly approached his wife and faced what she was staring at.

The 'In Loving Memory' wall. Right now, it was just two people, Raven and Blake. Two too many, two people taken from this world before their time. Ruby sniffed and rubbed an arm over her eyes. "I can't believe she's gone."

"She can sleep easy now," Aaron squeezed one of Ruby's shoulders. "We got Price back in custody and Whitley for the first time."

"But that's not going to bring her back." Ruby shook her head. "It's one thing to say we can move on, that I couldn't have done anything else. It's another thing to believe it." Aaron didn't have anything to say about that. He just turned Ruby around and gently hugged her. Ruby returned the gesture harder and buried her face in Aaron's shoulder. "She was on my team," she sobbed. "She was in my inner circle for the Riders. I should have protected her more. She shouldn't have been out there alone…" Ruby continued to mutter more incomprehensible excuses and soaking her husband's shoulder. Aaron just rubbed his wife's back, trying to not let anything fall himself. It's not that he didn't feel anything, but his feelings were more along the lines of knocking heads together. Ruby didn't need that.

A baby's cry joined Ruby. The mother stiffened and let go of Aaron and stared down at Angel. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She knelt down and pet Angel's head. "Mama's just…" She looked away and shook her head.

Aaron leaned down and picked up Angel. "It's okay." He bounced his baby girl in his arms. "Mama gets sad too. Everyone does." He leaned his head down and kissed Angel's head. "Everything's okay. There's no need to worry." It took a few more soothing words to calm Angel down. She stopped crying and looked up at her dad with her big, silver eyes. "There's my big girl."

Off to the side, Ruby finished taking several deep breaths and approached Angel. "I'm sorry, Angel." She kissed her baby's forehead while she took Angel from her husband. "I'm better now."

Aaron hooked an arm around his wife's shoulders. They walked toward the elevator on the other side of the hall together. It would be an… interesting few weeks around the house and command center, but they'd come around. They didn't have a choice.

* * *

 **Show of hands, who also would like to punch Whitley in the face? What about a kick to where the sun don't shine... That's what I thought.**

 **The penultimate episode (I could have sworn I heard fourteen episodes at the beginning of the volume)... That takes staring down the barrel to a whole new level, take that, you big mech! F*** you, Adam! Aaaannnddd I'd say Bumblebee is now canon... I have so many mixed feelings about that. Also, why did Yang act completely unaffected by Adam's death? Ruby better feel something when she eventually kills someone. It's gonna happen sooner or later. I hope it's done right.**


	62. Disjointed

**Ugh... these past few days... Saw John Crist on Saturday (who was freaking AWESOME by the way) then... my car died... so now I'm looking for a new car and I'll hopefully find one by the end of the week... maybe...  
**

* * *

Ruby looked over the cards she was dealt. As far as starting hands went, it could have been worse. This wasn't one of those games where she could win in one or two moves, but she wasn't going to have to beg for mercy any time soon either. She arranged her forces starting position on the board, then stared down her opponents. She controlled Atlas, Yang Vale, Yaela Mistral, and Aaron Vacuo. Aaron was the weakest player on the board, so he would likely be hit from all sides from people wanting to blob out.

The mother turned to her right and smiled at her baby in the high chair. "Are you ready for this, Angel?"

Angel giggled and hit her hands on the plastic table in front of her. "Mama!"

The mother giggled as well. "Good girl." Ruby pat Angel's head, then smiled evilly at her opponents. They had all played the game a lot recently and had gotten more extreme in their acting, especially when Angel started laughing at some of the overreactions. They'd gotten a bit of a crowd too. The dragons watched over their Rider's shoulders and Viki hung between Yaela and Aaron.

"Let's try not to break the table this time, okay?" Yang propped her elbows on the two-day-old table.

"Weren't you the one that did it?" Aaron accused.

"Your point? Don't make me break the table."

"If we're done with the pregame banter," Yaela started, "I'll begin." Yaela made her opening moves and the turns moved around the table counterclockwise. Yang's Vale declared war on Aaron's Vacuo on turn one, but that wasn't out of place for Yang. Of course, she was forced back on turn two, but Aaron left his capital wide open in the counter-attack.

Ruby saw a chance and she took it. "Aaron! You have attacked the wrong people! The Kingdom of Vale is an ally of Atlas, and we will defend them to the end!" She moved her naval fleet right outside of Vacuo's capital.

Aaron 'glared' at Ruby. "I thought we were allies."

"That was before you turned into a warmonger." Ruby took her eyes off her husband and faced her baby. "Angel, which of these should I use?" She held her hand in front of her baby. Angel gurgled and waved a hand at roughly the center card. Ruby couldn't help but smirk at her husband. "This isn't everything I've brought either. We brought a present from Mountain Glen." She slammed the Great Glen Grimm card down on the table. "This mighty beast will tear down your walls like they're tissue paper. Since you neglected your air defense, there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Aaron smirked. "Did I?" Ruby's evil smile fell away as Aaron threw a card down onto the table. Four familiar dragons were detailed on the card. "Alagaësian Air Support. Effective against all land targets with a defense of six or lower, and air targets five or lower. Which, if I'm not mistaken, includes your precious Great Glen Grimm."

Ruby looked down at her card. Sure enough, that was only a three. "Noooo! Cerise! How could you betray me?" She slammed her head down onto the table.

Cerise snorted. _Atlas is too cold for me. Vacuo's desert is delightful._

"And thanks to my contact in the Misrtalian black market," Aaron continued, "I get to trade one of my cards for yours."

"What?" Ruby peeled her head off the table and looked at the card in Aaron's hand. "Why does this always happen to me?" She held her cards face down toward her opponent. One card left her hand, and another took its place. Ruby looked at her new hand. Her Giant Nevermore card was replaced by Creep Swarm, possibly the most useless card in the game, unless the holder had three or more of them and could start a Creep Rush. "Well, at least I still have my navy."

"Wrong again!" Aaron played the Atlesian Air Fleet card. "Looks like your navy's sleeping with the Krakens."

"Traitors!" Ruby raised a fist, then slumped in her seat. Angel laughed and clapped her little hands. The mother faced her baby girl and trembled her lower lip. "Don't worry, Angel, we will make it through this."

Nalia hummed and dipped her head toward Angel. _Maybe, but I think your mama is going to lose this time._

Angel looked up at Nalia and raised her hands toward the dragon. "Nana."

Nalia hummed high and loud. She lowered her snout more to nuzzle Angel's face, then pulled back while her whole body shivered. _She called me Nana! Did you hear that? She called me Nana!_

Halcyon snorted at the living dragon. _Calm down there, Weiss. She didn't even get your name right._

Nalia glared at Halcyon. _Easy for you to say. She hasn't even attempted to say your name._

Yang raised an eyebrow at Nalia. "I didn't think dragons could get so worked up over a baby."

Nalia huffed. _Human babies are raised differently from dragon hatchlings. I'm merely doing what the rest of you have done or will do._

Yang shrugged, then reached across the table and squeezed Ruby's left shoulder. "Vale will not forget your sacrifice, Ruby. It's nice to know there're people that we can trust in this world."

"Yeah, yeah." Ruby sat back upright and looked around the board. She could still easily win this, even with the imminent backstab from Yang. One of two cards in the expansion could seal the deal. Getting Shruikan on her side would certainly turn the tide.

After several rounds and Angel laughs, Yang was at war with everyone and barely holding her capital. Everyone had tried to launch attacks on her walls, but no one could get over them or knock them down. At the same time, Yang couldn't push out. The Grimm rolls weren't that bad so the armies of the three other Kingdoms weren't losing that much strength.

Four turns into the siege of Vale, Ruby pumped a fist. It was time to take down her home Kingdom. "Your reign of terror is over, Yang! I deploy the Guardian of New Vro-" her Scroll rang in one of her pockets, but it wasn't a call. It was the house perimeter alarm. "Hold that thought." Ruby put her hand facedown on the table and drew her Scroll. She opened the alarm and looked at a map of the surrounding area. A _lot_ of red surrounded the house.

Ruby stiffened and set the Scroll down. "Everyone, gear up and prepare for combat. We've got Grimm on all sides." She picked her daughter up as everyone else scattered. The Rider stared after the golden android. "Halcyon, come back."

The android slid to a stop before trotting back to Ruby. His lips were peeled, eyes narrowed, and ears pulled back. _Where do you want me?_

"Protecting Angel." Ruby rocked her baby girl in her arms. "Yang can fly on her own. We can spare one fighter on the ground… but I can't spare my daughter."

Halcyon's face leveled out and he lowered his head. _I will watch your hatchling. No harm will come to her._

"Thank you." Ruby walked toward Angel's room while she looked out the windows on either side of the Hall. A few Griffons and Nevermores flew outside, and it looked like they were getting closer. They were too far away to tell if they were the Alagaësian variety or the Remmartian. Either way, this couldn't be good.

As Ruby opened the door to Angel's nursery, she heard a lot of something hit the windows of the Hall. Angel started crying. "It's okay, Angel," Ruby whispered as she rubbed her baby's back. "Shh, shh, shh. You're okay. Uncle Halcyon is going to stay with you while I go fight monsters." Ruby kissed her baby girl's head before setting her down in the crib. "Be a good girl, and you might get your favorite song later."

Halcyon jumped up into Angel's crib and hummed. He curled up right beside Angel. _Go on. I'll keep her safe._

"Thank you." Ruby ran as quietly as she could out of Angel's room and closed the door. With that done, she sprinted to Cerise' side and grabbed her two scythes off her dragon's saddle. "You ready?" Ruby stared at the large window on the door. Nevermores made fighter jet passes as they shot their feathers. Griffons flew in and smacked the glass with their claws if they didn't just slam into it. Despite all the punishment, the glass didn't even scratch.

The dragon growled and her claws dug up the concrete beneath her. _I am. These Grimm came to the wrong place._

"Oh, yeah." Ruby nodded and looked to her left. Aaron had his V4 resting on top of his physical shield, augmented with his Aura shield. Nalia stood crouched on her front legs with her back raised. Yang had her gauntlets and sword raised with a little fire coming out her right gauntlet. Ruby looked at roughly where the nearest intercom mic was. "Yaela, activate automated defenses."

" _Copy that, Shadeslayer,"_ Yaela's voice came from all over. _"Watch your heads out there. I'll let you know if something else is going on._

A few seconds later, gunshots rang out from hidden turrets built into the mountainside. They cut down quite a few Grimm in the air, but more importantly, they cleared the area right outside the door. Ruby jerked her head toward her sister. "I'll cover you to the hangar. Get the Wyvern in the air."

"Copy that boss." The flame on Ember Halcyon disappeared. "Still waiting for a good chance to use the flamethrower."

"It'll come. Just don't crash to make it happen. That fighter's expensive." Ruby extended both her weapons. "Riders, let's do this." The three Riders walked forward, followed by their dragons. The dragon door opened, and as soon as it rose past the Riders' heads, they all charged forward. A fresh line of Grimm rushed foward from the other side of the landing pad. Ruby swung her scythes behind her, then forward and through six Beowolves at the same time.

With that line done, Ruby retreated a little to her sister's side. She fired at all Grimm that ran at her and Yang. The golden-blonde Rider smacked the hangar opening button and that door opened as well. "It could be a bit before I get in the air."

"The house can hold." Ruby cut a Nevermore feather in half that was flying right toward her. "Use the new belly gun if you can. Got the idea from Galaxy Wars 7."

"Ah, one of those, huh. At least I can give you a little fire support till I get in the air." Yang ducked into the hangar and ran to where the Wyvern rested.

Two dragon roars exploded out of the house followed by the dragons themselves. Nalia pounced over her Rider and onto an Ursa that made it onto the landing pad. Cerise took the other side of the pad and breathed fire onto the ground below. Ruby used her Semblance to sprint to her dragon's side. She aimed both her scythes up in the air and closed her natural eye. Two reticles appeared in her bionic corresponding to her different scythes. She aimed at the closest Grimm and fired. She kept picking new targets, each shot taking down one Grimm.

As the Grimm kept coming, something didn't sit right with Ruby. People were getting frustrated with the game, but it wasn't that much. Yang only got really angry that one time and that only attracted a single pack of Beowolves, not even a big one. This was the first real attack on the base. There wasn't anything going on in the city that could have attracted this. "I think Salem's sending us a message."

"I've been thinking the same thing." Aaron fired a grenade into the air and it connected with a Griffon's face, killing it instantly. "I think we're sending one back."

 _She could be testing us,_ Cerise cast the Riders a glance. _Send in the fodder before the real forces come in._

"Vacuan Great War tactic." Ruby nodded. "Could be."

" _Ruby!"_ Yaela's voice yelled through Ruby's Scroll. _"We've got someone coming up from behind. He's trying to get into the command level."_

"On my way." Ruby folded up Crescent Rose in her right and used her now free hand to hold onto Cerise' saddle. Her dragon jumped away and banked toward the back of the house. Ruby scanned the ground for anyone that shouldn't be there. A lone Faunus with a scorpion tail was smashing clawed weapons and his tail into the glass door. Something in her head screamed 'Tyrian.' She'd never seen the assassin in person, but her mom had a few memories. Weiss had something to say about him too. It wasn't the prettiest picture. Still, none of his attacks did a thing, even his bionic tail didn't scratch it. Might as well make sure it stayed that way.

Ruby fired a single shot at the assassin before dropping down to the ground. Tyrian dodged the shot and glared at the Rider as she touched down. "You called my partner a bad name and never apologized. You're going to pay for that."

"Oh." Tyrian giggled maniacally. "Is that all it takes to break a Rider? Well then. Bitch queen, care to dance?" He shot forward with the blades on his right wrist leading the way.

Ruby extended Crescent Rose right in the path of the blades and caught the punch on her scythe's barrel. "Stop talking." She ripped her first scythe away from Tyrian's weapon and used her momentum to swing Máni Bláto around at the assassin's head. Tyrian ducked out of the way and jabbed his left fist into Ruby's stomach. It only made her stumble back. This fight was not a scythe fight, heck this was more of a Yang fight, but she was the one that was there.

The Rider put some distance between herself and her opponent. She collapsed her weapons then held out her hands. Two ice shortswords formed in her hands. She hadn't used these weapons before, but she had gotten a handle on fighting with new weapons while figuring out what suited new Riders the best.

Tyrian's creepy smile never faded. He charged again, this time slicing his weapons at Ruby. The Rider blocked it then kicked the assassin in the chest. Tyrian stumbled back and launched his metal tail at his opponent. Ruby side stepped then jabbed one of her ice weapons into Tyrian's neck. His Aura held but he still lost ground.

The Faunus turned and ran. Ruby shook her head. Did he really think that was going to work against a Rose? Ruby activated her Semblance and caught up to the assassin in less than a second. She sliced her weapon's at the scorpion's back but his bionic tail caught it. Despite the renewed attacks, Tyrian kept running.

Something was up. Ruby slowed down but kept Tyrian in her sight, not that the scorpion was trying to make that difficult. _Cerise, you staying with me?_

 _This is screaming ambush,_ Cerise growled.

 _Don't I know it._ Ruby dissolved her left ice sword and drew Máni Bláto in sword form. If this was a trap, she needed her best weapon.

After a while of chasing, Tyrian ran into the clearing with the ruins that always held the Beacon initiation relics. The assassin ran into the building and leaned against the wall. Ruby pointed the tip of her sword at Tyrian's neck. "You ran yourself into a corner. Surrender."

"You would like that wouldn't you." Tyrian's voice was calmer this time. "I'm afraid I have completed the mission the Goddess set out for me. I must take my leave."

"You're not going anywhere." Ruby let her Aura flow and Tyrian's feet froze to the ground. _Cerise, what do we got?_

 _Unless they're all Alagaësian Grimm, nothing,_ Cerise said. _You're all clear._

Tyrian shook his head and made clicking noises. "That is not up to you." A portal appeared right above Tyrian's head. Ruby jumped back and readied her sword. So this was the ambush. An unknown Grimm's arms reached through the portal and hooked under Tyrian's shoulders.

Ruby jumped forward to slice at the arms... but something made her lose all her energy, her drive, her will. She slumped to the ground, too tired to lift her weapon. Tyrian cackled as the arms pulled him up into the portal. The purple and black circle disappeared, as did the debilitating effects on Ruby. The Rider punched the ground. She'd felt that only once before in north Anima at an overrun ranch. "Apathy." She spat out the word. The Rider only faced them once before, at an abandoned ranch just outside of Argus. She thought she figured out the wards to protect herself from their effects. Apparently she didn't think through everything.

 _It's not your fault, Ruby._ Cerise landed by her Rider. _Are you hurt?_

"I'm okay." Ruby gripped her sword and looked around the clearing. Nothing moved around them, not even leaves on trees. "If this wasn't an ambush… it was a diversion." She jumped onto Cerise' back and grabbed her helmet from its clip. It automatically connected to Ruby's Scroll. "Yaela, Tyrian drew me away from base before he was yanked through a portal. I need a sitrep."

" _The defenses are holding up,"_ Yaela said. _"Aaron and Nalia are keeping them out and no glass is scratched."_

Ruby sucked her lips in. "Halcyon? You listening?"

" _Angel is fine,"_ Halcyon called. _"She fell asleep right after you left. Nothing's getting close."_

Ruby shook her head. "Then what's going-"

" _It's Vale!"_ Yang called. _"We've got dozens of Giant Nevermores and Dauthblaka flying toward the city! It looks like they have more Grimm on their backs."_

"Damnit." Ruby leaned forward as her dragon kicked off the ground. "Everyone, get to Vale as soon as you can." She switched her channel to call all Riders on Remnant. "Attention all Riders, the city of Vale is under heavy Grimm assault. Everyone not performing essential duties is to respond immediately." Ruby paused. Ahe might as well try to implement something Vale had been hounding her to get on for quite a while. "When you respond, you will receive semi-permanent call signs to use when working with other agencies." She switched to local comms only again.

" _Where you want me, Shadeslayer?"_ Yang asked.

"Fighter One, get over Vale and start shooting down those carriers. The less Grimm make it into the city, the better."

" _Copy that. It'll be raining Grimm fairly soon."_

" _Jackrabbit and Meadow, awaiting orders,"_ Velvet called.

"Healer One, find out where Vale plans on setting up a triage point in the city and help them out." Ruby continued to assign new Riders as they arrived in the city. Cerise returned to the house in the mountains and hovered in the air above it. Ruby grimaced as she looked over the city. She saw the Giant Nevermores Yang was talking about flying in from the north and south. A few of them also angled toward Patch. This attack definitely had Salem's direct attention. No Nevermores carried other Grimm into combat before. What was her goal? Cause as much destruction as she could and attack again at a later date. Even with this tactic, this was a level six Grimm attack at best? Vale had survived much worse before, even with breaches in the city. Vale would not fall.

Ruby shook her head and switched both her scythes into rifle form. Two reticles appeared in her helmet's visor. Time to swat some birds. "Let's go, Cerise." Her dragon roared before flying full speed toward the city. Ruby held her weapons to her sides while aiming at the Grimm. As soon as the reticles turned green she pulled the triggers. Two Dust rounds shot out and destroyed the heads of two Griffons.

Cerise flew into the thick of the flying Grimm, slicing at those who got close with her claws. Other Grimm met the dragon's fire. Ruby stuck with shooting at Grimm at mid-range. Together, they made a platform of death in the air. Not a single Grimm made it close to hurting them. If people weren't in danger in the city below them, Ruby would have called it fun.

When Ruby had a chance to breathe, she keyed her comms again. "Rider One to Base, where's the most serious fighting?" She didn't get an answer. Ruby faced the building in the mountains. It looked clear. "Base, please respond." Again, no answer

" _Apologies, Rider One,"_ Yaela finally said. _"I am trying to coordinate all of our activities as well as trying to communicate with Vale's defenses and others."_

Ruby grit her teeth. As good as Yaela was, she was one person. She couldn't manage everything sent at her. "Keep it up. See if you can call in a few favors with the elven embassy."

" _I will. As for where the worst fighting is, it appears Patch has the least defenders. Signal and downtown are secure but the rest of the island is pretty bare."_

"Copy that. I'll see if I can wrangle up anyone else to help me out." Ruby ended the call and shook her head. "One person in the command center? What was I thinking?"

 _Eyes up!_ Cerise ordered. _We've got incoming!_

Ruby looked up just in time to see a Giant Nevermore flying right toward her. She aimed both of her weapons at it. The reticles lined up directly with the Grimm's eyes. The Rider pulled the triggers and the shots bored into its eyes. The Grimm didn't even scream before it fell from the sky. "Yang, you better get rid of all these soon. Cerise, get us to Patch."

 _On it._ Cerise angled toward the island and flapped as hard as she could. All Grimm that tried to follow quickly turned around and found new targets. Ruby kept her rifles in front of her and picked off any Grimm that tried to cut them off. No Grimm made it into clawing range.

As expected, the fighting over the island was much more intense. There weren't nearly as many permanent defenses on the ground, so most of the island was protected by Huntsmen, the police force, and any military present on the island. Normally, that was enough. With this attack and flying Grimm dropping off more, that kind of defense would be put to the test.

When they reached Signal, the sky was practically clear. Ruby looked off her dragon's side and searched for one person in particular. Her dad stood near the edge of the forest. As she watched, her dad punched the head right off an Ursa.

"They're good here." Ruby pat her dragon's side. "Let's head to the other side." Cerise continued west without responding. The Rider kept her weapons pointed off the sides and fired at whatever Grimm she saw. The farther over the forest they flew, the less Grimm roamed. At least on the surface anyway. There were always Grimm coming from the black pools underground. Most of those outlets were on the side of the island farthest from the city.

A small settlement appeared through the trees on the west coast. A little bit of gunfire came from the cul-de-sac. Judging from all the movement in the trees leading up to the houses, there weren't enough defenders there. Ruby extended her weapons to full scythe form. "Hot drop me right behind that blue house. You take the forest." She pulled her legs up to crouch on the saddle.

 _Watch your back. I don't trust these civilians to do that._

"They're hunters out here. I trust them more than city people." Ruby braced for the fall. "Whenever you're ready." Cerise rolled and flung her Rider toward the ground. Ruby spun in the air and angled herself toward an Ursa. She stuck out her bionic leg and connected with the bear's head. Her foot plunged clean through the Grimm's skull. As soon as her foot hit the ground, Ruby spun around and fired into the forest. She heard a few cheers come from the houses behind her but paid them no mind. She was likely their best defense. No distractions.

The horde of Grimm turned their attention to her, which was exactly what she wanted. Ruby fired her snipers only using the reticles in her visor to aim. When both clicked, she ran into the thickest part of the swarm. She turned into a tornado of death, her scythes extended as far as she could go from her body. No Grimm, tree, or rock stopped her spin. She didn't get dizzy either thanks to a few wards.

When she stopped seeing black, Ruby stopped and checked her surroundings. She had blown through the whole group with quite a few keeping their distance. At first, she thought some of them were completely black because they were Alagaësian. On a closer look, they just hadn't grown bone plates yet. Ruby smirked. She couldn't believe these things gave her a real challenge when she first started out. Now she could practically breathe on them and they'd die.

Some of those Grimm stood in front of a cave where even more Grimm piled up behind them. There was one of the Grimm spawning caves. Ruby charged through the Grimm guards and into the cave. When it got dark, her helmet's visor switched to night vision. As she continued into the cave, she slowed down and looked around for a good place to make a cave in. It took for her scythes to meet empty air for her to realize the tide of Grimm had stopped.

Ruby looked around herself. She wasn't at the Grimm spawning pool yet and she didn't think she passed it. "Here's the trap." She twirled her scythes around in her hands. "What do you got for me, Salem?"

She heard moaning further down the cave. Ruby faced it and tensed. It didn't sound like a person. What kind of Grimm could make that kind of sound? Something walked around the corner… Apathy, with no bone plates. This would be different from when Tyrian got away and when she fought them in Mistral. They kicked her butt years ago, but she'd gotten much better since then. Still, that was Mistral. They had never been recorded on Patch before. These Grimm were one of the few that could scare her anymore. These looked young. Their effects wouldn't be extreme.

More Apathy followed the first, all of them limping as they walked. "Think you can get me down now?" Ruby aimed both her guns at the Grimm. "Think aga…"

Her breath caught in her throat as her weapons suddenly grew too heavy for her to carry. Her drive evaporated and she felt so tired she could drop right there. Ruby stared at the Grimm. "Naina." A red light appeared in front of her… they _did_ have bone plates, just all black. Alagaësian Apathy. Her wards likely had no effect. She tried to stretch her mind out to Cerise. She didn't know if she was too far underground or she didn't have to will to search, but she couldn't find her dragon.

As the Grimm approached, Ruby dropped her scythes and fell to the ground. These felt so much more potent than the ones she fought before. The one that grabbed Tyrian must have been one of them. She needed to get up or… then again, why was she fighting these things? She didn't know anybody on this part of the island anymore. Why was she fighting these Grimm anyway? Salem was going to kill them all. They stood no chance. _Might as well…_ Ruby half closed her eyes.

 _RUBY!_ Cerise screamed in her Rider's head. Ruby felt her dragon's mind flood into her own. Her limbs jerked and her eyes shot open of their own accord. _I'm sorry, Gem, I need your limbs._

 _Wha…_ Ruby felt her arms jerk out and grab her scythes. She jumped to her feet even though she didn't want to. Her legs ran toward the Grimm with her scythes ready to scissor behind her. She swung her weapons forward cutting quite a few of the Grimm in half. When they died, Ruby blinked and tried to figure out what was happening. She was slicing through Grimm left and right, but it didn't even feel like she was on autopilot. Cerise was deep in her head. As more Grimm fell, Ruby realized it was _Cerise_ that was making her move.

The last Grimm fell and Cerise retreated to the fringes of Ruby's mind. The Rider gasped and fell to the ground, shaking. Before, when all Apathy were killed, she got her energy and her will back. Now, she felt completely drained. Maybe the Alagaësian variety had a bigger difference to their Remmartian versions. More moaning came from deeper down the tunnel. "Cerise, thank you for that, I could use a little more help."

 _Take what you need._ Cerise poured her own energy into her Rider.

Rejuvenated, Ruby looked up at the ceiling. She called on her Maiden Magic and pulled the rock down. The cave in blocked the tunnel, but rocks kept falling toward Ruby. The Rider sprinted out of the cave, making it with only a thin layer of dust covering her. That was close.

A shadow covered Ruby before Cerise landed by her side. _Are you alright?_

"I'm fine. A little spooked, that's it." Ruby shivered and faced her dragon. "Thanks again for helping me out there."

 _Of course._ Cerise looked her Rider up and down. It felt like she searched Ruby's mind too. _The Grimm around here are gone. The fighting's moved elsewhere._

"Good to hear." Ruby collapsed her weapons and hooked them to her belt. "Let's get to the next area."

Cerise pulled her lips and ears back. A low growl escaped her throat. _**I**_ _will go._ _ **You**_ _will do no such thing._

Ruby's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

 _How much of your energy are you getting from me and the Eldunarí? You would collapse if we took it away. You are in no shape to fight._

"I don't have that choice." Ruby narrowed her eyes. "The Eldunarí have plenty of energy to keep me going."

Cerise' pupils shrank to slits. Her growl strengthened. _Is that all they are to you?_ She pulled back all her energy support. Ruby gasped and fell to the ground. It took all her concentration to keep her eyes open. _You are in no shape to fight. You are in no shape to command. You're coming with me._ Cerise grabbed her Rider in one of her front paws and took off toward the mainland.

"Cerise, why?" Ruby whimpered, too tired to resist.

 _To protect you from yourself._

 _What?_ Ruby slowly blinked, but it couldn't have been just that. She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling in her bedroom. She was under all her blankets too. The Rider still felt drained beyond belief, so she couldn't have blacked out for too long. She heard a whisper elsewhere in the room. Ruby lifted her head to face it. Viki and Cerise stood at the foot of the bed. Ruby didn't hear anything from her dragon, just her step-sister.

Viki faced Ruby, gasped, then looked at Cerise again. "She's awake."

Cerise turned around and peeled her lips back. _Here is what's going to happen._ She walked around the bed until she stood right by her Rider. She used a wing to push Ruby's head back onto her pillow. _You are going to stay in your bed. You will only leave to use the bathroom. If you are hungry or thirsty, Viki will fetch it for you. You will follow these rules until your Aura is above the red and you can stand without getting light-headed or swaying. Even then, you will only help outside by helping Yaela downstairs. Do I make myself clear?_

"Cerise," Ruby tried to push herself up, "I need to-"

Cerise growled and used the same wing as before to push her Rider down. _**Do I make myself clear?**_

Ruby stopped resisting and looked into her dragon's eyes. _"Yes."_

 _Good._ Cerise snorted and backed away. _We will talk later._ She turned around and left the room. The door closed behind her before anyone else moved.

Viki walked to Ruby's side and grabbed one of the Rider's hands. "Can I get anything for you, Ruby?"

Ruby took a while to respond. "Water." She dipped one of her hands under the covers and felt around for her Scroll. She didn't have it. "My Scroll, or _a_ Scroll. I need to know what's going on out there."

"Okay." Viki walked around Cerise' pad and toward Ruby's dresser.

Ruby tried to push herself up again, but her arms gave out halfway up. _Maybe Cerise is right…_ she closed her eyes and let tears fall. _How many people out there are dying because I can't help?_

* * *

 **Won't lie, this was mostly to set up for something else. I think some of you can see it coming.  
**

 **Anyway the finale... Forget most things that happened in the episode! Forget the Atlas reveal! Forget the Beringel bats! We got BEST MOM FACE REVEAL! Summer Rose was the one that pushed Ruby over the edge to stonify Grimmzilla! Rooster Teeth, that better _not_ be a one and done model! GIVE US MOAR! WE NEED MORE BEST MOM!**


	63. Overworked

**Not much to say here... Saw LEGO Movie 2 on wasn't as good as the first, but the songs were really on point with what they wanted to do. I just can't get one of them out of my head (if you've seen it, you know the one).**

 **Enough rambling. Let's get to this.**

* * *

Cerise flew over the angry-forest where so many evil-beast-Grimm roamed. There weren't nearly as many of them as before. The dragon didn't know if she wanted there to be more of the evil-beast-Grimm or is she was glad there were so few. She didn't know who or what she was angry at, but she knew exactly what to take it out on.

The dragon pulled her wings to her side and dove for the break-bone ground. She crashed through the weak-limbed trees and smashed into an evil-dog-Beowolf pack. Three of them were squished below her weight, the rest met tooth, claw, and flame. When all evil-beast-Grimm were dead and turning to black-death-dust, Cerise looked around her area. The two-legs of Vale didn't like their tree-fields burning down. The dragon pounced one of the burning trees and smothered the not-hot-to-her-flames. It slowed her down, but the two-legs wouldn't hate her.

When the last of her flames were only hot-wood-smoke, Cerise jumped up and flew around the island once more. The skies only held dragons and two-leg-metal-birds, no black-feather-Nevermores, no flying-horse-Griffons. It was like that over the mainland too. The air itself smelled like the battle was ending.

Cerise snorted and banked toward Ruby's-former-school Signal. Most two-legs on the island gathered there for the protection of the Aura-strong-Huntsmen. More importantly, Ruby's-sire-Taiyang was there. Ruby would like to know that her dad was okay.

Cerise flew over the Huntsmen-making-school and stared down at all the two-legs beneath her. Despite the crowd, Cerise picked out Taiyang. He was standing with another group of Aura-strong-Huntsmen talking with them. Zwei-successor-Drei stood right next to him. It didn't look like either of them were injured. There were too many two-legs down there to land to make sure. This would have to be enough.

Just as she was about to turn back toward the mainland, Cerise caught sight of stand-stiff-trees moving. Something big was walking straight for the two-leg-safe-space. The dragon roared a warning at the two-legs below before diving for the open soft-grass beside the school. She landed and put herself between the unknown-black-creature and the easily-squished-two-legs.

Cerise heard something big moving toward the forest toward her. Several black-sharp-spears shot up at her. They all deflected off her Aura and wards, but it still surprised her. She knew of only one evil-beast-Grimm that could do that. Still, she pulled her lips back in a dragon's smile. _Finally, a challenge!_ A Dauthwildo with a red stripe on its back ran out of the trees. The giant-ugly-scorpion was smaller than Cerise, but that didn't make it less dangerous. The make-sick-stinger was a powerful weapon. Since it could split in two, it was much more dangerous than a normal big-mean-Deathstalker. The Dauthwildo roared and clacked its bone-crunching-claws at Cerise.

The dragon returned the challenge and pounced at the no-soul-Grimm. She forced the Dauthwildo back into the trees. The two giants rolled several times before Cerise kicked the evil-beast-Grimm away. It crashed through a few big-leaf-trees and into a no-wood-clearing. The Dauthwlido righted itself and shot its sharp-black-spears from its back. Cerise didn't even try to dodge. All spears bounced off her see-through-Aura-shield and magic-placed-wards. She barely even felt any drain. She lunged at the Dauthwildo again, trying to sink her teeth into the evil-beast-Grimm's tail. The no-soul-scorpion pulled it out of the way just before Cerise made contact. The dragon growled at her opponent. This thing was smart. To any two-leg, it would be concerning. To any dragon Cerise' size or bigger, it was a welcome challenge. Cerise focused on the evil-beast-Grimm's stinger. Take that out, take out its main offense. There were still the metal-snapping-pincers to deal with and the black-spear-shooters, but it couldn't defend itself from behind or above.

Bone plates on the Dauthwlido popped up again and shot black-sharp-spears at Cerise. The dragon jumped over it and at the giant-evil-scorpion. The make-sick-stinger lunged at her, missing her belly by a claw length. She grabbed the too-slow-stinger in her back paws and sunk her claws in. The dragon flapped her wings and she tried to pull the tail off. She kept pulling and crushing until something gave and she pulled the make-sick-stinger off. It split in two in her claws then hung limp.

The evil-beast-Grimm roared and turned toward Cerise. It raised itself on its front legs. The no-soul-scorpion fired more of its sharp-black-spears at the dragon. Cerise rolled over them and dropped the stolen-stinger on the Dauthwlido. It landed stinger first in the center of the black-creature's back, drawing out an ear-piercing roar. The dragon dove for the creature and crushed it between her and the break-bone-ground. She dug her claws into the creature's head and pulled in opposite directions. The Dauthwlido's head split apart, but nothing leaked out other than the black-death-dust. Cerise never got used to that. She liked when her opponents bled.

Cerise walked back toward Ruby's-former-school-Signal with her head held high. She heard voices in the trees ahead of her, one of them was familiar. Ruby's-sire-Taiyang led a group of Aura-strong-Huntsmen into the trees. Taiyang looked up at Cerise and lowered his fists. "I take it you won?"

 _I did._ Cerise gave Taiyang a light growl. _I'd think that you would know by now that I don't lose many fights, especially not to Grimm._

Taiyang chuckled, then looked at Cerise back. "Where's Ruby? She off fighting somewhere else?"

Cerise growled and turned her head away. She hoped the two-legs with Taiyang didn't catch the light whimper in there. _Ruby is… not well._ She shook her head then jumped over the Aura-strong-Huntsmen. Her Gem, her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind… she should have said something sooner, years ago. It wasn't her fault Ruby treated herself like that, but she didn't stop it. She never said anything before and it hurt Ruby. It could have killed her and she was willing to fight even more… She would make sure Ruby knew what was going on.

As she flew over the ocean, Cerise saw her mate flying toward her. _Cerise! There you are,_ Vert called. _We've been looking all over for you._

 _Sorry,_ _I was clearing Patch. I think the locals can take care of the remaining Grimm, for now at least._ Cerise flew to Vert's side. Rabbit-eared-Velvet sat on her dragon's back. _You have something for me?_

 _Ruby has called a meeting. She wants all command staff not currently occupied to meet at the base of your mountain._

Cerise growled and pulled her toes into scaled balls. _She is in no shape to give orders._

Vert's surprise filtered over their link. _She still called us there, and Aaron agreed to it._

 _Fine. I'm more inclined to listening to him right now._ Cerise angled toward her home-mountain and flew toward it. _Who's picking her up?_

More confusion came over the link. _Yang and Halcyon. Where was she?_

 _At home, resting, where she should be._ Cerise searched the twilight sky again. A few other dragons flew in that direction as well, but not all in the city. Vert flew to catch up and the mates flew side by side. Cerise half growled, half whimpered at the mountain. _Ruby is not well in the head._

Vert turned his head toward Cerise. _How do you mean? It can't be the Nevermores._

 _You're right, it can't._ Cerise glared at her mate. _This is between me and her. Only if she doesn't listen to me or the rest of her family will I get Velvet involved._

Vert increased the distance between them. _I will relent._

 _Good._ Cerise snorted and faced her home-mountain. Once she passed warrior-school-Beacon, the Rider's large-metal-bull-bird came into view near the base of the mountain. Ruby stood outside speaking with Aaron and Yang. Cerise touched her bondmate's mind. Her Rider's up-strength-Aura was still weak but it was stronger than before. Her energy had also recovered past the point that Cerise ordered. The dragon growled to herself. Her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind listened to her but only to that point.

Cerise landed in the open-field-clearing and glared at her Rider. _What are you doing out of bed?_

Ruby looked up at Cerise with her… poke-her-face. _Cerise, we don't need to make a scene. This is serious. We can talk later. Can we hold off on hating each other until after we're done here?_

 _I could never hate you._ Cerise walked around the others and stood behind her Rider without saying anything else. She ignored the stares from those around her as she watched the small thunder approaching. Saphira and Weiss had arrived from cold-north-Atlas shortly after Cerise forced Ruby to bed. Glaedr, Nenva, and their Riders took a little longer but came with many other dragons and Riders from New Vroengard. They all landed near the gathering and their Riders dismounted. It looked like Velvet was the only one missing, but she had other priorities.

One more dragon approached the open-field-clearing. Cerise cocked her head. _Ruby, did you ask for Arya and Fírnen as well?_

 _I did._ Ruby nodded. _The big test to see if she's ready._

Cerise felt her Rider's thoughts and snorted. _I did not think about that, but after today, I believe it's necessary._

 _Thank you. We'll see what she can do with it._

Fírnen touched down outside the circle of dragons and slowly approached. He looked around the others and his head dipped. If he didn't feel welcome among these dragons, he would have to get over that if he and Arya were to take over the Riders. Arya walked alongside her dragon showing none of the same concern.

Ruby stepped forward and crossed her arms. "I'm going to be frank here, we were terrible today. I'm pretty sure given a few days, my orders could be seen to all of us as short-sighted, not to mention communication of those orders was terrible on all counts. The chain of command was terrible and no one knew what anyone else was doing.. This can't happen again.

"On Remnant, we've only responded in small groups. The way we did things then doesn't work with so many people around. Our communication with each other and services in Vale was nonexistent, even after I started helping Yaela with that." Cerise flicked her eyes to her Rider. It looked like her Gem listened to her more than she thought. "The Riders as a whole have very little experience with this kind of disaster, and the one example I can think of went terribly. On Remnant, these things happen all the time. I believe this was classified as a level six attack. We can defend from this level of attack, and so can any Kingdom or large city. We just need to make sure we don't hurt anyone else' response to these events.

"This isn't just about the fighting either. We can do so much more to help people in the wake of these attack or any kind of disaster. This is probably more on me than anyone else, but we have been too focused on fighting over anything else besides maybe healing. We need to shift focuses without losing what we've already built."

"I trust you have a solution to this?" Oromis asked.

Ruby nodded. "I may. We do what several other businesses, nonprofits, and Huntsmen organizations do. Some of us need to be focused on dealing with events like this first, everything else after that. Others need to put things on the civilian side first. These events aren't going away, and there are so many other things out there that can cause damage and hurt people. We need to get better at this so fewer people are hurt." She faced the two that had yet to have any authority in the Riders. "Arya, when you graduate from Beacon, you and Fírnen will be the heads of the Dragon Riders' Disaster Response Unit." Everyone but the two mentioned and Cerise looked at Ruby with varying degrees of surprise but that faded into knowing gazes. Cerise was proud of her Rider for how she handled it.

Arya stared at Ruby with her jaw hanging and Fírnen cocked his head. "I… I'm honored that you think so highly of me," Arya started, "but I have no experience with this."

 _None of us do._ Cerise snorted. _No matter who we assign to this, they would have to build the Unit from the ground up. They would need to research how other organizations have handled similar situations. We have the utmost confidence in you to do this for us."_

The young two-leg-pointy-ears looked up at her dragon. The two of them had a short mental conversation, then straightened and faced the head of the Riders. "We accept your offer, Shadeslayer. We will not let you down."

Ruby nodded. "Good." She looked around those gathered. "But we all should know what went wrong, and what is still going wrong out there. We all have something. The only things that are too small are along the lines of tripping over your own two feet."

The Riders and dragons went around the circle saying various things that went wrong with what they did in the attack. Early on, Arya pulled an empty-writing-book out of one of Fírnen's saddlebags. Everyone, even Yang, had something insightful to say. When Cerise said all she had to say, she diverted most of her attention to her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind. Ruby was absorbing everything that was said in her head and on her bionic eye. That was good… for the leader of the Riders. Cerise had to dive deep into her Rider's head, past so many other related worries, before she found even a hint of concern for perfect-two-leg-hatchling-Angel. That was not like her Rider. That was not like her Gem. Through all that, there was one thing that Cerise never found. She was surprised it hadn't affected Ruby's True Name.

When the last rays of light faded away, Ruby called an end to the meeting. All other pairs flew off in their own directions, some heading for rest, others back to the disaster area. Once Yang and Halcyon flew off in the large-metal-bull-bird, Cerise and Ruby were alone. The Rider looked up at her dragon. "Can we go elsewhere so no other Riders see us? I don't want people to see us fighting."

 _None of us want that._ Cerise crouched down and her Rider climbed onto her back. For once, she didn't feel the love and the trust from her soulmate as she climbed. That hurt. Ruby probably was feeling the same. When the Rider was settled on her dragon's back, Cerise jumped out of the open-field-clearing and flew toward the far-from-two-legs mountains.

Neither dragon nor Rider spoke on the flight, but Cerise felt Ruby deep in her mind. It was only fair her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind return the search. Cerise didn't know what her Rider was looking for, so she didn't help out. Both of them were hiding something from the other, something that didn't happen very often. At least it was all about to come out.

Cerise landed on the far side of a far-away-mountain and crouched down. Ruby slid off her back and walked around front. Even in the dim moonlight, Cerise could see and feel her Rider's glare. "Would you care to explain to me why you forced me to stay in bed while there were people out there that needed help?"

Cerise peeled her lips back and growled. Ruby really didn't know. _Would you care to explain to me why you were willing to kill yourself back there?_

Ruby's jaw dropped. "I would never! You know I can't!"

 _Yet there you were, willing to go past Aura exhaustion to Aura depletion. You were willing to fight even though you couldn't hold your weapons. If the Eldunarí and I weren't giving you energy, you would have never left that cave._ Cerise growled even more. _To add to that, I can't believe you only thought of the Eldunarí as batteries. They are dragons just as much as me. I figured you would know better with Halcyon's current state._

Ruby winced. "I admit I messed up there, but what would you have me do?" Ruby threw her arms up. "Leave people to die? We're all supposed to help each other. That's what we all signed up for."

 _I would have you see us for who we really are, and I would have you know your limits. You pushed yourself too far out there without backup and those Apathy almost made it to you. If you were any farther away, those things would have drained everything out of you before I could do anything to help._

 _This isn't the first time you've pushed yourself too far either. The mine, Windpath, Menagerie. Don't even get me started on how you've neglected yourself when you're not fighting._

"I am a Huntress. I am a Rider. I can do so many things that other people can't."

 _Yet the only real advantage you have over the other Riders is your Maiden strength._

"I trust them all with my life and yours. Some of them I trust with our True Names."

 _You never hold them to the same expectations. After Yang and Halcyon barely made it back from the tower, you never sent them anywhere remotely as dangerous. After Raven was killed, everyone around you was relegated to fighting small hordes of Grimm. You always take the most dangerous missions, leaving them on the sidelines. I've held my tongue on this for far too long._ Ruby continued to glare at Cerise. Her mouth moved like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

 _You haven't been yourself for a while either. You've been too focused on work. You don't leave room for anything else._

"That's… that's my job." Ruby still sounded angry, but not as confident as before.

 _You've been pushing yourself too hard. You've taken maybe a month for breaks since Kialandí. A week of that was your honeymoon, and another was our first week back from the war in Alagaësia. No one can keep up that pace. You've always had some sort of overreaching goal where you need to fix something, whether that's Viki or getting your head into shape._

 _You once described you have two frames of mind, the normal, happy you which I love with every fiber of my being and the General who I would follow into a hurricane. Or at least I used to be able to say that. Ruby, your job has taken over your life. The only time I've seen you truly happy in so long is when you're with Angel. When Blake was killed, you focused on revenge. Yes, what you sought was revenge, not justice. You didn't allow yourself to mourn Blake until after Price and Whitley were captured and you hung up her picture. You never did anything proper for Raven. Only a memorial service and PR campaign for a fallen Chief of Intelligence._

 _I know you know I dug into your head during the meeting. I was looking for anything about Angel. I know you were working, but she was buried so far deep, you were more worried about looking good on camera for the Riders than your hatchling. I'm not talking about the Riders looking good, you wanted to look untouched in battle to show that the Riders are invincible. I_ _ **never**_ _found any concern for your own health or safety._

Ruby's jaw dropped and she clenched her fists. "How could you… That's not…" She let her finger-toes go and her upper body slacked. "I'm not… I couldn't…" She turned away and held her head in her hands. "I can't… that's not me." She fell to her knees and stayed silent. "Oh my gosh…" She shook her head and her eyes became watery. Cerise closed her lips. She hated making her Gem falter like that, but it was necessary. Ruby took her hands off her head and looked up at Cerise. "What did I do?"

Cerise hummed and lowered her head to her Rider's level. _One of the best problems I can think of. You care too much._ She inched her head forward and nuzzled her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind. Ruby grabbed onto her dragon's snout and held on tight. Cerise wrapped her mind around her Rider's. _Gem, no one wants you to stop caring. I don't want you to stop being a Rider or Huntress. I don't want you to stop being a great leader. I want you to slow down. I want you to throw the General part of you aside for a change. I want you to care a little less about others and care more about yourself._

"Okay. I will." Ruby nodded while keeping her forehead on Cerise' snout. "But… I can't just stop."

 _And you won't._ Cerise pulled her snout away and turned her head so her left eye was directly in front of her Rider's face. _For the most part. When the Riders' part in Vale is done, you and I are going to take a month-long vacation. We'll only work if absolutely necessary._

"But… didn't you just say…" Ruby didn't finish her thought but Cerise understood.

 _We don't need to be away from home. If we aren't, just relax around the house._

Ruby bit her lip. "I'm never away from Angel for forty-eight hours, okay?"

 _Of course. I know how much human hatchlings need their mothers_ _ **.**_

"Baby, not hatchling." Ruby set a hand on Cerise' snout and sighed. "Cerise, I know now why you did what you did, but that was not the way to do it."

 _It was the only way to get through to you._

Ruby shook her head. "I may need to be less focused on my job, but you need to be more focused on yours. Yaela was handling all external calls into the Riders, including some news stations. Many of them were demanding why we were falling back from the battle and why I never returned." Cerise dropped her ears. She didn't like where this was going. "I didn't hear the calls myself, but it sounds like we're being called cowards. I'm sure you realize how bad it is for the leader of the Riders to be called a coward."

Cerise growled. _Neither of us are cowards. Do they know what we've done to save them?_

"These days, one action can ruin someone's career or their whole life." Ruby pulled her hand back. "My position only makes it more likely that people will come down hard on me."

 _The Riders will know that you've done nothing wrong._

"It's not the Riders I worry about." Ruby looked away. "The civilians, politicians, military, Alagaësians… not all of them will be convinced by saying what happened in the Ancient Language. People love to hate. I could very well be the recipient tomorrow morning."

Cerise growled and stared at the ground. Ruby was right. Cerise just sentenced her-partner-of-her-heart-and-mind to a fate she wouldn't wish on anyone. If this was Alagaësia, it wouldn't even be a problem. Since this happened on Remnant, two-legs across the space-ball could know all the rumors and lies in seconds and believe them as truth. _I'm sorry, Ruby._

"I forgive you, Cerise." The dragon felt her Rider's hand beneath her jaw. Ruby pulled her dragon's head up. Cerise' Gem had a sad yet happy smile on her face. "We both messed up pretty big today. If you ever notice me falling down that hole again, tell me before it happens.

 _I will, and if I ever do something this short-sighted again, tell me before I mess everything up again._

"I will." Ruby kissed Cerise on the snout. "I'll take the break, but if I need to work damage control, I need to work. There are some things only I'll be able to do."

 _I understand._ Cerise adjusted herself off the ground so the foot-holders on her saddle were facing her Rider. Ruby climbed up and settled down in the saddle. Cerise spread her wings and jumped off the mountain. _Do you want to go back to the city, or somewhere else?_

"Take me home." Ruby paused. "I was talking with Yang and Aaron, you were hard to get in contact with after you dropped me off."

Cerise hitched her wings. She didn't think of that when she was fighting evil-beast-Grimm on the far side of Patch. _That is a problem._

"I'll get you your translation band, then you can head back out, if you still have energy. Everything you said to me applies to you too."

 _I wouldn't have it any other way._

"Thank you... I won't be joining you out there. I'm still too drained. I'll rejoin Yaela in the command center and… lead from behind again. I can't believe I just said that."

 _Maybe you're already thinking better._ Cerise touched her mind to her Rider's again. Ruby's mind felt different from earlier. She was a little more self-conscious, a little less sure of herself. For now, that's how Cerise wanted her Gem. It could keep her alive.

* * *

" _The number of people coming into the triage site is trickling down,"_ Velvet said over the Scroll. _"We might be finished in the next few hours."_

"Base copies, Healer One," Ruby said. "Finish up and head home. You've done good today. Get some rest and be ready for more problems as they come up in the next few days." She set her Scroll down on the table in front of her and sipped her coffee. She normally couldn't stand the stuff, but Viki figured out a mix just for her. It was a good thing too. Ruby would have passed out long ago if she didn't have the caffeine.

She looked over the command center. Someone, Ruby expected Oromis, asked the elven embassy if they could spare anyone to help run the various functions of the room. The elves Däthedr sent were doing a good job as far as Ruby could tell. For the first time, the place had more people than just Yaela working on things. They were communicating with each other, Vale authorities, and Riders in the field. Another reported things on the news to others in the room. All of them acted like they were working on a full night's sleep.

Ruby felt her eyelids drifting down and stared at the clock on the projector at the front of the room. It was almost eight AM. She'd been awake for over twenty-four hours, including the time she spent in bed being waited on by Viki and watching the news. She may have looked like an elf, but she was still human and she still needed sleep. She had coffee, she doubted many other Riders in the field were that lucky to have an energy boost, unless they had Eldunarí with them.

" _Fighter One to Base,"_ Yang called, _"there're only friendlies on radar. Vale's military is finally here in force and we're running on fumes."_

Ruby picked up her Scroll. "Copy that, Fighter One. Refuel, then come on home. Get one less fighter out of the sky."

" _Don't need to tell me twice. I'm beat."_ The line clicked.

Ruby tried to set her Scroll on the table but she missed and the Scroll fell to the floor. She stared at it for a few seconds before picking it up again. That was the last straw. She didn't want to prove her dragon even more right. The Rider walked up to the elf in charge of the command center. "Yaela, I need to head out." The elf faced her. "I'm getting to be less than useful here. You're in charge of things here until I get back."

"Of course." Yaela looked Ruby up and down. "You really need sleep."

"Tell me something I don't know." Ruby shook her head, grabbed the last of her coffee, and walked past Yaela. "If our part's done before I get back, walk everyone here through our shakedown procedures and run them through it."

"I will." Yaela faced somewhere else in the command center. Ruby downed the rest of her coffee and left the room. Compared to the command center, the hall was silent. That was nice. She didn't know how much her head hurt from the noise. She sighed as she walked for the elevator. The Rider rode up in silence and stepped out into the house. It looked like nothing had changed from how things were before the attack. Viki sat in the sitting area bottle feeding Angel.

The Rider walked over there and Viki looked up. "Good morning, Ruby," Viki said.

"No, it's not. I haven't been to bed yet." Ruby stood beside Viki's couch and looked down at her baby. Angel took her mouth off her bottle and smiled up at her mama. She wiggled around Viki's arms and reached her hands up. Ruby returned her baby's smile with a pang of guilt. Her baby wanted to spend time with her, but Ruby needed sleep. "It just got better." She leaned down and kissed her baby's forehead. "Be a good girl for Auntie Viki. You two are going to have so much fun today." Ruby faced her sister in law. "If something happens, don't be afraid to wake me up."

"Nothing will go wrong." Viki bounced Angel in her arms. "I'll keep Angel happy and healthy."

"Thank you." Ruby gave Viki a sideways hug, then walked to the kitchen to put her coffee mug in the dishwasher. She yawned and walked toward her room. The latest bit of coffee did about jack squat. Her eyelids grew heavy and her legs stopped wanting to move halfway to the room.

She pushed open the door to her room and was half surprised to see Cerise curled up on her pad. Ruby almost forgot her dragon flew in around midnight. She would have joined her dragon right then and there, but another round of Grimm attacked the south side of the city that had to be just a normal Grimm response to everything. Now, she was too tired to change out of her day clothes. She dragged her feet over to her dragon and fell on one of Cerise' outstretched paws. Ruby expected to spend the day there, but Cerise moved her paw closer to her belly. The Rider touched her dragon's mind, but Cerise was fast asleep. That had to be pure reflex.

Ruby rested her head on Cerise' paw. "I'll take it easy for you. I won't be that distant anymore… I don't want to lose myself again."

* * *

 **Ugh. Writing dragon POVs still suck... I hope I got the point across.  
**

 **On a more serious note... I'm probably going to have to take a break from writing again. Reading through the stuff I've written since November... the stress from work is really getting to me. It's not doing me or this story any good trying to force x amount of words every day. I'm still loving writing this, and I think I close to the home stretch at this point, but I need to break so I can destress. In all likelihood, you won't notice it. I have enough in the backlog to take this to June tenth. I'll do my best to touch up those chapters in the meantime.**


	64. Knowing What's Happening

**I can't remember if I've said this before, but I'm hooked to a show on Netflix called 'Dragon Prince.' It's not going to win any awards, but I love it and Zym is so freaking cute! Wow... these A/Ns are starting to turn into life updates aren't they? Anyway, let's get to this.  
**

* * *

Aaron laid in bed staring at the underside of Cerise' wing while debating if he should get up. On one hand, he needed to be downtown for a press conference Coco was heading up. On the other, Ruby was half laying on top of him out cold with a smile on her face. Since his wife started her vacation, she'd gotten much clingier, almost to the point like when she was pregnant. She was so much more relaxed and rarely stressed out… except when woken up when she wanted to sleep.

 _Nalia, how much time do we have?_ Aaron asked his dragon.

 _We have about an hour,_ Nalia said. _I think if you move her slowly enough._

 _Maybe._ Cerise stuck her head under her wing and sniffed her Rider. _If I do it, she'll be angry at me, which we all know won't last long._

 _Or bring Angel in here and get her to laugh,_ Aaron said. _Ruby would wake right up and try to keep her laughing._

 _There is that, but she's enjoying her dream right now. We're all flying in space._ Cerise nudged her Rider with her snout. _Still fast asleep. Let's get you up._

 _Don't need to tell me twice._ As carefully as he could, Aaron pulled Ruby's arms off himself. He started to push her off and Cerise used her snout to make sure Ruby didn't fall too fast. Together, they were able to settle the sleeping woman on Cerise' pad with her smile still on her face. Aaron stood up under Cerise' wing. _Thanks for the help._

 _Who says I was doing this for you?_ Cerise rested her head on her Rider's chest. _I just wanted her all to myself._ Ruby's arms came up and draped over the tip of her dragon's snout.

Aaron walked out of the wing tent and shook his head. Ruby was such a cuddler. She'd be fine. Aaron changed into some day clothes and left his room with Nalia right behind him. He walked into Angel's room and to the crib. Angel lay sprawled out in her sheets and fast asleep. "Angel," Aaron tried to copy Ruby's voice. He ran a finger along the right side of her head. "It's time to wake up."

Angel wiggled around in her bed and her eyes fluttered open. She looked around for a little bit before locking her eyes on her father. She cooed a little, kicked her legs, and smiled up at Aaron. "Good morning, Angel." The father picked Angel up and cradled her in his arms. "Did you sleep well last night?" Angel kept making cooing noises. "Good to hear."

Aaron carried Angel out of the nursery and to her high chair in the dining 'room.' He then walked to the kitchen, prepared some baby food for Angel and a bowl of cereal for himself. The father left the kitchen and to the dining table. He set his own bowl down first then focused on his baby.

This was one thing Aaron didn't know how to work with. He could never get Angel to eat using his own techniques. Only things Ruby came up with worked, one in particular. "Here comes the airship." He picked up Angel's loaded spoon and did his best to make airship noises. He also moved the spoon all over the place. Angel's eyes followed it the whole way. When it got close, she opened her mouth and then closed it around her food. She pulled her mouth off, laughed and clapped. Aaron laughed a little to himself, fed himself a spoonful of his own breakfast, and started the routine again.

When both bowls were empty, Aaron put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, then took Angel to her walker in the sitting area. While Angel 'walked' around in front of the couch, Aaron turned on the projector and switched it to VNN. Just like Ruby thought, people thought Cerise pulling her away from the battlefield meant they were cowards. Yaela couldn't just release the audio records without severe redaction. Even with her skill, that could take a few more days. Then there were the conspiracy theorists that thought the Riders were doing something in the base that caused the initial attack there which spread to Vale. Aaron didn't know how people came up with these things, but he suspected drugs were involved.

Nalia finally joined Aaron in the sitting area and watched Angel with wide, loving eyes. A few minutes of Angel 'running' around later, she stopped and smiled up at the dragon. "Nana!" She held her hands up and walked over to Nalia.

 _Gel,_ Nalia hummed. She lowered her head to Angel's level and nuzzled the baby's head. Angel giggled and tried to grab the dragon's scales but Nalia raised her head before the baby could gain purchase.

Aaron smiled at the sight, but his heart wasn't in it as much as it should have been. He was overjoyed that Angel liked Nalia and the other dragons. That could very well have gone the other way. But… Angel got Mama and Nana all the time and started to get Ang and On a couple days ago, but never Dada. "Hey, Angel?" His daughter turned in his direction. "Can you say Dada?"

Angel's mouth hung open a little. "Nana."

"Can you say Dada?" Aaron opened his mouth more and enunciated the word.

"Nana." No change. Angel started 'walking' again while keeping her eyes on her father.

"Can you say Dada?" Aaron said it the same as last time.

"Dana." Angel stopped in place and looked around.

Aaron straightened up and stared at his daughter. That was close. He leaned forward and closer to Angel. "Can you say Dada?"

"Dana."

"Can you say Dada?"

"Dana."

"Can you say Dada?"

"Dada."

A chill ran down Aaron's back in the best way possible. It was coached, but his baby girl just said Dada. She didn't quite call him that, but that would come, very soon. "That's my girl." Aaron stood up from the couch and picked up Angel from her walker. He kissed his daughter on both cheeks and the forehead and hugged Angel close to his chest. "You're a good girl, Angel. I love you so much." Aaron bounced Angel in his arms and slowly turned in a circle.

During the turn, Aaron saw Yang and Halcyon standing behind his couch. Yang crossed her arms and wore a huge smirk. "Ruby's going to be so mad at you when she wakes up."

"I moved her while she was sleeping. I'm lucky to be alive right now."

Halcyon made a confused chirp. _Is she dead?_

"Ha, ha. No, she's just out cold."

Yang laughed and shook her head. "How's it feel?"

Aaron sighed. "Like Orchid kissed me, only I'm excited, not calm."

Nalia hummed, then nuzzled Angel and Aaron at the same time. _I hate to break this up, but we need to go._

Aaron nodded, kissed Angel again, then set her back in her walker. "Yang, Halcyon, can you watch her for a little bit? I expected Ruby to be awake by now."

"Pft. _Can_ we?" Yang asked.

 _It would be our pleasure._ Halcyon jumped onto one of the couches and started watching Angel.

"Thank you two so much." Aaron climbed Nalia's side and the dragon walked out of the house. She kicked off the landing pad and angled toward the meeting place downtown. Nalia had to land in a park a few blocks away from the building Coco and Yatsu turned into the Riders' office in the city. Aaron dismounted his dragon, pat Nalia's side, and started the walk toward the building.

He rounded a corner and suppressed a grimace. He was expecting to see a bunch of news vans in the parking lot. This was a press conference after all. Still, with what so many of them were saying about the Riders, to say he had mixed feelings would be an understatement. If any of them brought up some of those conspiracy theories…

Aaron walked in through the back to avoid the mess up front. A few more elves roamed around than the last time Aaron was in there. In addition to the command center, Islanzadí had lent elves to assist in other Rider operations. Aaron didn't know how Ruby managed to work her way around the treaty… it was probably Weiss actually since Ruby had been off work since the attack. Either way, there were many more elves than any others from Alagaësia. If the Kingdoms found out about how many were working for Qrow, it wouldn't be a good time.

After about a minute of searching, Aaron found Coco in the green room right by the room used for press conferences. Coco looked up from the paper in front of her and pushed up her sunglasses. "Just you today?"

"Ruby's still asleep. I'm not waking her on her month off."

Coco narrowed her eyes then let her sunglasses fall back onto her nose. "She's my boss, but she's making my life a whole lot harder trying to defend her when she's not here."

"I take it telling them she's recovering from wounds won't do much?"

"It should, but it doesn't. Everyone knows you can heal some of the worst injuries in a snap." Coco shook her head. "These people don't see anything beyond that for people who do the fighting."

"What else is new?" Aaron looked at the projector on the wall. It showed a full room full of press and… a familiar monkey Faunus, only his button-up shirt was black and closed over his chest and abs. "Is that Sun in the back."

Coco tilted her sunglasses up. "Huh. It is. He wasn't on the approved list." She shrugged. "There could be worse people to sneak in."

"Well, he is one of us. He has a badge. The elves should know to let him in."

"There is that." Coco took off her sunglasses and turned in her swivel chair toward Aaron. "Let me give you a rundown of what I'm going to be saying…" In a brief explanation of what was going to be said, and rejected suggestions from Aaron, Coco stood from her chair and left the room with Aaron following. They waited outside the door to the main room until the time ticked over.

Coco pushed the door open and stepped up to the mic filled podium. Aaron fell into place behind her. The crowd silenced and all eyes focused on the Riders' press secretary. "Thank you all for coming here today," Coco began. "We apologize for taking this long to compile this report. We are currently undermanned for non-combat roles."

"As for our response, it wasn't the cleanest…" This time, Coco went into detail on various parts of the battle, including the initiation of the battle and how the Riders 'worked' with the locals. She didn't mention anything about the Grimm that carried more Grimm into combat. She even outlined how the Riders didn't communicate well with each other. That was a surprise to Aaron. He thought it went pretty well compared to things he heard about in training on Vroengard. Coco ended with saying that Ruby disappeared from the battle to alleviate some of the strain on their communications and she wasn't there that day because she was still working on it. The crowd hopefully wouldn't catch on that was complete BS.

The questions started and Aaron fought himself to stay silent. Some of these people… didn't they pay attention to anything Coco said? So many of them had cameras out there the whole event. Why were they treating the Riders like the enemy? One of them asked why a certain Rider didn't rejoin the fight after he was injured. That reporter got a few strange looks from others in the room. Coco jumped onto the next question from there. For once, it looked like they all agreed on something.

After several more minutes of Aaron fighting to stay awake, Coco wrapped up the meeting. She walked away from the podium with Aaron right behind her. As soon as the door closed behind them, Aaron sighed. "Why was I here again?"

"To make this look more official…" Coco paused. "…and in case there were questions I couldn't answer. You don't tell me everything for a reason."

"There is that. I'm just surprised none of them asked about what Orchid's doing."

Coco stiffened up. "Why? What's Orchid doing?"

"She's seeing if her Semblance can help someone with leukemia. It sounded like the way she's trying is essentially swishing the patient around in her mouth."

Coco's entire body sagged. "I… What… Dammit, why are you just telling me this now? How long have you known? When and where is it happening?"

"At Prospect Park in the residential district." Aaron stuck a thumb in that general direction. "We've only known for about twenty-four hours. Velvet said she was going to tell you."

"That was your first mistake… no, not even your first." Coco groaned and stalked off. "This is going to be a shitshow…" She walked into her office and slammed the door behind her.

Aaron shook his head. "It's… not entirely my fault." He pushed out the back door again and started heading back toward Nalia. Before he made it out of the parking lot, he saw Sun walking in the same direction on the sidewalk. "Hey, Sun!" Aaron jogged to catch up.

Sun looked over his shoulder at Aaron. "Oh, hey." He slowed down until the Rider caught up. "Nalia waiting over here somewhere?"

"Yeah. She's getting too big to land and take off around here." Aaron paused. "What brings you back to Vale? Haven't seen you here in ages."

Sun's gaze dipped. "Jamie wanted to see where his mommy went to school. I think he thinks Blake might be here." He shook his head. "Did Blake tell you she was going to be the Deputy Headmistress at Concordia?"

Aaron straightened. "No, she didn't."

"She was going to announce it at the end of her speech." Sun sighed. "There was a lot she was going to say."

"I bet." Aaron looked away. He was glad that they got Blake's murderer so quickly, but still angry that it happened in the first place... but hindsight was twenty-twenty. As long as no permanent ill will came out of Armitage toward the other Kingdoms, he would stay out of the past. He faced Sun again. "So what are you doing now?"

"I'm still a detective… for now at least. Concordia was short staffed before. After what happened to Blake, they lost even more professors. They need more people, and I'm willing to go wherever they'll put me. I just hope Barty doesn't hold a grudge from my school days."

"You? A teacher?"

"Yeah. I know. But… I can't risk letting Jamie grow up with no parents like I did. It's much safer and closer to home. If Jamie knew the intricacies, I'm sure he'd appreciate it." Sun looked away. "He still doesn't understand. I… don't know how to make him without breaking him."

Aaron put a hand on Sun's shoulder and squeezed. "Again, if you need any help…"

"Yeah, yeah." Sun shrugged the hand off. "That's all I've heard since she was killed. I'm from Vacuo. We have a similar idea as Alagaësians when it comes to accepting help. Kali and Ghira are doing enough… actually, it kind of feels like Kali's trying to be a mother to Jamie instead of a grandma. You know how she is"

"That sounds about right." Alagaësians accepted help after the death of a family member, but Aaron didn't mention that. "Where are you staying?"

"With Velvet and Yatsu. Figured it would be a good idea for Jamie to meet his 'cousins.' Those two are cute."

Aaron nodded. Clay and Basil, Velvet and Yatsu's bunny-eared fraternal twins, were cute. That brought up something else Aaron had only learned about in the last week. "Have you heard that Ren and Nora are going to be adopting a Faunus?"

Sun straightened up. "Really? What led up to that?"

"You'd need to ask them for the specifics, but it sounds like they were walking through and Nora fell in love with a six-month-old with wolf ears."

"Huh. I guess it _is_ Nora."

"Just a bit. Basil's putting a few words together now, right?"

"Yeah. You can't understand her most of the time, but she's trying. Clay's just making fart noises with his mouth. I can't tell you where he got that from. Neither of his parents are like that."

"He's a Remmartian boy. You expect different?"

Sun gave Aaron a light smirk. "Don't tell me Alagaësians aren't like that."

"Not as much as they are here."

"At least we know guys are the same everywhere."

"If you're in the area for a few days, bring Jamie up to the house. Angel loves meeting new people."

"With Ruby as her mom, how can she not be?" Sun looked away and grimaced. "On second thought…"

"Something wrong?"

"I'm not exactly Ruby's biggest fan at the moment."

Aaron stared at the Faunus. "Something wrong?"

"I'm not exactly Ruby's biggest fan at the moment."

The Rider stiffened. "And the reason for that?"

"She couldn't have done anything more?" Sun clenched his fists. "None of you could?" He glared at Aaron.

Aaron thought the same thing only moments before, but he still got defensive. "None of our wards or Aura can stand up to laser shots. Blake had as many wards as me and Ruby, and bodyguards that would put Atlas' Council Guard to shame."

Sun growled and looked away. "I know… it's just… hard."

"I don't blame you and I don't think Ruby blames you either." They rounded a corner and Nalia came into view. "Well, I've got to fly. I'll tell Yang to keep her ears open for a call from you."

"Yeah. Try not to get too occupied for us mortals." Sun walked away without another word.

Aaron stared after him for a second before turning back to Nalia. _That could have gone better._

 _Yes, it could have._ Nalia turned her head to watch Sun walk off. _Not on our end though._

 _He needs time._ Aaron pulled himself onto Nalia's back and settled into the saddle. _Let's head home._

 _With pleasure._ Nalia opened her wings, jumped, and flew off toward the house in the mountains without stopping. The dragon landed on the pad and the dragon door opened. To Aaron's surprise, neither Ruby or Cerise were in the Hall, only Yang, Halcyon, and Angel in the sitting area. Ruby liked her sleep but this was long, even for her.

Aaron touched his mind to Ruby's. She was… crying. It wasn't terrible but it was still happening. Aaron jogged through the house and pushed into the master. Ruby's soft crying filtered through the room and Cerise' wing. Her husband jogged across the room and ducked into the wing tent. Ruby held her face in her hands and cried into them.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" Aaron sat down next to his wife and draped an arm over her shoulders.

Ruby pulled her hands away from her face. "Mom's gone." She sniffed and rubbed an arm under her eyes. "I tried to find her right before I woke up to get her in on the fun in space… but I never found her. I dug so deep but she wasn't in any place she normally was. Before if I couldn't find her, she'd find me… but not this time." She rested her chin on her fists. "She's gone. For real this time."

Aaron sighed and pulled Ruby into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Ru. I know what she meant to you."

"It's not all that bad." Ruby returned the hug. "Most of my life, I thought she was killed by Grimm, then that she died protecting me. When I found out she was in my head this whole time… you should have seen me when I was in my mini coma after Kialandí. That was amazing. I had her for so much longer than I thought I would." She sniffed again. "It still hurts, but I never took a single moment with her for granted." She pulled away and smiled at Aaron. "Anyway, she'd want me to keep being me." She stiffened and jerked her head toward the door. "And to get off my butt and take care of my baby."

Ruby pushed her covers off and pushed her way past Aaron and Cerise' wing. Aaron left the tent as well and found his wife already changed out of her pajamas and into one of her combat outfits. Ruby disappeared in a flash of rose petals in a trail that led toward the door. She walked out of that soon after.

Aaron shook his head. "I guess she really wanted to see Angel."

 _I believe she wants to spend as much time with Angel as possible since she couldn't do the same with her mom,_ Cerise said.

"I hope she's not suffocating Angel in a hug." Aaron walked toward the door.

Cerise snorted and followed Aaron. _Do you really think Ruby would do anything to hurt Angel?_

"Not a chance." The dragon door opened before Aaron reached it, revealing Ruby holding Angel close to her chest. She whispered something to Angel and whatever it was made Angel burst out into laughter. Nalia stood over them and laughed as well. Yang and Halcyon just stood to the side, smiling. "Something funny?" Aaron asked once he reached his wife.

"Oh, nothing." Ruby smiled at Aaron. "Angel just likes funny voices."

"Then why doesn't she laugh every time Yang speaks?" Aaron asked. Ruby pulled her lips in and failed to hold back a laugh with it coming out as a snort.

"Hey!" Yang yelled. "I'm right here."

Halcyon growled as he stalked up to Aaron. _Only I can speak to my Rider like that._

"Yeah. Only Halcyon can make fun of me." Yang smirked at her dragon. "Of course, that works the other way around too."

Ruby giggled and bounced Angel in her arms. "You hear that, Angel? No making fun of Yang or Halcyon."

"She said a new word earlier," Aaron said. Ruby faced him with her mouth hanging open. "She said Dada."

As if on cue, Angel faced Aaron and said, "Dada."

The mother gasped, then squealed. "Oh! You're just the smartest little girl!" Ruby kissed Angel's forehead then rubbed her face against her baby's. She pulled her head away from Angel's and faced Aaron. "You've already been to the press conference?"

"I have. It was… boring. Sun was there too. Probably just checking in on us."

"Sun?" Ruby cocked her head. "What's he doing here?"

Aaron slumped his shoulders. "He thinks Jamie thinks Blake is here."

Ruby's smile disappeared. "Oh…" She shook her head. "Enough of that. You hear what happened at Orchid's thing?"

"Not yet." Aaron drew his Scroll and checked the messages. He opened one from Violet. "Huh. Violet says Velvet found no trace of leukemia. Orchid's treatment worked."

Ruby's lips spread to her ears and her eyes matched. "Why is she Nurse Orchid not Doctor Orchid?"

"I think it's because Orchid thinks Nurse has a cuddlier connotation." Aaron paused. "Things weren't all good. Some of them tried to make us look like the bad guys. One of them asked why one of the newer apprentices didn't return to the fighting after taking a Nevermore feather to the chest."

Ruby dropped her jaw. "I… I'm not going to dignify that question with an answer." She shook her head. "Anyway, since we've all got time," Ruby glanced at Halcyon, "Angel likes monkey in the middle too."

Halcyon hummed and perked his ears up. _I'm up for it._

Ruby knelt down and set Angel on the floor behind one of the couches. "Stay here with your Auntie Yang. Me, Dada, and Uncle Halcyon are going to make a funny." She walked over to another couch, opened one of the armrests, and pulled out a tennis ball. "Aaron, care to dance?"

Aaron glanced at Angel, then back to Ruby. "It would be my pleasure."

 _Not if I have anything to say about it._ Halcyon pounced in between Aaron and Ruby and growled at the one with the ball. He shook his rear end and his tail jerked from side to side.

Ruby flipped the ball once in her hand. "I don't think we'll have a problem." She threw the ball over Halcyon toward Aaron. Halcyon jumped and flipped for the ball but just missed it. Of course, he could get the ball if he really wanted to, but Angel's adorable laugh was their real goal. She clapped and laughed the whole time. Aaron threw the ball back, Halcyon missed it by an inch again, throwing in another spiral. Angel laughed even more.

Several tosses later, Halcyon nicked the ball with his tail and it flew away from Ruby. The android dragon roared at the ceiling but didn't approach the ball. Aaron shrugged. "I guess I'm out." Aaron walked toward the ball which had rolled right in front of Angel and Yang.

Angel beat him to it. She crawled over to where the ball rolled and put her hands on it. "Good girl, Angel." Ruby knelt down and put her hands on her knees. "Now push it to mommy." Angel pushed the ball once and it rolled about a foot. She crawled up to the ball again and put some of her weight on top of it. She moved her legs forward… pushed her top half up using the ball… and stood, while still holding the ball.

Aaron slacked his shoulders and jaw. Angel took her first two steps without falling. Ruby squealed and pressed both sets of knuckles into her cheeks. Angel took another few steps and pushed the ball out in front of her. "That's great, Angel!" Ruby bent to her knees. "Again!" Angel giggled and waddled toward the ball. Aaron slowly walked behind his daughter and reached his arms down. If Angel fell, she would not hit the ground. Angel picked up the ball again but this time held onto it. Ruby held her arms out at her side. Angel waddled up to her mother and held the ball out toward Ruby.

The toddler stopped in front of her mother and held her ball up. "Mama," she cooed.

Ruby squealed again and snatched Angel off the ground. "I'm so proud of you, Angel! You're growing up so fast!" She kissed Angel's face repeatedly and shook from side to side.

Aaron walked up to his wife and daughter. He also kissed Angel on the side of the head. "Congratulations, Angel. You'll be up and running around in no time."

Ruby moved her head so she looked her daughter in the eyes. "Just be sure to be around us when you do. I want to see it."

The house' intercom buzzed to life. _"I'm sorry to intrude,"_ Yaela started, _but I have news from New Vroengard."_

Aaron sighed. This had better be good if Yaela was interrupting Ruby's vacation. "What is it, Yaela?"

" _Aithlin just called in. He said Cerise' last wild egg has hatched."_

Cerise' head and ears shot up and her back arched. She pointed her head at the ceiling and opened her mouth before closing it. _I am so happy!_ Cerise mentally yelled. She lowered her head and gave Ruby a dragon's version of 'puppy dog eyes.' _Ruby, may I go see my hatchling?_

Ruby shifted her grip on Angel to one hand and rested the other on her dragon's snout. "This month is mainly about me spending time with my baby. You put me up to this. I'd be terrible if I kept you away from yours. Go find Vert and Velvet and go to your hatchling."

Cerise hummed, nuzzled Ruby and Angel, then turned around and ran for the door. It opened just before she got there and she roared into the sky, much quieter than if she did it indoors. She jumped away from the house and disappeared out of view.

 _Now her other two need to choose Riders,_ Nalia said.

"Three," Ruby corrected. "Cerise and Vert have officially claimed the red egg that Galbatorix had as their own. That hatchling won't grow up without parents."

"Good to hear." Aaron nodded. "No one should grow up like that." His Scroll vibrated in a pocket, but only a little. He pulled out his Scroll and read the text. He stiffened and tightened his grip as he read what Yaela had to say. The Rider tried to appear relaxed as he put his Scroll away. "Sorry, Ruby. I've got to go." He turned toward the entryway.

"Trouble?" Ruby asked as she bounced and hugged Angel.

"Just a Beowolf pack getting a little too close. Nothing Nalia and I can't handle." He continued toward the door with Nalia right behind him.

 _Why didn't you tell her?_ Nalia added a mental growl for good measure.

 _She's on her month off,_ Aaron returned. _She can freak out when she's not completely focused on Angel._ He reached up Nalia's side and grabbed Redemption and his V4 off the saddle. He checked the ammo in the magazine. It looked full, more than enough for what he needed to do. _Fly toward Beacon, hide until I call you for pickup._

Nalia snorted. _Make sure this man is actually a threat first._

Aaron stretched his mind out and found the man with a large sniper rifle. The Rider grimaced. _He's a threat alright._ Aaron and Nalia left the building. The Rider walked off the landing pad and into the forest while the dragon flew off toward Beacon. Aaron readied both this weapons as he marched toward the sniper. _No one_ was getting close to his wife and daughter.

A few minutes later, Aaron found the sniper making his way through the trees. The man never turned back and it didn't look like he had any sort of melee weapon. Aaron pried deeper into the would-be assassin's mind. No active Aura protected him. The man was just a small-time gangster who had only taken out a few people who didn't pay for their stuff before. The only thing he had on his mind was a big paycheck. He didn't even care about Grimm coming up behind him or being discovered by the Riders.

 _Nalia, come on back. We're taking this guy down._ Aaron crept up behind the sniper and raised Redemption. "Hey, you." The sniper turned his head around, his eyes going wide. He whipped his rifle around and aimed it roughly at the Rider. Aaron jerked to the side, stepped forward, and slashed his sword through the rifle's receiver. He swung his other arm around and smashed his submachinegun V4 into the sniper's face.

The man fell to the ground and held his face. "Ah! Son of a-"

"Language." Aaron extended his V4 with the bayonet pointing at the sniper's neck and the barrel at his mouth. "Care to explain what you're doing on Dragon Rider property?"

"I'm just deer hunting man!" The sniper rubbed his nose. "You owe me a rifle."

"I don't think so." Aaron sheathed Redemption, knelt down, and picked up the man's Scroll. He tried to open it, not expecting to find it without a lock. "You know, you should really lock this thing. You never know who might try to grab it."

The man clenched his teeth. "Give that back!"

"You are trespassing on Alagaësian military property. Our laws are different than Vale's." Aaron looked at the most recent texts and found one with just about all the evidence he needed, and something that he would need to speak with Qrow about. "That's a big price on our heads. Thinking about cashing in?"

"That would set me up for life," the sniper growled. "Just one of you would."

Nalia landed behind her Rider and growled at the sniper. _You would never get the chance._

"Grab him." Aaron stepped back to make room for his dragon. He collapsed his V4 and hooked it to his belt. The Rider grabbed a pair of gloves from Nalia's saddle. He grabbed both halves of the rifle and hung them alongside the saddlebags. Aaron climbed his dragon's back and pat her side. "Let's go."

 _Could feel a little weird back there._ Nalia jumped off the mountainside and toward Vale. _The river or a police station?_

"Police station. His Scroll's not locked. They can probably get a lot of information off that." Nalia snorted and changed her flight path by a few degrees. Aaron drew his Scroll and started a text to Qrow. 'Bounty of 5 mil for anyone related to the Riders. Find out who set it.' Aaron put his Scroll away. Ruby would know soon enough. She didn't need another reason to worry about Angel.

* * *

 **Filler! Lots and lots of filler! At least next week something major will happen.**

 **Well, in the off season now... I don't really have much to say... Uh... How to Train Your Dragon 3 comes out this week. Gonna be seeing that a few times. Also, my birthday is on Wednesday! Massive cookie cake incoming!**


	65. Rewards

**So... I thought my computer died last week... on my birthday no less. It turned out to be an easy fix at the repair shop and its running better than before., but it was quite the care. I was worried I'd lose my Beast and have to shell out quite a bit of money for a new one. In that case, happy birthday to me.**

 **I have something sad to say here... no more cute baby Angel because of a time skip (because at this point I'm REALLY trying to get to the finale... yet it's still nowhere in sight). I hope I make make it up to people with stuff in here.  
**

* * *

Ruby bit her lower lip as she stared at the schematics for the updated Wyvern in front of her. It was mostly the same but had bomb bays underneath instead of missiles. Different role, same speed, and still equally capable of fighting Grimm in the air. It even had the newest version of the Gravity Dust engines for more efficiency. That would be going in Halcyon's fighter in the next few days.

She leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and faced the encased Eldunarí beside her. "What do you think, Irolon? This the one for you?"

The modified netcam on top of the metal box shifted to look over the holographic schematics. _This would work. I'd finally be faster than Nalia._

"She's still not happy that Halcyon is." Ruby shrugged. "She's still the fastest with her natural wings."

Irolon mentally hummed. _It will be nice to get my own set of wings again._

"Well, in a year or so." Ruby opened another part of the schematics program. "I've got to track down Rhunön, and get all the materials together." She sighed. "It's a pain that I can't just ask Weiss for that stuff anymore, but it's better that way." She ran another program to compile a list of all the materials that would be needed for the construction of the fighter. The Rider then sent that list to Avrart in New Vroengard. He'd figure out how to get all the materials found on Menagerie to Vale and send the remaining list to Weiss. Those two made a surprisingly good team.

Ruby pushed herself out of her chair and grabbed Irolon's case. "Let's get you back downstairs."

Irolon sighed. _I now know why so many two-legs hate desk jobs._

"I know, it stinks. But you're the first Eldunarí besides Halcyon to get this. We just have to figure out how to introduce you as an AI. Not looking forward to that."

 _AI?_

"Artificial intelligence, almost universally believed to be a bad idea, they'll betray us and try to kill all life on the planet… and Ficrosoft is still trying to develop it. Just keep it out of the military."

Concern filtered off the Eldunarí. _Why would they dare?_

"Some people are more concerned with what science _can_ do and not whether science _should._ Sound familiar?"

 _One of the earliest magic lessons on Vroengard._ Irolon growled. _Humans are the same no matter where they're from._

"And people wonder why I haven't hired people from the Kingdoms." Ruby left her workshop and walked toward the elevator. Halfway across the Hall, her Scroll rang. She drew it from a pocket and checked the caller ID. Her steps slowed as she tried to figure out why Angel's elementary school was calling. She answered the call and brought her Scroll to her ear. "Rider Ruby Rose."

" _Mrs. Rose,"_ the man on the other side said, _"this is principal Jones. I'm afraid I must ask you to come and pick up your daughter."_

Ruby stopped in place as a million scenarios ran through her head. "What happened? Is she okay?"

" _She is fine, but she attacked another student."_

Ruby's jaw dropped, but she pulled it right back up. "Oh… I'll be there are soon as I can." She ended the call and put her Scroll away. "Angel, what did you do?" She shook her head and continued to the elevator. Irolon said nothing, though he had to hear everything.

The Rider spent only enough time on the command level to plug Irolon into the weather monitoring station. Ruby nodded at Yaela then walked toward the level's landing pad. _Cerise, you on the lower level?_

 _I can be,_ Cerise replied. Ruby walked out of the building just as her dragon landed. _This isn't like her at all._

"I know." Ruby shook her head as she climbed onto her dragon's back. "Then again, she's got Alagaësian blood." She winced as she settled in the saddle. "Don't think about that. It's not his fault."

Cerise jumped off the pad and angled toward the city. _Are you still mad at Aaron for that?_

"It was a nice table! It's not like the Krakens lost the Mega Bowl." Ruby growled. "I know that was a terrible call, but Aaron's overreaction was too much." She shook her head. "Not the problem. Angel attacked somebody. I want to know why."

 _That we are agreed on._ Cerise flew toward Ozlan Elementary School on the southwest corner of the city. It was about as far away from the mountains as possible, but it was the closest to the Armen Highway and the tunnel dug to the house. Cerise landed in an unoccupied field near the school and Ruby dismounted. The Rider ignored all the stares from the kids at recess nearby. Her dragon would absorb all the attention soon enough.

Ruby entered the building and right for the main office. The secretary there walked pointed the mother toward the principal's office near the back of the area. Ruby pushed that door open and stepped inside. Principal Jones sat behind his desk staring at the one opposite him. Angel sat in a kid's chair, her head hung so her chin touched her white cape's clasp.

Principal Jones looked up. "Mrs. Rose, thank you for joining us." He gestured at a normal sized seat by Angel. The girl looked up at her mother like a guilty dog.

"I wish I didn't have to be." Ruby sat down next to her daughter. "What's the situation?"

"Today at recess, Angel punched another student in the stomach."

Ruby looked down at her daughter with her poker face. "Is this true, Angel?"

The girl faced her lap again and sniffed. "Yes, mommy."

Ruby faced Principal Jones again. "What kind of punishment are we looking at?" Angel whimpered and turned away from Ruby.

"Ten days, including today. The other student has been suspended for a similar amount of time."

 _Other student? What did they do?_ "Do you have a recording of the incident?"

"I do, but our cameras are video only." Principal Jones hit something on his keyboard and another projection appeared in the center of his desk. The image was a little grainy like it was zoomed in from the original. Angel stood between two human kids… and one Faunus boy on the ground. That was new. One of the humans pushed Angel. The girl stuck her finger at the boy, then was pushed again. Angel drew her right hand back and thrust her fist into the boy's stomach. Ruby fought to keep the surprise off her face. That was a good punch, almost Yang like. A big pause symbol appeared over the screen. "There you have it."

 _Not really._ "Can I see the full event, unfocused?"

Principal Jones blinked. "Mrs. Rose, this is not a police investigation."

"Why not treat it like one?" Ruby shrugged. "Out there, something like this would be assault. You may have your punishment, but I need a suitable one for home." Angel snapped her head up to her mom, all color fading from her face. She looked like she was just told she had a few days to live.

The principal stared at Ruby for a few seconds, then nodded. "Of course." He rewound the video and the view zoomed out. The rewind stopped as the two human boys were approaching the Faunus. "Is this far enough?"

Ruby nodded. "It is." She started recording on her bionic eye just in case. The video played and the two humans walked up to the Faunus. The Faunus faced them and stiffened. It looked like the others were saying something to him. Judging by the way his tail drooped, they weren't being very nice. He turned away and dropped to his knees.

Angel and one of her friends emerged from some of the playground equipment and walked to the edge of the sand. She pointed her friend to where the teachers stood by the school walls. The other girl ran toward the wall while Angel stared at the boys. The poor Faunus boy was now sitting, facing away from the other two and hugging his knees. Angel's friend pointed toward the boys, but the teachers stayed in place. She ran back to Angel with her arms away from her sides. Angel clenched her fists and marched toward the three boys.

 _Oh my gosh._ For the first time she could remember, Ruby fought to keep a smile off her face in front of Angel to keep her poker face. Her baby girl protected someone in trouble. In the recording, Angel stood in between the Faunus and the two bullies. At first, she wasn't mad. It looked like she was trying to talk the bullies down. The first push happened and Angel stiffened. She lifted a finger and it looked like she was warning him. The second push came and she punched her attacker in the gut. Only at that point did the teachers move.

Angel turned around and knelt by the Faunus boy's side. She squeezed his shoulder and she said something to him. The teachers arrived and Angel looked up at them. One of them pointed to the school and Angel's face and shoulders dropped. She walked toward the building, her feet dragging across the concrete.

The big pause symbol returned. "Is that satisfactory?"

"Very." Ruby looked down at her daughter. "Angel, could you go out and wait in the main office? I need to have a talk with your principal."

"Now, Mrs. Rose," Jones began. Ruby shot him a look, stopping him in his tracks.

The mother faced Angel again. "We won't be long."

"Yes, mommy," Angel mumbled as she slid out of her chair. She walked around her mother, opened the door, and closed it behind her.

"You're kidding me with the suspension, right?" Ruby glared at the Principal. "Is this some district mandated thing?"

Jones straightened in his chair. "Your daughter attacked another student. This cannot-"

"Where did she attack someone else? I saw her defending another student when teachers failed to take action, then defending herself after _she_ was touched first. Out there, in the real world, Angel would be called a hero and police wouldn't even look into her, and if they did, she'd be let go in a matter of minutes. Why is she being punished for defending herself?"

"She engaged in a fight when she could have stayed away. She should have left it to the teachers."

"Didn't you hear what I just said? The teachers didn't do _anything_. They just stood back and ignored a student who told them of a bullying event that was currently going on. I'd be more worried about that."

"I am only following district regulations for this type of event. It is out of my hands."

"Then that's another complaint I will be filing with the district." Ruby stood up from her chair. "Is Angel free to go?"

Jones continued to stare at Ruby. "She is."

"Then I won't waste any more of either of our time." Ruby turned around and opened the office door. Angel sat on one of the adult chairs, kicking her feet beneath her. "Angel, we're leaving." Angel looked up with tears in her eyes. She was crying now, and if she was later, she'd be crying tears of happiness. Ruby reached a hand down. "Come on. Let's go."

Angel slid off her chair and grabbed her mom's hand, still without saying a word. Ruby led the way out of the office and the school. Cerise looked their way as a couple teachers escorted kids away from the dragon. _I did not expect such a good thing._

 _Neither did I._ Ruby still fought to keep her smile off her face. _I'm so proud of her!_

 _Do you want to head home?_

 _Not yet. I need to reward her first._ Ruby drew her Scroll and called Aaron. He needed to know too.

The line rang twice before Aaron answered. _"Rider Aaron Benson."_

"Sorry to interrupt your work, but I just had to pick Angel up from school. She punched another student in the stomach." Ruby kept her voice level. Angel whimpered and she widened the gap between herself and her mom.

Aaron took a few seconds to answer. _"She… what?"_

"I know. I can't believe it either. Despite that, it could have been worse."

" _Worse? How? Could she have punched someone in the face and knock someone out?"_

"Not exactly."

" _What do you mean by… am I missing something?"_

"Yes."

Aaron paused. _"Are we mad about this?"_

"No."

" _No?"_ Aaron's tone of voice changed. _"I'm assuming she's right beside you?"_

Ruby looked down at her daughter. Angel still stared at her feet, her toes dragging on the ground. "Yes."

" _Okay. So… we're not mad because… she defended herself?"_

"Yes, and?"

" _And… someone else?"_

"Correct."

Nalia hummed on the other side of the line. _"I know, Nalia. That changes things."_

"Do you have any suggestions?"

" _You're only a few blocks away from Viki's, right? Why stop by?"_

"I was thinking along the same lines. I'll let you get back to your work. Talk to you later."

" _Enjoy yourselves. Love you."_

"Love you, too." Ruby ended the call and put her Scroll away. She stopped at a crosswalk and waited for the light to change. If Angel wondered why they were crossing there and not walking toward the tunnel, she didn't ask.

As they walked by a few buildings on the road, Ruby looked over her shoulder. The school and Cerise were well out of view. She relaxed her shoulders and she steadied her walk. "Angel," she looked down at her daughter, "are you hungry?" Her voice reverted back to her normal happy tone. Angel looked up at her mom then stared straight ahead. She mumbled something, but it didn't reach Ruby's ears. "Could you speak up, sweetie? I didn't hear you."

"Yes," Angel whispered a little louder.

"Okay! I know just the place." Ruby continued on her current path, her daughter walking along beside her. A few blocks later, Viki's bakery came into view. "We're almost there, Angel."

Angel's mouth hung open and she looked up at her mom. "C…cookie dough?"

"Not if you don't want it. They've got plenty of other things in there. If you want, I'll even let you have some ice cream." Ruby smiled at her baby girl.

Angel's head jerked forward, but she still looked up at her mom. "Uh…" Ice cream from Viki's or Maddie Su's was a special reward treat. Angel was probably wondering what her mommy was doing.

Ruby pushed the door to the bakery open. Viki looked up from the table she was cleaning and her face lit up. "Ruby! Angel!" She left that table and walked over to hug her sister, then her niece. "I didn't expect to see you two here today." She looked down at Angel. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Oh, something happened where I needed to pick her up," Ruby chirped.

Angel hung her head. "I hit a boy in the tummy." Ruby kept her smile on her face. Her baby girl was still honest to a fault.

Viki's smile disappeared and she faced Ruby. "Really?" Ruby didn't change her face and nodded. "O…kay. Well, the usual for the two of you?"

"For me, anyway." Ruby looked down at her daughter. "I said you could have ice cream if you want."

Angel shifted on her feet and messed up her lips. "I'd like an N&N chocolate shake please."

Viki nodded. "I'll get those orders in." She picked up her cleaning gear and walked back behind the counter. Ruby paid for their food then led her daughter to a table. Normally Angel was happy to get a grown-up chair, but she showed none of that excitement now. About a minute later, Viki brought out Angel's shake and Ruby's giant cookie-buttercream sandwich. Through that whole time, Angel was silent. She needed a little encouragement to be built up.

"Besides what happened at recess," Ruby started, "how was school?" She took a bite of her sugar rush.

Angel just stared at her kid-sized shake with her hands on the table. "Good."

"You had a spelling test today, right? How'd that go?"

"…One wrong."

Ruby's smile widened. That was a major improvement… for a second grader, especially with the week's set. "That's great, sweetie! You'll be writing a book in no time!" Angel flicked her eyes up to her mom, then reached out for her shake for the first time. She was on her way. "What about your crafts? Make anything special today?"

Angel shook her head. "That's after recess." She finally took a bite of her shake.

"Oh. Right." Ruby nodded. "Any new songs?"

"No." Angel put her spoon down and locked eyes with Ruby for the first time since the school. Her tears glassed her eyes but none fell. "Mommy, are you mad at me?"

Ruby let her true emotions show. Her smile changed from motherly curiosity to immense pride. "No, Angel. I couldn't be prouder."

Angel's mouth hung open. "But I… I hit him."

"Yes, you did." Ruby got out of her chair and knelt by her daughters. Angel's eyes were a level above hers. "You did everything right in that situation. You went to the teachers first, and they should have done something. You then put yourself in between the bullies and the other kid. From the look of it, you were trying to talk the bullies out of it and you only hit him after he touched you. Then you made the bullied boy feel better." Ruby reached up and cupped her daughter's cheek. "Angel, I will _never_ be mad at you for protecting another person like that."

Angel's lips curved upward for a second but fell right back down. "But…"

"You reminded me of your Auntie Yang. I was bullied a lot in school." Angel's jaw dropped and she slouched forward. "She was there to protect me from bullies, and always there for me at home. While you can't be there at home, I bet you just got a friend at school. In fact, you might have gotten quite a few friends."

Angel smiled and this time it stayed. "Really?"

"Really." Ruby leaned forward and kissed Angel's cheek. "I am so proud of you, sweetie."

Angel's smile grew even more, then disintegrated. "What about my supsemsion?"

"Suspension, but I can't do anything about that. I will be writing a letter to the district today about several things that should change. That was Maggie with you, right? I bet you can ask her to get your homework for you so you don't fall behind."

"Why were you mad at me when we walked here?" Angel slumped in her chair.

"I wasn't. I had to make those mean teachers think I was, make them think they won." Ruby pushed Angel's shake closer to her daughter. "Who's the real winner here?"

Angel's smile returned tenfold. "Me?" Ruby nodded. Angel scooted over on her chair and reached her arms toward her mom. Ruby leaned forward and into her daughter's hug. "I love you, mommy!" Angel kissed her mommy on the cheek.

"I love you too, sweetie." Ruby returned the kiss, then pulled away. She pointed at Angel's shake. "But you better finish that. They aren't cheap." Angel snatched her shake and spoon off the table and started wolfing the chocolate down, all the while keeping a massive smile on her face. "Slow down. You want to get brain freeze." Just as Ruby said that, Angel stopped, squinted her eyes, and started taking exaggerated breaths. Ruby sighed and shook her head. She knew the feeling. She pulled her own chair over to Angel's and sat next to her.

After Angel got over her brain freeze, she looked up at her mom. "Want to hear about what me and Maggie did at recess?"

Ruby nodded. "I would love to." Then Angel's mouth was off to the races. Ruby couldn't understand everything, but it sounded like her daughter and her BFF were fighting pirates on another planet. The pirates were guarding the buried treasure, which was apparently golden chocolate coins. The mother just smiled, nodded, and ate her own cookie sandwich while listening.

Just as the two of them were finishing up their food, Ruby's Scroll rang a stereotypical ring. Angel shut her mouth and looked up at her mom. She knew not to speak when she heard that ring. Ruby drew her Scroll and answered the call. "Rider Ruby Rose."

" _Ruby, where are you?"_ Yaela spoke quick and urgent.

"I'm at Viki's with Angel. Why?"

" _You need to leave the city, now. The video of you taking Lionheart to Alagaësia has surfaced."_

Ruby took a deep breath and called a smile back up. She didn't want to worry Angel. "Thank you for telling me. We'll be back shortly." She ended the call and faced her daughter. "Angel, how would you like to take your first flight on Cerise?"

Angel snapped her head up to her mom and her smile burst off her face. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Okay. Throw your cup away and let's get going." Ruby ate the last of her sandwich and stood up. Angel took two fast steps before slowing down. Good thing she remembered no running inside. She returned to her mom's side and grabbed her hand. Ruby led the way out the back door and into the parking lot. Thanks to the time of day, few cars occupied the lot. _Cerise, we need a pickup behind Viki's._

 _On my way. I take it we don't want to key Angel in?_

 _Not a chance._ Ruby looked down at her daughter. "Don't worry about getting on her back. We'll help you up. When you get into the saddle just stay there. I'll hold you in place. Don't squirm. The saddle is meant to hold one or two grown-ups, not cute kids." Angel jerked her head up and down three times a second.

Cerise flew over the strip mall and landed in the back of the parking lot. She hummed at the two near the buildings and settled down. _Come on. You're not going to fly yourself._

Angel squealed and tried to run toward the dragon but Ruby held onto her daughter's hand. "No running in a parking lot, and don't cross the street without looking both ways."

"Yes, mommy." Angel hung her head a little, but her excitement didn't temper.

Ruby looked both ways before crossing the street and into the rows of parking spaces. "I know you like the kiddy coasters at Forest View, but this is a lot more extreme. Think bigger than Monster."

"You mean it?" Angel beamed up at her mommy.

"Of course." Equal amounts of excitement and worry built up in Ruby. For one, Angel was as much of an adrenaline junkie as a seven-year-old could get. They could have a lot of fun in the future. On the other… Angel was as much of an adrenaline junkie as a seven-year-old could get. If she didn't know her limits, physical or legal, she could get seriously hurt.

The two reached Cerise' side and the dragon lowered her head to the ground. _Climb on you two._

Ruby didn't expect Cerise to offer that but it made getting Angel in the saddle a whole lot easier. "Up you come, Angel." Ruby picked her daughter up and sat on her dragon's snout. Cerise lifted her head and moved it toward her back. "I'm going to put you on the saddle, then I'm coming on behind you, okay?" Angel nodded and Ruby set her daughter at the very front of the saddle, then climbed behind her daughter. "Angel, no bouncing, standing, or moving of your legs while on Cerise' back. You hold onto my legs until we get off. Do you understand?"

"Let's fly!" Angel wiggled her upper body as she stared up at her mom.

"Do you understand?" Ruby asked with a little more force.

Angel stopped moving and averted her gaze.

"Thank you." Ruby kissed her baby girl's head, then wrapped her arms around Angel. She wouldn't be letting go until Cerise landed at home. "We're ready back here. Take it slow."

 _Hold on tight!_ Cerise raised her wings then jumped out of the parking lot. Angel yelped and grabbed onto the arms around her belly. The dragon continued to gain height and the grip on Ruby's arms lessened. Cerise leveled out and Angel's hands returned to Ruby's legs.

Angel moved around in her mom's arms as she looked out over the city. "Wow." She turned around and waved at the air behind them. "Hi, grandpa!"

"Angel, arm," Ruby reminded. Angel grabbed onto Ruby's left leg again. The Rider looked over her shoulder at Patch. Her childhood home was obscured by downtown Patch and a good chunk of the forest, but Ruby understood the sentiment. Heck, she practically did that on her first flight to Beacon.

Ruby scanned the air for anything coming toward her. Yaela didn't go on social media much, so she probably heard it from the news or some people calling in demanding answers. Sometime in the next hour or so, news Bullheads would fly toward the mountain house to get footage. It didn't look like that was happening yet.

Normally Cerise would be able to speed toward the mountains in a matter of minutes, but she took more than twice that this time, likely because of Angel. The dragon landed on the pad, crouched down, and moved her head to just underneath the two people on her back. _We're here. Women and children first._

Ruby tightened her grip around her daughter and slid onto her dragon's snout. "How was your first flight, Angel?" Ruby asked as Cerise lowered them to the ground.

"Fun!" Angel bounced in Ruby's arms. "Again! Again!"

Ruby shook her head as her feet touched the ground. "When you're bigger. This was a reward for being a good girl."

Angel whimpered. "But moooooommmmyyyyy…"

"No buts." Ruby set Angel on the ground. "I said no, and I mean no. No one will say anything different."

"What about Uncle Halcyon?"

Ruby opened her mouth, then closed it. Halcyon was more Angel's size, though she was getting to be too big. Ruby looked up the current price of Gravity Dust on her bionic eye. It was… doable. Could have been worse. "That's up to him. If he says no, the answer is no." Angel's face lit up again and she ran for the door. Ruby shook her head. "Always on the run."

 _I've been in your head,_ Cerise said. _You weren't so different._

"I now feel sorry for my dad."

Cerise snorted. _Now?_

Ruby pushed her dragon's head away. "Could you keep an eye on her while I'm down in the command center?"

 _It would be my pleasure._ Cerise hummed and walked forward. The dragon door opened and she walked into the house. Ruby walked by her dragon's side and searched the Hall for Angel. She was already on Halcyon's back but they were still on the ground.

Ruby stretched her mind toward the android dragon. _Halcyon,_ the dragon turned toward her, _if you lift off, no more than five feet off the ground at most. Stick to two or three feet most of the time._

 _Of course,_ Halcyon said. _I wasn't planning at flying more than that. I think most of the time I'll just run on the floor._

 _Good._ Ruby waved at Halcyon and Angel as she passed. "Have fun you two. Stay safe." Both of them waved, Halcyon with a wing, and Ruby entered the elevator to the command level. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was time to shift gears.

The elevator doors opened and Ruby stepped out and marched toward the command center. She pushed the door her way into the room. Yaela, Yang, and Aaron were in there already. Coco was on one of the smaller projectors at Yaeela's workstation. "What do we got?" Ruby asked.

Aaron growled. "Not anything good."

"I don't see how we can get around this." Yaela hit something on her keyboard and a YouVod video appeared on the main projector. It showed an air Sailor Hovering over a lake. The water beneath it swirled black and purple, then the transport sank into the water. The discoloration faded to normal and the video ended.

"I thought we were done with this," Yang grimaced. "That should have disappeared with Whitley."

"Coco," Ruby faced the projector her PR person was on, "what are our options?"

Coco crossed her arms. _"We're not in a terrible position. People already hate Lionheart. He betrayed Mistral. People won't mind that we took care of him when we found out. They'll care that we didn't tell them what we did and lied to Mistral's government. The worst part will be the pilot. If I remember right, he wasn't the happiest when you hijacked the Air Sailor. I doubt he's going to be happy when he finds out about this and starts asking why he can't remember it. That's going to be a bigger pain in the ass than anything else in this situation."_

"Can I trust you to handle this?"

" _Compared to some of the other crap you've thrown at me, this is nothing… hopefully."_

Ruby shook her head. "Scandal after scandal. What's going to be the one that breaks us?"

"It could be worse." Yang shrugged. "We could be the KBI."

"Very true." Ruby nodded. "Things could be worse, but at the same time, we don't work for the government." She looked between Yaela and Coco. "Coco, do your thing. Yaela, try to figure out who uploaded this. The rest of us, brace for impact."

"We've been doing that a lot lately." Aaron shook his head. "We never had to deal with this in Alagaësia."

"But it does keep us accountable, something that you didn't have before." Ruby shook her head. "That doesn't mean that it's not annoying." She paused. "Yang, Aaron, we need to talk in the hall out there before we head back upstairs."

"This about Angel?" Yang asked as she walked for the door.

"Yeah." Ruby followed her sister out of the room and Aaron walked out behind her. The mother sent the video of the event from her eye to her Scroll then took her Scroll from a pocket. "I'm sure Yaela told the two of you why I was late?"

"You were at Viki's with Angel," Yang said. "Why'd you take her out of school?"

"This is why." Ruby played the video and she faced her Scroll toward her family. She could still see the video through the back. Aaron and Yang glared at the two bullies. They followed where Angel sent Maggie with her eyes. Aaron looked like he didn't know what was going on but Yang clenched her fists. That probably looked familiar to her. Then Angel put herself in between the bullies and the Faunus. Aaron slowly smiled and he looked like he would kiss attack his daughter. Yang just smirked and nodded. Then Angel was pushed and Aaron tightened his whole body like he was ready to tear a head off. Yang wasn't much better. The second push came along with the punch.

Aaron and Yang straightened. "Nice punch," Yang said.

"Angel can fight?" Aaron cocked his head.

Ruby nodded. "I'm surprised too. Keep watching." The rest of the video played, showing Angel helping the Faunus boy and being sent to the principal's office. The video stopped and Ruby put her Scroll away. "What do we think about all that?"

Aaron sighed and his smile returned. "She is definitely our daughter. She did exactly what we would have."

"Maybe me and you, anyway," Yang said. "Ruby was never the punching kind."

"You always were." Ruby locked her eyes on her sister. "Did that punch look familiar to you?"

"Yeah, like one of…" Yang trailed off and faced Ruby. She shrunk under her sister's gaze. "Uh, sis, why are you looking at me like that?"

"She copied one of your punches. Did you teach her how to do that?"

"N… no. She's just a kid. W… why would I-"

" _Did you teach Angel how to punch?"_

Yang visibly swallowed. _"Ruby, I never taught Angel how to punch."_

Ruby bit her lip and faced her husband. Aaron wanted Angel to be taught how to fight less than Ruby. "Well, it's going to be interesting finding out who taught her how to do that."

"Maybe." Aaron nodded. "But… that's my baby girl. She's going to grow up to be a fantastic woman."

A smile returned to Ruby's face. "That she is."

* * *

 **Yep. Angel's a fighter, yet still such a cutie. Protect the Angel!**

 **So. How to Train Your Dragon 3... If you haven't seen it yet and you're a crier, bring tissues. I am still not okay. I'm better than I was after Infinity War, not that it's saying much, but I'm still not okay.**


	66. Unlocked

**The good news, Captain Marvel comes out Friday! Bad news (for me) this is the first MCU movie since Ironman 2 that I haven't seen at midnight or before... It's my dang job...**

 **Now... execute chapter 66.  
**

* * *

Ruby stood with her hands behind her back as she examined the large fountain at the center of Mor'ranr Vera. The whole peace was called Rider's Rebirth, roughly translated anyway. Two statues stood on the highest of three levels, one of Vrael, one of Ruby. The former head of the Riders was handing the current head a necklace that had several gems embedded inside. From what Aaron said, that necklace was passed down from one leader of the Riders to the next. That must have been destroyed when Galbatorix fought Vrael.

The statue of Ruby at least was incredibly realistic. If it was painted instead of the pure white marble, the statues two could have looked like people standing still. Even though this was one of the first things Aithlin built in the city, Ruby swore she looked the same now as she did nearly ten years ago.

Moving on that train of thought, Ruby pulled out her Scroll and opened the folder containing pictures of teams RWBAY and JNPR during the war in Alagaësia. They all looked so young and relatively the same age. Ruby closed that and pulled up one of her most recent pictures, a Team RWbAY and JNPR gathering in Vale. None of the Riders looked like they aged a day, even with Yang losing Halcyon. Everyone in JNPR looked their age in the mid-thirties. Nora was already developing lines on her face. The never/extremely slow aging process was starting to affect the Riders.

Ruby heard steps coming up behind her. Soon after, Arya appeared by her side. _"Admiring the view?"_ the elf asked.

" _In a sense,"_ Ruby nodded. _"There was a time when I thought the only thanks that I would get would be thank yous and payment for a job well done. Then came the handwritten cards, the store discounts, the free things, the talk shows, and here I am standing next to Vrael, immortalized forever."_ She shook her head. _"I never expected this, and I am not sure if I ever wanted this."_

" _I am sure if you asked, Aithlin would take this down."_

" _No. He spent so much time on this. Asking him to remove it would be an insult to him. Besides, if I got this, I'm doing something right."_

" _Indeed."_ Arya paused. _"You wished to speak with me?"_

" _I do. Walk with me."_ Ruby began walking across the large plaza toward her 'house' on one of the nearby mountains. _"I've heard that your response to the most recent tornadoes in Vacuo went poorly. Care to explain?"_

" _It did not go as poorly as some made it seem. They were reporting that many people did not have electricity, while many in the area never had it before the outbreak, nor did they want it. For the area's standards, everything went great."_

Ruby nodded. _"And our standards?"_

Arya paused. _"There are several things I think could have gone better. First, none of us knew the area…"_ She continued to explain several things that went wrong and potential solutions. Ruby listened to everything Arya had to say. She understood most of the elf's explanation and trusted her for everything else. It also confirmed the biggest thing Ruby wanted to hear. Arya was ready. Cerise was off speaking to Fírnen about similar things. She hadn't reported in yet, but that would come.

They reached Ruby's 'house' on the top of a nearby hill, though it was really more of a castle. The two Riders stood at the edge of the veranda looking out over the city. Aithlin and his teams did some work. He said that the stone city as it stood could house nearly a hundred bonded pairs. On the beach, they had a fully functioning harbor with a surplus SDC cargo ship that they converted into a dragon carrier. Volunteer elves staffed and upkept both, and they would until there were enough Riders to take care of everything.

 _Ruby,_ Cerise called, _I believe Fírnen is ready._

 _Thank you. Are you on your way here?_

 _Look behind you._

Ruby did as told and tilted her head back. Cerise and Fírnen flew over the walls and keep and landed in the courtyard behind the Riders. The head of the Riders nodded at both of them. _"Thank you for joining us."_ She sighed and faced Arya. _"I must confess something to you. I have been training you for something since your first appearance in the Vytal Festival Tournament."_

Arya raised an eyebrow. " _What kind of training?"_

" _To be my successor as head of the Dragon Riders."_ Arya's jaw dropped and Ruby looked out over the city. _"The Eldunarí council barely approved of me when I found them in the Vault of Souls. I'm convinced that they only did so because there was no one else, but now there is. After what happened to Raven, they said I needed to step down when my replacement was ready."_

" _And you believe I am?"_

" _I believed you were two years ago. When we brought the council here, I asked them if they wanted me to step down. They said they'll tell me when they want me to. I went back this morning and asked the same thing. They still want me in my position, but they say the time is coming."_

" _Oh."_ Arya looked over the city as well. _"Why me?"_

" _I saw something special in you from your proving ground session. But that was just you. I needed to see how you worked with your team. Glynda allowed me to see some of her reports on you. You only killed Grimm that you needed to, but never hesitated when the need arose. That's better than I can say. I still kill Grimm for fun."_ Ruby paused. _"It's also a political thing. If I chose Weiss or Aaron, I'd be accused of favoritism and their status would be called into question. That, and I'm pretty sure your people would like one of them to lead the Riders. Really, that could be said about Alagaësia as a whole."_

Arya faced Ruby again. _"You sound like you've rehearsed this."_

Ruby sighed. _"I pretty much have. As much as I don't like some parts, the politics in particular, I absolutely love others."_ She smiled. _"I've loved seeing the Riders regrow from just a few of us to a few dozen. The wild dragons too."_ She faced south toward where most of the wild dragons lived. Quite a few of them had grown to a decent size and started having eggs of their own. If Ruby remembered right, Amor had his eyes on with one of Cerise and Vert's hatchlings. That could be an awkward family tree.

" _But so many other things I love about all this I could still have at a lower position."_ Ruby stepped away from the railing. _"Besides, we don't need to have a mentally unstable person leading the Riders. It's better to have someone who's not likely to break down leading what's essentially the Alagaësian Air Force."_ She turned around and faced the elf. _"I think you're the one."_

Arya faced Fírnen and they had a mental conversation that had Ruby was not involved in. This continued on for some time. Minutes stretched past with the two just looking at each other. Ruby just let them do their thing. This was not something that they could just think about in a few seconds. After ten minutes, Arya faced Ruby. _"Ruby Shadeslayer, we will-"_

Ruby held up a hand. _"Before you commit yourself, you need to know what we're really up against. That may change your decision."_ Arya closed her mouth and Fírnen repositioned to better face Ruby. The head of the Riders crossed her arms and walked up to her potential future successor. _"You are not to reveal what I am about to say to anyone until you take my position, and then only to those you trust with Fírnen's life. Do I make myself clear?"_

" _You… have my word,"_ Arya said confusedly.

 _ **And mine,**_ Fírnen added.

" _I only didn't tell you before because you didn't need to know in your position. It's not just the Grimm we're up against here. The Grimm aren't even just a threat on Remnant. The ones that the Riders faced in Urû'baen weren't from Remnant, they were from another continent hundreds of miles southwest of Surda. They are all controlled by the Shade Salem. She's been hiding here for millennia, gaining strength, and commanding her Grimm armies from who knows where. She has been killed multiple times, and each time, she's come back stronger than the last. That, and she's had thousands of years to train herself and gain strength."_

Arya blinked. _"But she is just a Shade. Surely Galbatorix was stronger with all the Eldunarí."_

" _Maybe, but at the same time, I don't think Galbatorix, with all of his strength and minds, could control a Grimm army that covers two planets, not to mention all the wards and spells that she has surely learned over the years."_ Ruby shook her head. _"The worst thing is we don't know what she wants. If she wanted all of Remnant dead, she could have done that long ago. We don't know what she'll do if we let the world know she exists. I can guess what the world would do if they found out about her._

" _We do know one thing she's after: four things that we simply call Relics. They're hidden under each of the original four Huntsmen Academies. I've only seen one of them myself, but the power inside it was greater than so many Eldunarí. There was so much energy in that thing, I could have destroyed Atlas from Vale several times over. We can't let her get any of them._

" _The problem is she has one of the keys. Four women that we call Maidens with exceptional abilities tied to their Aura, one for each of the seasons. They are the only ones that can open the vaults. You've already met Fall and Winter. Pyrrha is Fall, which is why she is command level and no one else on her team is,"_ Ruby held out her left hand and let her Aura flow, _"and I am Winter."_ She made an ice ball form in her hand. Arya's jaw dropped and Fírnen raised his head and ears.

 _ **How did you do that without saying anything?**_ Fírnen asked.

" _It's not Alagaësian magic, it's Remmartian. There are different rules. I can do so much more than create a little ice. It's what I used to fight and kill Galbatorix."_ Ruby dropped the ice ball and let it shatter on the ground. _"Salem's Spring Maiden is a Faunus by the name of Ilia Amitola. She's strong, and she's only had a few less years of experience than me. She can't be underestimated. I'm also guessing she's been the cause of several wildfires around the world in the past few years."_

Arya nodded. _"And the Summer Maiden?"_

" _She's going through school, unaware of what she is. I'll be telling her in the next few years. She's just a sweet, little, nonviolent kid. I don't want to get her caught up in something that she can't handle, exactly what this would be."_

" _I understand."_ Arya once again looked out over the city. _"Are they a threat to us?"_

" _With Salem, the threat is obvious."_ Ruby shifted on her feet. _"Ilia beat me before. I've trained so much since then, but I don't want to go in overconfident again. If you ever find her let me know immediately. Anyone can beat a Maiden, but when they have as much experience as Ilia, it would be better if they had Maiden backup. Also, the last one in the Maiden's mind, if she's a young woman, will gain the powers of the Maiden. If not, they'll go to someone random. If we didn't have a war to fight, I'd let it go to random chance. But since we have Salem to deal with, we need as many Maidens on our side as we can get."_

Arya nodded. _"Do the Eldunarí know about all this?"_

" _Oh yeah. They took some of that information from my head when we found the Vault of Souls."_ Ruby paused. _"You now know the worst of it. Are you still sure you want to be my successor?"_

The elf glanced at her dragon. Fírnen snorted and Arya faced Ruby. _"We are honored that you think so highly of us, and when the time comes, we will accept your offer."_

Ruby sighed and smiled. _"Thank you, Arya. I know the Riders will be in good hands when we're gone."_ A message appeared in her right eye and she blinked. _"It looks like I'm needed back at base. I'll make sure you stay updated on all our developments as they happen. It's only right you know. Right now, it looks like there's an update on Lionheart. That's all I've got for now."_

Cerise walked up to her Rider's side and looked over the future leader of the Riders. _**We may have beaten Galbatorix and laid the foundations for the new Order, but you will be facing off against an opponent possibly more powerful than him, along with long term rebuilding. That is no small task. I am sure the two of you are up to the challenge.**_

Fírnen gave a short growl. _**We will not let either of you down.**_

" _I doubt you will."_ Ruby climbed up her dragon's side and settled in the saddle. _"Expect to be contacted by the end of the day."_ Cerise raised her wings and jumped out of the castle. Ruby turned around and faced her other 'house.' It was made completely out of stone, decorated like old castles in both Alagaësia and Remnant. It had four towers, one on each corner, and all had state of the art anti-aircraft missile turrets along with several other weapons facing the ground. _Give me the tree in Ellesméra any day._

Cerise snorted. _It's a defensive structure, not a home… but we understand why it's like that._

 _Yeah, that doesn't mean that I like it._ Ruby faced forward again. _I could never live there._

 _Neither could I._ Cerise dove for the ocean and landed on the beach. Two wild dragons also stood on the sand, one gold, one purple. Neither could have been more than a few months old. _You get us home. I'll watch these two._ She walked toward the young dragons, growling at them.

Ruby knelt by the water and cast the spell. During the process, she heard three dragons growling, yipping, and humming. Cerise knew how to work with her own species. When the water swirled, the Rider stepped back and faced her dragon. Cerise stood with her body close to the ground, wings pressed against her sides. The other two glared at the much larger dragon, with wings raised and legs spread apart. The purple jumped toward Cerise' head while gold dashed for one of her legs. Cerise used her head to smack purple into the ocean while her front right leg shot out and pinned gold to the sand.

" _If you're done playing,"_ Ruby called, _"we need to go. This spell is still pretty draining."_

Cerise closed her lips and relaxed all six limbs. _**On my way.**_ She took her paw off gold then jerked her head toward the ocean. Gold ran into the water where purple was already swimming back. They both made it back to shore, wet and safe.

 _You initiate that or did they?_ Ruby jumped up her dragon's side and into the saddle.

 _They wanted to test themselves._ Cerise jumped into the portal and dove for the Alagaësian lake beneath them. The portal closed right behind her. _I had to give them what they wanted._

Ruby rubbed her dragon's side. _You're so good with them._

 _I know._ Cerise turned her head around and gave her Rider the best smirk a dragon could give. _Are you sure you don't want to step down to stop being so formal?_

 _That goes without saying._ Ruby shook her head. _The sooner I can be me more, the better._ Cerise landed by the lake and her Rider cast the spell from her dragon's back. Once that portal formed, the dragon jumped through and glided toward the house.

 _Aaron, we're back,_ Ruby called. _Are you upstairs or downstairs?_

 _I'm working on something else,_ Aaron said. _The others are in the command center._ _It sounds like we've got mixed results here._

 _We're on our way._ Ruby bit her lip. Mixed results could mean just about anything. Cerise landed on the command level landing pad and her Rider slid off. Ruby entered the building and walked toward the command center. The minds inside didn't feel too worried, but it was there.

The Rider walked into the command center and looked over those assembled. Yang and Yaela stood in the room with Weiss on another projector on Yaela's station. Yang looked at her sister through the corner of her eye, not willing to fully face her. "You want the good news or the bad news first?"

"I'll take some good news on top of my good news from Mor'ranr Vera. Arya accepted. When I step down, she'll take over."

Weiss nodded on her side. _"She'll do great. It'll be weird not taking orders from you for a change."_

"I doubt she'll split up RWbAY." Ruby crossed her arms. "So, what's your good news?"

"On the bright side," Yaela started, "Mistral isn't sending out anyone to arrest us, officially anyway, nor have they closed their borders to any Riders. Since Lionheart was already a known traitor with multiple sources confirming it, it feels like people are only mad at us for lying to them."

"Of course, there are the conspiracy theorists." Yang shook her head. "There are a few people saying that we planted everything to take over Mistral. Some people take it further than that saying we need to implant dragon eggs inside living people to incubate them."

Ruby messed up her face and cocked her head. "Huh?"

"Yeah. People have watched too many horror-sci-fi movies."

"Apparently." Ruby spent a little more time on the first 'A.' "Sooo, the bad news?"

" _Coco hasn't been able to convince everyone our actions were benevolent,"_ Weiss said. _"Mistral is sending detectives your way. I think you can expect one of the Truth Seekers your way too. There's also the fact that people are angry that we wiped the pilot's memory. Some people are calling for your arrest. I don't know whether their voices will sway the law enforcement or not. I don't know what could happen there."_

Ruby sighed. "I guess that was to be expected. They need to make sure. I can't blame them."

"Do you need help in telling half-truths again?" Yaela asked.

"Nah, I want to be as transparent as possible with this. As long as I don't mention the Eldunarí or Salem, I should be good. I've gotten pretty good at avoiding those just by being around Viki."

Yang nodded. "We've come close a few times but yeah, we're good with that."

Ruby faced her partner on the projector. "While we're at it, how are the new recruits taking to Atlas?"

Weiss shrugged. _"They're unaccustomed to the cold, which I understand, but one of them grew up with the tribes in the Hadarac Desert. I think he's going to transfer to Shade for the next semester."_

"That's a bit of a climate change." Ruby nodded. "I guess whoever was in charge of marketing didn't mention the weather."

" _Why would that be needed on Remnant? Everyone here knows how cold Solitas is."_

"And interdimensional marketing is still relatively new." Yang scoffed and smirked. "I still can't believe I'm saying that and being serious."

"Science is still trying to wrap its head around magic in general." Ruby faced Yaela. "Is that all from this?"

The elf nodded. "Yes, but I believe Aaron had something to say about Angel's suspension."

"Pretty sure I can guess some of it. Thanks for the updates." Ruby left the command center and walked for the elevator.

"Hey, Ruby," Yang called as she followed her sister out of the command center. "Again, I'm sorry."

Ruby whirled on her sister with a fierce glare. "Don't you say another word. I don't care if it was just letting her watch what you worked your punching bag. You showed her something I wanted her to have nothing to do with yet." Yang winced and shrunk away. "If I catch you going behind my and Aaron's backs again, in addition to all that other stuff I already mentioned, I will pour a gallon of syrup in your hair."

Yang's face paled. "You wouldn't."

"To protect Angel, you don't know what I'd do." Ruby turned around again and waited outside the elevator. The doors opened and she stepped inside.

Ruby took a deep breath after the doors closed. She didn't need to scare her baby girl… though she wasn't much of a baby anymore. Of course, it got out that Angel punched another student and Ruby took her out for ice cream afterward. They thought Ruby was raising her daughter to be a bully. She spoke to the media the day after saying. "Watch the security camera footage and you'll see why I'm so proud of her." There were more questions on that, but she just repeated the same phrase.

Ruby rode the elevator up to the house and stepped out. Angel sat at the dining 'room' table working on her homework. Viki sat by her side helping where needed. Those two had become great study buddies. Halcyon was there too on the rare occasion he had to look something up on the CCTN without being noticed. Aaron sat by Nalia's side with a row of saddlebags open on the concrete and their contents spread across the floor. Ruby walked over to her husband's side.

Aaron looked up at her. "Hey, Ru. How'd it go?"

"Arya accepted." Ruby leaned against Nalia's side. "I now have a successor."

Nalia hummed and curled her head around on the floor. _That's good to hear… but I guess that means my days of being Cerise' number two are numbered._

"Fírnen's your son." Ruby rubbed the scales on Nalia's snout. "I'm sure he'll still listen to you."

 _There is that,_ Nalia snorted.

Ruby looked down at her husband. "Spring cleaning?"

"Summer cleaning anyway." Aaron started refilling all the saddlebags. "It's been at least a year since I have. Do you know how many granola and candy bar wrappers I found in all of these?"

"Someone's snacking on mission." Ruby smirked, then let her lips flatten out. "Yaela said you had something on Angel's suspension?"

"I do. The district released the footage. Shortly after, well, a group of teachers stood back and did nothing while a Faunus kid was bullied. I think you can put the pieces together. Nora's making a big deal out of it too since Slate told her those same boys were picking on him."

Ruby nodded. "A double stop, then." Nora and Ren's adopted son was a shy boy, so unlike both her parents. Ruby was happy her daughter could help that other boy and Slate, but she hated that she had to use hate to get her way. At the same time, she needed to make sure Angel wasn't punished for a good thing. "The district do anything?"

Aaron filled the last saddlebag and started clasping them shut. "She's good to go in on Monday and it sounds like those teachers have been suspended pending further investigation."

Ruby sighed in relief. "Good. Glad to see they did the right thing."

Aaron finished with the bags and hung them back on Nalia's saddle. "So, now that I'm done with this, how about our weekly spar?"

"That'll work." Ruby faced the entry dragon door where Cerise was just walking in. "You want to ref or watch Angel this time?"

 _I'll be the ref,_ Cerise said. _I love Angel, but I want to actually see you fight this time._

Nalia raised her head off the ground and gave a light growl. _Are we really still doing this?_

Ruby dipped her head. "For now, yes. Soon. She needs to see what we do up close at some point." She grit her teeth. "On _our_ terms. Not Yang's or anyone else'"

"Are you sure she's not old enough now?" Aaron crossed his arms. "You know what she just did."

"I do," Ruby said that with a little more force. "I just don't want my baby girl to grow up around violence, even if between us it's just practice. I want her to choose whether or not to fight, not believe that she has to. I will not introduce her too early, _Yang_." She growled out her sister's name before holding a hand up, silencing Aaron before he spoke. "I know it's earlier in Alagaësia, but we're raising her here, not there." She lowered her hand. "I promised you we'd tell her before her tenth birthday, that still applies."

Aaron sighed. "Alright, but I'm holding you to that soon."

"Fine with me. See you outside." Ruby walked away from Nalia's side and toward her own dragon. "I've still got Máni Bláto on your saddle, right?"

 _You do._ Cerise stepped back and the dragon door opened again. _Crescent Rose is still on your workbench._

Ruby winced. "Duh…" Her laser addition on her first weapon had worn down the barrel. The head of her scythe almost melted off during a Grimm extermination mission two weeks ago. "I'll fix her tonight." She stepped outside and jumped up to her dragon's saddle. She pulled the compacted red box of Máni Bláto off its slot. The Rider extended her scythe fully and started magically blunting her weapon's blade.

A few minutes later, Aaron left the house with Redemption in hand. Nalia settled down just inside and faced into the house, watching for Angel. "Ready to lose, Ruby?" Aaron asked.

"You should be asking yourself that." Ruby slid off Cerise' back and jammed the back spike of Máni Bláto into the concrete. "I haven't lost in two weeks."

"You have a two-week winning streak, that's it." Aaron spun his sword in his hand. "I plan on breaking that."

"I don't plan on losing." Ruby gave her weapon a test swing. "I plan on breaking my record."

Cerise stepped in between the two Riders. _I want a clean fight here. Since Angel is home, no firearms. If your Aura drops past the red, you may continue only if your wards are less than half drained._ She looked in between the two Riders. _You may begin when I no longer block your paths._ Cerise walked toward the house and Ruby dropped into a running position. The dragon's body passed, revealing Aaron in a similar position. Cerise tail passed the plane and the fight began.

Ruby yelled, ran forward, and swung her scythe behind her. Aaron also charged, Redemption pumping with his right arm. The Riders swung their weapons at their spouse. Redemption caught Máni Bláto on the barrel right below the curved blade. Ruby pulled her weapon back and thrust the blunt part of her scythe into her husband. Aaron recovered quickly and slashed his sword into his wife's chest. The strike barely took anything out of her Aura or wards.

"I expected more from you, Mr. Muscles."

"Are you slowing down, Mrs. Speed?" Aaron charged again. Ruby internally smirked and sighed. Aaron never called Ruby names that weren't in some form complementary. That had to be the Alagaësian in him and it was so sweet. Then again, Ruby wished he would get into the insult sprees that she and Yang got into so often while sparring.

The married couple continued to slash at each other, only occasionally letting the other through their guard. If they were anyone else, they would have stopped fighting long ago. Ruby could go a long time with her enhanced Aura, but Aaron knew how to break her down.

The thing was, Ruby had her husband figured out too. She ducked under one strike then smashed the barrel of her weapon into Aaron's stomach. She sprung to her feet, whipped around in a circle, and caught her husband on the blade. Ruby completed another circle and flung Aaron across the landing pad. He slid across the concrete face first, rolled a few times, and ended up on his back. Redemption clattered to the side but still within reach. Ruby crouched down and brought her weapon behind her. She dug her feet into the ground, ready to charge her opponent.

"Daddy!" Angel screamed. Ruby stopped herself and her arms went slack. Her blood ran cold. She turned her head to where she heard her daughter scream. Angel ran around Cerise and past her mom toward her dad. Aaron pushed himself into a sitting position and faced his daughter. Angel grabbed Aaron's right arm and pulled at it. "Daddy, get up!" She looked up at her mom, fear in her eyes and radiating off her.

Ruby let Máni Bláto drop from her hands and clatter to the landing pad. "Angel…"

Angel gripped harder onto Aaron's arm and jerked her head toward the house. "Nalia!" She then pressed her face into Aaron's shoulder. The father took his weight off his left arm and wrapped it around his daughter.

Tears ran down Ruby's face without any buildup. _My baby's afraid of me…_

The dragon door opened and Nalia stepped out. She hummed sadly and lowered her head, tilting her head so one of her eyes was on level with Angel's. _Gel, it's not what it seems._

"Mommy hurt daddy!" Angel cried.

"No, she didn't," Aaron soothed. "She could never hurt me."

Angel pulled her head off Aaron's shoulder. "But she… and you…"

"I'm not hurt. There's nothing wrong with my face. Maybe it's a little dirty, but I don't feel a thing." Aaron reached below his stomach and pulled up his shirt to the level where Ruby hit him. His lean wasn't even red. "See? No hurt here either."

"But…" Angel looked at Ruby then back to Aaron. "Why?"

Aaron faced his wife. _How much do we-_

 _Everything!_ Ruby mentally yelled. _We tell her everything right now!_

 _Okay._ Aaron returned his attention to Angel. "You know me and you mommy fight Grimm and bad guys. This is how we train. We are two of the best fighters on Remnant. If we fight and train against each other, the bad guys don't stand a chance."

"You're… not mad at each other?" Angel looked between her parents.

"No, sweetie." Ruby took a few cautious steps forward. Angel looked up at her mom and didn't tighten her grip on her dad. That was an improvement. "We still love each other very much." Ruby locked eyes with Aaron. No words needed to be passed between them. Ruby knelt by her husband's side and they exchanged a quick kiss. The mom faced her daughter. "See?" Angel's lower lip trembled and she didn't say anything.

Ruby sighed and crawled around Aaron to Angel's side. "Sweetie, I would never do anything to hurt your daddy." She rested her hands on both of her daughter's shoulders. Angel flinched but didn't pull away. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt your aunts and uncles, or the dragons, or you. I only hurt bad guys but I don't like that. I don't want to hurt anyone. Angel, I'm sorry I scared you. This is what we do to train. We would never hurt each other doing it. Just ask your Auntie Yang or Auntie Weiss or even your Grandpa Tai."

Angel sniffed and took her arms off her dad. She turned and hugged her mom instead. It wasn't hard like normal, but it was there. Ruby returned the hug with one hand holding the back of her daughter's head. "I'm sorry you had to see it like that, Angel. You should have seen it from the beginning."

Nalia snaked her head around so one of her eyes locked with Ruby's. _I'm sorry, Ruby. I shouldn't have-_

 _Can it!_ Ruby glared at the dragon and let her newfound rage flow through their mental connection. _When we are done here, you and I are going to have a little talk about why you terrified my baby girl._ Ruby turned her head and kissed the side of Angel's head, not letting her daughter know how she felt about Nalia.

Aaron rubbed Angel's back. "Why don't we head inside? It's a lot more comfortable in there."

Ruby searched the skies as much as she could with her eyes. She didn't see anything, so it might not have been about onlookers. "Sounds like a good idea." She released Angel and stood up. The mom held out an open hand toward her daughter. Angel stared at it, then grabbed one of Aaron's hanging hands even though he wasn't offering. That stabbed Ruby through the heart again. The three walked into the house together.

 _She still loves you,_ Cerise assured as she walked in behind her Rider. _She's just confused._

 _You're in her head?_ Ruby asked.

 _I've been trying to calm her down too. You and Aaron did more than I did._

 _Thank you._

"How?" Angel asked. Ruby faced her daughter, but Angel was looking up at her dad, not her mom.

"How what?" Aaron asked.

"How didn't she hurt you?"

Aaron faced Ruby. _Aura and wards too?_

 _Yes._ Ruby nodded stiffly. _That too. I don't want her trying the same thing and getting hurt._

Aaron knelt in front of his daughter. "We're protected by two things, Aura and Wards. You have both but not as much as me or mommy. It's why you still get papercuts. Aura is something that every living thing has. It's something our souls put out that will protect us when we need it. It also needs to be unlocked, so your Aura can't protect you from much. Wards are magic. Me and mommy can only use them because of our dragons. We put some on us and you. The ones that you have draw your energy, so they'll only protect you from really bad injuries."

Angel dipped her head. "Can you do more?"

Ruby entered a search in her bionic eye for the youngest age a person's Aura could be unlocked without negative side effects. It was five, so Angel was two years older than the minimum. Multiple parts of Ruby's mind fought each other for dominance. She wanted to protect Angel, but she didn't want to overprotect her, then there was the fact that she didn't want Angel to be feel forced to become a Huntress… but Angel asked for it and she was so scared a few minutes ago.

Her mind made up, Ruby knelt by Angel's side and put a hand on her shoulder. "I can do that for you, Angel, but that doesn't mean all our rules still don't apply. Don't run with scissors, don't run poolside, don't open cabinets in the kitchen, everything. The same for school and everywhere. Don't take any risks. Do you understand?"

Angel turned her head halfway toward her mom. "Yes, mommy."

Aaron blinked at Ruby. "Are you sure? It's a little early don't you think?"

Ruby nodded while never taking her eyes off her daughter. "Angel's our big girl. She's old enough." She touched her mind to Aaron's. _Besides, a little extra protection that she just carries around with us nowhere near her can't hurt. I doubt she'll find her Semblance anytime soon either._

"Angel, could you face me, sweetie?" Her daughter turned around like a rusty gear. Ruby rested a hand on Angel's forehead and the other on Angel's chest. "Now hold still and clear your mind." Ruby closed her eyes and stretched her mind and Aura into her daughter. Angel had a lot of Aura bottled up. She'd be strong someday at whatever she did. Ruby began pulling on her daughter's Aura. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

Ruby opened her eyes and looked over her daughter. A white glow surrounded Angel. The girl's jaw dropped and she raised her hands to look at them. "Mommy, I feel tingly."

"That's how it's supposed to feel." Ruby moved her hands to cup Angel's cheeks. "You might feel weird for a while, but you'll feel stronger and faster in no time." She pushed some of her daughter's hair back behind her right ear. "You probably won't get a papercut anytime soon either."

Angel's Aura faded to transparency and she lowered her hands. "Thank you, mommy."

"You're welcome, sweetie." Ruby kissed Angel's forehead, then pulled her hands back. "Why don't you go help yourself to a cookie? They're fresh. I just got them yesterday." A small smile graced Angel's face and she walked for the kitchen. Ruby faced her husband. "Could you watch her? I need to speak with your dragon."

Aaron nodded. "Leave her in one piece, okay?"

"No promises. She scared our baby girl." Ruby stood up and turned around, her glare returning. Cerise stood in the entryway, wings spread to block the whole door. Nalia growled at the younger dragon and her legs tensed, ready to pounce. "Nalia?" Ruby called, not letting her anger make it into her voice.

The once proud dragon dropped her head to only a few feet above the floor and her ears dropped. She turned her head around to face Ruby. _Yes. Ru?_

"Can I speak with you in our room?" Ruby gestured to the master bedroom.

 _I would love to, but-_

"No buts." Ruby's voice hardened and her gesturing arm straightened. "We need to talk. _Now."_ She tried to make the last word sound as pleasant as possible while pushing it through her teeth.

Nalia's wings and tail drooped. _Of course, Ruby…_ She walked toward the master with her wings and tail dragging on the floor.

Ruby followed Nalia into the room and waited for the dragon door to close behind her before unloading on the dragon. "What the heck were you thinking?"

* * *

"Do you understand, Angel?" Aaron asked his daughter.

Angel nodded. "Don't use my Aura to gain an advantage in sports."

"That's my good girl." Aaron kissed Angel on the forehead then gently pushed his daughter's back toward Viki. "I know it's hard after all that, but you need to get your homework done."

"Okay, daddy." Angel walked back toward the dining 'room' table where Viki and Halcyon hadn't moved from that whole time.

The large door to the master bedroom creaked open. Aaron faced it and blinked at his dragon as she walked out. Nalia held her tail in between her legs. Her ears drooped all the way down and her wings dragged on the floor. She looked back into the room and whimpered. _Aaron,_ she faced her Rider, _your mate scares me._

 _What did she say to you?_ Aaron asked.

 _I will not repeat it… She will do things to me if I do._ Nalia crawled her way to the main dragon door but stayed inside.

Ruby walked out of the master and walked toward her daughter. Aaron met her halfway. "What did you say to my dragon?"

Ruby stopped for a second and stared at her husband. "What I needed to so I could protect my daughter." She continued walking toward the dining room table.

Aaron shivered as a chill ran down his spine. _Nalia, I agree with you._

* * *

 **Pro-tip: don't do anything to hurt Angel, or go behind Ruby's back with anything related to Angel. You'll be lucky to live to regret it.**


	67. Safe Haven

**As expected, Captain Marvel was amazing. I don't see where all the hate comes from. It wasn't the best but it certainly wasn't the worst. Now it's onto Endgame. The hype is real.  
**

* * *

Aaron crossed his arms. "I guess it makes sense."

"It's their right," Ruby said. "Lionheart betrayed them, Mistral wants him back to put him on trial."

"I will inform my Queen of Mistral's verdict." Lord Däthedr clasped his hands behind his back. "I doubt she will protest this decision."

"I doubt she will either." Ruby faced her second in command and her sister. "Aaron, Yang, I want you two and Nalia to go to Kirtan and escort Lionheart yourselves."

Yang nodded. "The help's appreciated. You want me and Halcyon in the Wyvern or in the elves' Bullhead?"

"You're transporting a high-value target that Salem may very well want dead," Ruby explained. "We need to get him to Mistral alive and well. We're already in shallow water with them. We don't need to dry up what little goodwill we have left by delivering him wounded."

"Got it. I'll load him up." Yang pushed open the door to the conference room and disappeared into the hall.

"I'll let Mistral know to expect you in the next few hours." Ruby sighed. "That's one more thing out of our hands. When we hand him off, whatever happens is on Mistral."

Aaron nodded. "One less thing to go wrong. We'll be on our way once we armor up Nalia." He turned around and left the room with the elven Lord right behind him. The Rider stopped by the armor storage room while Däthedr continued toward the landing pad. Aaron flicked a switch and the outside door opened up. Nalia crouched on the other side. "Ready to try out this new set?"

Nalia snorted. _I am. I doubt it will be as comfortable long term as Rhunön's._

"Are any sets?" Aaron picked up Nalia's headpiece and walked it over to his dragon. "At least with this one, you can see what we see." He fit the metal over his dragon's head. He pushed a lever and more sections popped out to cover Nalia's eyes and the sides of her face. The pieces of glass that covered Nalia's eyes had so many wards on them that they couldn't be broken if Shruikan slammed all his weight into them.

Several lights blinked to life in front of Nalia's eyes. She growled, and they disappeared. _Yaela needs to work on this. It makes my eyes itch._

"We'll tell her when we get back." Aaron walked back inside to get more armor plates. A few minutes later, Yang joined him in plating up Nalia. It was a very Ruby design. It didn't have anything extra on it, just straight plates that could fold into each other for easier carrying and storage. Of course, the paint job matched Nalia's scales and the Riders' logo was painted on Nalia's sides. The shield projectors on her wings now flashed red for easier hit identification. The guns mounted under her wings were upgraded versions of the ones on Wyvern, the same with the jet engines.

When Nalia was fully armored, Aaron and Yang stepped back. The dragon stood to her full height and ran through her full range of motion. Yang whistled. "Now that is a sight to see."

 _Halcyon would have looked great in this._ Nalia faced the two Riders and growled. _Instead of being armored up and dealing damage, he's faster than I ever could be, even with my jets._

 _Trust me Nalia,_ Halcyon called as the Wyvern flew over to them, _unless you want to give up your Eldunarí early, you do not want to be in my position. I love everything Ruby's done for me, but I would give it all up if it meant having my own body back._

"He has a point, Nalia." Aaron walked to Nalia's side and picked his helmet off her saddle. He fit it over his head and keyed the comms. "Rider Two to Elf One. We're all armored up here. We're ready to head out."

" _We hear you, Rider Two,"_ the elf pilot said. _"We will follow you out."_

Aaron climbed onto Nalia's back and pat his dragon's neck armor. "Let's fly, Nalia."

The dragon jumped off the ground and flew toward the nearest river. She landed on the beach and Aaron cast the between worlds spell from dragonback. The water swirled just in time for the elves' Bullhead to arrive with the Wyvern escort. Yang and Halcyon entered first with the Bullhead following. Nalia jumped through after it and flew above the edges of Du Weldenvarden. Aaron cut the energy flow keeping the spell active.

A half hour later, the aerial convoy arrived at Kirtan. Nalia landed first followed by the Bullhead while the Wyvern stayed in the air. The Rider dismounted his dragon and walked over to the Bullhead. Däthedr exited the transport and met Aaron halfway. _"The city's Lord lives near the center of the city,"_ the elf said. _"Tell him we are moving Lionheart. He will then guide you to the prison."_

" _I will do that."_ Aaron walked toward the center of the city while Däthedr walked for a nearby tree. The Rider passed by several buildings, attracting a few stares along the way. He paid them no mind. He eventually found a large, ornate building at what felt like the center of town. An elf in guard armor stood out front holding what looked like a flintlock pistol on her hip in addition to her sword and shield. This had to be the right place.

A familiar elf walked out of the building with his hands behind his back and stopped in front of the doors. Aaron took off his helmet, cradled it under his left arm, and brought two fingers up to his lips. He exchanged the traditional elven greeting with Lord Fíolir and returned his hand to his side. _"I apologize for arriving unannounced like we did, but the situation on Remnant has changed. We need to take Leonardo Lionheart back to Mistral so he can stand trial there."_

Fíolir raised an eyebrow. _"I thought the Riders didn't want other humans to know about him."_

" _We didn't, but the revelation was out of our hands. They know what he did, and they want him back. I am sure you can understand the kingdom wanting to punish him themselves."_

The elf nodded. _"Is Queen Islanzadí informed?"_

" _Lord Däthedr is doing so now."_

" _Very well. I will take you to where the prisoner is being held."_ Fíolir turned to his right and walked further into the forest. Aaron put his helmet back on and followed the elf. The stares became more frequent as they walked, likely because word had spread that a 'Remmartian' Rider was in the city. Rumors spread fast, even without the CCT.

The elven Lord walked into a smaller tree building and walked down the steps directly inside. Aaron followed and felt the numerous spells and wards in the staircase search him every step of the way. He didn't know what most of them did, but he did know that none would harm him.

The stairs leveled out and led into a row of cells. Fíolir gestured at one of the cells on the far side. _"Your prisoner is there, Silverhand."_

" _Thank you."_ Aaron walked down to Lionheart's cell and looked inside. He almost stepped back at the sight. Lionheart was curled up in the corner of the room, bruised and bloodied. He still had all his limbs but some of them looked like they had been broken and healed several times. It looked like his clothes were the same ones he arrived in, only tattered and carrying years of filth. Aaron didn't expect that Lionheart would get the best treatment, but this was too much. "Leonardo, can you hear me?"

"Who's there?" Lionheart raised his head from his arms. His eyes were unfocused at first but eventually focused on Aaron. "You're… from Remnant?" He sighed. "She finally found me."

"I'm not from Remnant." Aaron took off his helmet and held it under one of his arms. "We've known where you were this whole time."

Lionheart rested his head back on his arms. "This is a first."

Aaron turned his head to Lord Fíolir. _"What happened here?"_

" _Queen Islanzadí informed us that Leonardo Lionheart betrayed Remnant on a level similar to the Forsworn. She instructed us to treat him like we would treat one of the thirteen."_

Aaron grimaced and faced Lionheart again. It might have been because he had spent so much time on Remnant, but he was disgusted by his treatment… he also saw Ruby in a state not much worse than this. _"I'm sure both you and the Queen will hear from Ruby Shadeslayer about how to treat prisoners we trust to you in the near future."_

The Rider pulled open the metal bars and stepped into the cell. "Leonardo Lionheart, you are coming with me."

Lionheart raised his head again. "Where are we going?"

"Mistral has found out what you did to so many Huntsmen. They want to put you on trial themselves."

The Faunus' eyes widened and he tightened his ball. "No! I will not go back! She will kill me! What the elves have done is nothing compared to what Salem will do to me."

"That's not up to you. Mistral has asked for extradition and Lord Däthedr is confirming that with Queen Islanzadí as we speak. You are coming with me." Aaron fit his helmet back over his head.

"No!" Lionheart wiggled further back to the wall.

"Yes." Aaron walked to Lionheart's side and grabbed one of the traitor's arms. He pulled and found no resistance. The Faunus stood shakily on his feet, then Aaron pushed him out of the cell.

"You are sentencing me to death," Lionheart whimpered.

"You're lucky the elves didn't kill you in the first place. Now move." Aaron pushed him again. "And… for what it's worth, I'm sorry you were treated like this."

Lionheart's head dipped. "I would rather endure that pain for a thousand years than one with Salem." Aaron grit his teeth and continued escorting Lionheart out of the prison. Maybe Lionheart was overreacting, maybe he was legitimately concerned. That was something that needed to be investigated.

They left the prison and Lord Däthedr walked up to them. _"Queen Islanzadí has confirmed the order. We may now return the prisoner to Mistral."_

" _Good. Let's go."_ The three headed for the Bullhead, Lionheart shuffling between his two guards. Aaron faced the elf. _"We may be glad that we have the extra firepower with Wyvern. Lionheart seems legitimately scared that Salem is after him."_ Lionheart flinched when he heard 'Salem.'

" _Would Salem risk attacking us in a major city?"_

" _To eliminate a loose end, yes. Crime lords do the same all the time, sometimes in broad daylight. Look at what happened to Blake. If a Rider isn't there, they get away with it. Since Salem can block us from feeling her forces, we won't know they're coming."_

Däthedr hummed in thought. _"That may be, but we will be ready for any attack."_

" _There is that."_ Aaron paused. _"Did you know this is how Lionheart would be treated?"_ There was an edge to his voice.

The elf narrowed his eyes at Aaron. _"This man did damage similar to the Forsworn. He is a traitor. This is how we deal with traitors."_

" _I have seen innocent people in similar situations, kids, adults, Ruby. They didn't look too different than Lionheart does now. How are we better than the criminals that do this?"_

" _Because Lionheart is a criminal. We don't do this to the innocent."_

" _We're supposed to be the good guys. How are we the good guys if people we hold end up like this?"_

" _You entrusted Lionheart to our care. If you had any reservations, you should have voiced them."_

" _I can almost guarantee you that you'll be hearing from Ruby in the next few days."_ Aaron faced forward again. The clearing that held Nalia and the Bullhead lay right in front of them. Halcyon's Wyvern hovered overhead, pointing at those on the ground. Nalia growled at Lionheart, but not as hard as it probably would have been if the former professor was in better shape. The Rider sat Lionheart down in the Bullhead and looked out to his dragon. _I'm riding in here until the lake. I'm going to make him look presentable._

Nalia snorted. _Okay, if only to make us not look bad to Mistral._

 _You don't agree with this, do you?_

 _Would you agree to this if it was Morzan and he wasn't frozen?_

 _He's not Morzan._

 _Maybe, but he betrayed Remnant in the same way._

Aaron shook his head as Däthedr entered the Bullhead and the cockpit. The engines spun up, the doors closed, and the transport lifted off the ground. The Rider began chanting in the Ancient Language and healing the worst of the Faunus' injuries. Lionheart shivered the whole time as his bruises and scars disappeared. His limbs slowly returned to their natural forms and positions. Aaron even took some of the muck out of the professor's hair and clothes. He didn't have time to mend the clothes though, not that he was that good at it in the first place. Lionheart never said another word.

The Bullhead touched down and the doors opened. Aaron disembarked and knelt by the water. He cast the between worlds spell again and water swirled. The Rider jogged back to his dragon as the Bullhead rose off the ground. He climbed onto Nalia and secured himself to the saddle and pat his dragon's side. Nalia dove into the portal and banked to turn toward the prison on the outskirts of Mistral city. There weren't many Air Sailors back there, and the ones that were looked like they were police. That should mean there weren't many cameras there. Lionheart still didn't look the best. It wouldn't do to have video of him going out all over the CCT.

Nalia and Halcyon hung in the air while the Bullhead touched down on the landing pad. The dragon landed soon after while the fighter still hovered behind everyone. A quartet of armed guards walked out of the prison toward the Bullhead. Headmaster Tom Tobi stood near the entrance to the prison with his arms crossed and his wolf tail not moving behind him. It didn't look like he had any intention of approaching. Aaron dismounted Nalia and met the guards at the Bullhead.

The sergeant among the guards looked up at the Wyvern. "Expecting a fight, Rider?" he asked Aaron.

"Maybe." Aaron shrugged. "Lionheart sent so many people to die. Some people might want to seek justice themselves."

"And you take a fighter jet?"

"Probably less overkill than taking two dragons."

The sergeant grunted. "You know more than I do. Bring Lionheart out."

Aaron nodded and knocked on the side of the Bullhead. The doors opened up revealing Lionheart sitting alone in the crew compartment. The Rider stepped in, released Lionheart from his restraints, and guided him out of the transport. "Here's your prisoner." Aaron let go of Lionheart's arm and stepped back.

The sergeant gestured to the guard to his left. The woman pulled a pair of handcuffs from her belt and stepped behind Lionheart. "Leonardo Lionheart," the sergeant began, "you are under arrest for conspiracy against the Kingdom of Mistral, the murder of over a hundred Huntsmen and Huntresses, and-"

"Just kill me and get it over with," Lionheart interrupted while his hands were cuffed. "I will be dead by the end of the day anyway."

"Not on our watch. You have the right to remain silent…"

Aaron left the guards and walked toward Haven's current Headmaster. "Well, there he is." He gestured back at Lionheart. "Will that please the council?"

Toto scoffed. "There is no pleasing the council. They'll find out about Lionheart's condition and they'll go after you again."

"Not us. It's the elves. You don't want to know what he looked like when I took him out. He wasn't good. He's also worried that Salem will send someone after him."

"He may very well be right. This isn't something Salem would just let go. I'll have the prison put him on suicide watch and put extra guards around him. It won't do to have him killed before trial." Toto sighed. "I just wish that the public never knew."

"That would make things a whole lot easier." Aaron faced the guards escorting Lionheart to the prison. "At least this is o-"

The ground beneath Aaron's feet shook. A massive explosion reached his ears a second later. He ran toward Nalia so he could see the source of the explosion. There was a massive ball of fire and smoke at the top of the city… right where Haven was. "Son of a…"

" _Aaron, are you seeing this?"_ Yang asked over the comms.

"Yeah." Aaron faced Toto again, who had run to his side. The headmaster's mouth dropped, and his tail fell to the ground. "Need a ride up there?"

Toto clenched his fists. "My weapon is inside the prison. I need to get that first. I'll get another ride."

"Got it." Aaron jumped onto Nalia's back. His dragon pushed off the landing pad and flew toward the dying explosion. The Rider keyed his comms for all Riders. "Rider Two to everyone who is listening. There has been a massive explosion at Haven Academy. It looks like the CCT tower is gone…" He paused. The tower was gone. No one outside of Mistral city could hear that. He switched to the mental circuit, feeling dozens of featureless minds from across all corners of Remnant. _Rider Two to all Riders, Haven Academy has been attacked. The CCT tower is gone. Long distance communication will have to be with the mental circuits in our Scrolls. I'll update you when I know more._

It took a little bit to get a response. _Rider One copies, Two. Mistral Response Force,_ _fly to Mistral City right now. Listen to your squad lead and you'll get through this._

Nalia crested the mountain as another Rider responded for the MRF. Aaron stiffened as he stared at the devastation. The ballroom no longer existed. The CCT tower laid on the ground and through a residence hall. Numerous people lay scattered on the ground, many of them in pieces. There weren't half as many minds down there as there were bodies. _One, Two. We need the medical division here too. This is a mass casualty incident._

 _Copy that, Two. I'll send the healers your way._ Ruby paused. _Determine mission integrity, then assist healers when they arrive._

Aaron clenched his teeth. There were other people listening in. Determine mission integrity meant secure the Relic. _Copy that._ Aaron disabled his mental transmission and all the blank minds disappeared. He pat his dragon's neck. _You know where to go._

 _I'll keep the skies clear until you come back up and send Yang and Halcyon further out. I'd suggest going invisible. There are too many people around._

 _Good idea._ Aaron whispered in the Ancient Language and held his right arm out in front of him. When he no longer saw any hint of his hand, he nodded. _Fly me over the elevator._ He brought his feet up to crouch on the saddle.

 _Get ready to land._ Nalia flew over where the golden statue used to stand and rolled.

Aaron stuck his feet beneath himself. "Letta." He stopped only a few feet off the ground, then released the energy sustaining the spell. The Rider then jogged past the broken statue to the elevator. The first covering was mostly intact but loose. Aaron pulled that open and dropped down to the second. He reset the main covering and magically opened the second. As expected, there was nothing under that. He fell through the mostly intact elevator shaft until it opened up into the vault cavern. The elevator base lay broken at the bottom of the shaft. "Letta." He once again froze a few feet in the air then dropped to the uneven ground.

Aaron grimaced at the tree vault on the other end of the room. It was open, but he couldn't see inside. He drew Redemption and crept forward. Ilia was here, she had to be to open the Vault. The question was, was she _still_ there? Aaron ticked on the mental circuit again but felt nothing. He couldn't feel Nalia that far underground, how could he expect electronics to reach that far? Part of him screamed to go up for reinforcements, but he may have been the last line of defense to stop Salem's Maiden. He didn't have time to reach Ruby in other ways. He'd fought Maidens before, but then again, Ruby and Pyrrha weren't trying to kill him. He cast a few spells to see if any of the ones that he and Ruby set up were still intact. As far as he could tell, none were ever activated.

When Aaron was only a dozen feet away from the vault, the haze cleared. A… desert laid on the other side. Ilia stood inside, facing away from him. She held an ornate, gold and blue lantern in her left hand. Aaron grit his teeth. He needed to leave, _now._ He backed up-

-and was smacked in the back of the head by something. Aaron stumbled forward and barely caught himself from falling. He looked up and saw a boulder the size of Zwei and Drei handing in the air. Ilia turned around…

Half of her face was covered with a bone mask with red lines running through it. The eye on that side was blood red like any other Grimm. The other half of her face was scarred and bloodied but her gray-blue eye contained more rage than any Grimm. Several spiked appendages rose from her back, all aimed toward Aaron. "You should never have come down here, puny Rider." Her voice was a combination of her own and… something else.

One of her new arms shot forward and Aaron barely blocked it with Redemption. Another of the arms stabbed through Aaron's Aura and wards and into his hands. Before he could scream, a third limb shot forward and into his chest.

* * *

Yang watched Nalia roll in the air above the ruins of the ballroom, then faced the radar. The first blips of red appeared at the edge of the fighter's range. Halcyon kicked the engines into high gear. "Aeiou, you heard Big Green. Give me the rear gun."

A secondary stick popped out of her console and a new screen lit up with a view of behind the fighter. _Protect my tail, I'll worry about what's in front of us._

"You got it." Yang moved the stick around and the screen and gun went with it. "May I see the opening volley?"

 _Of course._ Halcyon's engines growled. _It's always the best._

Yang nodded. "Let's do this." She raised her head and stared at the incoming swarm of Grimm. It wasn't the biggest she'd seen, though that wasn't saying much.

 _I'm in range. Firing missiles._ The fighter vibrated and two missiles launched forward from under the wings. They impacted the leading two Nevermores, likely killing them and several others on impact. Halcyon added his own forward-facing guns to the mix. The craft shook as dozens of large caliber Dust rounds flew toward their targets. He flew through the smoke and emerged on the other side to clear skies.

Yang shifted her focus to the ventral tail gun. She set the sights on the nearest Griffon and pulled the trigger. More Dust rounds shot toward the Grimm and blew its wings off, and those of the three others behind it. "Splash three."

 _Coming around._ Halcyon banked the fighter to the right and flew toward one half of the Grimm swarm. Yang focused solely on her screen and searched for new targets. She trusted Halcyon to fly circles around the Grimm and to get her shots. Some more fliers made it onto her screen and she pulled her trigger and held it down. Full automatic fire shot out the back of the fighter and into the swarm of Grimm. Dozens of fliers fell from the sky, many of them missing large parts of themselves. Whenever she had no shot, Halcyon turned around and gave her targets while he plunged into a swarm himself.

A minute into the fight, Yang noticed Nalia having a little trouble on the ground with a few Alpha Beringels. A trio of Deathstalkers snuck up behind the dragon. "Big Green needs some support. Get us lower."

 _I see her._ The fighter banked hard and dove, giving Yang a view of the sky. She took a few pot shots at them before Halcyon leveled out and the Deathstalkers took up her entire view.

"Say hello to my little friend!" Yang held down the trigger and dozens of Dust rounds plunged into the giant scorpion behind the dragon. The Deathstalker's head exploded under the sustained fire. Yang moved onto the next and dispatched that one in the same way. The third met its end from Nalia's tail smashing the stinger through the Grimm's midsection. Yang spun her camera around to the Grimm gorillas she saw earlier. Through all the minigun fire and actual fire Nalia launched in that direction, there probably wasn't much left.

Nalia closed her mouth and her guns silenced. As expected, nothing was left in front of her. She raised her head and snorted smoke at the camera. _Thanks for the assist. Now get back-_ She yelped and brought a paw to her chest. Her eyes and teeth clenched and her other claws dug up the ground beneath her. She snapped her head back toward the top of the mountain. _Aaron!_ She pounced off the ground flew and toward the remains of Haven.

Yang faced that direction and her heart fell into her stomach. "Halcyon."

 _On it!_ Halcyon aimed toward the top of the mountain and kicked on the afterburners.

Yang deactivated the belly gun, ripped off her air mask, and yanked Dawnbreaker out of its slot in the cockpit. She activated the mental circuit in the cockpit and connected just to Ruby. _Rider Four to Rider One, Two is down. With how sudden it was, I'm guessing we have a Code M._

Ruby took an uncomfortably long time to respond. _Four, find him. I'll put the call out._ She paused as she likely started transmitting to everyone. _This is Rider One. We have a Code M at Haven. Repeat, we have a Code M at Haven. All responding listen to Rider Four for details._

"Could you handle that?" Yang asked her dragon as she prepared to pop the canopy.

Halcyon slowed to a stop above where the ballroom used to be. _I will._ _Now go!_

Yang popped the canopy, pushed it open faster than it normally would, and jumped out of the fighter. She landed right by the remains of the elevator and tore it open. The shaft was clear all the way to the bottom. She held onto the lid then jumped inside, throwing the hatch shut as she fell.

The Rider focused on the ground far beneath her. When the elevator shaft opened to the rest of the cavern, Yang shifted Dawnbreaker to its shotgun form and searched the area. She stopped herself magically at the right time and bent her knees as she landed on the crashed elevator car. Seeing no movement, Yang sprinted across the floor to the open vault. She passed some sort of barrier and she could see inside the tree. Aaron lay a few feet inside on red sand.

Yang ran inside the tree and scanned for any other movement. Seeing none, she threw her weapon to the sand and knelt by Aaron's side. His eyes were clenched and he held a bloody hand over the right side of his chest. Both of his hands had large holes through them as well. He spoke through grit teeth in the Ancient Language. Yang held her own hands over the chest wound and added her own magic into the mix. Only a minute later, Yang's spells stopped taking her energy. She shifted her attention to Aaron's hands while Aaron did the same. After a while, the holes filled themselves in and the new skin looked deathly pale.

Yang took her hands back and looked at Aaron's face. Her brother-in-law breathed heavily with his eyes still closed. "How you feeling Aaron?"

"Terrible but alive." Aaron opened his eyes and removed his hand from his chest. He raised his head and looked at his former wound. "But I don't think I'm out of the woods yet."

Yang looked over Aaron to find any other wounds. "If that's all she was able to do to you, what's she look like?"

Aaron grimaced. "Ilia's half Grimm now."

Yang cocked her head. She couldn't have heard that right. "You feeling alright?"

"For now. But I'm telling you, Ilia is half Grimm." Aaron sat up and looked over himself. "I'm not changing colors, am I?"

Yang bit her lip. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"I didn't get a single hit on her." Aaron stared up at Yang. "She could have easily killed me. Why didn't she?"

So many red flags waved in Yang's head. "I'm getting you up to Velvet. Now." She pulled Aaron to his feet and he leaned on her side. Yang searched the area once more for anything besides sand, but only her shotgun lay in the desert. "She has the Relic?" Yang asked as she picked up her weapon.

Aaron nodded. "I tried to stop her, but she got the jump on me."

Yang grimaced. If was Ruby said about the Relic under Beacon was true, and there was no reason to doubt her, and if this one had a similar power level, Salem just became the undisputed most powerful person on Remnant. "Well… shit."

* * *

Salem smiled as she looked over her most prized possession. The Relic of Knowledge. So much energy emanated from the lantern. Soon, she would be able to feel the Aura it held as well. She was one step closer to her goal.

"Well done, Ilia." Salem set the Relic to the side of her throne. She raised her head to face her Grimm Maiden and the writhing form of Leonardo Lionheart. Ilia knelt in front of the crystal throne, her head bowed. "You have given me something that so many others have failed to give, accomplished what no other has."

"Thank you, my Queen." Ilia bent her head even more. "I live to serve you."

Salem turned her gaze to the coward on the floor. "If only the same could be said for our 'guest.'"

Lionheart jerked around even more in his bonds. "Your Grace! I never betrayed you! I fought all the way."

"Not hard enough. You failed to kill a child half your age and obviously never escaped elf custody. I have had enough of your failure. Ilia, finish him."

One of Ilia's new legs jut out of her back and jabbed the end into Lionheart's neck. The coward gurgled and writhed even more in his bonds. In the last moments of his life, he stared up at Salem, mouthing what looked like 'mercy.' His death was a mercy. His pathetic life was ending. He would live it no more. The coward fell still in a puddle of his own blood.

Salem faced her Maiden again. "You may rest now, Ilia. Your next task will require you to be well rested. Take care of this garbage and send in Dr. Watts and Hazel. I have a new mission for them."

"Your will be done, my Queen." Ilia pulled her extra leg in and grabbed one of Lionhearts. She pulled the corpse out of the throne room and disappeared into the hall beyond.

Salem picked the Relic back up and continued to examine it. She had one, but it wasn't enough. Oscar and the Riders had two, three if they convinced the Summer Maiden to open the Vault in Vacuo. No one out powered the others. Even then, Pyrrha Nikos and Ruby Kingkiller were among the most powerful Maidens since their inception. In order to succeed, Salem needed two other Maidens. To do that, either Ruby or Pyrrha had to die. It would be easier to kill Pyrrha, but Ruby's death would be more damaging. Salem had another plan to kill the Rider. None had worked before, but that was because Ruby was at full strength.

If she was right about one man's Semblance, Kingkiller wouldn't stand a chance.

* * *

 **Just a reminder, my version of the Relics are likely a little overpowered compared to canon. The Relic of Knowledge certainly is.  
**


	68. Withdrawal

**So, one thing finally went right over here to put me in the good mood. After not having a car since Superbowl Sunday (RIP Frozone) I got a car that I can fully cal my own today. I call her Saphira. Guess what color she is. Anyway, onto this.  
**

* * *

Ruby took in a long, deep breath and let it out just as slow. She focused on her chief healer in the mirror. "So, let me ask for clarity's sake. You're finding nothing wrong with Aaron. His system is clear, and all injuries have healed."

Velvet nodded. "Correct, but I am going to keep him here for two more days to keep him under observation. I just want to be sure."

Aaron sighed behind Velvet. "Is that really necessary?"

"Yes!" Velvet whipped around and stuck a finger at Aaron. "You are not leaving this building. I am going to speak with Nalia about this and I will make sure she won't let you leave Mor'ranr Vera."

"And if you show up here in that time," Ruby narrowed her eyes at her husband, "I will drag you back there by the ear and have Nalia pin you to the ground until Velvet clears you to go." She tried to keep her voice level, but it wavered halfway through. Aaron would still know that she's serious.

"Thank you." Velvet nodded at Ruby. "I… also have an update on Jade and Lily. Violet called in not too long ago. Jade was DOA and Lily's injuries were too extreme, even for Orchid."

Ruby fought to keep her throat clear and to keep her eyes from leaking. The first full pair to die under her leadership. Despite their delicate names, they were strong fighters. Ruby barely got to know them. That was one thing she didn't like about there being so many Riders and dragons, so many of them were strangers. "Thank you, Velvet. I'll contact Jade's family when that part of the world wakes up."

Velvet nodded and glanced back at Aaron. "I'll let you two have some time." She stepped out of frame and the mirror view shifted to focus on Aaron.

Ruby waited to hear a door close before speaking. "How are you feeling, honey?"

"Sore. Tired. The usual after a fight."

"Okay good. Now… what were you _thinking?"_ Ruby jerked her hands on both sides of her head. "You fought Ilia _alone?_ You're lucky to be alive! Before she could have gut you like a fish, but _now?_ You think I go all out when we spar using that kind of stuff? That would kill you in seconds! What were you doing fighting her without women to back you up? If you somehow managed to kill her, who knows where her powers would have ended up? How could you mess up that bad?"

Aaron sat still the whole rant, not shrinking away one bit. "Are you done?"

Ruby clamped her teeth together, biting back another retort. "For now, until you say something else idiotic."

"For one, your ordered me down there." Ruby's left eye twitched. Aaron wasn't wrong. "I was invisible the whole time. I had no intent on fighting her alone. I don't know how she knew I was there, but she hit me right before I was about to leave. I only went into the vault in the first place to confirm that the Relic was gone."

"So you snuck up on a Goliath and hoped you weren't stepped on, huh? We knew long ago that this kind isn't scared of mice."

Aaron stiffened. "Mice? Is that what you think of me?"

"Compared to a Maiden, yes! You are one of the best fighters I know and I would gladly have you watching my back in any fight, but against another Maiden, that's all you'd be. Backup. Just providing covering fire. You get close, you're dead. None of us want that."

"What would you have had me do differently?"

Ruby opened her mouth nothing came out. If she was there, she didn't know what she would have done differently. "Something else! Take Yang with you! Know my order was terrible and not go down there in the first place!"

"If Yang was with me, she'd be in the same place as I was. Maybe one of us would be dead. Ilia might have only needed one witness."

"Stop thinking about the mission! The mission isn't everything! Cerise slapped me in the face after the last major Grimm attack in Vale. We help as many people as we can, but we can't if we're dead!" Ruby's voice caught in her throat and tears welled up in her eyes. "It's not just you that will be hurt. It's Angel. It's me. It's _Nalia._ We all feel it when you're hurt.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. You did… most things right. You still should have had Yang with you, but you're right about what could have happened. And…" Ruby shook her head and looked away. "I know it's an occupational hazard, but I don't like seeing you get hurt. Everyone around here has a tendency to get injured… I don't want to hang any more pictures up in the hall down here."

"Hey." Aaron stood up and approached his own mirror and set his hand on the glass. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be home in a few days. I'll apologize properly then."

"I'll make sure you feel welcome here that night." Ruby felt her dragon leave her head at the impure thoughts. She put her natural hand on the mirror. "I'll tell Angel you won't be home for a few days."

Aaron grimaced. "She's a big reason I want to get home."

"I don't blame you." A notification flashed in Ruby's right eye. "Sorry, honey. I need to fill in the headmasters on what happened."

"It's okay, Ru. I know you'd have to go sooner or later." Aaron took his hand back from the mirror. "I love you, Ruby."

"Love you too, Aaron." Ruby cut the flow of energy and her husband disappeared. She sighed and stretched her mind toward her dragon. _Cerise, we're done._

 _A little warning next time,_ Cerise growled.

 _I didn't know it was going to happen._ Ruby stepped backward to take in the full wall of mirrors. _Time for the even less fun thing and to get my head chewed off._

Cerise' growl changed tone. _But it's necessary._

 _I know._ Ruby sighed and began casting the first of many communication spells. One by one, the Headmasters of four of the five Academies appeared on the mirror in addition to Oscar and Pyrrha, including the recently promoted headmaster Sun Wukong of Concordia. Only Toto was missing, but he knew most of it already.

"I take it you have an update on Haven?" Ironwood asked.

"Not a good one." Ruby crossed her arms. "I have no good news at all. I'll go from bad to terrible. First off, somewhere in the confusion, Lionheart disappeared. Considering how Lord Däthedr said he was on the flight over, I'd say he's either dead or in Salem's custody, maybe both."

Oscar sighed. "I never wanted any of this. If he stayed in Alagaësia, he would never have died."

"Aaron briefly mentioned that Lionheart was tortured on the other side, so maybe not."

"Really?" Sun asked. "The elves?"

Ruby nodded. A few years ago, she would never have pictured Sun as a teacher, let alone a Headmaster, but he mellowed out big time after Blake was killed. She still wished her sister's husband never had that reason to calm down. "They're medieval, well, in sensibilities anyway. They'll defend their allies to the death and God help you if you're their enemy."

"What else do you have?" Dora Thi asked.

Ruby shifted on her feet. "It appears that Salem can now turn people at least partly into Grimm. Aaron said Ilia had a lot of Grimm like body parts." Everyone had some sort of reaction from clenched fists to jaws dropping to swearing under their breath. Ruby focused on Oscar. "Have you seen anything like this before?"

Oscar shook his head. "No. I have only heard about things like this in books and movies. Of course, there's the occasional scare that turns out to be faked but never confirmed. Are you sure that it was real, not one of those?"

"Velvet gave him a clean bill of health. He hasn't given me any reason to doubt him."

"What would that accomplish?" Pyrrha asked. "Wouldn't that take away her Aura?"

"If she was able to work around that," Glynda started. "and if Aaron is right and she has, she would have complete control."

Ruby shivered and clenched her fists. "Killing Ilia will be a mercy. No one deserves that…" She paused as some things connected together in her head. It would make sense. An army under her direct control… "What if this is what she's after? Control?" Ruby looked over all assembled in her mirror. "We've already established that Salem could have wiped us all out centuries ago if she wanted to. This could be why she needs the Relics. Something tells me it's not easy to turn a human into something else."

"It's a theory." Ironwood crossed his arms. "It still doesn't explain why so many Grimm try to kill us or why she wants control in the first place."

"What about the Relic?" Glynda asked, sounding like she already knew the answer.

Ruby shook her head. "Yang confirmed it. The Relic's gone." There were sighs and mumbled swear words all around. Everyone had to have put it together when Ruby first mentioned Ilia.

"So what now?" Sun asked. "Has this happened before?"

Oscar shook his head. "No. This is the first time Salem has possessed a Relic. At this point, I only have one idea." He looked straight at Ruby.

"We might be on the same page for once." Ruby looked around the three present Headmasters of the original four Academies. "I'm hereby requesting permission to retrieve my Relic from beneath Atlas."

Ironwood immediately tensed up and glared at Ruby. "Are you insane? One Relic is already out there. Why would we ever let another one out?"

"Because one Relic is already out there." Ruby returned Ironwood's glare. "If either Pyrrha or I don't have access to ours, Salem could run wild and destroy I don't know how many people before we could react. Having a Relic may make Salem think twice about using hers."

"What's stopping you from misusing the Relic?"

"My beliefs, my goals, my oaths. I am sworn to protect the people of Remnant and Alagaësia from all threats. To protect them from Salem, I need the Relic."

"And if you decide the best way to do that is to take control of both?"

"Then I expect all of you and your successors to work together to take me down." Ruby paused. _"When we kill Salem, I will return the Relic to its vault or another safe, secure, and neutral location."_ Oscar and Dora Thi relaxed their shoulders.

Ironwood grit his teeth. "In Vytalian?"

"She said that she'll relinquish the Relic once Salem is dead," Dora Thi said. "She cannot lie in that language."

"I believe this to be the right decision," Oscar said. "Of all the previous Maidens I have known, I have no reservations about the current Fall and Winter Maidens controlling their Relics."

Glynda nodded. "Though I don't like this decision, it's the only one I can see that will give us a chance."

"Ruby can protect hers better than I can protect mine," Pyrrha said. "She should take hers while mine stays beneath Beacon."

Sun cast a light glare at Ruby, but a glare nonetheless. "Just try not to get us mortals caught in the crossfire." Ruby fought back a wince. After all these years, he still held Blake's death against her.

Ironwood sighed. "It appears I am outvoted… Very well, Ruby. I will allow you to take your Relic, but know I will be watching your every move while it is in your possession."

 _You may try._ "Expect me within the hour. The sooner we get this done, the better." Ruby paused. "Trust me, I don't think this any more than you. If Salem didn't have a Relic, I would never even think about this. I don't want that much power, but it's necessary. The sooner I can get rid of it, the better."

Ironwood grunted. "At least you have some sense. I will see you when you arrive." He stepped out of frame and Ruby cut the energy flow sustaining that part of the spell.

The Rider looked over the rest of the assembled. "I need to go. I will keep all of you updated as time goes on." There were nods all around and Ruby cut all energy keeping the spells active. She sighed and slumped against the wall. "That went about as well as could be expected."

 _We have the cover of night,_ Cerise said. _We should go._

 _In a bit. I need to take care of things upstairs first._ Ruby pushed herself off the wall and walked out of the video conference room. She stopped outside the command center for a second to listen in. There wasn't as much activity in there as there was a few hours ago, but that was likely because the Grimm attacks had died down. Besides Haven, the damage didn't sound too extreme. It helped that Mistral City was built onto a mountain. Ground Grimm had a hard time moving up.

Ruby walked to the elevator and rode it up to her dark house. Only a few flameless lanterns lit the Hall but it was enough for Ruby to see. She walked to the kitchen, pulled out a sticky note pad, and wrote a note to Viki. 'Secret mission to Atlas. Don't know when I'll be back. Please get Angel ready for school. -Ruby' She stuck the note to the microwave. Viki woke up well before everyone else. Angel wouldn't know the note existed. With any luck, neither would Viki.

The mother walked across the hall to her daughter's room. With all the action over the day, she didn't get the chance to say goodnight to Angel. Ruby slowly pushed the door open. Her daughter's soft breathing filtered through the air, undisturbed. Ruby walked to Angel's bedside and stared down at her daughter. Her baby girl's eyes were tensed and her lips pulled in. She was having a bad dream. Ruby caressed her daughter's cheek and she kissed Angel's forehead. The girl's face leveled out and a small smile appeared on her lips. "Sleep well, Angel," Ruby whispered. She walked away from her daughter's bed, left the room, and closed the door behind her.

 _Now we're ready to go._ Ruby walked through the hall to the main landing pad. She pushed through the human-sized door and looked up to her dragon. _You ready for a massive temperature drop?_

 _Is anyone ready for that?_ Cerise dropped to her belly. Ruby climbed up her dragon's side and settled in the saddle. _Can we place all the wards in the Hadarac Desert?_

 _No… we'll do it in the Hall of Colors in Mor'ranr Vera._

Cerise raised her ears and turned her head back. _Really? You want to see Aaron?_

 _I do, but I won't. Officially, we won't be there at all. We go in invisible in and out. The less we give Salem, the better._

 _Sounds like a plan._ Cerise faced forward again and jumped to the nearest river. Ruby got them to Alagaësia then to the mountain range just north of Atlas. Cerise flew close to the ground to avoid being seen and to stay off Atlesian radar. A few minutes later, the CCT tower at the center of Atlas Academy rose above the mountains. As Ruby hoped, Ironwood stood on a balcony at the base of the tower. Cerise banked around and her Rider readied herself in the saddle. Once behind the tower, she rolled hard and fast, flinging Ruby onto the balcony beside the General.

"Impressive entrance," Ironwood deadpanned.

"We all know radar stinks in the mountains. Had to fly low and fast to avoid getting noticed. Now let's get to the reason I'm here."

Ironwood nodded and turned toward the entrance to the tower. He picked up a large briefcase as he entered the building. Ruby followed close behind. The general led the way through the building and a fake pillar to an armored door that reminded Ruby of a bank vault. He held his right hand to the door and a panel popped out at eye level. The iris scanner beeped and the door opened to an armored elevator. He stepped inside and the Maiden followed him in.

Ruby had only been in this place once but she remembered the agonizingly long elevator ride to the bottom. It felt like they went farther into the ground than the Vault of Souls back on Vroengard. But this way it was secure. No one from the surface would be able to feel the power of the Relic. Ruby, Cerise, and several Eldunarí tried when they first placed all the wards on the elevator and the vault. Speaking of which, Ruby felt the wards and spells scanning for any hostility, Aura levels, and a multitude of other things. Any one of them could kill an unshielded person instantly. Neither she nor Ironwood qualified, so Ruby wasn't too worried.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened to a large cavern with a solid steel wall on the other side. That was the vault of the Relic of Creation. Ruby had never seen inside and still didn't want to. She stepped out of the elevator and walked toward the wall while Ironwood stayed in the elevator. On a closer look, the metal was completely surrounded by the rock wall. There shouldn't be any way for the metal to open. Ruby was about to find out just how it worked.

She bit her lips and placed her natural hand on the wall. _Here it goes…_ The Maiden sent some of her Aura into the wall. At first, nothing happened. Then it started to glow white and something clicked. Ruby stepped back from the wall and held her breath. A vertical line appeared in the direct center of the wall. More started to form as two doors opened toward the Maiden. The doors were at least five-foot-thick solid steel. It would take a lot to make more than a scratch on it.

A cave made of ice lay on the far side. A pedestal rose in the center of the room. Two golden hands gripped onto a silver staff with a clear crystal being held by thin silver bands. "The Relic of Creation," Ruby whispered to herself.

Like she did with the Relic of Choice under Beacon, Ruby stretched her mind toward the Relic. She took a deep breath through her teeth as torrents of energy and Aura flowed into her. Her Aura flared red as it strengthened beyond belief. She cut off the mental connection and waited for her Aura to fade back to transparency before stepping forward.

Once inside the Vault, Ruby felt nothing stopping her from moving forward. She stepped up to the podium and held her hands over the staff. The Maiden held her breath and closed her fingers around the Relic… and she felt nothing. She blinked. "Huh?" She pulled on the staff and the golden hands holding the Relic retracted. The Relic was surprisingly light. It couldn't be made of actual silver. Then again, something told her logic and rules that she was used to were probably not applicable to the Relics. Ruby shifted the Relic completely to her left hand. She still felt none of the power that she did with her mind. There was time to figure that out later.

Ruby looked up and down the staff. It looked like solid metal, no way to compact it down. The Maiden quirked her lips. If only there was… the staff glowed in her hands and there was a slight drain in her Aura. Metal shifted beneath her fingers. The staff gained a little weight. A new button appeared right by her thumb. Ruby's jaw dropped and she pulled it right back up. "Creation. Right." She pushed the button and the whole thing collapsed into a rod no bigger than a foot with the crystal sticking out a little more. At least it made transportation a lot easier.

The Maiden hooked her Relic to her belt and walked out of the vault. She set a hand on the metal doors again and gave it some more of her Aura… or was it some of the excess Aura the Relic gave her? Either way, the doors closed once again, sealing without a trace.

Ruby nodded and approached the elevator and Ironwood. "I have the Relic. Let's go." She stepped inside and leaned against the back wall.

Ironwood hit the ground floor button on the elevator. "Your Aura flared. Are you okay?" He picked up the briefcase from the floor and opened it.

"I'm fine." Ruby set the Relic in the padded case. "Just Aura overload. That was… something." She shook her head. "This one at least requires a little bit of Aura to use. It was a solid staff before, now it's collapsible."

Ironwood closed the case and gave Ruby a look. "You do know the seriousness of this situation, correct?"

Ruby rolled her whole head. "I'm not that fifteen-year-old girl you met all those years ago. I've fought a war against slavers and an empire. I've bested warriors that could make your specialists look like first-year combat school students. I run Alagaësia's Air Force which is also the strongest Huntsmen organization on Remnant. I've killed more people than I can count. I've seen things that you couldn't imagine. I know what kind of damage this thing can do if it falls into the wrong hands. I know how serious this is."

"I had to be sure." Ironwood handed the case over to Ruby.

The Maiden took the case and held it by her side. "Thank you." They continued most of the rest of the ride in silence. Ruby glanced at Ironwood's left side. She had offered before but it had been a while. "James, I'll give you this option again. I can make you bionic skin for all of your bionics."

James shook his head. "In battle, it's better to feel nothing. Pain is a distraction."

 _Pain keeps you alive._ Ruby bit her tongue to keep herself from saying that. She took the hint. Ironwood didn't want the help, and he would never say why. He was too proud to ask for help. The elevator doors opened and the general led the way out. The Rider stretched her mind out toward her dragon. _Cerise, we're back up and on our way out._

 _I'm flying back,_ Cerise called. _I've also made the Eldunarí with us swear not to inspect the Relic themselves. The one under Beacon had a big effect on you. I don't know what it could do to an Eldunarí._

 _This one's just as strong. Same effect._ Ruby stepped back into the main lobby of the CCT and Ironwood closed the fake pillar behind them. She stepped into the doorway leading to the balcony. _I'm where you dropped me off. Just tell me when._

 _I'm almost there._ A flash of red near one of the mountains caught Ruby's eye. Cerise' mind came from that direction. The dragon disappeared behind another mountain. _Anytime, Ruby._

The Rider ran forward and jumped over the railing around the balcony. She fell a dozen feet below it before Cerise caught her Rider on her back. _Nice catch, Cerise._ She pat her dragon's neck.

 _Thank you._ Cerise banked and curved back to the mountains. _I found a lake not too far away. I already melted a good chunk of it._

 _Got it._ Ruby found an open hook on her saddle and clipped the briefcase to it. Cerise flew around a few mountains and landed near a half-frozen lake. Ruby cast the between worlds spell from her dragons back and they jumped through to Alagaësia. _You want to go invisible now or to wait until we've landed?_

 _I'd like to know where my feet are so I don't hit too hard._

 _Got it._ Ruby waited until Cerise touched down beside Lake Isenstar before turning both of them invisible. She cast the between worlds spell again and the dragon jumped in. They flew low over the small mountains and a few still sleeping wild dragons. A few minutes later the few lights of Mor'ranr Vera came into view along with the keep, and the Hall of Colors at the top. Cerise flew toward that and landed in the veranda nearest to the Hall of Colors.

Ruby dismounted and stepped inside the keep. Judging from the shaking floor, Cerise did too. The Rider set her natural hand on one of the stone walls and whispered a locking spell. The massive stone and iron doors of the keep slowly swung shut with a boom. Ruby cast one more spell and both she and Cerise became visible again. "Well, let's face the council."

The two walked through the halls and up a ramp to the Hall at the top of the keep. Most of the Eldunarí were in a new Vault of Souls, but that was because they were still mentally broken from losing their Riders or from what Galbatorix did to them. The others stayed in the Hall of Colors, named so because of the rainbow of colors from the Eldunarí and eggs that filled the room. Only the rookies didn't know that either place existed, and that was because they hadn't sworn themselves to secrecy yet.

The ramp leveled out and Ruby and Cerise entered the Hall. It had much the same layout as the original Vault of Souls, with tiers of rings holding most of the eggs to be bonded to Riders and the addition of nameplates beneath the Eldunarí. From the outside, the Hall was domed. With some magic from Aithlin that Ruby didn't quite understand, those inside could see the night sky as if there was no ceiling. Ruby stepped around the massive table in the center, nodded at the still form of Cuaroc, and stopped in front of Umaroth. _"Master, what information have you received on the attack on Haven?"_

 _ **We have been informed that Haven has been destroyed, Aaron Benson has been injured, and that a Rider and dragon have been killed. You have our sympathies for all three.**_

Ruby forced her throat to stay unconstricted. _"Thank you, but that's not why I'm here. Ilia was there. She's the one who injured Aaron, and she stole the Relic of Knowledge."_

Umaroth mentally growled and the colors in his Eldunarí shifted like there was a thunderstorm inside. Most other Eldunarí in the Vault had similar storms inside them. _**So Salem is now the most powerful being on Remnant.**_

" _Not exactly."_ Ruby waved her dragon over. Cerise walked to her Rider's side and settled down beside her. _"I have just retrieved the Relic of Creation from Atlas."_ She took off the briefcase from Cerise' saddle. _"We can still challenge her. Before anyone in here tries, don't touch your mind to it. I can barely control the energy and Aura inside. I don't know what it could do to any of you."_

Ruby felt the attention of all the Eldunarí shift to either her or the Relic. _**You wish to hold the Relic here?**_ Umaroth asked.

" _No. I retrieved it from Atlas to avoid retrieval time. If Salem attacks using her Relic, we need to act as fast as possible. I'm planning on keeping it in the pocket space behind Cerise with the Eldunarí."_

Umaroth mentally growled. _**This is a dangerous proposition, Shadeslayer. What if something should happen to you or Cerise? The Relic would fall into the wrong hands.**_

" _I'm worried too, but not about being overwhelmed. The Relic has so much energy and Aura in it, just touching my mind to it gives me more of both than I can physically contain."_ Ruby paused. _"No one person should have all this power. It's dangerous. I, or whoever holds this, could alter the face of Remnant and Alagaësia… but I trust it in my hands or another Rider's over Salem."_

Umaroth stayed silent for a while. _**If this Relic contains so much power, what does it do?**_

" _That's one of the reasons I came here."_ Ruby picked up the Relic, surprising herself again when she didn't feel an energy rush. _"In addition to putting as many wards around it as this room, I need to figure out what this can do in case I have to use it in battle. With your permission, Master, I would like to do so here."_

 _ **Proceed. We will observe.**_ Umaroth pulled out of Ruby's head.

The Rider turned around and faced her dragon. "Cerise, if you've got any ideas, I'm all ears."

 _Maybe turn it back to the way it was before?_ Cerise suggested.

"Good a place to start as…" The Relic glowed in Ruby's hand. It extended back into a full staff, then the button to make the switch disappeared. It lost a little weight and the collapsing parts smoothed out. She felt a light drain on her Aura, but that was replaced almost immediately from natural regeneration. "All I need to do is think about doing it?" She let her arm and the Relic hand by her side as she looked around the room. "What can I use to test…"

Her eyes settled on a rock that looked like it fell from the ceiling. She pointed the Relic at the rock. _Water._ The top of the rock turned wet, then it started to cave inward and water started pouring off the sides. The water continued to pour out until there was nothing left of the rock. Ruby shifted her focus to the new creation. _Reform._ The water rolled back inward and the base of the rock took shape. Water flowed up the rock until it all hardened back into its original form. It showed no signs of ever being anything else or even being wet.

Ruby nodded and faced her dragon. "What do you think, molecular rearrangement?"

Cerise shrugged. _So much of science still confuses me. That turned into water, then back into a rock._

"You have a point." Ruby raised her head and looked at no place in particular. Could it change the air? _Water._ A circle of crystal clear water appeared in the air and hung there for a second before falling to the ground and splashing everywhere. Ruby nodded. "Okay. It does that… or it might have taken what little water out of the air there is."

Ruby bit her lip and turned all the way around, searching for more test subjects. _What are the limits…_ She stopped her turn and her eyes focused on Cuaroc. That would do it. _"Cuaroc, may I borrow one of your pauldrons? If this works, it will be a lot stronger than it is now. If not, well, it won't change."_

The massive not-quite-android stood up and walked toward Ruby. He tore off his left pauldron and handed it to the Rider. Ruby took the pauldron and memorized the weight. Satisfied, she put the metal plate on the floor, pointed the Relic at the plate, and thought of the strongest titanium alloy she could think of. The armor glowed but didn't change color. The Relic tugged on Ruby's Aura a little more but it restored all it took.

Ruby picked up the pauldron, finding it a little heavier than before and with a different feel. She ran a scan with her bionic hand. The name that popped up was the same one she was thinking of. Ruby nodded as another thought came to her head. There was a lot of energy in the Relic in addition to the Aura. Could it embed magic into the metal? The Rider set the metal on the floor again and held the Relic over it. She called up the memory of how she makes brightsteel in her head while she substituted meteoric iron for the alloy.

This time the Relic took a little of Ruby's energy to jump-start the change. The pauldron glowed and faded to nothing after a minute. Ruby picked up the armor piece and whispered in the Ancient Language. As far as she could tell, all spells put in Riders' weapons were now in the armor piece. Ruby nodded and smiled. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as forging it from scratch but it proved it was possible. She made a note to ask Rhunön if she could change the formula for Riders' swords.

" _It worked."_ Ruby handed the armor plate back to Cuaroc. _"I can't give you an exact figure, but it should be able to take a lot more damage. I can do the rest if you want."_ Cuaroc fit the pauldron back into place, then faced Ruby and snorted. The Rider pointed the Relic at the android and went through the same process as before. Cuaroc glowed for a minute before the extra light faded away. Ruby lowered the staff and nodded. _"That will make you more effective in battle."_

Ruby turned around and held the staff flat across her hands. "Well, this can do some pretty crazy things. I don't think I'd use this for much… more." Her mouth hung open as she stared at her right hand. Her fake hand. She loved it, but she also hated that she had to have it. Whenever she took it off for maintenance, she felt that pang of sadness at the loss of her natural limbs. "Can it…" She looked up at her dragon. Cerise' eyes were wide, her pupils taking up almost all the room. "If something goes wrong, get me to Velvet immediately."

 _I will, Gem._ Cerise stepped back and rested her jaw on the ground.

Ruby held the Relic over her bionic arm. _Give me my natural arm back._ She felt the now familiar poke at her Aura and her arm tingled. The tingle traveled down her arm and to her fingers. She bit her lip as soon as the tingle stopped. She set the Relic on the ground and squeezed her arm.

She gasped as she felt something near her elbow that she hadn't felt in years. Her arm squished down. There was no metal underneath, just guts and bones. "Oh my gosh… oh my gosh." Ruby felt up and down her newly created arm. She had that same feeling up and down the limb and her fingers. She tried to pop open the maintenance hatches and twist off the arm, but nothing happened. "Cerise," she raised her arm toward her dragon, "is it real?"

Cerise sniffed the arm then flicked her tongue on it. She hummed and nuzzled it. _It's as real as the day I hatched._

Ruby breathed out and it sounded like a laugh. She brought her right arm to her chest and hugged it. If the Relic worked on her arm, it had to work on her leg and eye too. Screw her hero complex! She was going to be normal again!

She looked up at all the Eldunarí. Who said she had to stop with herself? There was enough energy in the Relic to give all the dragons their bodies back! Halcyon too! Could she bring Zwei back? Or _Blake?_ Ruby picked up the Relic and smiled at it. With it she could… she could… she could shape Remnant and Alagaësia however she wanted. She'd protect the people… but she fought and killed to destroy that kind of 'protection.'

Ruby dropped her smile and stared at the floor. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." She kissed her newly restored arm. "I'll miss you again." She held the Relic over her right arm. "Give me my bionic back, exactly how it was before." Her arm tingled again, this time from fingertips up. When that stopped, she dropped the Relic and twisted her right arm. All sensitivity disappeared and her bionic popped off. That felt exactly right. Ruby sighed and clicked her bionic back into place.

Cerise hummed sadly. _Did you need to do that?_

"That's not hero complex, Cerise. That's fear of power." Ruby stared down at the Relic. She stepped away and backed into her dragon. "Cerise, promise me you'll stop me from using that in the way I was about to."

Cerise nuzzled the side of Ruby's face. _**I will keep you from misusing the Relic.**_

"Thank you." Ruby sighed. "Now I know why these things were locked up." She shook her head. "Now to load this up with wards."

* * *

 **Relics are out there... and have power levels similar to Infinity Stones like I originally thought they'd be... well, not _that_ powerful, but much more than canon.**


	69. Take Wing

**March 12: WE'RE ON TOP OF THE SUMMIT! GO BISON! WE GOIN DANCING!**

 **March 17: #1 overall Duke will play the winner of NC Central and North Dakota State… wat…**

 **March 20: BRING ON DUKE! WE WILL BE THE CINDERELLA!**

 **First half vs Duke: *insert Han Solo Never tell me odds meme here***

 **Second half vs Duke: Play us in football! See how it goes then!**

 **Seriously, my Bison played their hearts out in that game. For a while there in the first half, it looked like we actually could beat the #1 overall. If we actually hit our three points, we actually might have. Even though we lost the game, I'm proud of what our boys did. There's also a bit of a lesson here. The only way you have no chance at victory is if you don't try or give up.**

 **Anyway, I'm rambling. Let's get to it.**

* * *

Velvet shook her head as she pushed a clipboard at Aaron. "You're not even the worst patient I ever had. I had some real jerks when I was doing my residency in Vale."

Aaron took the clipboard and signed on the dotted line. "I'll have to try harder next time."

"Do that, and I tell Ruby you're trying to get in bed with me." Velvet crossed her arms.

Aaron froze and raised his head. "People seriously tried to do that?"

"It would be one thing if they were on painkillers, not their normal personality." Velvet growled. "It wasn't even just crazy guys. There were a few women in there too."

"People here." Aaron shook his head and pushed the clipboard back. "Back in Alagaësia, people lost limbs or were castrated for that."

"I wonder if that would change things here." Velvet picked up the clipboard, looked it over, and nodded. "Everything's in order here. You're clear to go. I hope I don't see you in here again."

"Not as a patient anyway." Aaron looked around the lobby of the fairly large hospital in Mor'ranar Vera. "I might come back for a tour."

Velvet nodded. "And there's plenty of room for growth. I can't wait for the day when we have enough people and accreditation to have Riders go through all their medical training here. That'll streamline things so much."

"I bet. I'll see you around." Aaron turned around and walked out of the hospital. Nalia stood out in the street, growling at a much smaller orange dragon with back spikes in the same shape as the green's. Lavi growled back at her mother with her ears pressed against her head. The growls from both dragons grew more intense until Nalia raised her ears and hummed. Her daughter copied her mother and raised her head to Nalia's level. The dragons rubbed their heads together, then turned around toward their Riders.

 _Good to see you on your feet again,_ Nalia said.

"I've been on my feet since an hour after I was stabbed." Aaron rubbed a hand across Nalia's face as he walked by. He climbed up to the saddle and pat his dragon's neck once he settled in. "But it _is_ good to be on your back again."

Nalia hummed. _I should hope so. Straight home?_

"Fastest way home. There's a difference."

 _The ocean then._ Nalia walked down the wide street passing only one dragon on the way. _It's starting to feel like Doru Areaba here._

"Yeah." Aaron nodded and he looked around. The buildings along the main street resembled so many in the old city. Most of them weren't occupied yet, but that was because so many Riders preferred to live where they worked. Considering they worked all over Remnant, that was to be expected. "It's still going to take a long time to fill up to that level."

 _It will be well worth the wait._ Nalia walked onto the beach and stopped by the water. Aaron cast the between worlds spell from his dragon's back, then again once they reached Lake Isenstar.

Nalia jumped through the second portal and the mountain house came into view. Aaron sighed and relaxed into the saddle. "It's so good to be home."

 _It is. I wonder how Angel is going to react._

Aaron grit his teeth. "You heard her when she called. I don't like seeing or hearing her _cry,_ especially when I can't be there."

 _She has to be better now, right?_ Nalia turned her head back.

"I don't know. This is the first time she's been around when one of us was injured or even sick."

 _I guess we're going to find out._ Nalia landed on the main pad and her Rider slid off. They walked toward the house and the dragon door opened.

Cerise, Viki, Ruby, and Angel sat in the sitting area watching one of Angel's favorite episodes of Fruittales. All heads turned toward the newcomers, only one of them gasped. "Daddy!" Angel jumped off Ruby's lap and ran across the floor with her arms outstretched. "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

Aaron took a few steps forward then took a knee. He opened his arms and embraced his daughter when she ran into him. "Angel." He turned his head and kissed his daughter's crying cheek. "I missed you, Angel."

"I missed you, too, daddy." Angel kissed Aaron's cheek several times over. She wiggled out of Aaron's arms, then ran back to her mother. "Can I give it to him now, mommy?"

"Of course, sweetie." Ruby rubbed Angel's head. The little girl ran off to her room and disappeared inside.

"Am I missing something?" Aaron asked as he approached his wife.

"Angel wanted to give you her blanket. You know how she is with that." Ruby hugged Aaron and he returned the favor. "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to not have Velvet not threatening to extend my hospital stay." Aaron pulled away but kept his hands on Ruby's shoulders. "I could have left a little after I first called."

"So you are well, brother?" Viki asked as she approached.

"Very." Aaron took his right arm off Ruby's shoulder and moved it to one of Viki's. "I'm feeling like I was before I was hurt. I'm not going to be turning into a Grimm anytime soon."

Ruby sighed. "I do have a bit of bad news. Yang took Halcyon's Core out of his back this morning and Angel saw. She now knows Halcyon is an android, which I suppose is good, but she was scared." She raised her right arm. "When I get home tonight, we're telling Angel about my bionics."

"Right." Aaron nodded, then froze. "When you get home?"

Angel's bedroom door opened and she sprinted out with her fluffy, purple-dragon-that-the-creators-claimed-wasn't-Orchid blanket. She didn't stop until she reached her father's legs. "Daddy, this is for you."

Aaron faked a gasp and knelt in front of his little girl. "Really? For me?"

"Mmhm." Angel jumped and draped the blanket over her father's shoulders. "Feeling better, daddy?"

"Much." Aaron nodded and put his hands under Angel's arms. "I feel as strong as Nalia!" He said that last as he picked up his little girl. He pressed his lips against Angel's face and blew bubbles on her cheek.

Angel squealed, giggled, and tried to push herself away. "Stop it! That tickles! Please!"

There was the 'P' word, so he had to relent. "Okay, Angel." Aaron kissed his daughter's forehead then shifted Angel so she sat in the crook of his right arm. His daughter snuggled in closer and rested her head on her father's shoulder.

Ruby giggled, then something flashed in her bionic eye. "I've got to run. I should hopefully be back before dinner." She kissed Angel on the cheek, then Aaron.

"You never said where you're going."

Ruby paused in her walk toward Cerise. "I've got business on the other side." _I need to tell Deynor and Islanzadí how I expect our prisoners to be treated… and to make funeral arrangements. If the elves didn't allow human family members to the forest before, they will now._

Aaron nodded. "Good luck."

Ruby scoffed. "I don't need luck. I have skill." She climbed onto Cerise back and the dragon walked out of the house.

"Why don't we finish your show?" Aaron asked his daughter as he walked back toward the sitting area.

Angel's smile grew but it faltered right after. "But mommy will miss it…"

Aaron gestured at the projector with his free hand. "She has seen this so many times, I bet she could recite this word for word."

"Nope." Angel shook her head. "She tried. She couldn't."

"Still, I bet she'd want for you to finish this. You know how much she likes things to be finished." Aaron sat on one of the couches and Angel nodded. The father hit play on the projector and his daughter's attention riveted on the talking fruit. Aaron didn't know why Ruby and Angel loved them so much, but as long as they enjoyed it, he wouldn't complain.

After the show ended, Aaron looked down at his daughter. "It's Sunday. Do you have any homework from Friday?"

Angel stiffened and lowered her head. "Yes." She mumbled.

"You should go do that before your mother gets home."

"But…" Angel looked up at Aaron, her lower lip trembling. Her puppy dog face looked exactly like her mother's. "You just got home… I want to play…"

"Do your homework. We can play when you get done. I promise."

"Pinky swear?" Angel held up one of her pinkies.

Aaron took the outstretched finger in one of his own. "Pinky swear." Angel nodded and walked off toward her room. Her head hung the first half, then raised and she picked up her speed. She disappeared into her room without a word. "She seems happy."

"She tried to stay happy the whole time you were gone," Viki said. "Well, whenever she was around me anyway. I caught her a hugging her stuffed hatchling a few times and praying others."

"That's my little girl. I just hope she doesn't end up being too caring."

Viki cocked her head. "How can someone be too caring?"

Aaron grimaced. "To the point where someone could take advantage of her. There are plenty of people on Remnant and in Alagaësia that would use a person that only wanted to help… but how do I teach that without destroying how caring she already is?"

To Aaron's surprise, Viki answered. "Trust Ruby, and yourself. I turned out pretty well, didn't I?"

"You did." Aaron rested a hand on his sister's shoulder. "We were worried for the longest time. The only way I can tell you're Alagaësian now is the way you word sentences."

Viki shrugged. "It's just who I am. There's nothing too special about it."

"It's special. No one else I know of talks like-" Even though Aaron wasn't looking for it, he felt Angel's fear spike. He whipped his head toward his daughter's room. "Angel?"

The walls were thick, but Angel's scream still carried through. "Daddy!"

"Angel!" Aaron jumped over the back of the couch and sprinted toward his daughter's room. He slowed only enough to push the door open. A pile of large print papers laid in the center of the floor. There was no sign of his daughter. "Angel, where are you?"

"Daddy!" Angel yelled from… above. Aaron craned his head back to look at the ceiling. Angel was pressed flat against the fifteen-foot ceiling in between the main lights of the room. She cried and a couple tears fell to the floor. "Daddy, get me down! Get me down!"

"Hold on!" Aaron held his hands out, his palms facing his daughter. "Stay calm. I'm coming up to get you." He paused. "Adur." His feet left the ground and he floated up toward his daughter.

"Hurry! I might…" Angel gasped as her back left the ceiling. She picked up speed and she screamed. Aaron stretched his arms out and caught his little girl. She hit a lot harder than Aaron thought she would. Angel straightened out and threw her arms around her father's neck. Her crying returned with a renewed intensity.

Aaron slowly cut the energy keeping him in the air. He touched the ground and rubbed the back of Angel's head. He faced the entrance to the room. Viki stood just inside the door wearing a worried and confused expression. Nalia rested her head right outside the room, her visible eye wide and black. Her emotions were similarly concerned.

"It's okay, Angel." Aaron rubbed his daughter's back and walked her over to her bed. "It's okay. You're safe now." The father sat on Angel's bed and set his daughter down beside him. He looked his little girl all over for injuries. Angel didn't look any worse for wear, besides her red eyes and wet cheeks anyway. Aaron looked around the room for anything that could get his daughter up there. He saw nothing that Angel could reach that could get her up there, nor anything on the ceiling that could hold her. Aaron looked down at his baby girl and raised Angel's chin with a pinky. "What happened? How'd you get up there?"

Angel sniffed. "I don't know. I was getting my homework. I thought about maybe flying on Halcyon later." Her rear end and legs floated off the bed. She stiffened and looked down. "It's happening again!" She rose faster.

Aaron jabbed his arms out and grabbed Angel's sides. Angel grabbed onto her father's arms, but she kept rising. Aaron had to put some effort into keeping his daughter from flying off. He stretched his mind out to see what was doing this to his baby girl. The only minds he felt belonged to those he trusted with Nalia's life. But Angel… she was using her Aura.

Angel stopped trying to rise and Aaron pulled her back down. She whimpered and her lower lip trembled. "What's happening daddy?"

"I think I might know." Aaron glanced at Nalia. _I know Ruby doesn't want us searching for Angel's Semblance, but she's scared of it. Do we make an exception?_

Nalia's visible eye flicked away then locked back on Aaron. _It's worth the risk. None of us want Angel getting hurt._

Aaron nodded then focused back on his daughter. "Angel, do you trust me?" Angel squeaked and nodded. The father stood up and held his daughter with her feet hanging a few inches over the bed. "Look down at your bed." Angel did as Aaron said. "That is as far off the bed I'll let you go. If you fall, you'll land on your bed."

His daughter stiffened in his arms and snapped her head up. "Daddy?"

"I won't let you get hurt." Aaron leaned forward and kissed Angel's forehead. "Now, close your eyes and imagine yourself staying where you are." Angel clenched her eyes shut and pulled her lips into her mouth. Her father felt his daughter's weight shift and ended up feeling like he was resting his hands on Angel's sides, not like he was holding her. "On the count of three, I'm going to let you go, and you are going to stay right where you are. Ready? One, two, three."

Aaron pulled his hands back a few inches and prepared to grab his baby girl again. That precaution wasn't needed. Angel stayed in place, only bobbing up and down a few inches. She pointed her toes down and kicked her legs. She clenched her eyes even more and tensed her lips. "Daddy?"

"Angel, open your eyes." Aaron felt his lips twitching upward. Angel did as she was told and looked straight at her father and nowhere else. "Keep thinking about staying in the same place and look down.

The girl looked down and gasped. She kicked her legs around and flailed her arms but she stayed in place. "What's going on? Why am I doing this?"

Aaron let his smile fully form. "I think you just found your Semblance."

Angel cocked her head. "Semblance?"

"Let's get you down first." Aaron walked back to Angel's bed but she touched down before he made it close. Angel jumped and she looked down at her feet. "Or you could do it yourself." Aaron knelt by the side of her bed as Angel sat on her blankets. "Remember when your mommy unlocked your Aura? Well, that also unlocked your Semblance. Think of it as a superpower. It's different for everybody. It's how your mommy can run so fast and leave behind rose petals." Aaron raised his right hand and made a translucent green circle appear above it. "It's how I can do this. I believe that's what's allowing you to fly."

Angel's mouth hung open. "So… I can fly?" The edges of her lips slowly crept upward.

"Yes, you can." Aaron paused. "We can work on that, _after_ you finish your homework to the best of your ability."

Angel jumped off her bed and walked to the pile of paper in the center of the floor. "Auntie Viki!" She ran over to her aunt's side. "Can we do my homework? Please? Please? Please?"

Viki shot Aaron a glance, then smiled down at Angel. "I didn't think I'd ever hear you begging to do homework, but yes, we can get to work on that." Viki left the room with Angel less than a step behind her.

Nalia dipped her head back into the doorway. _That went better than expected._

"Ruby's not going to be happy with me when she gets home. I'm going to make it worse when Angel finishes with her homework." Aaron walked out of the bedroom door and rested a hand on his dragon's snout. "Think you can teach Angel how to fly?"

Nalia made a confused warble. _I'm not sure I can. She doesn't have wings. I think Halcyon would be a better teacher._

"There is that." Aaron looked over Nalia's head. Viki and Angel sat at the dining 'room' table already working on the homework. "Ruby will come around. When she sees Angel flying and not crashing, she'll squeal."

 _That will be interesting._ Nalia snorted. _We are not betting on that. It's childish._

"You mentioned it, not me." Aaron looked at the sitting area, then at the master bedroom door. "Do you mind if we use your bed to train Angel? It's nice and padded in case she falls."

 _You may use it. I doubt Cerise would mind if you used hers either._

"Thank you. Let's set up a course."

* * *

Jade's mother sniffled as she cradled the bundle of scales in her arms. "Thank you for doing this for us, Ruby. It's more than I could have asked for."

Ruby nodded and wiped an arm across her tear-stained face. "You're welcome. I just wish I could have gotten to know her more." She looked up at the clock on the wall. She promised her family she'd be home for dinner, and it was almost that time. As much as she wanted to stay and help out, she didn't like breaking promises. She faced Jade's parents again. "After the funeral here next week, I will take you to Ellesméra for their ceremony. The elves do a great job. It's something to experience." She stood up from the couch. "I'm sorry, but I need to head home. My husband just got out of the hospital and my daughter hasn't been feeling well."

"Of course." Jade's mom dabbed her eyes with a tissue and stood up. "I won't keep you from them." The two women embraced and separated. Ruby faced Jade's father. The same weak glare he had from the beginning was still on his face. Ruby just nodded at him, then looked between the married couple. "It was nice meeting you two." She turned around and left the house.

Cerise laid in the massive front yard. She raised her head and got her legs beneath her. _Ready to go?_

 _I'm ready to get out of all this sad stuff. Get me home._

 _That's going to be quite the emotional shift. Are you ready for that?_

Ruby sighed. _We get home but not as fast as normal. Give me some time to not be so gloomy._ She shook her head as she climbed her dragon's back. _It's kind of hard to not take work home when work is literally one floor beneath home._

Cerise hummed in agreement and jumped out of the farmyard. _We're quite some distance from the river. You have plenty of time to rest._

 _Thank you._ Ruby leaned forward in the saddle and wrapped her hands as far around Cerise as she could get. _Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts…_ Ruby closed her eyes and just listened to the world around her. She mainly heard the wind rushing past her. The sound of Cerise' wings pumping occasionally broke through. Ruby repositioned her head and rested an ear against her dragon's scales. Cerise' heartbeat and breathing took the place of half the wind. Ruby sighed and relaxed. _I'm a grown adult. Why is this still so soothing?_

 _Maybe you're just weird,_ Cerise hummed.

Ruby rubbed Cerise' scales as she relaxed even more. _Next Saturday, me and you are flying together for a few hours._

 _We've done that so much. I'd like to see Vale through your eyes._

 _Really? We've never done it the other way around, have we?_

 _We love flying like that so much._

Ruby smiled and nodded. _We do, but if you want to see the world from my view, I'd love to show you around Vale. Just be ready for people to mob us, good and bad._

 _I can help you with that. You know how much I love attention._

 _As long as you warn me if you want to take over my mouth._

Cerise' wings hitched. _You would allow me to do that?_

 _If you warn me. I trust you to know when it's too much._

Cerise hummed and turned her head back. _**If I want to say something with your mouth, I will tell you, and I will not overstay my welcome.**_

Ruby gave her dragon a light laugh. _You didn't need to swear that, but thank you._ Cerise hummed again and faced forward. A few minutes of comfortable silence later, the dragon landed by the Armen River. Ruby cast the between worlds spell there, then again at Lake Isenstar. The mountain house appeared after the second portal and Ruby finally sat up in the saddle. _Thanks for the nice flight. I don't think I'll bring down the family now._

 _Good to hear._ Cerise landed on the concrete pad and she crouched down. _Are you and Aaron still planning to…_ she didn't finish.

"Planning to what?" Ruby asked as she climbed down her dragon. She saw Cerise' uncomfortable look and blushed. "Oh. That. Well… Yes. So… fly out when we put Angel to bed." She walked toward the house without giving her dragon another look. The dragon door opened, revealing a gathering in the sitting area. Angel was… floating above them?

Angel turned Ruby's way and smiled. "Mommy's home!" She leaned forward and flew toward her mom. As she sped up, two white wings with gold tips sprouted out of her back. White and gold rose petals rained down from both. She pulled up and hung in front of Ruby for a second before hugging her. "Hi, mommy!"

"Uh, hi." Ruby hugged her daughter beneath the arms and wings. She touched her mind to Angel's to see what was going on. The wings were solid Aura, Angel's Aura, but it wasn't draining very fast. "You can fly?"

"I can!" Angel pulled away and hovered in front of Ruby. "Daddy taught me." Her wings flapped and she jerked in the air. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the one on her left. "I have wings?" Right after she said that her Aura wings disappeared but she still stayed in the air.

"I think that's enough," Aaron called as he walked over. "You don't want to exhaust yourself."

"Okay, daddy." Angel touched the ground, then proceeded to jump in front of Ruby. "I can fly, mommy! I found my Sembance!"

"Your... Semblance?" Ruby did her best to not let her rising anger show. It wasn't Angel's fault.

"Yes! I was scared at first then it got fun!"

 _Scared… Aaron, you better have a good explanation._ Ruby forced a half real smile for her baby girl. "That's great, sweetie!" She knelt down and hugged the lights out of her daughter. "I'm so proud of you, Angel!"

"We both are." Aaron walked up and knelt down behind Angel. He ruffled Angel's hair and kissed Ruby on the cheek. "You're just in time. Viki said her beef stew should be ready in five minutes."

"I guess I have good timing." Ruby pulled away from Angel and locked eyes with her daughter. "Why don't you help Auntie Viki help set the table? I need to talk to daddy. Walk there, don't fly."

"Okay!" Angel chirped. She turned around and walked toward the kitchen.

The Riders stood up and Aaron nodded when Angel was out of hearing range. "Yang called about twenty minutes ago. The Wyvern took a hit from a giant Nevermore. They need to take it slow."

"Thank you, but now I talk," Ruby growled. "Why can Angel fly?"

Aaron sighed. _"She went to get her homework, she screamed for help, and I found her on the ceiling of her bedroom."_

Ruby heard her anger shatter. That would explain why Angel said it was scary. "What?"

"I found her on the ceiling of her bedroom. I got her down, and another scare later, I found out it was her Semblance. I taught her how to use it so she wouldn't accidentally hurt herself and so she wouldn't be scared of it."

 _The wings were a surprise though,_ Nalia called. _That was the first time we saw those. I might be able to teach her how to fly after all._

Ruby took a deep breath and let it out. "So, you didn't force Angel's Semblance out of her?"

Aaron shook his head. "I wouldn't do that."

Ruby sighed, then gave Aaron a quick peck on the lips. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

"It's okay. I know how protective you are." Aaron laughed a little. "Can you believe that I once thought I was going to be the overprotective one?"

"That was a long time ago." Ruby paused. "Well, shall we go see what your sister has made us?" She stuck an arm out to make a triangle with her body.

"We shall." Aaron stuck an arm through the hole and the couple walked together to the dining room. As with everything Viki made, the beef stew was amazing. She said it was something 'one of the people who thought they owned her' taught her how to make. No one had any problem with Viki stealing from those people, especially since Viki probably made it better than that witch ever could.

As Ruby expected, Angel was more animated than she was the past few meals. Most of her attention was focused on her daddy. Of course, she had to fill him in on every little thing for the past few days. Aaron at least acted like he cared about everything Angel said. Ruby could hardly believe this was the same man that was worried he would abuse his daughter.

After Ruby finished helping Viki clean up dinner, she called Aaron and Angel over to the sitting area. Angel wanted to keep playing hide and seek, but this was something she needed to know. Ruby sat on one of Cerise' paws while Aaron and Angel took one of the couches. "Angel, I want to talk to you about what you saw this morning. You saw Auntie Yang opening Uncle Halcyon's back, right?"

Angel nodded and she scooted closer to her daddy. "Auntie Yang said it was fine but it still didn't look right."

"I'll let him and Auntie Yang explain why he's like that… but he's not the only one around here that's like that." Ruby gripped the base of her bionic arm, twisted it to the right and pulled it out of its socket. She rested her bionic across her lap. "I'm part metal too."

Angel's jaw dropped and she stared at the limb. Her eyes flicked up and locked on her mom's. "Why?"

Ruby hesitated for a fraction of a second. Angel wouldn't be able to tell. "I wasn't always the kick-butt Huntress and Rider that I am now. Some very bad people beat me. They took my arm, my right leg, and my right eye. The rest of me is me. Daddy, Auntie Yang, Auntie Weiss, and Auntie Blake saved me from those people, and I'm forever thankful for their help." Maybe Angel would take the Storied Toys reference well, and with any luck, set the tone for the rest of the conversation.

"Does it hurt?"

"Sometimes." Ruby rubbed the connector on her right arm. "It's nowhere near where it used to be." She scoffed. 'I don't think I showed it, but I was in a lot of pain those first few days and weeks. I just didn't want to bother other people with my problems. Really, I still don't."

"Let this be a lesson for you," Aaron began. "If you are hurt, don't be afraid to tell someone, even if it's just a papercut. We will help you, and you will learn in time what to do when hurt."

"Really, it's not so bad." Ruby shrugged. "I made all my current bionics myself and all of these make me a better fighter. I can also do all the things I did before."

Angel squeezed her left arm. "Am I part metal too?"

"You are all you." Aaron wrapped a hand around Angel's side. "You would know if any part of you was metal. Remember when you got a cavity fixed?" Angel shivered.

"I'm fine, sweetie," Ruby soothed. "There's nothing wrong with being like this. Just don't stare or be mean."

Angel wiggled out of Aaron's grip and walked to Cerise' paw. She climbed up the scaled seat and onto Ruby's lap. She hugged and kissed her mommy's stump arm. The little girl locked eyes with her mom. "If you ever need it, can I be your arm?"

Ruby sucked in air and her lips. As far as she knew, Angel had yet to say something she didn't mean with her heart. The look in her eyes said that didn't just change. "I would like that." Ruby wrapped her natural arm around her baby girl and kissed her hair. Angel was such a good girl. She would grow up to be such a wonderful woman.

Aaron smiled at Ruby. "Ru, are you crying?"

Only then did Ruby feel the wetness on her face. "I'm not crying! You're crying!"

* * *

 **I know a few of you were wondering if there was a special reason that Angel was named that way. Well, there you go, And yes, that was a Mei and Li reference at the end. I typically don't ship anything, but when kids are involved, the attractiveness of the ship in that situation skyrockets.**


	70. Reunions

**Welcome to the 'Depression is kicking my ass' IRL portion of this fic… if everything about this starts to go downhill, blame it on that. I don't know how long it will last, but I was just let go from my terrible temp job which probably contributed a huge part to that. I never thought I could be so happy to learn I'd been let go. I almost went to go get Texas Roadhouse bacon cheese fries right there… but I don't have another job and I've got student loan payments. Ah well. Things might** _ **finally**_ **be looking up here… maybe.**

* * *

Ruby drove the family van out of the tunnel connecting the mountain house to the Armen highway. She pulled onto the main road and drove through the walls of the city. She caught a few people, mainly kids, gawking at her as she drove by. So many people didn't realize that the Riders drove. With Nalia getting too big to land in the city and Cerise getting there in a few years, it would get to be a common sight.

Instead of driving for Angel's school, Ruby headed for Viki's bakery. It was halfway through the month, the whole family deserved their treats… and there was a BOGO on everything related to cookies. She parked out back and walked into the store. There was only one other person in the bakery and she was looking at the doughnuts. Viki stood alone behind the counter facing the other customer. "Hey, sis!" Ruby called. "It's that time of the month again."

Viki faced Ruby and nodded. "The usual, I take it?"

"Yep. Why change it up?"

"I recognize that voice," the other woman said. Ruby stopped mid-step and faced the other customer. It had been years since she heard that voice but she still placed it right away. _Angela_ turned around and smiled at Ruby. "It is nice to see you again, Shadeslayer."

"Uh…" Ruby blinked rapidly. "Likewise?"

"Did I see you drive in?" Angela craned her neck to look outside. "I wouldn't think that you'd use anything other than a dragon."

"We… don't want my daughter to fly. Too dangerous."

"Ah. That will do it"

Viki looked between the other two women. "You two know each other?"

"She's Alagaësian," Ruby said. "We met in Tronjheim." She shook her head. "Speaking of which, how are you even here? I thought the agreement was that only diplomats and other essential personnel on this side."

Angela huffed. "Am I not essential? How rude." She faced Viki again. "I'll go with one of these." She pointed at something Ruby couldn't see.

So many things raced through Ruby's head. How was Angela here? _Why_ was Angela here? Should she be arrested and brought back to Alagaësia? How long was she here? Considering she wore a Remmartian skirt and top… and paid for her food with Lien, she had to be there for quite a while. Angela stepped away from the counter and stopped by Ruby's side. "By the way, I think it's so sweet that you named your daughter after me."

"Wait, what?" Ruby took a step back. "What do you…" The pieces fell together in her head. Angel, Angela, that's probably where Angela came from… if Alagaësia had angels. "Oh…" Angela laughed and walked out the door. A black cat jumped down from the roof and followed her out of sight. That had to be Solembum.

 _Ruby!_ Cerise yelled in her Rider's head. _She's Grey Folk! Don't let her go._

Ruby stiffened then ran out of the store. "Angela!" She faced where the Alagaësian walked off to, but she was nowhere to be found. The Rider growled. "Her and Qrow…" She walked back into the store and to the counter.

"Is everything alright, Ruby?" Viki asked.

"I don't know." Ruby shook her head. "She's a former ally, but she's… eccentric. We haven't spoken much, but Nora seems normal by comparison."

"Wow. That's quite the statement." Viki grabbed a full bag from behind the counter and set it on top by the register.

"Tell me about it." Ruby slid a few Lien cards across the counter, including a hefty tip. "See you at home, sis. I've got to pick up Angel."

Viki nodded. "Drive safe. People were crazy when I drove in this morning."

"It's Vale. When do people drive normal around here?" Ruby laughed to herself and left the store, waving at her sister-in-law on the way out. _Cerise, next time I see Angela, remind me to corner her before she disappears like that._ The same note appeared in her bionic eye.

 _I will._ It felt like Cerise made a noise of irritation back home. _I was as confused as you were._

 _I don't blame you._ Ruby climbed back into the van and drove toward Angel's school. On the way, she searched the sidewalk for any sign of the witch or the werecat. She saw nothing of either of them before she reached the line of parents waiting to pick up their kids.

A few minutes later, kids started streaming out of the school. As always, Angel was one of the first kids out. She didn't fly out this time, which was good. She didn't need to attract too much attention to herself… That and she wasn't the best flier yet. That would come.

Angel opened the sliding door on her side and smiled at Ruby. "Hi, mommy!" She jumped inside and strapped herself into her booster seat.

"Hi, sweetie." Ruby did a quick visual check of Angel's restraints. She nodded at her daughter. Angel was getting good at doing that on her own. "How was school today?"

"Great! I got everything on my math test right!"

"That's great, Angel." Ruby grabbed Angel's cookie out of the bag. "It's that time of the month. One of Viki's now, not the other places."

Angel squealed and bounced in her booster seat. She held her hands out like a cup. "Please, mommy?"

Ruby nodded and set the cookie in Angel's hands. "Don't make a mess, or you won't get it so soon in the future… Don't talk with your mouth open either." She added that last bit when she realized what her daughter was going to do. Instead, Angel just hummed and nodded.

The mother pulled out of the line and drove away. She stayed silent until she drove past the city's walls and onto the road leading to the tunnel. Angel finished up her treat at the same time. "How was the rest of your day?"

"We played football in Gym today. I got to throw the ball. I think I did good."

"Really? Did you win?"

"Yeah. I also caught it off a block and scored."

"It sounds like you had fun."

"Yeah! Football is fun!"

Ruby couldn't help but laugh. "Ask daddy or Auntie Yang to take you to a Krakens game. You think they're fun when we're watching the games on the projector, they are so fun to be around when we're actually at the games."

"What about you?"

"I love going to them too, but I'm nowhere near as excited as those two. I save that for the Vytal Festival Tournament." Ruby and Angel talked the rest of the way through the tunnel. Most of what they spoke about was sports related. That might have just been what was on Angel's mind, but Ruby thought she heard a passion brewing. That would be something. Maybe she would like to play in leagues? It would be a pain getting her to games and practices, but if Angel wanted it, it would be all worth it.

The tunnel sloped up near the end and leveled out in the garage. Ruby turned off the car, then walked around to help Angel out as well. She cast a quick glance at the armored door to the vehicle workshop to make sure it was closed. That was almost a problem a few times. There were plenty of things in there that could hurt or kill Angel.

The mom followed her daughter into the house. Angel headed straight toward the dining room table. Halcyon walked over from the sitting area and hopped onto one of the chairs there. Ruby found Aaron, Yang, and the other dragons watching the news on the massive projector. She walked over to them and rested her arms on the back of the couch. "I'm back. Did I miss anything?"

Yang tilted her head back to look at her sister. "The plans to take over Vale are finalized. We're ready to move on your order."

Aaron shrugged. "It's going to be interesting taking on the androids of the Kingdom. Never fought them before."

"Eh, we can do it." Ruby sighed. She was so happy Aaron finally caught onto some of the things the sisters did. "Slow day?"

"The Grimmcast is clear all day," Aaron started, "crime is quiet in Vale, and we've heard nothing from Salem. It's a good day."

 _Well, the Grimmcast gets a little iffy around Armen tomorrow._ Nalia hummed sadly. _Are you ready to give the eulogy tomorrow?_

Ruby pressed her teeth together. "If you mean if I have it all written, yes, I do. I just need to practice it… but how can anyone be ready for something like that?"

 _I think the right answer is no one can,_ Cerise said. _The best you can do is speak with conviction and honor her life._

"Maybe." Ruby hung her head. "I'm just glad that Islanzadí is taking care of it on the other side."

"Hey," Aaron rested a hand on one of Ruby's arms, "you've been the Head of the Riders for a decade. Only four people associated with us have died on a mission in that time. I don't even think Vrael could say that."

"It would be much better if we go a century with none." Familiar music came over the speakers. Ruby looked up and saw VNN's breaking news graphic take over the projection. She straightened up and crossed her arms. Everyone else faced the projector too. "What do we got?"

The graphic faded away, replaced by Lisa Lavender. _"Just ten minutes ago, the Atlesian military has stated there has been a prison break in Torken Maximum Security Prison just east of Atlas."_

Ruby grit her teeth and stretched her mind down to the command center. _Yaela, prison break in Atlas. Get Weiss down there and get as much information on it as you can._

" _The military police have confirmed that sixteen inmates have escaped. How they managed this has not been released. One of them was former Atlesian Specialist Barry Price."_ Ruby scowled. Various others around her growled. _"He was arrested for the murder of then future Concordia Headmistress Blake Beladonna and he has also been accused of killing the entire Vacuo council years ago. The other fifteen were arrested when Atlas and at the time first-year Beacon team RWBAY attacked the Nevermore base in the North Sanus Mountains."_ Ruby's heart stopped. _"Their leader, Granite O'Donnell was one of the escapees."_ His picture, along with fifteen more, replaced Lisa on the projector.

Ruby's mouth hung open and her arms dropped to her sides. Her eyes focused on _him._ Her captor, her torturer, her biggest fear… and he was out. People said things around her, but she didn't hear. It didn't matter. He was out. The projector shut off but it didn't matter. He was out. Colors shifted in front of her, green, red, beautiful gold and lilac. People yelled and shook Ruby. They touched their minds to hers and screamed more. She didn't care about any of it.

Because _He_ was out.

Something latched onto her, something… warm. So warm, so safe. She felt like all of her problems were melting away… Ruby blinked and her brain started registering what her eyes saw. Yang was hugging her. One by one, her senses came back. Yang was yelling and crying and she was squeezing Ruby's back so hard it would have snapped if not for Aura and wards. Aaron's voice and dragon whimpers and growls reached her ears as well. Then came the incessant pounding on her head from all of them.

Ruby turned her head toward her sister a few degrees. "Yang, what happened?"

"Ruby!" Yang squeezed tighter, then pulled her head back and looked her sister in the eyes. "You've been standing like that for ten minutes!"

"Ten…" Ruby brought a hand up to her head and groaned. "What's going on?"

Yang opened her mouth, then clamped it shut. She looked to where Ruby felt Aaron's mind, which was still trying to break into Ruby's. Yang faced her sister again. "Granite O'Donnell has escaped from prison."

Ruby stared at her sister, then a laugh escaped her throat. "No, he hasn't," she spit out. "He's in prison for life. He can't be out. He's a terrible criminal. He can't be out." Yang got taller during Ruby's stammering.

Yang looked at Aaron, then Cerise, then back at Ruby. "He did. Yaela just confirmed it."

"Stop lying, Yang." Ruby glared at her sister and pushed herself out of Yang's grip. "He's in prison for life. He's never getting out. It's illegal. He can't…" _Why is everyone getting taller?_

"Ruby, it's true." Aaron stretched an arm toward his wife.

"Don't touch me!" Ruby swatted the arm away. She looked over everyone in front of her. They all looked scared. Why would they be scared? _They_ were the ones lying to _her_ and trying to scare _her_. She faced her dragon. "Cerise, what's really going on here?" Cerise whimpered and didn't say anything. She just pounded on Ruby's mind. "Cerise stop messing around and tell me what's going on." The dragon whimpered more and her ears hung. She pawed at the floor too but still said nothing. Ruby glared at her dragon. "Don't tell me you believe their lies. What is it? Lie to Ruby day?"

Yang took a step forward. "We're not lying, Ruby."

"Yes, you are!" Ruby screamed. "You're all lying! He can't be out!" She felt something wet running down her cheeks. "He… he just can't!" She turned around, faced her room, and activated her Semblance. She dashed toward it in a flash of rose petals, opened and slammed the door while still in that state, and didn't stop until she dove onto her bed. The girl pulled the covers over her head and curled up into a ball.

In the back of her head, heck it was the front, she knew all along that no one lied to her. They wouldn't lie about something like that. She saw the broadcast with her own eyes. _He_ was out. _He_ would be coming for her. Ruby pulled the covers tighter over her and hugged her knees harder. Maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't be able to find her under there.

After Ruby didn't know or care how long, she heard the dragon door on the other end of the room open. She felt the bed shake as her dragon walked toward her. Yang accompanied Cerise. Those two never left Ruby's head. The bed deformed as Yang sat on it. She rested a hand on Ruby's side. "How you doing, Rubes?"

Ruby squeaked and pressed her forehead into her knees. "Not good… I'm sorry I yelled at you."

 _None of us blame you, Gem._ Cerise pressed her snout against Ruby's head through the blankets. The Rider took the pressure off her knees and leaned into her dragon's snout.

"Where are Aaron and Nalia?"

"I'd say they're either just getting to Atlas or flying out to the prison now." Yang squeezed Ruby's side. "They wanted Qrow up there too."

"Good." Ruby returned to hugging her legs with all her strength. "Find him. Find him. Find him."

 _They will, Ruby._ Cerise gave a soft growl. _When they do, I will tear him apart myself._

"Ruby, Angel wanted to give you something."

Ruby stiffened. _Angel?_ She let go of her knees, pushed the cover up, and looked up at her sister. Yang held Angel's favorite blanket toward her sister. Ruby took the blanket with one hand and held it close to herself. "Why didn't she give it to me herself?"

Yang winced. "You… scared her."

Ruby gasped then turned her head away. "I guess that's my own fault."

"It is _not_ your fault. If anyone's to blame here, it's him."

"Yeah… blame _him_ for everything." Ruby pulled the covers over her head again.

 _I called Violet and Orchid,_ Cerise said. _I asked them to come here as soon as they can. Orchid will have you feeling better in no time._

"Maybe…"

"Need anything from me, Ruby?" Yang asked.

"Don't leave." Ruby crawled while still under the covers until her head hit Yang's side.

"You got it, sis… actually, I have a better idea." The pressure on the bed disappeared as Yang stood up. Ruby felt Yang grab her, then she was picked up. Ruby squeaked and was about to tell her sister to put her down, but the hum that Cerise put out… her Rider knew what was happening.

Ruby's cocoon was set down and Cerise nudged her. _Can I join you under there?_

"Please do." Ruby stood up and flared the blankets over her head.

Cerise poked her head underneath and nuzzled her Rider's face. _I'm here, Gem. I'm not going anywhere._

Ruby hugged her dragon tight. "Please don't."

"I'm here too, sis." Yang pulled up Ruby's blanket tent and hugged her sister from behind.

Ruby again felt that warm and safe feeling when Yang hugged her. "I love you both so much."

* * *

"There's the prison." Aaron pointed to his right and off Nalia's side. A gray fortress stood on top of a plateau in the mountains with at least a dozen armed towers surrounding it and at least twice that in spotlights. The walls were almost a hundred feet high. With all the technology used to combat escapees, how the hell did so many people escape?

 _Weiss and Saphira are already here,_ Nalia growled. _I think I found Qrow too._

"Good. Everyone's here." Aaron leaned forward in the saddle as Nalia banked toward the prison. The only landing pad on the building lit up, guiding Nalia in. Saphira stood on the pad, staring out at the mountains. Nalia landed on the pad and the blue dragon faced her elder. "Are you finding anything?" Aaron asked as he dismounted his dragon.

 _No._ Saphira snorted and shook her head. _There is only Grimm out there. Some are approaching but I doubt they'll make it past the defenses._

Nalia growled and clawed up the concrete beneath her. _Those defenses allowed slavers to escape. I wouldn't trust them to fight Grimm._

"Both of you, get out there and find them." Aaron gestured toward the mountains as a whole. "If you see anyone that might even possibly be involved, grab them and bring them back here. Nalia, fill Saphira in on exactly why we need each and every one of those bastards back behind bars or six feet under as soon as possible." The Rider turned around and marched toward the prison.

The squad of guards guarding the entrance to the prison stood to the side to let Aaron pass. The Rider used his head to find Weiss in the prison and followed that. Several other guards passed him in the halls, but none moved to stop him. Either he was cleared to move freely through the building, they were smart enough to not get in his way, or they were focused on something else. Aaron didn't know which he preferred.

A minute later, Aaron ran into a group of heavily armored guards and a squad of black AK 200s. He walked past them and into a long cell block. More guards stood in front of all cells in the block, some with weapons raised, others with then hanging by their sides. The Rider walked past them until he reached the cell where he felt Weiss' mind. He walked around a corner and into the cell. Ironwood stood straight in the center of the open cell with his arms crossed. Qrow leaned against the back wall and gave the general a steel melting glare. Weiss held her hands over one of the beds and whispered in the Ancient Language.

Weiss lowered her arms and shook her head. "I've got nothing." She faced Aaron. "I don't suppose you have any better tracking spells?"

"Tracking is not one of my strong suits." Aaron crossed his arms. "I didn't take anyone from Mor'ranar Vera because I doubt they would have been let in."

"Your assumption would be correct." Ironwood nodded. "We do not know how far this corruption goes."

"Then why the hell are you here, Jimmy?" Qrow growled. "I know for a fact that the three of us have no intention of letting any of these bastards out."

"You should watch your tongue before I have you arrested." Ironwood turned around and faced Aaron. "I expected Ruby, not you."

Aaron suppressed a grimace. "Ruby is in no position to command." He faced Weiss. "Until and unless Ruby straightens out and says otherwise, it's you and me at the helm."

Weiss' mouth fell open, then she closed it and straightened. "Of course." She faced Ironwood. "Do we know how they escaped?"

It was Ironwood's turn to grimace. "I examined the security footage on the flight here. They had help from one of mine."

Qrow scoffed. "And yet you trust those guards to watch our backs?"

"Save it, Qrow," Aaron snapped. This was _not_ the time for that. He faced the general again. "I take it the traitors escaped with the Nevermores?"

Ironwood nodded. "They did. I read their files. None of them had the skill to reprogram our systems to only target Grimm and not escapees… but we have seen a version of the virus before."

"So we know who did it." Weiss nodded. "Let's get a warrant and get the bastard."

"If it were that easy." Ironwood shook his head. "Intelligence reported as I arrived that the virus' architecture was similar to the Black Queen."

Aaron stiffened and mumbled a silencing spell in the Ancient Language. "Watts? Salem is behind this?"

"Either that or someone who modified the Black Queen themselves."

Qrow grunted. "I guess that explains some things."

"But why would Salem want these guys out?" Weiss asked. "They weren't affiliated before, were they?"

Ironwood hesitated. "As far as we know, the Nevermores never had contact with Salem before their capture."

"Then why would she go through so much effort to break sixteen people out of prison?" Aaron clenched his fists and let his arms hang. "Unless they have contacts or bases on the outside that we don't know about, they have nothing outside these walls. The Nevermores are gone."

Qrow shrugged. "For the most part. Before she was killed, Raven thought there were a few more cells out there. The elves Islanzadí lent us found two people with affiliations. Not a cell, but they could have powerful individuals on their side."

"But why these people?" Weiss asked. "Why not people she's used before… are Emerald, Mercury, and Neo still behind bars?"

"They should be." Aaron took out his Scroll and sent a quick text to Yaela about those three. "We'll know soon enough."

"She wants to scare people," Qrow said. "She wants people to distrust Atlas. If they can let these people escape, who else will escape their watch? That'll scare some powerful people, including those in this room."

Aaron shivered. "There's no one more scared of these people than Ruby…" He looked down and to the side. Could it really be that simple? "All of this for that?"

"You got something?" Qrow asked.

"Salem could very well be trying to just scare Ruby. She had Pruma use King Taijitu venom years ago. I'm sure she knew something about Ruby's fear of the Nevermores. Salem's greatest threat, paralyzed by fear. She _is_ Queen of the Grimm."

Weiss winced and shivered. "That was probably pried from my head back in Alagaësia."

Ironwood brought a hand to his chin. "Since Ruby now has direct control of the Relic, I would not put it past Salem to gain an upper hand in that way."

Nalia touched her mind to Aaron's, and judging their reactions, everyone else in the room. _I found their scent and I traced it to a lake that had a small section melted. I've seen that kind before. They're long gone._

"Damnit," Qrow grunted. He stared at Aaron. "I don't suppose you can track it?"

"Magic can't be traced like electronics," Aaron said. "If it can, we don't know how. I'll get some people working on it."

"You do that." Qrow pushed himself off the wall. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to tell all my spies to be on the lookout for fifteen slavers and a rouge sniper. Jimmy, get me their faces and I'll push it all out." He didn't wait for a response before leaving the cell. He ran his shoulder into Aaron on the way out. It wasn't in a friendly way and it wasn't an accident.

That did it. Aaron followed Qrow out of the cell. "Are we going to have a problem here, Qrow?"

"I don't know, are we?" Qrow snarkilly asked. "You seemed pretty quick to defend Jimmy and not your own intelligence chief."

Aaron stepped in front of Qrow, blocking his path. "We're all on the same side here. I expect you to work with Atlas and the other Kingdoms to track these people down and put them behind bars."

Qrow narrowed his eyes. "What makes you think I wasn't going to do that in the first place?"

"Your little feud with Ironwood. I don't care what kind of history you two have but you need to put it behind you before it gets in your way."

"Like you are right now? I guess I didn't know that Ruby was the only one keeping you in control."

Aaron breathed out through his nose and looked around. None of the guards were paying much attention to them. Satisfied, Aaron shoved Qrow to the wall and used his right arm to pin the older man's neck to the concrete. "You don't get to speak about her. You don't know what she's been through. You've _never_ been there when she gets that low. I've been there almost every time, if not every single time. You've never been there when she has an attack. Hell, the only time we've seen you since the Battle of Beacon when you weren't working was for our wedding. I'm sure Ruby would love to see you just to see you. If you ever feel like stopping by, I'm sure you'd be welcome. If not, do your damn job and find these bastards before Ruby does something permanent." Aaron pushed off Qrow and walked out of the cell block, ignoring all the guards pointing guns at his back.

The Rider walked back through the halls to the landing pad. He only stood there for a minute before Nalia appeared behind a mountain to the east. _Nalia, we're flying home._

 _I agree. The sooner we get back to Ruby, the better._ Nalia flared her wings and landed in front of her Rider with her lips peeled. _But you are guilty of the same things you accused Qrow of._

 _I am fine._ Aaron climbed his dragon's side and settled in the saddle. _We need to find these bastards._

 _You leave that to me._ Nalia turned her head around and growled. _You can't keep a clear head like this. Stay with your mate and let us with clearer heads find the slavers._

 _What are you trying to say?_

 _Just as Ruby is unfit for command, so are you. Stay with her and let us who are more capable track these people._ Nalia faced forward and jumped off the landing pad. _I know that's what you want to do anyway._

Aaron faced away from his dragon's head. Something in the back of his head told him that Nalia was right, no matter how much he wanted to believe otherwise. _Fine._ Aaron stretched his mind back toward Weiss. _You might have seen or heard it, Weiss, but I'm not fit for command. It's all you now._

 _I figured as much,_ Weiss said. _Go home and help your wife. That's an order._

 _Nalia just ordered me to do the same thing. Keep us updated._ Aaron pulled back into his own head as Nalia dove toward a mostly frozen lake. A small section was just freezing over. The dragon landed by that and Aaron cast the between worlds spell from Nalia's back. He did the same at lake Isenstar and his dragon flew over the mountain house.

Nalia landed on the main pad and crouched down. She sniffed and tasted the air as the dragon door opened. _Violet and Orchid are here._ She eyed her Rider as he dismounted. _I suggest you calm down before you go see your wife. I'd imagine having you angry won't help._

Aaron nodded. "Talk with Yaela, get her to report directly to Weiss." He walked toward the master bedroom. He stretched his mind that way and found Ruby in a state of pure bliss while everyone else was worried or scared to some degree. Before he entered the room, his Scroll vibrated. He drew it and read Yaela's text. He sighed in relief when he saw that Cinder's pawns were still in a Vale prison. As far as he knew, Emerald couldn't trick cameras. He put the scroll back into its pocket.

Aaron pushed his way into the master and stood in the doorway. Ruby sat at the foot of the bed with Cerise' head on her lap and Yang sitting to her right. Orchid stood to the Rider's left, her glowing tongue licking Ruby's face nonstop. The Head Rider had a massive smile on her face and pulled her 'healer' in closer. "Oh, you're such a good girl, Orchid," Ruby said, almost like she was drunk. Violet stood by her dragon's side with her lower lip in her teeth.

Aaron slowly approached the bed. "Hey, Ruby. How are you feeling?"

Ruby took her focus off Orchid and redirected it to her husband. "Aaron," she sang, "come over here, honey. I'll tell you then." She waved him over. Aaron complied and sat on his wife's left. "This is how I'm feeling." Ruby slid out from under Cerise' head and her sister's arm to sit on her husband's lap. She rubbed her face against Aaron's and occasionally kissed his cheek. Cerise repositioned her head while Yang stayed away, her face a shade of red. Ruby kissed Aaron on the lips for a few seconds before pulling away and looking deep into her husband's eyes. "Did you get the bad guys?"

"No." Aaron shook his head. "They were long gone. I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault." Ruby rested her head on her husband's shoulder and rubbed Aaron's back. "You'll get 'em eventually."

Aaron looked at the back of his wife's head then up at Orchid. This was a massive turnaround from earlier but the way Ruby was talking was a little off-putting. "I'm not going to be searching for them. Nalia said it would be better to have the others search while I stay back with you.

Ruby cooed and squeezed Aaron tighter. "You're so sweet!" She rubbed her head against Aaron's again. "Thank you for caring about me. I'll have to thank Nalia too."

Aaron pushed Ruby away a little to look her in the eyes. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? You were… pretty bad off earlier."

"I'm fine." Ruby shrugged. "It's just a little weird feeling so happy and knowing that he's…" Her smile disappeared and she started shaking. "As long as I don't think about it. Orchid?" She looked up at the purple dragon.

 _Of course._ Orchid leaned forward and started kissing Ruby again.

The Rider sighed and rubbed under Orchid's snout. "Thank you, Orchid. I'll make this up to you someday."

 _You can do that by feeling better._ Orchid nuzzled Ruby's face.

"Orchid, we've got to go." Violet walked around her dragon's side and rubbed Orchid's head. "A rookie took on a few too many Grimm on New Vroengard. She's okay, but Velvet needs your Semblance."

 _Okay._ Orchid pulled her head back. _I'm sorry I have to go._

"You're fine." Ruby pat Orchid on the snout. "I can't rely on you forever. Besides," Ruby pulled Yang's and Aaron's heads in close and raised her knees so Cerise head rested right beneath her chin, "I've got a bunch of friends and cuddle buddies right here."

Orchid hummed and Violet nodded. "If you need us later, don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't." Ruby nodded, rubbing her head against her sister's and her husband's. Aaron wanted to be happy with Ruby, but as soon as Orchid left, there went the reason Ruby was so calm. As soon as Orchid's tail disappeared, Ruby sighed and let her three 'cuddle buddies' go. "I'm gonna go apologize to Angel, then I'll be back here. Is it too much to ask to make a cuddle pile for the rest of the day?"

With Ruby and Cerise, and Nalia if she decided to join in, Aaron had no problem. With Yang involved… they were technically brother and sister and he didn't mind doing the same with Viki at times. Was it okay with in-laws? For Ruby… it was worth the risk. Aaron looked past his wife to Yang. Judging by the concerned and loving look she aimed at her sister, she already had her mind made up. With that decided, Aaron nodded. "I don't have plans for the rest of the day."

"Thank you." Ruby kissed Aaron on the lips, Yang on the cheek, and Cerise beneath an eye. Cerise pulled her head back and her Rider stood up. "See you all in a few." Ruby began the long walk out of the room.

As soon as she disappeared, Aaron faced Yang. "Stay on different sides?"

Yang lowered her head and sighed. "As long as you don't kiss me or get handsy with anyone, we won't have a problem. I don't think I have to be worried." She looked up at Aaron and gave him a weak smirk. "You've been around us for how long? I figured you'd know this by now."

"I don't want to assume."

Yang laughed once and shook her head. "Alagaësians. So proper. I need to look over there for guys, not here."

 _It certainly worked for Ruby._ Cerise nudged both Riders further onto the bed. _You two better get comfortable. You two are only leaving this room to use the bathroom._

Aaron shrugged. "I expected as much."

* * *

Salem could only smile as Tyrian and Watts escorted Granite O'Donnell into her throne room. The man was still in his prison orange jumpsuit and trying to escape his escorts' grasp. He stared wide-eyed at the Shade with fear inside them. Salem had seen the look quite often over the years. It was quite entertaining.

The assassin and the doctor shoved the slaver in front of them. ODonnell fell to the ground and stared up at Salem. "What are you?"

"I would like to be an ally." Salem rested her hands across her lap. "Just from escaping, you have proven to be useful. You and your men can do something that I will never be able to achieve."

"And that is?"

"You can scare Ruby Rose."

O'Donnell straightened and stopped shaking. "The dog?"

"If you wish to call her that, yes. You got to her while she was young, something I was unable to do. I have reason to believe that just you being out of prison is enough to break her, and has done exactly that." Salem paused. "I know it's your Semblance that allows to to do these things."

"You found out, huh? How'd you manage that?"

"Looking over case files for those you kidnapped over the years. I don't know for certain, but I believe you can make anyone you want unbelievably scared of you. That can only be overruled in certain circumstances. I have eyes on several of the Faunus that were held captive with Ruby Rose. All of them that have heard have broken down with one of them attempting and succeeding in suicide. Your 'dog' isn't in any better shape.'

"I'm glad to be of service." O'Donnell rose to his feet, most of his fear gone. "So, you hate the dog too."

"I do, and I would very much like her and the rest of the Riders dead. Freeing you has likely weakened Ruby Rose and had an adverse effect on the Riders leadership. While killing you now would drive the Riders insane trying to find out if you're alive, I believe that knowing you are back to your old work and not being able to find you be even worse for them."

O'Donnell raised his head. "You want me to go back to rounding up wild animals."

"As long as they don't work for me. A Faunus is our best chance to kill Ruby Rose. I believe you know I also had Barry Price freed from prison. You may use him how you will, but whenever I need his services, my tasks take precedent."

"I can manage that." O'Donnell crossed his arms. "I wasn't born yesterday. What do you want from me?"

"With you out and conducting your business, even if the Riders have a change in leadership, their attention will be diverted to you through their sense of honor. It will allow my forces to move throughout Remnant. Don't worry about being found. My Grimm will keep you safe."

" _Your_ Grimm?"

On cue, a Beowolf walked up behind Salem's throne and rested by her side. The Shade stroked her pet's head as the slaver jumped out of his skin. "As you can see, I have control over Grimm. This is far from the only one."

O'Donnell looked up and down the Grimm. "That is one crazy Semblance."

Salem didn't bother to correct him. He didn't need to know. "Do we have a deal?" She stood up and extended a hand. She might as well give her new minion the idea that they were partners. Of course, she had another plan that involved O'Donnell, but the Grimm necessary for that event hadn't been perfected yet.

O'Donnell smirked. "We do." He stepped forward and took the offered hand. "Let's kill the bitch."

* * *

 **Yeah… like I said earlier, start of messed up head means the start of messed up content… But like so many other things, I'm sticking with it.**


	71. Shattered Resolve

**It feels like my terrible job was in fact a huge part of my mental position. I'm feeling _sooooo_ much better since I was let go. I thought about going back to my Tuesday morning upload schedule, but if and when I get a new job, I'd be going back to this anyway... On the downside, no job means no money. Just like before, job searching sucks. **

**Enough of that sob story, onto the next.**

* * *

Aaron woke to something crushing the life out of his left arm. He opened his eyes and angled them in the direction of his assailant. As soon as he realized it was Ruby, he snapped his head toward his wife. Ruby had both her arms wrapped around Aaron's one. Her knees were brought up so high they touched her husband's fingers. Other fingers dug into his skin with the bionics draining wards and Aura. Her eyes and teeth were clenched. Weak moans escaped her throat every few seconds.

 _Everyone, wake up._ Aaron thought to all those who have been deep in Ruby's head. _Her night terrors are back. I'm going in._ Aaron laid his head back on his pillow and closed his eyes. He stretched his mind deep into his wife's. He didn't need to dig nearly as far as he needed to the few times he met with Summer. Still, it was so dark when he finally found where Ruby currently was he almost missed her.

Aaron stood in a dark room, the only light source a single dull lightbulb. Crying flowed out of a dark corner of the room. The Rider strained his eyes to try to see into the darkness. It was Ruby, dressed like she was their first year at Beacon but aged to the present. She was curled up into a fetal position, sobbing hard into her knees.

"Ruby," Aaron took a step forward.

"Who's there?" Ruby yelled while raising her head. "Stay away from me! Please! Don't hurt me!" She didn't lower her head but retreated further into the corner.

Before Aaron could say anything, a door opened in one of the walls. Granite O'Donnell stepped through. "Who are you talking to, dog?" He swung his right arm up then brought it down, cracking a whip. Ruby flinched and covered her head with her hands and knees. "You're not supposed to be talking at all."

"I'm…" Ruby sobbed. "I'm sorry, master. Please don't punish me."

"Know your place, dog." O'Donnell stalked toward Ruby. "You don't tell me what to do."

Aaron clenched his fists and reached to his right. He felt Redemption's hilt in his grip. The slaver wasn't going to get anywhere near his wife. "Listen to me, you son of a bitch." O'Donnell turned around and stared at Aaron. "Stay away from my wife." Aaron ran forward and stabbed the slaver in the chest. He wished that the kill wasn't just in Ruby's head. The dying man gasped and dropped his weapon. Aaron kicked the slaver off his sword then faced his wife.

Ruby hadn't calmed down. She just stared up at Aaron just as scared as she was of O'Donnell. "W… wife?" she whispered.

"You know this, Ruby." Aaron sheathed his overly bloody sword, not caring about proper care in Ruby's head. "Ru, none of this is real. It's all in your head. You're dreaming." Ruby's expression didn't change, but there was a little more activity in her eyes. _"Ruby, you're safe. No one here is going to hurt you."_

Ruby's shoulders dipped. "What?" Her head drifted toward the door. She sobbed again but her lips curled up. "Yang?" her voice came out as nothing more than a squeak.

"Ruby!" a familiar voice yelled. Aaron turned around to face the sound. Unlike Ruby, Yang looked exactly the same as she did back when they all assaulted the North Sanus Mountains. Her voice took on that same pitch as well. Not everything was accurate though. This Yang glowed, lighting up the darkness around her. There was something up with her eyes too. It was like Yang was an actual angel.

Yang ran toward Ruby and Aaron took a step back. The 'older' sister slid to a stop in front of the younger and pulled Ruby into a tight hug. "It's over, Ruby. You're safe." Ruby just cried and hung on. The room slowly lit up around them.

"Oh," another voice said. Aaron turned his head around. The Yang he knew now stood in roughly the same spot he did when he came in. "This is new."

"What's new?" Aaron asked as he backed up toward his sister in law.

"I've known she's seen me like this for quite a while, but I've never seen it like this." Yang's eyes welled up. "I'm her guardian angel."

Aaron blinked at Yang. How didn't he know that? "I think it's time to prove that even more. She didn't even acknowledge I was there."

"I saw that." Yang took a step, then shook her head. "Of course, Cerise would do that." She walked to her sister. Aaron faced his wife and raised his eyes. Cerise was the size of a Mistrili Shepherd and rubbing her face against her Rider's. Aaron didn't see her come in, but he was glad she was there.

Yang knelt by her younger self and rubbed Ruby's head. "Hey, sis."

Ruby took her eyes off Young to face Yang. Her jaw dropped and she looked Yang up and down. "Wha?" She looked between her two sisters.

"This is a dream, Ruby," Yang said. "You're safe. You're in your bed next to your loving husband. You have a dragon on either side of your bed. I'm one room over. This is all a dream. Don't worry. No one is going to hurt you.

"A… dream?" Ruby faced the small dragon. Cerise hummed and licked her Rider's cheek. Aaron felt the pressure on his left arm disappear. Ruby blinked several times in a second and looked around the room. Her eyes ended on her right arm. She grabbed onto it with her left and twisted it. Her bionic arm popped right off. Ruby sighed and reattached her arm. "Thanks, Yang." Her voice shook as she faced her sister again. She leaned her head forward and touched her forehead to Yang's. The younger version of Yang disappeared.

"Ready to get out of here, sis?"

"Not yet." Ruby pulled away from her sister and looked up at her husband. She stood up and launched herself at Aaron. "I'm so sorry, Aaron. I didn't recognize you. I thought you were another one of _them._ I'm sorry." She buried her face in Aaron's right shoulder.

"It's okay, Ruby." Aaron held the back of his wife's head as they swayed. "I don't blame you. That wasn't you." He blinked and flicked his eyes to his left shoulder. He felt something warm and a little wet there, but not in the room. "I think you're kissing my shoulder in bed right about now."

"Well, good! I love you. I know you wouldn't hurt me. If Nalia wants to come in here too, she can. I need all of you." Ruby grabbed both sides of Aaron's head and moved it in front of her own. "We can do this here." She pressed her lips against his and pulled his head in closer. Before Aaron could return the favor, Ruby pulled her head away and snapped it toward the door. She shivered before launching herself at Yang. "Get me out of here!"

"Close your eyes, Ruby." Yang held the back of her sister's head and rubbed Ruby's back. "We're in the clearing under the Menoa tree. There's not a cloud in the sky." The room blurred and turned into the clearing Yang specified. She looked down at Cerise and the ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "We're surrounded by puppies, kittens, and hatchlings that want nothing more than to cuddle and be held." Dozens of friendly. tiny animals surrounded them. Mews, barks, and chirps filled the air. Yang pulled away from her sister and picked up a black kitten from the ground. She smiled and pet the kitten's back. "Ruby, look! This one's so cute!"

Ruby tilted her head down. She squealed and brought her fists up to her chin. "She's so cute!" She started petting the kitten.

Aaron looked up and closed his eyes. _Nalia, I called you here, and Ruby just invited you. If you want, you can come in as a hatchling. That's what we're doing to help out._

 _Dragons don't have mid-life crises like Remmartians,_ Nalia started, _but for Ruby, I think I will._

 _You know you were cute. Why not relive those days?_ Aaron opened his eyes and looked down. A bunch of small animals surrounded and chattered up at him. One of them looked a lot like Orchid did when she first hatched. They were in Ruby's head, so it probably _was_ Orchid.

A light weight landed on Aaron's shoulder. He faced the weight and couldn't hold back a smile. Nalia stood there, though she was no bigger than a fully grown cat. Her eyes looked comically big and her wings were absolutely huge for her size. _You mean I'm not cute when I'm the size of a three-story house?_

 _No. You're beautiful._ Aaron faced his wife in the crowd of cuteness. Ruby laid on the ground with puppies, kittens, and hatchlings crawling all over her. She was giggling up a storm and hugging all the young animals on her chest. Yang stood nearby with hatchling Cerise rubbing against her legs. _Those two are the experts on this. Let's see if they have a plan._ Aaron walked over to the other two.

Yang looked at Aaron, or more like the hatchling on his shoulder. "Oh my gosh. Nalia, you were so cute."

 _I didn't even try back then._ Nalia cocked her head. _You and Cerise have done this before. We've never had the chance, not that we wanted the chance._

Yang's smile disappeared. "I never wanted to teach you." She looked down at her baby sister and shook her head. "She hasn't been like this since those first nights."

 _No, she hasn't._ Cerise whimpered and she lowered her ears. _I knew she was scared of him, but I didn't know she would be this bad._

"Do we have a plan?" Aaron asked.

Yang nodded. "When she gets really bad like this, people who tortured her showed up in here. I'm guessing this will be one of those nights. The plan is to try to keep her happy while keeping an eye out for those people. If we see anybody besides us or our friends, take them out, without Ruby knowing if possible."

 _Nalia,_ Cerise looked up at the other 'hatchling,' _it's our job to look and act cute. It shouldn't be hard for either of us, especially with a few of our hatchlings here as well._

 _I can manage._ Nalia jumped off Aaron's shoulder and walked over toward Ruby. Cerise pounced ahead of her.

Yang faced Aaron. "I go left, you go right. Have fun while you're here. It'll help Ruby. Just don't lose track of the mission."

"You think I would?" Aaron bent down and picked up the pink hatchling stretching up his leg. The hatchling hummed and pressed his head into Aaron's chest. "Not even all the baby animals in the world would distract me from this."

Yang looked Aaron up and down. "If you were anyone else, I'd think that was hyperbole."

"Well, it's not." Aaron turned around and started walking around the clearing. Ruby was still having fun with all the animals around her. Aaron was determined to make sure she stayed like that.

* * *

Yang looked herself over in the mirror. She'd only dressed in all black a few times in her life, and she hated every time. Before yesterday, she didn't plan on going to the funeral. Even before they went to bed, Yang knew she'd need to be there. She hadn't seen her baby sister yet that morning, so she hadn't had the chance to talk about last night.

She looked down at her dragon. "Could you get Angel set up in the Bullhead?"

 _I will._ Halcyon nodded and walked out of his and Yang's room. _Ruby's out here if you want to talk._

"That I do." Yang walked out of her room and searched for her sister. Ruby stood in front of Aaron, Nalia, Cerise, and Yaela rehearsing what sounded like Jade's eulogy. All those on two legs were dressed in black as well. Yang hung back, not wanting to disturb her sister. Ruby needed the practice.

A little later, Ruby lowered her head and turned it around. "You hear any of that, Yang?"

"I heard enough." Yang walked over to her sister's side. She rested a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "How you feeling, sis?"

Ruby's head dipped. "Like absolute crap." She looked up at Yang. "I'm glad you're going to be there."

Yang bit her teeth together. "I saw that other me in your head. I know how you feel about me getting you out of that place. That's the first time I've seen how much you appreciated it."

Ruby's face burned red. "Uh… yeah. You saved me from that terrible place. I still think you standing in that door and the whole time after that was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I've seen a lot of baby dragons and Angel since then. I… can't put it into words."

"I've got you, sis." Yang pulled Ruby into a warm hug which was quickly returned. "I'll do my best to live up to that reputation."

"You already are." Ruby pulled away and locked eyes with her sister. "I need to get going. Got to get there on time."

Cerise approached her Rider and settled down. _Climb on. You always like getting in the air._

"Let's go." Ruby climbed onto her dragon's back. Cerise walked toward the dragon door to the outside.

When she was gone, Yang faced Aaron. "You find anything in Ruby's head last night?"

"Way too much," Aaron growled. "One of them almost made it past me. It was a good thing Nalia came over to help."

 _Unlike Cerise and Orchid,_ Nalia started, _I can only take so much cuddling. I was glad I could fight after that._

Yang nodded. "Cerise will keep Ruby safe until she touches down. We need to make sure we're there before that happens. I don't want to take any chances."

Aaron shook his head. "Neither do I."

A door opened elsewhere in the house. Yang faced it and put on a forced smile. "Hey, Angel. You ready to spend the day with grandpa?"

"Grandpa is fun!" Angel cheered. "He tells good jokes."

Yang smirked and crossed her arms. "Where do you think I got a bunch of mine from?" It was Angel's grandma mostly, but grandpa had a few good ones of his own.

 _I don't know why Auntie Weiss doesn't like them._ Halcyon shook his head. _The Ice Princess is too cold-hearted._

"Auntie Weiss is nice."

"True." Yang shrugged. "But you can't spell nice without ice." She waved Angel toward the dragon door. "Come on. Let's get you in the Bullhead." She walked toward the exit with Halcyon and Angel right behind her. She left the house and led the way into the hangar. Halcyon trotted toward his little alcove in the hangar. He settled down there and opened his back hatch himself. Yang took her dragon's Core out and the android shell stiffened up. With her dragon's soul in hand, Yang walked into the Bullhead. Angel was already settled into her booster seat in the cockpit. That probably wasn't the most legal thing in the world, but oh well. With all the magic in the Bullhead, Angel would be just as safe everywhere else in the transport. "Ready to fly, Feathers?"

"Can I fly?" Angel asked.

"Not until you're bigger." Yang placed Halcyon's Core into its interface. She felt his Aura spread all around her. "Besides, when Uncle Halcyon's in here, it's his body. He's the one to ask."

"Sorry, Angel," Halcyon's voice came over the transport's speakers. "You're aunt's right. You're too young and small to fly this, and I like flying myself."

"The dragon does the flying," Yang stated, "not the Rider."

"Okay." Angel lowered her head and kicked her feet. "When can I get one?"

Yang shook her head. This question again. "Only if you go to a combat school, and there's no guarantee one will hatch for you."

"I'm happy. I'm cute. What else is there?"

"Quite a lot, actually," Halcyon said. The engines on the transport spun up. "Anyway, get ready for takeoff." A few minutes later, the transport lifted off the ground and glided out of the small hangar. Halcyon angled toward Patch and sped off toward the island. Angel pushed herself up in the seat and looked out the cockpit windows. Yang couldn't help but smile at the sight. Angel loved flying. It probably came from having dragons around her all the time, that and her own wings.

The transport only slowed down when they reached Yang's old house. Halcyon landed in the front yard and opened the crew compartment doors. "Here we are. All ashore that's going ashore."

Angel unfastened her belts and dropped to the floor. "Bye, Auntie Yang! Bye, Uncle Halcyon!" She skipped out of the transport and toward the front door.

The front door opened and Tai stepped out. His blonde hair had a few gray strands in there. He knelt down and scooped his granddaughter up and spun her around. Drei the Corgi trotted out to meet Angel as well. The aging teacher faced the Bullhead and locked eyes with his daughter through the glass. He looked just as worried as Yang felt.

"Let's get going, Halcyon." Yang pat the center console.

"Water or air?"

Yang checked the fuel gauge. "We've got enough to make it to the village to Ellesméra and back home. Let's catch up to Cerise."

"You got it." Halcyon lifted the transport off the ground. Yang looked into the house. Angel stood in one of the windows, waving at the Bullhead.

Yang waved back until her niece was blocked by metal. "Full speed, Halcyon. Let's not keep them waiting." The acceleration forced Yang back into her seat. The Bullhead banked to the west and gained even more speed over the ocean. About a half hour later, they caught up to Cerise. They both acknowledged each other in their own ways. Ruby once again practiced the eulogy over their comms. The words were good, they just needed to make sure that Ruby didn't flub something at a bad time.

When the farm came into view below them, both Cerise and Halcyon descended to the ground. A few other dragons were there as well, most of whom Yang recognized from the Defense of Mistral. Had to be the Mistral Response Force. They were all young, but from what Yang heard, they were all close. This had to be hard on them too. Nalia was nowhere to be seen.

The engines wound down and Yang stood up. "Ay you, you want to stay here or come with me?"

"I'll watch the Bullhead," Halcyon said. "I'm sure we'll need someone on Grimm patrol."

"I'm hoping that's where Nalia is. See you later." Yang walked out of the Bullhead and to her sister's side. Considering Aaron was already there, Nalia had to be out in the trees somewhere.

Ruby faced Yang as she approached. "Hey, sis. How was your flight?"

"Just fine. Very little turbulence." Yang rested a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "How's your head?"

Ruby turned her eyes to the ground. "I… was looking for… _them_ the whole flight."

 _If it was something I couldn't handle,_ Cerise started, _I would have called you in._

"We're here if you need us, Ru." Aaron pat his wife's back. "Don't be afraid to ask."

"If I freeze up or anything while I'm speaking," Ruby started, "you already have my permission."

"It won't come to that." Yang squeezed her sister's shoulder then stepped away. "Nothing will happen here."

"Thanks, Yang." Ruby sighed. "I better go find Jade's parents." She walked off toward what looked like a makeshift altar. Cerise followed right behind her.

"I guess we should socialize too." Yang shrugged. "Make sure there are no hostiles in the crowd."

Aaron nodded. "I'll see you when the service starts." The two Riders went their separate ways.

Yang made her way over to the closed casket. To her surprise, the casket didn't look like it was made by humans. It had the basic shape of so many others on Remnant but had the flowing, almost natural lines from elven decoration. A few small gemstones also were inset into the wood around one of Lily's dark pink scales. It looked like the elves spared no expense.

Yang faced the picture of the happy girl who only recently graduated from Haven. In the picture, Jade and Lily stood side by side on a cliff edge overlooking the ocean. They looked so happy together. Yang never met either before, but she still hurt from the young pair's death. A fellow Rider and a young dragon were killed in battle before their time. That was the sad reality of being a Huntress or a Rider. Any mission could be your last.

The Rider walked away from the casket and began searching the crowd for anyone who might be hostile. As much as she wanted to believe nothing would happen here, O'Donnell likely wanted revenge for the Riders putting him in prison. He fit the bill of other crime bosses. Doing something here would be a quick turnaround for anyone, but very possible. No one was going to hurt Ruby.

After about a half hour of searching and offering condolences, someone called everyone to gather in front of the stage. Yang sat near the back row of chairs while Ruby and Aaron were up in the front. Dragons surrounded them on all sides. No major attack would happen, but something small could still slip in.

Once everyone was seated, Jade's casket was escorted down the center aisle by what looked like other Riders and possibly her team at Haven. The Riders' flag was now draped over the casket. Once they reached the altar, the local priest stepped up and spoke his piece. When he was done, he motioned toward Ruby.

The head of the Riders took her spot behind the podium. Ruby looked over the crowd. "Even though Jade was only a part of the Mistral Response Force for a short time, she played such an important role as her team's field medic. More than that, she was a great friend and teammate to all those she worked with. No one had a single negative thing to say about her.

"When Jade and Lily first volunteered for the Response Force position, she…" Ruby stared off into the middle of nowhere. Even from a few dozen feet away, Yang could see her sister's eyes widen. Yang launched her mind into Ruby's. Her little sister was terrified. Yang didn't have time to figure out why. She did her best to send Ruby positive thoughts. Back on stage, Ruby shook her head. "She only wanted to be like her sister who served in Vale's army as a combat medic."

Now that Ruby was talking again, Yang searched for what was making her baby sister worried. She felt Cerise and Aaron in Ruby's head as well. It didn't take long to find the problem. Ruby thought she saw O'Donnell in the trees near the farmhouse. Yang looked back in that direction and stretched her mind back there as well. There were only a dog and a couple of cats back that way… then again, Salem could make her minions undetectable. _Halcyon, get ready to fly here if needed._

Yang returned her attention to her sister. Ruby was speaking again, but her head movements were jerky. She stuttered every few sentences and she shifted on her feet. Yang tried to do more to help out but it felt like Ruby was fighting her. That was a first. It didn't feel like Cerise or Aaron were having any luck either.

This wasn't good, on multiple levels. Yang looked around the area. So many people looked among themselves. A few of them were whispering toward each other. It didn't sound like they were complimenting Ruby's speech. Yang bit her tongue to hopefully keep the rest of her face even. Ruby was failing. There wouldn't be much Coco could do to spin this in their favor.

After another few minutes of Ruby stammering through her eulogy, she waved to Aaron and together they folded the Riders' flag. Ruby handed to flag to what looked like Jade's mother. She then walked to her dragon's side. She raised her left arm then brought it down. Cerise breathed a small ball of fire onto the casket. The wood caught right away.

As the live cremation occurred, people scattered away. Ruby needed to stay up there to make sure everything went okay with the burn. That didn't mean that people couldn't go up and talk with her. Yang walked around the crowd to stand behind her sister. She wasn't right on top of her, but she was close enough if something came up.

When the flames died down an hour later, Ruby turned around to face Yang. Her eyes were still wide and glassy. Her arms shook as she walked to her sister. "How bad was it?" Ruby's voice cracked on 'was.'

"People are talking." Yang rested her hands on both of Ruby's shoulders. "Why were you fighting me? You never have before."

Ruby dipped her head. "I didn't mean to. I guess I was trying to fight it myself and talk at the same time."

Yang nodded then looked around. "I think it's time for us to leave. I'll pick up Jade's parents and we can head to Ellesméra."

"Yeah. Good idea." Ruby nodded and climbed up onto Cerise' back. The dragon stood up and jumped away. A couple of dragons flew to catch up with her.

Yang scanned the crowd for Jade's parents. As soon as she found them, she walked over to them. "Mr. and Mrs. Thomas?" Both people faced the Rider. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to my Bullhead and we can fly to Ellesméra for the other service."

Jade's father narrowed his eyes. "Where did Ruby fly off to?"

Yang hesitated. "We believe someone might be after her life. I can't say more than that."

Jade's mom gasped. "Well, I suppose it's a good thing she flew away."

Jade's father grimaced. "Are you sure it had nothing to do with what happened yesterday?"

"Howard!" The mother smacked her husband's chest. "Now is not the time."

Yang tried to keep a neutral face as she backed up. "The Bullhead's on the other side of your house." She turned around and walked toward her transport. It looked like Howard didn't like Ruby. Hopefully it was just anger over his daughter being killed. That could be salvageable. Something else, not so much... _Geez, am **I** really thinking about this? I suppose one of us should...  
_

They didn't talk much on the walk to the Bullhead. Yang showed the parents how to secure themselves in the transport. She then sat in the cockpit and powered up the engines. For once, she took control from Halcyon during the startup procedures. She'd flown the transport solo many times, but she always let her dragon fly her when she could.

When everything was ready, Yang lifted the transport off the ground and angled toward the nearest river. She took it a little slower to give Ruby a little more time to gain ground. A few more dragons caught up and flew in escort position on the flight. Nalia flew ahead, likely for Aaron to cast the spell for the rest of them. Sure enough, a portal was already in shape when the Bullhead reached it.

Yang felt the controls in her hands and feet twitch as Halcyon took control. She had never flown through a portal herself, so she was doubly okay with Halcyon taking control of his body. The Bullhead entered the portal and flew above the edge of Du Weldenvarden. Yang felt the controls go back to her. She checked the radar. All the dragons escorting her from the farm fell into formation behind the Bullhead. Must have been something their flight leader ordered. That wasn't something anything anyone in the command staff would do. At least with the other dragons, she had a reason to not go full speed.

After deflecting many questions from Howard, Yang cleared their entry to the city with Gilderien the Wise, then banked the Bullhead toward the part of the forest dedicated to the memory of fallen dragons. Yang took a slight detour to see Halcyon's tree in the forest. It had only grown bigger since Yang embedded the scale. The color hadn't changed one bit. Yang blinked away a few tears. She was still flying with Halcyon, but she wished she was flying _on_ Halcyon. Yang banked the Bullhead away from her dragon's tree and toward the central clearing.

By the time they arrived, there were already quite a few people around the grass. Of course, Ruby and Cerise were there, along with Weiss and Saphira, Oromis and Glaedr, and Queen Islanzadí. There were quite a few other elven, dragon, and Rider mourners there as well. Yang set the Bullhead down by Cerise and cut the engines. Judging from the shaking ground, all other dragons following her landed as well.

"We're here." Yang flipped the switch to open the crew compartment doors. She stepped out of the cockpit and gestured outside. "The Queen is waiting for you."

Jade's parents stood up and stared outside. Both of them dropped their jaws. "These all can't be dragons," Howard breathed.

"They are." Yang nodded. "Halcyon's out there too, somewhere." She gazed in the direction of Halcyon's tree. "I really don't come here enough." She wiped an arm over her eyes. Jade's parents stepped out of the transport without saying another word.

Yang walked out of the Bullhead and to her sister's side. Soon after, Aaron appeared from around Cerise and joined them as well. Jade's parents walked toward the middle of the clearing. They looked uncomfortable under the gaze of so many.

Islanzadí walked up to the former parents. "Howard and Brandy, parents of Jade, I, Queen Islanzadí, welcome you to Ellesméra. I wish you could experience our fair city under much more pleasant circumstances, but fate has not allowed it."

"Ruby," Aaron whispered, "how are you feeling?" Yang looked at her sister from the corner of her eyes.

Ruby dipped her head. "He can't touch me here. No one can touch me here. Why am I still looking for him?" She looked back at Aaron with a lake in front of her eyes. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing, Ruby." Yang put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "You're fine. That monster did something to you." Aaron shifted on his feet and said nothing.

Yang returned her attention to the Queen. To put it into a few words, Islanzadí offered her condolences for Jade and Lily's deaths and offered whatever support she could. Another elf walked in from the side and escorted the parents into the trees. Weiss stepped ahead of Saphira and just like she did for Halcyon's funeral, she led the clearing in Unending Grace. Just like back then, the air practically shimmered when the elves joined in.

Ruby sighed when the last notes faded away. "I'm going to take a bit of a walk. Alone." She looked up at her dragon. "I mean completely alone. I need some time to think."

Cerise whimpered and nudged her Rider. _If you call, I will come._

"Thank you." Ruby walked off toward the trees while hugging herself.

Yang repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fists. "This isn't good."

"You don't think I know that?" Aaron growled. It didn't sound like he was mad at Yang. "It's so much worse than you would think."

Yang stared at her brother in law for a second before she heard someone coming up behind her. She turned her head around. Weiss and Saphira were walking up to them. "You need something, Weiss?"

"I do." Weiss nodded. "We all need to talk, away from prying eyes." She looked up at the red dragon. "Not you, Cerise. You need to stay focused on Ruby."

 _It's good you know that._ Cerise stared off to where her Rider disappeared. _I'm not going anywhere while she's out there._

Weiss looked between Aaron and Yang. "Follow Saphira. I need to speak with Queen Islanzadí and Oromis." She turned around and walked toward those she mentioned. Yang glanced at Aaron, then followed Saphira off toward another section of forest.

"What's this about?" Aaron asked when they were out of earshot of anyone else.

Saphira turned her head toward Aaron. _This is about Ruby. Neither she nor Cerise need to know what we're talking about, though I'm sure they'll find out soon enough._

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang asked.

The dragon pulled her lips back. _It means she won't like it, but it's necessary._ Yang stared at the dragon and shook her head. She didn't like where this was going.

Saphira stopped a good distance into the forest. She didn't say anything while Yang and Aaron waited by Nalia's side. Several minutes later, Weiss arrived with Islanzadí, Oromis, and Glaedr in tow. _"You got us here, Weiss. What's up?"_ Yang asked.

" _I overheard other Riders that were at the farm talking about Ruby,"_ Weiss said. _"It didn't sound good."_

Yang shook her head. _"If we weren't keeping her head level, she would have broken down in a panic. As it was, she was fighting us while trying to fight herself."_ She hung her head. _"That was scary."_

Weiss sighed. _"I was worried about that."_

" _Do you have a plan to help?"_ Aaron asked.

" _Maybe."_ Weiss looked around those gathered. _"As much as it pains me to say this, if Ruby keeps on falling down her path, we may have to consider asking her to step down."_

Yang clenched her fists, then let them go. A huge part of her wanted to yell at Weiss for even thinking about that. Another not so much. Nalia growled, but it didn't have much intensity. Aaron's glare was just as weak. The others only looked confused.

 _ **Who are you to decide when we ask that Ruby steps down?**_ Glaedr asked with no hostility.

" _Since the Nevermores escaped,"_ Aaron started, _"Ruby and I are unable to fulfill our duties. Weiss is our third in command, so she is in temporary command of the Riders until one of us can fulfill our duties… or until she steps down or is removed from duty."_

" _I hoped you were exaggerating yesterday, Aaron,"_ Weiss said. _"Now that I've seen Ruby myself… This might not only be the best option for the Riders but the best option for Ruby's mental health."_

" _Since you are their third in command,"_ Islanzadí started, _"would you be taking command?"_

Weiss shook her head. _"I stand to gain nothing from this. Ruby already has a successor lined up. Besides, according to the old rules, I am not eligible to be the permanent leader of the Riders."_

" _Who is this Rider that she has chosen."  
_

" _You know her very well. It's Arya."_

The Queen stiffened. _"Surely you jest."_

 _ **She has already been approved by the Eldunarí Council,**_ Nalia said. _**A unanimous vote, I must add.**_

" _I have known about this for some time,"_ Oromis said. _"I have searched for other candidates from both Remnant and Alagaësia. Arya is the best chance."_

" _She is too young,"_ Islanzadí insisted. _"She doesn't have the time or experience to be ready."_

" _No one does,"_ Aaron said. _"By the old standards, no one is old enough or has the necessary experience. We have to deal with that because our numbers are so low."_ He ground his teeth for a second. _"Besides, Arya is older than Ruby was when she took over. She's much more mature as well."_

" _Hold on a minute,"_ Yang spoke up. This was going _way_ too against Ruby. Someone had to defend her. _"Ruby still has time to recover. She can still lead us."_

" _I'm not so sure."_ Aaron shook his head. Yang dropped her jaw. Aaron was speaking _against_ Ruby? _"She's… changed, in a way which can't be refuted."_

Yang drooped her shoulders. _"When'd you try it?'_

" _When she was breaking down in the eulogy. I can only imagine that her fear has taken a more prominent place."_ Aaron sighed. _"She's so broken this time. Maybe taking time away from the Riders would be the best thing for her."_

" _She beat it before, she can beat it again."_

 _ **Yang,**_ Nalia faced the Rider. _**We all know how you feel about Ruby. It's wonderful that you think we can help Ruby back. But take away your relationship. Can you really say that Ruby can make her comeback in any decent time?**_ Yang wanted to scream yes, but nothing came out of her mouth. No lies could be told in the Ancient Language. **_She is my second Rider. It hurts to say these things about_** _ **her** ,_ Nalia continued, ** _but it's the truth. It's what's best for her and everyone else._** _  
_

" _Is there no other candidate than Arya?"_ Islanzadí asked.

" _None."_ Weiss shook her head. _"In fact, Arya has already accepted the position for when the time comes."_

 _ **With all due respect, Islanzadí,**_ Glaedr started, _ **just as we don't choose who rules the elves, you do not choose who leads the Riders.**_

Islanzadí stared at the golden dragon then sighed. _"So be it."_

" _Then it's decided."_ Weiss looked in between Aaron, Nalia, and Yang. _"I'll be generous and give Ruby one week to recover. If she doesn't get better or step down sooner, we will ask Ruby to step down as the Head of the Dragon Riders. I will leave that decision to you three."_

* * *

 **I know some of you thought that this was just more, unnecessary pain. It's a a part of at least one plan, and it's allowed me to do something that I've ignored this entire time. 'Bout time if you ask me. You won't know what I'm talking about for a while.**


	72. Changing of the Guard

**We are almost in the same week as Endgame. We are so close to that epicness!  
**

* * *

Ruby sat up in bed, staring at the far side of the room. Aaron was fast asleep beside her with their dragons being in the same position on their own pads. Ruby so wished she could be in that position. Her eyelids felt so heavy. She felt like her head was about to fall off her shoulders. She hadn't slept in two nights. The night terrors were so bad. They were getting worse. _Why_ was it so bad? The first few nights back when this first happened, just curling up with Cerise or sharing a bed with Yang and sharing a head with both of them calmed her down enough to sleep. Now, cuddling up to Aaron's side did nothing.

"What's wrong with me?" she whispered. Ruby held her head in her hands. She called up the video the Faunus she was held with in the North Sanus Mountains made for her… but closed it right away. Hazel, the cute lion Faunus girl that became an architect, jumped off the construction site of a building she designed. Violet and Orchid were the first on the scene. There was nothing Orchid's kisses could do. It hurt to see her like that, thanking Ruby for that work, but it was all for nothing.

Nothing. That was all Ruby's life turned into. She could barely do anything. It hurt to think, she couldn't go outside, she couldn't watch the news, all anyone outside the house talked about was how she felt about the whole thing. She could never answer. All she saw was that face… all she heard was that voice…

Ruby threw off her covers and jumped onto her dragon's snout. Cerise grumbled and her eyes slowly opened. A couple of seconds of blinking away her sleepiness later, her eyes pointed at the human on her snout. She whimpered and brought her front paws up to wrap around her Rider. _You can't sleep?_

"I haven't even tried." Ruby turned her eyes away from one of Cerise'. "I don't want to go back there."

 _Gem, you need to try. You're not doing yourself any favors staying up like this._

"But then I'm be seeing all of _that,_ and that will be even worse."

 _Just breathe, Ruby. I'm here._ Cerise hummed. _I'll stay awake with you._

Like her dragon suggested, Ruby took a few deep breaths, her eyes only closing for a couple blinks. "Positive thoughts, Ruby," she whispered to herself. "Positive thoughts." She tried to call up memories of her early days with Cerise, just playing, cuddling, and feeding her hatchling. Those days were so nice… but dark memories came back.

"Why am I so scared, Cerise? I was never like this back when the others got us out."

 _I can't tell you, Ruby. My only guess is that you've never had to deal with him outside of custody._

"Maybe…" Ruby shook her head. "I used to kick myself for getting half as scared as I am now. Why can't I fight this?"

 _I don't know, but I do know I will never give up on you. I will never abandon you._ Cerise growled. _I know many of the Eldunarí may not agree with me, but they can kiss my tail. I will not let my Rider fly alone._

"Thank you." A hand fell on Ruby's left shoulder. She jumped and jerked her head toward it. Aaron stood on her left. Ruby sunk more onto Cerise' face. "I woke you up?"

"A comforter slapping me in the face would do that." Aaron nodded. "You doing alright?"

"No. Not a bit." Ruby shook her head. "I'm too scared to sleep." She rolled her eyes. "I sound like a kid."

"So what? It's the truth. I was in your head two nights ago. With how vivid that was… that's scary stuff. If people aren't scared of being the target of that, there's a problem with them."

"Yeah…" Ruby pushed herself up on her dragon's face and Cerise pulled her paws away. The Rider slid off her dragon's snout and leaned up against Cerise' belly. Aaron sat down next to her and pulled her in close. Ruby rested her head on her husband's shoulder. "Thank you for being here."

"You can try to push me away, it won't work." Aaron kissed the top of Ruby's head.

Ruby didn't say anything for a long time. "I want a blanket." Cerise raised her head and pulled all covers off the king bed with her lips. She laid them all at her Rider's feet. "Thank you." Ruby grabbed the one on the bottom and pulled it up and over herself, ignoring the little bit of dragon spit.

While she was silent, her head wasn't. Ruby continued her thought process from her walk back in Ellesméra. She didn't like it the day before, much less now. Something that only came up toward the end came up again, this time with more force… but that could wait until she had more time to think it over.

"I know now," Ruby whispered. "I know why Uncle Qrow drinks. I know why people do drugs. I know why you used to cut your arm." She turned her head to look at her husband's face. Oceans formed in front of her eyes. "Please don't let me get that low."

Aaron's jaw hung open then pulled his lips together. " _I won't."_

" _Thank you."_ Ruby kissed Aaron on the lips, then resettled her head on her husband's shoulder. She pulled the blanket up higher. Aaron took a section for himself too. Ruby was glad he did. More skin to skin contact.

As time went on, she thought more about the think she didn't want to think about. The longer she thought about it, the more she thought it was necessary, which in turn made her not hate it. She knew she shouldn't. She knew she still had so much potential. No one would mind. It might actually be a change for the better. It probably would be such an improvement over the current position.

When Ruby's normal wakeup time came around, she made her decision. "I am no longer fit for command."

"What was that?" Aaron shifted his head.

Ruby turned her own to face her husband. "I can't lead the Riders like this. I have to step down."

Aaron's face looked like he was just stabbed in the chest. "Where is this coming from?"

"I first thought about it on my walk back in Ellesméra." Ruby dipped her head again. "I know I can barely think like this, much less lead the Riders." She looked at Aaron through the corner of her eyes. "I heard you talking with everyone else. I know you agree."

Aaron stiffened and sighed. 'I'm sorry, Ruby. I don't want to see you stop doing what you love, but if you keep it up, you're not going to get better."

"I know. I might not get any better period, despite what Yang thinks." Ruby shook her head. "Of course, she's the only one to defend me."

"Ruby, Weiss, Nalia, Saphira, and I only want the best for you."

"I know. I'm not saying you don't. I have the best family ever." Ruby ran her arm over her eyes. "You're all the best."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I am. It's been a long time coming." Ruby nodded. "It's past time Arya takes control."

Cerise tilted her head so she looked her Rider in the eyes. _I am with you until the end._

"I know you are." Ruby sighed. "I guess I've got to call a meeting now. This is something that all Riders need to hear." She stood up and stretched with a yawn. "I've got to make some calls." She walked to her dresser and picked up her Scroll.

Ruby left the bedroom and walked toward the elevator. Viki was already in the kitchen. She looked up at the Rider. "Ruby." Viki walked toward the Rider. "How are you feeling today?"

"Not good." Ruby stopped long enough to give her sister a hug. "I've got to make some calls downstairs."

"Want anything special for breakfast?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs and cheese…"

"All your favorites then." Viki nodded. "I'll get working on it right away."

"Thank you." Ruby nodded at her sister then continued to the elevator. She made a list of the people she needed to talk to on her bionic eye. These people likely wouldn't receive the mass text she was about to send out. The list was surprisingly short.

Ruby walked into the communication room. She walked over to the one computer in it to form the text. 'All Riders and Dragons not serving a critical function are to meet in the amphitheater in Mor'ranar Vera at 3PM local time. This is not an optional meeting.' About a minute later, her Scroll vibrated where she set it. It looked like the text went through.

With that done, Ruby faced the mirror wall. She was about to cast the communication spell when she remembered that she was still in her pajamas. That wouldn't do when talking to Arya. Ruby sighed and picked up her Scroll. No need to use the computer to send a single text. 'Arya, it's time. If you want to make a speech at the meeting, you have time to prepare.'

She sent a few more texts, these to Riders to who could distribute the mass text to those in Alagaësia who couldn't get texts or specific instructions on how to set up the amphitheater. During that time, Arya texted back saying that she'd have something ready and her condolences.

There was only one more person to tell. This one she needed to tell face to face, or as much as she could anyway. She didn't think her Uncle was anywhere where making noise would be a problem. Ruby cast the communication spell with Qrow in mind. The mirror shifted colors to where it showed what looked like the ceiling of a room. "Uncle Qrow, you awake?"

"Wha?" Qrow growled on the other side. "Who the duck is calling at this king of day?" Of course he was hung over...

"Thank you for watching your language, Qrow," Ruby said.

"Wait, Ruby?" Qrow silenced and it sounded like he was doing something on his side. About a minute later, Qrow appeared on the wall. It looked like he just threw a shirt on. "How you doing, pipsquea…" He stopped as he looked past Ruby. "What are you doing in that room in pajamas?"

"At least for the next few hours, I still make the rules." Ruby sighed. "Uncle Qrow, I'm a mess. I can't lead the Riders like this. I'm stepping down in five hours."

Her uncle stared at her then sighed. "So it's as bad as everyone's saying." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah." Ruby rubbed her left arm with her right. "I haven't been paying attention for exactly that reason." She locked her eyes on her uncle. "I never had any regrets about having you or Raven as the Riders' intelligence chief. If she'll have you, I'd like you to stay on under Arya."

"Arya? Islanzadí's kid?"

"Yeah. I can think of no one better suited to lead the Riders. She's… much more calm and collected than I ever was. She'll be a better public face and a better policy maker." Ruby shrugged. "Nothing wrong with being a doer like me, but we need another perspective."

Qrow nodded. "If you think so highly of her, I'll give her a chance. Either way, I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. I'm getting too old for field work, and screw desk jobs."

Ruby gave her uncle a light smirk. "You said it, not me." She leveled her mouth off. "If you stay, I expect you to give Arya and Fírnen the same respect you give me and Cerise."

"No can do, kiddo." Qrow shook his head. "She's not my niece. I can't do that for her."

"I can live with that." Ruby looked to the side. "Well, I gotta get going. I have a few things to take care of before the transfer of power."

"Take care, of yourself, Ruby. Do what you have to do." Qrow set his Scroll down.

Ruby ended the spell and left the comms room. She passed Yaela on the walk to the elevator and ignored the elf's stare. She leaned against the elevator's back wall. "Am I making the right decision?" She expected an answer from Cerise, not the back of her head. Something there said that she had nothing to worry about with stepping down. It could only be her. Her mom was long gone.

The elevator doors opened and Ruby stepped out. Yang stood just inside the kitchen leaning on one of the counters. Aaron was helping Angel with her backpack. The girl looked up at her mom. "Mommy!" Angel walked away from Aaron to Ruby's side. "Are you feeling better today, mommy?"

"A little." Ruby hated lying to her daughter, but she didn't need to worry Angel more. She knelt down in front of her baby girl and rested a hand on one of Angel's shoulders. "After today, we're going to have a lot more time to spend together."

"You mean I won't have to go to school?" Angel asked, though she sounded a little unsure.

Ruby shook her head. "Nope. You still have to go to school. I'll just be home most of the time when you get home."

That put a smile on Angel's face. "Okay." She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Ruby. "I love you, mommy."

Ruby returned the hug. "I love you too, sweetie." She pulled away and stood up. "Have a good day at school."

"Come on, Angel," Aaron called. "Let's get to the car." Angel turned away from her mom and walked back toward her daddy. She followed Aaron to the garage door. Right before she disappeared to the other side, Angel turned her head back toward Ruby. The door closed right after.

"I'm not even convincing her." Ruby shook her head. "This is… bad."

"It's okay, sis." Yang walked out of the kitchen and hugged Ruby. "Aaron and Nalia told me what happened last night. If Angel wasn't already awake, I would have let them have it for not letting me know."

Ruby never returned the hug. "Nothing is helping me sleep, Yang. I'm not sure having all of you helping out would do much."

Yang pulled away and looked Ruby in the eyes. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"I've already called everyone together and told Arya it's time. You should have gotten the text too. I can't go back now."

Yang nodded. "Okay, but I'm not leaving your side."

 _Neither am I,_ Halcyon said. Ruby traced his mind to Yang's side.

"Looks like you two already had your minds made up," Ruby said.

 _When you have your mind set on something,_ Halcyon started, _you rarely can be convinced otherwise… unless it's from my sister. You always listen to her._

"We're in each other's heads all the time. We tend to know what the other wants." Ruby paused and looked around the Hall. "Cerise? Where are you?"

 _Flying back from Patch,_ Cerise called. _I knew you wouldn't tell your father this happened, so I told him myself._

Ruby drooped her head. It's not like she didn't want her dad to know, it's just he wasn't on her list of priorities... There she was, thinking like a commander again, trying to keep herself sane by thinking in commander mode. "Thank you."

As she waited for her dragon, Ruby ate the breakfast Viki set out for her. Before, food always made her feel better, now it only dulled the ache. Yang pulled up a chair right beside her sister and said nothing. Viki probably already headed out for her bakery. When Ruby was almost done, the main dragon door opened. Cerise walked over and settled down behind her Rider. Ruby took care of her clean plate and silverware and walked back to her dragon. "Let's go, Cerise. I need to talk with the Eldunarí about something."

Cerise hummed and angled her back toward her Rider. _Climb on._

Ruby pulled herself onto her dragon's back and made herself comfortable in the saddle. Yang climbed up right behind her and wrapped her arms around Ruby's midsection. "I'm here if you need me, sis."

"I'll let you know." Ruby squeezed one of Yang's hands. "Heck, you might know before me." Ruby faced the back of her dragon's head. "Let's go, Cerise."

 _I'll take it slow._ Cerise walked out of the house and jumped away when she reached the landing pad. She banked toward the nearest river. Nalia flew near the edge of the city where the tunnel to the house exited. She faced the red dragon and gave a quiet roar.

Ruby stretched her mind to the other dragon. _Will you and Aaron come when you're done here?_

 _If you wish so,_ Nalia said. _We will be there when we can._

 _Thank you._ Ruby faced the river as Cerise nosed down. "Yang, could you take it this time?"

Yang nodded. "You got it." Cerise landed on the riverbank and Yang began speaking in the Ancient Language. The portal appeared in the water and Cerise jumped through. They repeated the process at Lake Isenstar and flew above Mor'ranar Vera. Cerise angled toward the keep and the landing pad nearest to the Hall of Colors. She landed on the stone and both Riders on her back dismounted.

Ruby stared at the keep entrance. She tried to take a step forward but found that her feet wouldn't budge. She couldn't figure out why it was like that, then it hit her. Cerise faced her Rider and pulled her ears back. _They would never do that again._

"I know they won't." Ruby shivered. "But… they did once. That… might be enough."

"You do the talking," Yang extended her gauntlets, "we'll stand back and look intimidating just to make sure they don't try anything.

"Thanks, sis." Ruby entered the keep and walked up the ramp to the Hall of Colors with Cerise right on her heels. Yang hung behind to close the doors and joined when she could. As she walked, Ruby thought of something else she should do while up there. Cerise turned her head toward her Rider then faced forward again. Evidently she heard Ruby's thoughts.

The group entered the Hall proper and Ruby stepped to the front. She looked over the group of Eldunarí. Memories of the first time she met them came to mind. Both Cerise and Yang jumped to help knock them back down.

" _I'm sure you know why I'm here."_ Ruby looked around once more before settling her eyes on Umaroth. " _Gr… the person who captured and tortured me escaped prison. I broke down and I haven't fixed myself. Later today, I will be stepping down as the Head of the Dragon Riders."_ None of the Eldunarí said anything, though Ruby felt several of their minds hanging on the edge of her own. " _You all know I've chosen Arya to be my successor. I've asked before, but times have changed. Is she ready? Will you accept her as my successor?"_

 _ **She is ready,**_ Umaroth said after a moment's pause. _**Arya will lead the Riders with our blessing. We thank you for coming to this decision on your own. The Elders of the past never removed a Rider from power. We are glad we can still claim as much.**_

Ruby nodded. " _Then I ask you for one more favor."_ Cerise walked forward and knelt beside her Rider. Ruby modified the spell holding the Eldunarí behind the dragon. With a shimmer, the Relic of Creation popped out and into Ruby's hands. The outgoing Head faced Cuaroc. " _Until Salem is dead or the Relic of Knowledge is returned to Haven or Concordia Academy, the Relic of Creation should stay with the Head of the Dragon Riders… and I can't protect it well in my state."_

Cuaroc faced Umaroth's Eldunarí. _**We understand what you are asking of us and Arya,**_ Umaroth said. _**We will make sure she knows. None of us will abuse the power while the Relic is in our possession.**_ Cuaroc faced Ruby and rose from his throne. He set his machinegun by his seat and walked toward the human. He extended an armored hand toward her. Ruby set the Relic in the dragon's hand.

The staff immediately started glowing. It grew in Cuaroc's hand. Ruby stepped back and reached for her weapons, but her hands reached empty air. She didn't trust herself with her weapons. Instead, Yang stepped forward and raised her gauntlets. Cuaroc just stared at the Relic as it changed in his grip. Cerise added a growl as well. The staff stopped growing and its glow disappeared.

" _What happened to not using the Relic's power?"_ Yang asked.

 _ **That was not him,**_ Umaroth defended. _**The staff changed on its own.**_

Ruby shook her head. " _I don't doubt it."_ She focused her attention back on the Relic. Cuaroc had roughly the same proportions of a human. The staff looked like it took those same proportions for itself. Add that to the list of things that made the Relics strange. Cuaroc nodded and placed the blunt end of the staff on the ground.

 _ **Shadeslayer,**_ Umaroth called. Ruby faced the Eldunarí. _**Your time may have been short, yet your list of contributions to the Riders is not. You killed a Shade. You led the charge against the Forsworn, killing several of them. You killed Galbatorix yourself. You brought the Riders from near extinction to flourishing once again. We may have differing ideas and have different ways of doing things, but we never doubted your capability. We will never forget your service to the Dragon Riders, Master Ruby.**_

That brought a warmth to Ruby's heart that she sorely missed. " _Thank you, Master."_ She bowed at the Eldunarí. " _Now… I have to figure out what to say to the others. I'll take my leave."_ She turned around and walked out of the Hall of Colors for the last time as Head of the Riders. Her temporary guards followed close behind her.

When the light from the Hall was far behind them, Yang walked up right beside her sister. "How you feeling, Ruby?"

"Pretty good." Ruby nodded. "I don't think I've gotten any compliment from Umaroth like that before."

 _The Eldunarí with me say they only heard it when they woke up in the original Vault of Souls,_ Cerise said.

"So he doesn't give compliments that often." Ruby felt her lips tugging up even more. "That's nice." She let her smile fall. "He's never called me Master before either." Ruby looked up at her dragon. "Your Eldunarí have anything to say about that?"

Cerise looked at the spot behind her. Her ears shot up. _Oh._ She faced Ruby again. _Since we're stepping down from our position, we're technically Elders now._

"Elders?" Ruby sighed. "I'm not even thirty five yet."

"Where we going sis?" Yang asked. "There's plenty of space on our part of the island."

"I think I'll just stay around my part of the keep until it's time. Stay away from everyone else. Get the two of you to myself. Maybe Weiss and Saphira too."

 _Your big little brother is here too,_ Halcyon said from Yang's belt.

"If you had your shell here, I'd welcome it. Since it's just your Core… I love you Halcyon, but it's not the same." Halcyon hummed sadly but said no more.

Once they reached the closed doors, Yang stepped ahead and opened them. Light from green scales shown through from the other side. The stone opened far enough to reveal Aaron and Nalia. Aaron stepped forward. "How'd it go?"

"It's done." Ruby hung her head. "All that's left to do is to announce it in front of all the Riders."

Aaron nodded and draped an arm over Ruby's shoulders. "What are you going to do now?"

"Take a break until it's time?" Ruby shrugged. "I need time to figure out what to say. It's not going to be a grandiose speech, but it has to be something. Give me a little time alone with Cerise?"

"Okay. I'll see that everything gets set up properly around here. Take all the time you need." Aaron walked toward the amphitheater. Nalia nuzzled Ruby's face before following her Rider.

"I'll be here, Ruby," Yang said. "If you need me, I'll be over there." She pointed at a small alcove that held a statue of another old Rider, then walked there.

Ruby looked at the part of the keep that was meant for the Head of the Riders. She had only been up there for two nights before, and just because it would have been an insult to Aithlin to not try it out after all his work was done. Even though the inside was far more colorful than the old Schnee Manor, it still felt just as impersonal. So instead of going inside, Ruby stayed on the landing pad with Cerise.

They stared at the ocean for a long time. The shadows around them moved quite a bit. Few words passed between them during this time. Ruby was too focused on trying to figure out how to address all Riders at once. This would be the first time since before the Fall that so many Riders would be in one place at one time. Ruby wanted to make a beautiful speech and provide a flowery reason to why she was stepping down… but nothing felt right.

With only half an hour until the established time, Ruby realized why everything fell flat. It wasn't her, and she had mainly focused on the Riders, not the dragons. She'd only ever spoken to large groups of only people before and the only dragons she talked to on a daily basis she considered family. That wasn't the same as addressing a theater full of dragons.

Ruby faced her soulmate. "Cerise, what would the dragons want to hear?"

Cerise faced her Rider. _You want to do that?_

"I don't want to lie if that's what you mean. I mean… how do I talk to them?"

The dragon hummed, then stared out toward the ocean. _The cold hard truth. No toeing the line. No matter the subject, we appreciate honesty over lies. Many of them, especially those bonded to Alagaësians, may not like it, but the backlash will be less than if you lie or lead them somewhere else._

"No flowery language?"

 _Not if it's not you._ Cerise looked back at her Rider. _Don't pretend to be something you're not. You're not the best at that anyway._

"Yeah." Ruby faced the amphitheater. So many dragons and Riders had already arrived in the place with Shruikan standing over them all. Ruby pulled her lower lip into her mouth. She still wasn't the best at public speaking. What she had would have to be enough. With the little time she had left, Ruby put together a small speech on her bionic eye. After reading it through a few times, she didn't think she'd need the text at all.

With only a few minutes to spare, Ruby climbed onto her dragon. Yang walked over and mounted Cerise behind her sister. The dragon then took off and flew toward the amphitheater. Ruby made her bionic eye count how many dragons were there. There were over sixty of them, so a few wild dragons had to be there too. To those that cared about the Riders, this pertained to them as well.

Someone shouted something in the seats. All heads turned up and most dragons and all people rose to their feet. Ruby took in a deep breath through her nose. She never instructed anyone to do that. Someone must have thought it was expected. From a certain way of looking at it, Ruby _was_ a general.

Cerise landed just off stage and knelt down. Ruby slid off her dragon's back on the stage side while Yang dropped in the opposite direction. Ruby walked toward the center of the stage. "At ease. You may all be seated." Her voice was amplified by spells in and around the stage. She walked to the center of the stage and looked around. Coco and Velvet stood in the back behind the single video camera in the amphitheater. Their feed would be the only one that would be released to media sources across Remnant. There were so many familiar faces, so many friends, even family with Weiss and Saphira and Aaron and Nalia in the crowd. But with all of them, there were a few faces that Ruby had only seen a few times and those that she had never seen at all. Maybe it really was a good thing that she was stepping down. She didn't know so many of these people and dragons. She couldn't effectively lead those who she didn't know.

"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice." Ruby paused. "I'm sure you have all heard rumors about me the past few days, I am here to put them to rest…" She slowly blinked as she mustered up the courage. "Some of them, if not most of them, are true." Murmurs and a few gasps filtered through the crowd. Like Cerise said, more than a few dragons glared at her. "Recent events have brought back memories of the most painful time of my life and has made me unresponsive and paranoid.

"As such, I am no longer fit for command. When I leave this stage, I will no longer be the Head of the Dragon Riders." All other talk silenced. Ruby swore she could hear people blinking. "My last act as your leader will be to appoint my successor, and that is Arya Dröttningu." Ruby gestured at the elf in the front row. "I expect you all to give her the same respect you gave me if not more.

"Before I leave, let me say this. I am so proud of each and every one of you. A handful of years ago, we were nothing. We were so few and far in between, and only a few of us had any significant training. Now, our numbers have grown significantly." Ruby made a point of looking at a few young dragons and Riders in the crowd. "We may be small in number compared to the Old Order, but we are far from weak. We are the strongest Huntsman Organization Remnant has seen. Skills and technology from Remnant combined with those of Alagaësia have put us in a position that the Old Order never saw. We are a global power for good. We can reach so many places the Kingdoms of Remnant can't in a hurry. We are strong together, and we won't fall anytime soon."

Ruby sighed. "I am proud to have served with you, and I am honored I could lead you to this point. But my time is done. It's up to Arya and Fírnen to lead us into the future." She looked at the front row and nodded at her successor. Ruby walked off stage and out of her elevated position. Cerise followed with Yang taking up her bodyguard position again.

Before heading to the stage herself, Arya approached Ruby. " _Thank you for trusting me with this, Shadeslayer. I will lead the Riders to new heights."_

" _Thank you."_ Ruby couldn't stop a small laugh from leaking out. Arya gave her a confused look. " _Sorry, you just reminded me of something Aaron said to the team when he first joined team RWBY."_

After a second of staring, Arya nodded. " _I will always value your input, Master Ruby."_ She turned around and climbed up onto the stage while Ruby took the elf's place. The new Head of the Dragon Riders faced the crowd. "I am honored to now be your leader, though I wish the circumstances were different. I want you all to know that this decision was not made in the past few days. Ruby had come to me long ago to ask if I would succeed her. We were waiting for the right time to make the transition. Unfortunately, the decision was made for us.

"Riders and dragons of Remnant and Alagaësia, I will continue where Ebrithil Ruby left off. We will not forget what she did for us, and we will not let those who harmed her and so many others roam free. Finding those who call themselves the Nevermores is our top priority. We will not stand idly by while slavers are allowed to roam free. The sooner they are found and dealt with, the sooner Faunus all over Remnant will be able to sleep soundly at night.

"They are not the only threat out there. The Grimm are getting stronger and smarter…" Arya went on to discuss barebone plans against the Grimm, crime in both Remnant and Alagaësia, and several other things that Ruby never thought about. As the elf continued, Ruby felt a smile take over her face. Any remaining doubts faded away. Arya spoke only in Vytalian, but her words rang true. They weren't words for the sake of words. It was written all over her face and the way she said them. She truly believed everything she said, and everything sounded attainable. Arya was the right one for the job.

When she was finished, Arya looked over the crowd once more. "Your commanders will have new orders from me in the next twenty-four hours. Until then, continue with your pre-assigned tasks. May the stars watch over you."

Another Rider in the front row, it looked like Pewter Hyde, stood up. "Ten-shun!" Every other Rider and Dragon stood up, including the wilds. Ruby was a little slower to do so. She didn't snap to attention at all. She wasn't sure about what the old Elders did, but she was fairly certain that they didn't need to bow or any of that to the Head of the Riders. Arya nodded and walked off the side of the stage.

Without any audible cue, the crowd loosened and began talking amongst themselves. Ruby felt so many eyes focus in on her, not all of them were friendly. Yang nudged her with an elbow. "You want to head home, sis?"

Ruby shook her head. "Not yet." She focused on a familiar red coyote ear working its way through the crowd. A large and cuddly purple dragon followed behind. "I think a few people want to speak with me."

Violet and Orchid made it to the front row and the Faunus ran toward her trainer. She hugged Ruby as soon as she reached her. "I'm so sorry, Ruby."

"It's okay, Violet." Ruby quickly returned the hug then pulled away. "This was going to happen sooner or later."

 _I wish it was later._ Orchid whimpered. _I guess my Semblance isn't as effective as I thought._

"It's plenty effective Orchid." Ruby pat the dragon on the snout. "This just isn't something that can easily be healed."

Violet looked Ruby up and down. "But you're fine right now."

Ruby's small smile disappeared. "No, I'm not. I'm having help." She looked past her first trainee. A few more Riders and dragons were walking in her direction. "I'll talk to you two later. I need to talk to a few more people."

Violet turned her head around and her ears drooped. "Okay… we'll see you in Vale." Violet walked away. Orchid gave Ruby a non-semblance kiss before following her Rider.

Several other Riders came up to talk to her, some she knew well, others she felt like she was meeting for the first time. Ruby was still just as polite with all of them. During that time, Aaron, Weiss, and their dragons took up positions behind Ruby. If any of those coming to talk with their former leader had problems with Ruby after what she said, none said anything. That could have been out of respect, or the fact that she had a few Riders and dragons nearby that would jump in to defend her.

When they were all gone, Ruby sighed and looked up at her dragon. "Take me home, Cerise."

 _Of course._ Cerise crouched by her Rider's side.

Ruby climbed up and settled in the saddle. From her new vantage point, she saw Arya walking over to her. " _Do you have something for us?"_

" _Not all of you."_ Arya faced Aaron and Weiss. " _I would like to speak to the two of you before you return to Vale."_

Aaron looked up at his wife, then back at Arya. " _Will we be long?"_

" _I do not believe so. I do not want to keep you."_

" _We'll follow."_ Weiss looked up at her old partner. " _I'll stop by later too, do what I can."_

" _Thanks, sis."_ Ruby helped Yang onto Cerise' back. The dragon didn't wait for a cue to take off. Shruikan stared at them as they left. " _Hold on, Cerise."_ Ruby pat her dragon's neck. She stared right at the massive black dragon. " _I need to speak with him."_

Cerise faced Shruikan as well. _**If you say so.**_ She flew toward her former enemy.

Shruikan readjusted to face the red dragon that was barely bigger than his head. _**Shadeslayer,**_ he greeted.

" _Shruikan, you once swore to be my ally, no one else'. What is your position now?"_

The black dragon narrowed his eyes and pulled back his ears. _**Arya did not kill my false Rider. I have no allegiance to her.**_ His ears returned to their normal position. _**But she is your ally, which means she is mine.**_

" _Good to hear."_ That wasn't exactly what Ruby was looking for, but it was better than nothing. He didn't exactly inspire confidence in that last bit either. He was Alagaësian, after all.

Cerise snorted and turned away. She flew toward the ocean where quite a few other dragons and Riders also flew at the water's edge flying into several portals, with at least half aiming for the largest one a little distance out. Cerise joined that group and appeared over Lake Isenstar. Even more portals dotted that water. She flew to an empty space and hovered just above the water. Yang cast the between worlds spell and Cerise dove through to fly over the house in the mountains.

The dragon landed on the pad outside the house and knelt down. Yang dismounted but Ruby stayed on. Cerise turned her head back. _You're not getting off?_

"No." Ruby leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her dragon. "I want to stay close."

Cerise hummed and nuzzled her Rider's head. _We'll go to my bed and stay there._ She walked into the house and the master bedroom. The dragon settled down on her pad. Ruby slid off Cerise back and leaned against her dragon's belly. Cerise snaked her head over and rested it on Ruby's lap. One of the dragon's wings covered both of them.

Yang dipped her head into the wing tent. "Can I get you anything, sis?"

"Maybe a hot chocolate… something from Viki's…" Ruby pulled her dragon's head closer. "My big little brother would be good too."

 _Coming right up,_ Halcyon said. _As soon as I'm back in my shell anyway._

"I'll get your stuff, Ruby." Yang disappeared from the tent. A little later, the door at the other end of the room opened but didn't close. Ruby closed her eyes and laid her head on her dragon's snout. This was nice. A few more minutes on, Halcyon ducked under the wing and snuggled up to Ruby. It wasn't as comforting as when Halcyon had his actual body, but it still was comforting to have her big little brother right there. Ruby idly rubbed Halcyon's head as she tried to keep her terrible memories from coming back up.

Some time later, the door at the other end of the room opened again, this time accompanied by the shaking from a few dragons' footsteps. Cerise opened her wing and revealed Yang, Aaron and Nalia, and Weiss and Saphira. Yang sat down by her sister's side and handed over a large cup of hot chocolate and a big bag full of sweets. Ruby straightened up, forcing Halcyon to move off her. "How'd it go?" Ruby asked.

"There's been a pretty big shakeup in the command structure." Weiss crossed her arms. "I am now second in command of the Dragon Riders. Arya liked your idea of having someone from both sides, and she said I was the obvious choice."

Ruby smiled up at her partner. "You'll do great Weiss."

Weiss returned the smile. "The two of you are lucky I don't have a problem with playing second fiddle."

Ruby faced her husband and her smile disappeared. "What about you?"

Aaron shrugged. "Obviously, I've been demoted out of being second in command. Arya's also taken me out of head of training and gave that position to Brom. It makes sense, really. He's much better at it than I am. I'm being moved to take over the Vale Response Force."

"That's a change."

"I get to stay closer to home." Aaron relaxed his shoulders. "At this point, I'll take it."

"Speaking of home," Weiss put on her leader voice and looked directly at Ruby, "you have new orders. You are to stay off any mission until your head is in the right place. You are to do whatever you deem necessary to get better, whether that's staying in here, junk food, therapy, cuddling puppies at the animal shelter, whatever." She loosened up. "If you need me here, don't be afraid to ask."

"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby turned her head away. Out of everyone in the room, Weiss knew about Ruby's pain the most. Besides her claustrophobia that was worse than Cerise', Weiss had mostly recovered from her own imprisonment. She was still the best one to speak with about these things. "Can we talk, just me and you?"

Weiss nodded. "Of course."

"Call me if you need anything, sis." Yang gave Ruby a quick squeeze before standing up and walking away. Halcyon, Aaron, and Nalia followed right behind her, leaving Ruby and Weiss alone with their dragons.

Weiss sat down next to her adopted sister and pulled Ruby in close. "Whenever you want to talk, I'm right here."

Ruby leaned her head on her partner's shoulder. "We may be waiting a while."

* * *

 **A change in leadership, a massive weight off Ruby's shoulders. I can speak from experience. Going from a high stress situation to pretty much nothing works wonders for your head.  
**

 **On a more somber note... Notre Dame. If any of you are from France, my heart goes out to you.**


	73. New Titles, New Problems

**I can't believe I forgot to mention it last week, but Star Wars Episode 9 trailer! So excited for that one. Even more so since I realized because I recently realized that was the Eclipse SSD crashed on the planet! EU/Legends people know what I'm talking about. I love that ship.  
**

 **Enough movie geeking out for now. Onto this.**

* * *

Aaron sat up in bed and stared at the empty spot that his wife normally occupied. Ruby instead slept with her dragon, and for whatever reason, she wanted to do so alone. At least she didn't call for help last night. Hopefully that was because she didn't have any nightmare or that Cerise was able to take care of everything, not that she refused to ask for help.

Aaron pushed himself out of bed and walked over to Cerise. The red dragon pulled her head out from under a wing. _She's just getting up now._

"How's she feeling?" Aaron asked.

 _Better than yesterday morning._ Cerise looked away. _Then again, that's not hard._

"Yeah." Aaron shook his head. "Almost anything beats that."

About a minute later, Ruby walked out of Cerise' wing tent. She rubbed a fist into her left eye and faced her husband. "Morning, Aaron."

"Morning, Ruby." Aaron approached his wife and rested a hand on her right shoulder. "How'd you sleep?"

Ruby dipped her head. "Well, I didn't strangle you, so…"

Aaron blinked. Probably something that his wife dreamed. "Ruby, you know I'll do whatever I can to help."

"I know. I just don't want to hurt you while you're trying to."

"You'd never hurt me." Aaron brought Ruby into a quick hug before pulling away. "So what are you going to do today?"

"I…" Ruby stared off into the distance. "I don't know. I can't remember the last time I've had nothing to do, nothing to plan." A smile grew on her face. "I'm just responsible for me and Angel. I like the feeling. I might take her to dad's. Or JNPR's. It's been a while since Angel had a playdate with Sarah, Rusty, and Slate… are they called that at her age? Anyway, I'll see what she wants to do… after she finishes her homework."

Aaron nodded. "But what about for yourself?"

"I should probably call my therapist. It's been a while." Ruby paused. "I think I might have to consider being a stay at home mom for a while."

"Really? I thought you wanted to avoid that at all costs."

"I did, but… I love taking care of Angel, and I need to take care of myself. I can do both from here. Besides, with how we do things, I'm halfway there already."

"If you're okay with it." Aaron looked at the digital clock on his dresser. "Nalia and I have to head out. We're due at the marshalling grounds in a half hour."

"Have a good day, Aaron." Ruby put on a forced smile. "I'll try to do the same."

 _Before you leave,_ Cerise spoke up, _we have something you should be on the lookout for._

Aaron crossed his arms. "And that is?"

 _Ruby met Angela in Viki's bakery._

"Oh yeah," Ruby breathed. "After what happened that day, I kind of forgot about it."

Nalia made a confused chirp. _Angela, you mean the herbalist?_

 _Yes. She led us to believe that she was here on her own, not from any of the Alagaësian kingdoms._ Cerise shifted on her feet. _I don't know why she's here, but she's violating the treaty signed by Vale and could be a danger if something happens in the city._

"Okay." Aaron nodded. "Well, with what Yang brought back years ago, I do have a few questions for her. Thanks for bringing her up. I'll try to get a fairth made in her likeness to distribute."

 _Thank you._ Cerise returned her attention to her Rider. _Now we need to take care of Ruby._

"Stay safe you two." Aaron focused on his wife. "I'm a Scroll call away if something comes up."

"Nothing will." Ruby didn't sound too sure of herself. "Go on. Don't let me slow you down." Aaron was about to question Ruby's choice of words, but judging from Cerise' whimper, he was beaten to it.

Aaron turned toward and walked to his dresser and wardrobe. He picked out one of his normal combat outfits and put it on. From her speech the day before, it sounded like Arya wanted to get some sort of uniform together or at least some other identifying marks other than the badges. It made sense in the field. When he was finished, he and Nalia walked out of the master bedroom and out past the dragon door.

The Rider mounted his dragon and they flew off to the Vale marshalling grounds at the base if the Riders' mountain. A few pairs were there already. All of them faced the longest active pair as Nalia flew in for a landing. As his dragon landed, Aaron looked around the assembled Riders and dragons. He had trained quite a few pairs for years, including several of those in front of him. Still, he felt out of place in front of so many people. Years ago, he and so many others looked up at Oromis and Glaedr the same way.

Aaron shook off the feeling and searched for the former commander of the Vale Response Force. Pewter Hyde stood near the back of the clearing with Lavi near him. Aaron dismounted his dragon and walked across the marshalling grounds toward his former apprentice. "Sorry to take your position, Pewter." Aaron stuck out his right hand when he got close. "I know you worked hard for this."

"It's no problem, Aaron." Pewter took the outstretched hand in one of his own. "I'd follow you anywhere."

"Hopefully not off a cliff." Aaron took his hand back and looked up at the dragons. The mother and daughter had their eyes narrowed at each other and their ears pulled back. Growls grew in their throats. Lavi launched forward and sunk her teeth into her mother's shoulder. Nalia returned the favor to her daughter. They stood like that for a few seconds before pulling back. They hummed happily and raised their ears before rubbing their heads together.

Lavi looked down at her Rider. _Why would it be such a bad thing to follow them off a cliff? I can fly._

Aaron shook his head. "You still don't get metaphors."

 _I shouldn't need to._ Lavi peeled her lips back. _Why can't everyone just say what they mean?_

 _We do, daughter,_ Nalia said. _We just have a mutual understanding of what certain things mean._ Lavi only growled more.

"Anyway," Aaron faced Pewter again. "You have anything for me to make my job easier in the future?"

Pewter nodded. "I've got a roster with names, specialties, and levels of experience. I also have the records of missions going back three months." He looked away. "I probably should have more than that, but I'm not a fan of all the paperwork filing Avrart has us go through. It's such a waste."

Aaron shrugged. "Even Yaela can't hack paper. It's safer this way."

"Maybe." Pewter pat Lavi's side and the dragon crouched. He pulled out a big three-ring binder and handed it to Aaron. "Here's the roster."

"Thank you. I'll look it over before the meeting." Aaron and Nalia worked their way toward an empty part of the clearing. The Rider sat on one of his dragon's paws and read through the short roster. It actually looked like everyone but one pair had arrived. It was only an eight-pair squadron, but that number would increase as time went on.

While waiting, Aaron found a decently flat rock. He whispered in the Ancient Language and the color on the surface of the rock changed to take the image of Angela. Aaron didn't think it was distorted too much. He took a picture of the fairth on his Scroll to send it to the other Riders.

At almost nine-thirty exactly, the last pair flew into the marshalling grounds. Aaron grimaced at the sight. The way Lumi held her wings up and the way Iali raised her head looked too much like Avrart from years ago. It took Avrart almost being killed for him to snap out of it. These two didn't look like they had that experience. It looked like Aaron had to break them down.

"Everyone, gather around," Pewter called as he walked to a small hill in the clearing. "As I'm sure many of you guessed from yesterday, our priorities have shifted from previous days."

 _We are no longer just reacting to Grimm attacks or calls from the police or military,_ Lavi continued. _We are expecting the escaped Nevermores to return to their old active areas. That would be Vale and Vacuo. I'm sure the Faunus among you need no explanation as to why they need to be found and dealt with._

"Violet and Orchid will be working with the Vale police and KBI to share information. They're our detectives in the field and really, our only detectives until more of us can be trained. Still, if anyone sees any of the escaped Nevermores, apprehend them and report in immediately. I'll be sending their mugshots to each of your Scrolls when we're done here."

 _While we're doing this, we can't ignore our other tasks. The Grimm are as much of a threat as ever and the police and sheriffs in the Kingdom may still need our assistance. They are our allies and we will still defend them until they won't have us._

"One more thing before assignments." Pewter nodded at Aaron. "We will have a change in command soon. Aaron Benson and Nalia Quickwing will be taking over the VRF in the coming days."

"Just so there is no confusion," Aaron started, "until I am fully briefed on everything this response force can do, Pewter is still your commanding officer." He paused. "But I do have another task that you can take care of no matter where you are. We have a rouge Alagaësian in on Remnant. Her name is Angela and she travels with a black werecat named Solembum. We don't know what she's doing here, but she's not here on behalf of any Kingdoms on Remnant or Alagaësia." Aaron grimaced. "She also made herself known right before we found out the Nevermores escaped. I would like to think that's a coincidence, but I can't rule out that she may know something. All I have is a picture of a fairth of her. I have already sent you all the picture. If you find her, do not engage. Report it to me. I know her. I can take care of her."

Pewter stared at Aaron for a second before nodding. "Thank you for that." He turned his attention to a clipboard in his right hand. "Assignments. Listen up. I don't want to have to repeat myself." He continued to rattle off names and assignments for all the pairs in the squadron. Once they were all named, all Riders mounted their dragons and flew off together.

Aaron faced his former apprentice when all others were out of sight. "What do you usually do during this time."

"Lavi and I just fly around Vale. We coordinate from the air and respond where necessary. Simple as that."

"Okay. Let's get in the air." Aaron climbed up Nalia's side and Pewter did the same with his dragon. The mother and daughter kicked off the ground and flew toward the city. They flew side by side until they reached Beacon. At that point, they split up, Nalia flying North and Lavi taking the south.

Aaron took out his Scroll and sent the picture of the fairth to all Riders in the VRF, and then to Arya. She needed to spread the word too. After that, Aaron opened the police scanner on his Scroll. If something happened, he would know about it.

With that running, Aaron looked around the area. Nothing looked out of place in the city. He quickly checked the Grimmcast for the day. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, there shouldn't be much Grimm activity until maybe at the baseball game later in the day.

After a few circles around the city, Nalia growled beneath Aaron. _I hate being able to do nothing._

"We're on patrol. We should be happy that we're doing nothing."

 _That's not what I mean._ Nalia turned her head, showing her Rider her teeth. _In Alagaësia, there's only so many places people can hide. We could search an entire city in a few hours for the Nevermores. By comparison, there's very little room outside the cities to search. We have a whole planet to search for the Nevermores._

Aaron grit his teeth. "They were helped by Salem too. They could very well be on her continent."

 _The sooner Atlas gets satellites over there, the better._ Nalia faced forward again. _Kill her, so many problems disappear. Then we can go back to the way things were in Alagaësia._

"I don't know. The Grimm may not all die with Salem."

 _Because that would be too easy. I doubt the bounty she has on us would go away with her death either._

Aaron shivered. He'd taken out way too many would-be assassins. As far as he knew, Ruby didn't know about any of them. "Watts is the most dangerous besides her. I wouldn't be surprised if he could shut down the CCT."

Nalia grunted. _Humans here are too attached to technology. Maybe us Alagaësians should go after him. We have little to lose from technology._

"Just air conditioning, but I have Ruby for that."

 _And magic._ Nalia's head dipped. _If you ask me, she can use any technology she needs to get better. It hurts me seeing her like that. I can't imagine what it's like for Cerise._

"You probably do know. It's just been a while."

 _Maybe._ Nalia looked at a certain point on the ground. _I see a small pack if Beowolves moving toward the walls._

Aaron drew his V4 from Nalia's saddle. He raised it and aimed at the ground. "Get closer. Let's take them out." As Nalia angled down, Aaron's Scroll vibrated and rang in one of his pockets. Aaron froze. That was the house's alarm system, not anything else. Nalia leveled out as her Rider drew his Scroll. Aaron checked the alarm. It wasn't a proximity warning, but a broken window. That was different. Normally he'd get some kind of warning before that happened… Aaron shook his head. Angel must have been playing too hard and broke some glass. That had happened before. Still, there was a video of what happened.

It was an exterior view of the… dragon door. Weren't the windows on those supposed to be able to take a Goliath smashing through them with all their wards? A black flash dashed across the screen and smashed through the glass like it was paper. That wasn't normal. He ran the video back as slow as it would go.

All the heat left his body. Nalia banked hard toward the mountain. Aaron pushed the all call button on his Scroll. "We have a Code M at Vale headquarters! Repeat! Code M at Vale headquarters!"

* * *

"Does this make sense, Angel?" Ruby asked as she ran a finger down the overly complicated explanation of what should have been a simple math problem.

Angel sighed. "Thanks, mommy." She wrote something similar down on her worksheet. The student moved onto the next problem without asking for her mom's help.

Ruby leaned back in her chair and faced Cerise. _Why did they change math?_

 _How do they even do that?_ Cerise cocked her head. _What was wrong with the old way?_

 _Nothing. They just overcomplicate everything. Math. Is. Math._ Ruby shook her head. _So glad Viki learned this stuff before the change._ Her Scroll buzzed in a pocket. Ruby walked away from the table and took it out. It was a text from her therapist. She had a session open about noon on Monday. Ruby texted back that she could make it. She still hadn't heard back from Velvet about any medication, but she was probably busy with so many other things.

"Mommy?" Angel called. "I'm stuck again."

"Coming." Ruby started to turn toward her daughter, but something outside the dragon door window caught her eye. There was a small portal out there, too small for any dragon that could carry their Rider. "Wha-"

Something shot out of the portal and through the glass. By instinct alone, Ruby activated her Semblance and dashed to her daughter. She scooped Angel up and hid under the table. The black thing flew right through where Angel sat less than a second before. It continued down the Hall digging a long trench in the floor and destroying several pieces of furniture. Ruby peaked out from under the table while keeping herself between whatever the thing was and her baby girl.

A creature that wore half of Ilia's face stood in the Hall. Several black legs stuck out of its back. Her eyes glowed red, one because of her Maiden abilities, the other because it was a Grimm's. It was just like Aaron said. Ilia was half Grimm.

The dark Maiden growled and thrust a hand forward. Fire flew out and toward the mother and daughter. Ruby let her Aura flow and her eyes glow. A bubble of solid air formed around her and the fire rolled around her. Cerise roared, the floor shook, and the fire stopped. The angry red dragon pressed both of her front paws onto the Spring Maiden's extra legs. She had Ilia occupied for now.

Ruby returned her attention to her daughter. Angel's eyes were wide with fear. She hadn't started shaking yet, but that would come. "Angel, stay here until Auntie Yang or Uncle Halcyon come for you. I've got to fight." She felt a massive pain in her hands, like someone just stabbed eight needles into them. Ruby turned around to face her dragon. All of Ilia's new legs stabbed through Cerise' paws. The dragon didn't even flinch.

The Rider scrambled out from beneath the table. She activated her Semblance and she dashed toward the assailant. Ruby crashed into Ilia and sent her flying toward the end of the Hall. The Rider stayed in front of her dragon and glared at the half Grimm. Ilia pushed herself off the ground and returned the glare. Ruby held her hands out to her sides. Two ice scythes formed in her hands. It would take a brightsteel blade to shatter them. "Don't. Hurt. My. FAMILY!"

The Maiden used her Semblance again in addition to her unique magic to rush toward Ilia. Ruby smashed into her at higher than top speed. They flew toward the end of the Hall and crashed through the solid, magically reinforced, concrete wall. The Rider slowed down, putting some distance between her and Ilia. Ruby used this space to swing her ice scythes like a giant pair of scissors. Her opponent ducked out of the way before the weapons made contact.

Something rammed into Ruby's gut and she flew further into the air. She cut her Aura flow and flailed her limbs. No matter how hard she tried over the years, she could never right herself in the air. She saw Ilia fly what felt like above her, then one of the half-Grimm's feet smashed into her back. Ruby fell to the ground at faster than terminal velocity. She made a few feet of powdery snow grow on the ground and smashed face first into it.

Ruby pushed herself out of the snow just in time to see a black leg stabbing toward her face. She ducked and swung her left scythe underneath that leg and connected with Ilia's torso. The ice shattered on contact. Ruby barely had time to register that before a fist connected with her face. That sent her through several more trees until she collided with a cliff. The other scythe she had flew off to who knew where. Her ears rang and the entire back half of her body hurt like hell, but she couldn't stop.

The Rider shook her head and faced where she flew from. Ilia was sprinting toward her at full tilt. Ruby placed her palms on the rock around her. By her urging, rock surged in front of her while bringing her deeper inside. While in the darkness, Ruby made a scythe out of the very rock protecting her, hardening it to the point where it shouldn't break on contact with a meteor.

The rock around her shook as Ilia dug through. Ruby positioned her legs behind her and prepared a jump. She made the rock around her retreat, revealing Ilia preparing to do the same. The Rider used her Semblance to kick off the rock behind her. She swung her scythe at the speed of sound, connecting with Ilia's neck. This time, her weapon didn't break. It flung the half Grimm into another part of the cliff, burying her a few inches into the rock. For the moment, it looked like Ilia was stunned.

Ruby clenched her teeth. This felt different than the fight in the mine all those years ago. One of them was going to die today. Ruby had a family to protect. Ilia was beyond saving. In her current state, it would be a mercy to kill her.

Her mind made up, Ruby thrust her hands in front of her. Several bright circles of various colors appeared in front of her. Ice spikes, fire jets, and near solid air shot out of all of them. Most of the shots fell short of hitting their target, but enough made it past whatever sort of shield Ilia had around herself to matter.

Ilia screamed and a ball of fire spread out in all directions from her. It shattered all projectiles Ruby shot at her and knocked the Rider off her feet. Ruby rolled back and jumped into a fighting position. She held her stone scythe in front of her and prepared for the next attack.

Just as Ilia started to raise her arms, a gunshot rang out and an ice Dust round slammed into the half Grimm's head. Ruby snapped her head back to where the shot came from. A dark blue dragon hung in the air with a woman sniper on his back. The first reinforcements had arrived, with several more dragons in the distance. On the downside, Ruby now had to keep Ilia's attention on her, not the much weaker Riders and dragons.

Ruby returned her attention to her opponent. Ilia glared up at the dragon. The Rider called up a strong wind and blew the half Grimm off her feet and into the same cliff from before. This time, Ilia pushed herself out and slammed a fist into the ground. Dirt and rock split apart right toward Ruby. The ground fell out from under her but she used her Maiden Magic to stay where she was. She shifted the wind to pull all air away from Ilia. Even with that, Ilia didn't even gasp.

Something hit Ruby in the back of the head, breaking all her concentration. She fell into the shallow crack, her right foot falling farther than the rest. She tried to jump out but her right foot snagged on something in the ground. Ilia slammed into her hard and carried her farther into the forest, slamming Ruby into several trees and rocks as they went.

The half Grimm stopped and choke slammed Ruby into the ground. The Rider kicked back, sending Ilia flying. Somewhere in that, Ruby lost her stone scythe. She placed her left palm on the ground and formed another one. The last stone scythe she made lasted longer than the ice. Considering long range wasn't working, maybe close range would.

As Ilia fell back toward the ground, Ruby jumped and swung at the half Grimm's midsection. The weapon connected and hooked onto Ilia. Ruby spun around twice before flinging the other Maiden into the ground. She used a gust of air to fling herself at where Ilia landed. The half Grimm rolled away before impact. Ruby stared at her opponent, who now had a stone version of the weapon she had when the two Maidens first fought.

Both Maidens closed the distance in a blink. Specks of rock flaked off both weapons and hit their wielders in the face. Ruby didn't have time to think, only act. Head slash, dodge, parry, elbow strike, uppercut, dodge, all the while she used her Maiden Magic to fling whatever she could at Ilia while blocking the same things from her opponent. Both of them had some pretty major hits on their opponents, neither of them showed signs of tiring.

Some time later, Ruby saw her Aura shimmer and felt it break. Every bit of Maiden Magic created projectile disappeared. She didn't have time to gasp before so many of Ilia's projectiles slammed into her. Ruby's wards drained so fast. She put even more of her energy into them but that wasn't nearly enough. _Cerise! Help!_

 _I'm coming, Ruby!_ Cerise yelled. A torrent of energy rolled off the dragon but it wouldn't be enough.

A dragon roar filled Ruby's ears, but it didn't belong to hers. Something slammed her into the ground a second before clashing metal filled the air. A huge weight pressed against her back but it didn't feel hostile in the slightest. She opened her eyes and turned her head. At first, the green surrounding her made her think Nalia and Aaron came to the rescue. The near white scales at the bottom of the feet said it was Fírnen.

Ruby tried to push herself up but the dragon pressed even more of his torso's weight down. _Stay there. Arya has this handled._

"How?" Ruby's throat hurt. She didn't even think she screamed that much. "She's facing a Maiden."

 _She has the Relic._

Ruby allowed herself to relax. "Really?" She lifted her head and faced the sound of fighting. She could only see the fighters' legs and quite a few of Ilia's extra limbs laying on the ground. A little later, Ilia screamed and two forearms dropped onto the grass. The scream stopped and a mixture of Grimm dust and blood streamed to the dirt. Ilia fell backward a second later.

Ruby crawled out from under Fírnen and stood up. Arya stood over the dying Maiden with Wyrdavinda in her right hand and another sword in her left. At first, Ruby wondered where the relic was, then she noticed the pommel on the second blade. It was the same crystal from the staff. That was probably the strongest sword in existence. A couple other dragons flew above them but none moved closer to those on the ground.

Arya turned her head back. She looked Ruby up and down. "Ruby, you should stay still."

"I'm fine." Ruby pushed through the exhaustion. She rubbed her right arm and felt circuitry instead of skin. She looked down at it. Her bionic skin was shredded but the important things looked like they were intact… from what she saw of her legs and torso, she was lucky to be alive at all. Ruby returned her attention to the dying Maiden.

Ilia glared up at the two Riders. The light died in her Grimm eye. She slumped to the ground and her good eye fixed on Arya. "Thank… you…" Her head hit the ground and the light left her other eye. Ruby touched her mind to the former Maiden. She only felt Aura, which grew stronger by the second.

A red orb shot out of Ilia's body and into Arya. The elf gasped and dropped her weapons. Fírnen yelped. The elf lifted off the ground a few feet. Her Aura glowed a mixture of red and green. Ruby could only stare. She'd never seen what happens when the Maiden powers shift. Arya touched the ground again and wobbled on her feet. Fírnen jumped forward and nudged his Rider. Arya stood in place and looked at her hands. Her Aura faded back to transparent and her bewildered expression faded back to a poker face. She looked at Ruby. "I suppose this means I am the Spring Maiden now."

Ruby touched her mind to Arya. The elf's Aura had increased substantially. "Yeah, I think so." As her adrenaline wore off, her exhaustion caught up with her. Her mouth hung open but nothing came out. She collapsed onto her back and twitched on the ground. She smelt burnt hair, skin, clothes, metal… pretty much everything that was on her. It was so much and her eyes faded to black.

When she opened them, she stared up at red wing membrane. Something wrapped around her left arm tight. She felt her right arm felt whole again and she wiggled her fingers. A few voices filtered through Cerise' wing, but they didn't sound too urgent. But most importantly, all of her pain was gone replaced with the feeling of laying on a cloud. Orchid must have got to her at some point.

Ruby tilted her head to her left. Angel's head rested on her mom's shoulder. Every other part of her was underneath her safety blanket and some of the stuff from Ruby's bed. "Angel?" the mother whispered. "Sweetie?"

Angel's head jerked up. Tears ran down her face and her eyes were red. "Mommy!" She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Ruby's neck. The little girl cried hard into her mommy's neck.

As Ruby slowly woke up, she moved her arms to rest on her daughter's back. She squeezed her daughter closer as she remembered how close they both were to getting skewered by Ilia. "Angel, are you okay?"

"I'm okay, mommy. But… I'm scared." Angel squeezed tighter.

"Shhh, shhh, shhh." Ruby rubbed her baby girl's back. "You're okay. You're okay. You're safe now. That bad woman's gone."

Cerise' wing lifted revealing her head, Aaron, and… Arya. That was different, especially since it looked like they were in the master bedroom. Aaron looked like he was switching between wanting to tear heads off and wanting to jump into the mother-daughter cuddle pile. Arya had her same stoic face from the clearing. Ruby looked between the two other people. _Whatever you do, don't scare Angel._

Aaron's head bobbed just a little bit. "How you feeling, Ru?"

"Like I've been hit by a Goliath." Ruby groaned and leaned her head back on her pillow. "What happened after I passed out?"

"Orchid flew in and healed your injuries," Arya said matter of factly. "Cerise picked you up right after."

Angel raised her head and sniffed. "Why did you get hurt?"

"Sometimes heroes get hurt." Ruby looked 'down' at her daughter. "Nobody's perfect, especially not me."

"But your mommy _is_ a hero," Arya sang. Both mother and daughter looked up at the elf. Arya had a huge and warm smile on her face directed right at Angel. She knelt down and laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Your mommy saved my life and the lives of so many others. If I'm hearing right, yours too. She is strong and fought through some bad pain. In the end, she stopped that bad woman. She is one of the few people alive that could have done that. You should be proud."

Angel faced her mommy again. Her lower lip trembled before she buried her face in Ruby's neck again. She didn't say anything and her crying quieted down. Ruby continued rubbing her daughter's back while she looked up at Arya. _Thank you, but please don't lie to my daughter in the future._

 _You depeted Ilia's Aura. When did I lie?_ Arya stood up and shifted her eyes to Ruby. "I'll debrief you when you're settled. Don't rush yourself." She turned around and walked away from the wing tent.

Aaron knelt down by Ruby's side. "Can I get you anything?"

"Water… chocolate milk. One for her too." Ruby held the back of her baby girl's head.

"Okay. Just rest there. Don't strain yourself." Aaron stood up and left the wing tent himself.

Cerise closed the tent with her head inside. She hummed happily and nudged Ruby's feet with her snout. Her eyes told a different story. _**Gem, I know you cared about beating Ilia and saving your hatchling, but I need to know.**_ _ **Were you worried about yourself as well during the fight? Were you worried about being hurt or worse?**_

Ruby felt her eyes well up. She turned her head away, not able to meet her dragon's eyes. _**I don't know for sure, but I don't think so.**_

* * *

 **Maiden + Elf with Relic Maiden + Grimm abilities. Simple math.  
**

 **One last thing. Remember, Thanos demands your silence.**


	74. Blood in the Air

**Endgame. See it. ASAP. You'll love it thr- *gets decked by someone who hasn't seen Endgame* *get's kicked by someone who has seen Endgame*  
**

 **Orchid... help... read on while I bleed..**

* * *

Salem glared at the footage Watts provided from Beacon's initiation cameras in the Emerald Forest. Since she already had the Relic of Knowledge, she no longer needed Ilia alive. At the same time, her corrupted Maiden was the best chance at killing Kingkiller. Now, the Riders had three Maidens on their side. Two of them _were_ Riders, and thus immortal. The only benefit she saw from this situation was that Arya was in possession of the Relic of Creation. She at least had a target.

However, even if she managed to take the Relic from the new Head of the Dragon Riders, she might not be able to use it. Salem shifted her gaze to the Relic in her possession. She could feel the raw energy inside. She could find all the wards placed by whoever or whatever created the Relic. None of those were what kept her from using all or any the Relic had to offer. No matter what she tried, she couldn't use the Relic. She could only think of one reason for this.

"Dr. Watts," Salem faced the good doctor standing across from her, "humor me. Take the Relic, ask it any question."

Watts raised an eyebrow then grabbed the loop on top of the lamp. He raised it to eye level. "How do I hack into the Riders' systems?" His head leveled out and his green eyes glowed for a second. Salem leaned forward in her throne and stretched her mind to Watts and the Relic. A massive amount of energy flooded from the lamp to the doctor. Several spells were active, but the Shade couldn't tell what they did. Watts' eyes faded back to normal and he shook his head. "That was an… experience."

"I take it your question was answered?"

"It was, and the Relic gave me multiple possibilities." Watts brought a hand up and caressed his mustache. "Their security has gotten more impressive. It's no surprise I couldn't get in after the first time."

"Never underestimate the elves, especially ones that the Riders trust with such important roles. They will do everything to make sure that they are the best in their field." Salem leaned back in her throne again. "I cannot use the Relic. My current theory is that Aura is required to use its power. As I have none, it is impossible for me to use it. But since you can use the Relic, I will need you to ask the questions for me."

Watts nodded. "What do you need to know?"

"The location and identity of the Summer Maiden."

The good doctor faced the lamp once more. "Who and where is the Summer Maiden." Watts' eyes glowed again for a second before fading back to normal. "The woman's name is Sol Harris, daughter of the former Summer Maiden." The doctor shook his head. "However, she is in Ellesméra, which if I remember right, is still well beyond our reach."

Salem clenched her fists and dipped her head. She thought that the Riders and the Headmasters would increase the protection around the Summer Maiden. Moving her off Remnant felt too extreme even for them. Salem had never been able to pierce the wards around Du Weldenvarden. She didn't know if it was possible… wait. "Dr. Watts," Salem raised her head, "ask the Relic how to pierce the wards protecting Du Weldenvarden."

Watts straightened his back and stared at the Relic. "How can Salem pierce the wards around Du Weldenvarden?" His eyes glowed once more. When they faded back to normal, he staggered and set the Relic back on the table. He brought a hand to his head. "I think there are several ways. What they are, I don't know. It was all in that other language."

"No matter. I will just find those out from your memories." Salem touched her mind to Watts' and examined his most recent memories. She was gentle with the man's mind as she still needed Watts' expertise. A smile broke over her face. The elves thought of many ways to protect their forest, but not all of them. It would take time to assemble a large enough assault force to attack the city. In this case, taking time wouldn't allow her opponents to prepare as well. Why would they protect a city they believe to be unreachable? At the same time, Salem would have to prepare for a counter-attack from the elves. They would not take the attack lying down.

"Thank you, doctor." Salem relaxed in her throne. "Your work is done here. You may return to your lab."

"Thank you, Your Grace." Watts bowed at the Shade then turned to leave the room.

As soon as the doors closed behind Watts, Salem called one of her Seers into the room. The jellyfish looking Grimm settled on the table in front of the Shade. Salem used it to contact her only operative currently not in her palace. The surface of the Seer swirled then showed the inside of an office. Granite O'Donnell sat behind a desk with another man sitting in front of him. "O'Donnell, I require your assistance."

Both men faced the mirror in their room. The unknown man's jaw hung open. "What the f-"

O'Donnell pulled out a pistol and put a bullet into the back of the man's head, sending blood everywhere. He grimaced as the corpse fell to the floor. "I didn't like you anyway." He looked to the side. "I'm fine, Price, I'll clean up the mess." He set his weapon down on his desk and approached the mirror. "Thank you for giving me a reason to kill that guy. You need something from me now?"

"I do. I need a Faunus Rider."

O'Donnell double taked. "I'm sorry, you want a Faunus _Rider?_ Are we talking about one of the degenerates heading their hospital department or one with a recently hatched salamander?"

"For my purposes, a newly bonded pair would work the best. I believe that would be the easiest for you as well."

The slaver nodded. "More like possible. Where do you want me to send it?"

"You will receive more instructions when you have taken the Rider captive. Neither of us would be happy if one of the Riders or their allies took that information from your brain or from one of your employees."

O'Donnell grimaced. "As much as I hate it, you're right. I'll watch their announcements, see when one of the salamanders chooses another animal."

"Thank you. That is all." Salem waved a hand and her Seer ended the call. This was the other reason she wanted O'Donnell out of prison. She just needed time for it to become feasible. That time was now. If history had told her one thing about the Riders, only another Rider could beat them. It was time to take advantage of this.

* * *

Cerise watched her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind drift off to sleep. Her Gem had her arms wrapped around Aaron's torso and pulled him close, but it wasn't one of her feel-good-happy-hugs. It was a hold-on-for-life-hug. Her eyes clenched tight and her lips were pressed together. Her good-mate-Aaron held his mate close with one arm, this being a feel-good-happy-hug. He was so good to Ruby, so Cerise felt less bad about leaving her Gem like this.

The dragon touched her snout to the side of her Rider's head. _Sleep well, Gem. I will be back before you wake._ Cerise pulled her head out from Nalia's Rider-safe-wing and turned around. She had until the bright-light-sun rose to scout and strike. The more time she had in the air, the better.

 _Where are you going?_ Nalia asked.

Cerise stopped walking and faced her age-elder. Nalia held her head off her-soft-pad-bed, looking at Cerise. _You don't need to know,_ Cerise told the other dragon.

Nalia peeled her lips and ears back but stayed silent. _My Rider's mate,_ _ **your**_ _Rider, is in the worst part of her life and you are leaving. I need to know._

Cerise bared her own teeth. _Remmartian justice didn't work on the Nevermores. It's time to try out Alagaësian justice._

 _You know Ruby would never approve._

 _I do._ Cerise faced the big-dragon-door at the other end of her Rider's sleep-cave. _I know she does not like this kind of thinking._ She turned her head enough to glare at Nalia. _Which is why she doesn't need to know._

 _Stay. Your Rider needs you._

 _Ruby has you, Aaron, and Yang. She won't miss one helper._ Cerise allowed a quiet growl that wouldn't wake anyone. _No one else will hunt like I will._ _You are not going to stop me._

Nalia closed her lips and her ears returned to their normal positions. _You're right, but now I can swear I tried._ She laid her head back on the ground and slid it to the two love-bond-Riders' sides. _Since I can't stop you, I'll say if you find them, give them hell._

Cerise blinked, then nodded. _I will. Thank you, Nalia._ She faced the exit again and continued walking. She didn't know Nalia would support her. Vert wouldn't, Orchid wouldn't… maybe Saphira, but since she was bonded to second-to-Arya-Weiss, she couldn't be trusted with this. That left any no-Rider-wilds that wanted to fight and her metal-body-brother.

Halcyon stood on the fake-rock-landing-spot, waiting for his sister. Instead of dragon-toe-paws, his front legs had human-finger-hands. _What do you have those for?"_

Halcyon raised one of his metal-fake-hands. _Yang supports us, but she can't come with us. She gave me these so I can take one of their guns and shoot if I need to._

 _Good. Climb on._ Cerise laid her belly on the fake-rock. Halcyon jumped up and gripped onto the Rider-seat. Cerise rose to her feet then jumped off the fake-rock-landing-spot. She banked to the south and flew toward no-two-leg-city Mountain Glen. It was as good of a place to start as any.

Cerise flew over a mountain, revealing the dead-city. She pulled her lips back and growled. This place had been bad to her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind. First, Ruby wanted to throw herself off a below-ground-nest stack. Years later, Ruby questioned her leadership strength after bad-mouth-Avrart decided to disobey orders and explore the dead-city. Nothing but bad happened in this place.

 _Halcyon, watch the skies,_ Cerise ordered. _I'll watch for any Nevermores._ Halcyon growled on her back and she faced the far-away-ground. Cerise stretched her mind beneath her. As expected, there were plenty of no-soul-Grimm on the ground… There were also a few two-legs down there. The queen of the sky growled and delved deeper into the two-legs' minds. She closed her lips right after. These two-legs weren't evil-slaver-Nevermores. They just wanted to live out of the crowd-filled-city. Cerise knew there were safer places to do that. She helped defend several.

After several circles around the city, Cerise continued flying west. Surely the black-monster-bird-slave-organization wouldn't settle where they were beaten before. She continued searching the ground with her mind the whole flight. Only delicious-animals and can't-eat-Grimm roamed the dark-night ground. She didn't expect to find anything the first night, but it was still disappointing. They needed to be home before mind-sick-Ruby woke up.

Cerise turned around and flew back toward Vale. In the far distance, she saw light in the dark-trees. The light moved so it couldn't have been a night-light-food-fire. She stretched her mind out toward that light. There were four two-legs moving fast across the ground. They had to be in a metal-two-leg-mover. Cerise inspected their minds. She growled and pulled her ears and lips back. _I found some._

She felt her metal-body-brother move around on her back. Halcyon growled. _I see them. Are we calling anyone else in?_

 _We have the Eldunarí I carry and each other. The only other ones I can trust for this are wild. We can't get them over from Mor'ranar Vera._ Cerise flew higher while keeping her eyes on the metal-mover-light below them. This tactic didn't work as much during the day anymore, but at night with very little light to reflect her scales, she should be silent in the still-night-air.

Cerise followed the metal-two-leg-mover through the night-dark-forest. The two-leg-monsters on the ground hadn't noticed her yet. They didn't have a two-leg-animal-part prisoner either. That would make the eventual attack much easier. She wouldn't have to worry about hurting the poor two-leg or scaring them. Another thing, there would be no survivors to say what she and Halcyon were going to do.

As time went on, Cerise recognized all four minds. It had just been years since she felt them. She wasn't surprised that team CRDL joined the black-monster-bird-slavers. After all they did to Velvet, Vert, and all other two-leg-animal-parts at Beacon, taking them out wouldn't only be justice, it would be her pleasure.

She didn't know where the blood-thirsty thought came from. It could have been her, it could have been the no-fight-Eldunarí. No matter who it came from, the no-fight-wild-Eldunarí stoked her fire. It felt good. It awoke a part of her that she held down to not hurt pure-heart-Ruby. The wild-heart-dragons she carried encouraged her and convinced her that this is what the long-time-ago-dragons, wild-heart or bonded-heart, would do to those who hurt their blood-and-mind-family. It was only right that Cerise follow her long-gone-ancestors.

She didn't know how long she was following the metal-two-leg-mover. The broken-rock-moon had flown across the sky and was now falling. If the metal-two-leg-mover didn't stop soon, Cerise would need to turn around. She needed to be at her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind's side when she woke up.

Just as she was about to give up, Cerise saw more false-light in the trees ahead. She flew higher to get a better view. A two-leg short-walled-nest lay in the tree-sea. Several false-lights lit up the area around it. Cerise stretched her mind toward the nest. She growled and curled her toes. _Halcyon, this is it._

 _Let's go get them._ Halcyon moved around on his sister's back even more.

 _No. We wait._ Cerise faced evil-team-CRDL again. _We wait for them to arrive, then we strike._

 _Do we have a plan?_

Cerise hitched her wings for a second. _No. Plans are Ruby's thing. All I've got is attack until they are all dead. They have no prisoners, so that plan still stands._

Halcyon growled. _Have you met me and Yang? That's our favorite kind of plan._

 _Good to hear. Get ready._ As the metal-two-leg-mover approached the nest, Cerise prepared for battle. These two-legs, these Aura-filled-Grimm hurt her Gem. They made her Ruby scared. They made her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind scared of feel-good-sleep. They changed Ruby's True Name to fear before anything else. The only thing that was left of her Gem was her love and protectiveness for her family. She no longer cared if she lived or died. The black-monster-bird-slavers killed her Gem. They needed to pay. They needed to die.

Evil-team-CRDL reached the nest and Cerise roared as loud as she could. She pressed her wings to her side. Down-to-ground-gravity took over as she dove for the nest. Ear-shriek-alarms screamed as the dragon approached. Two-legs ran out of the nest, many of them with bang-hurt-guns. Many of them looked around the ground and aimed their weapons around. One of them pointed up at Cerise, but it was too late. The dragon landed right on the two-leg, smashing him beneath her front right paw. She pulled that paw back, revealing a red stain with specks of shattered bone.

Fast-but-strong-Dust-arrows slammed into her from all sides. Halcyon roared himself and jumped off his sister's back. The assault on her left side disappeared. Cerise turned to her right and bathed all her attackers in fire. Two-leg screams filled the air. For the first time, the sound was feel-good-music to Cerise' ears.

She caught some motion out of the corner of her right eye. Another two-leg aimed a boom-fast-rocket shooter at her. Where did they get these weapons? The two-leg fired and Cerise jumped over the boom-fast-rocket. She flapped her wings once to get over to the two-leg. She caught him in her jaws and bit down. The two-leg had Aura to protect him for a little longer. He screamed and silenced when his Aura failed and Cerise bit him in half. His lower half fell to the ground as the dragon swallowed the top. Normally two-legs didn't taste good, but something about this one made him delicious.

Another two leg yelled a battle cry to her left. Something hard slammed down on her neck, forcing her head to the ground. Cerise growled and faced her attacker. Cardin Winchester, the cause of so many problems. His team stood behind him, weapons drawn. "You should have stayed away, salamander." Cardin twirled his heavy-metal-mace in a hand. "You might have lived a little longer."

 _Funny. I was going to say the same to you._ Cerise jumped forward, jaws open. Cardin jumped out of the way. All four team members scattered. Cerise looked around herself. All Aura-strong-Huntsmen set up on one of her legs each. Surrounded… by the lowest ranked team that graduated with Ruby's-team-RWBAY. This would still be an easy fight.

Cerise roared and turned around as fast as she could with her tail extended as far as it could go. She knocked Dove, Cardin, and Sky of their feet. Russell stiffened and his mouth dropped. Cerise pounced forward and sliced her claws across Russell's chest. The Aura-strong-Huntsmen flew into and through a nest wall. Cerise pounced on him, destroying some of the short-nest in the process. She plunged her claws into his chest. His not-strong-enough-Aura flared green as he tried to push Cerise' Goliath-killing-paw off himself. His Aura broke and Cerise' clawed plunged into his chest. Russell jaw dropped then he fell stiff.

The dragon whipped around and faced her remaining challengers. Her metal-body-brother was wrestling with Sky. Cerise shifted her attention to brute-Cardin and wimp-Dove. The wimp's sword shook in his hands. He wasn't a threat. Cardin was.

Cerise charged forward. She smacked Dove away with the back of a paw. She lunged at Cardin. The bad-brute-Huntsman swung his mace at Cerise' head again, making contact with Cerise' snout. The dragon growled. _You're annoying me._ She pounced with paws forward. She grabbed Cardin in one of them then flapped her wings. She had something special in mind for this one.

The queen of the sky flew higher and higher while tightening her grip, draining Cardin's big-man-Aura. Cardin's grunts of defiance turned into pathetic pleas for mercy. They fell on deaf ears. When she was high enough, Cerise grabbed onto the Aura-filled-Grimm with her other front paw. She tilted her head down to look at Cardin's face. _This is for Vert and Velvet._ Cerise started to pull. Cardin screamed as his strong-man-Aura flared. It failed and Cerise' paws moved. She ripped the former bully in half, his blood and other gooey-insides dropped down. Cerise dropped the two halves of the corpse to the break-bone-ground.

The deed done, Cerise dove back for the burning-short-nest. It looked like she and Halcyon wouldn't need to burn it down themselves. She landed on the not-burning-fake rock and looked around. Only the flames and her brother moved. Stretching her mind out to cover the short-nest proved much the same thing. She and her brother were alone. All black-monster-bird-slavers were dead.

Cerise tilted her head back and roared in victory at the star-holding-sky. Halcyon did the same, but since he was much smaller, his roar was a lot quieter than hers. Cerise closed her jaw then faced her metal-body-brother. _I have never felt so alive!_ She felt similar sentiment from the no-fight-Eldunarí.

 _It has been so long since I've gotten my claws bloody._ Halcyon lifted one of his bloodied long-toed-paws to his face. _Well, fingers in this case. I almost forget what this felt like._

 _You may get the chance again._ Cerise growled. _We got lucky tonight. We might need to get tips in the future._ She grunted. _That won't be easy while trying to keep it a secret._

 _We can manage. Yang's with us, at least for now. I'm sure there are Alagaësian Riders and dragons out there who would volunteer to help._

 _I'm sure there are. The problem is finding ones that won't run off to Arya, Weiss, or Ruby._ Cerise growled and turned her head away. _I just wish I didn't need to keep this from her._

 _I still can't believe you're the one wanting to hide things from people._

 _I take no joy in it. Ruby and Aaron agreed not to keep secrets from each other for a reason._ A not-strong-whimper accompanied Cerise' growl. _This is definitely one that would hurt her. I don't know what would happen to her if she found out like she is right now._

 _You know I won't tell her._

 _I know. That's the only reason I allowed you to come with me._ Cerise looked around the destroyed two-leg-nest. _This place will burn, but we need to do something else._ She opened her front right paw. Halcyon trotted into his sister's paw and Cerise gently grabbed her metal-body-brother. She jumped into the quiet-night-air and hovered above the ground then flapped her wings as hard as she could to blow the scale-smooth-sand around and cover their telltale tracks. There was no way they could track her now.

Cerise looked at one of her front paws and sniffed. There was so much two-leg blood and gore on her Ruby would be able to smell it, not to mention see it. _We should get washed off before we fly home._

Halcyon grunted. _Don't squeeze me any more_. _It's tight here as it is._ The living dragon turned away from the burning-nest. She looked for any no-tree-hole in the forest that might hold a clean-fresh-wash lake or river. When she found one, she banked toward it and flew at a leisurely pace. She wasn't as pressed for too-fast-time as she once thought. The bright-night-broken-moon still hung high enough in the sky.

Cerise found a calm lake and pulled her wings to her sides. She glided for the soft-grass-ground. She landed on three paws and set her brother into the cool-clean-water. The larger dragon followed soon after. The fresh-cool-water felt so nice on her scales after the fight. She scrubbed her shine-red scales and sharp-kill claws until she couldn't smell two-leg blood anymore. Getting the taste and smell out of her teeth was much harder, but she managed it. Metal-body-Halcyon finished long before his live-body-sister. The two-leg-long-toes were good for more than just weapon holding and fake-play-games.

As soon as both dragons were no-blood-clean, Halcyon climbed onto his sister's back. Cerise jumped away from the now blood-full-lake and toward her mountain-home-cave. The first light of day peeked over the tall-rise-mountains far in the distance. It would not take nearly as long to fly home as it did coming out. She didn't need to search as she flew.

Halfway home, Cerise started to feel the drain from her time awake as well as the fun-justice-fight. She was tired. She only took what she needed from the Eldunarí she carried. It was enough for that. Now it felt like she had to draw from them just to keep her heavy-lidded-eyes open. Just from that one thought, the wild Eldunarí she carried poured their energy into her. During this transfer, she felt their excitement from the night's events as well. It didn't feel like any of them had a single regret.

The safe-mountain-nest appeared from the mountains separating dead-city-Mountain-Glen and monster-home-Emerald-Forest. Cerise increased her speed to get home that little bit sooner. Her Gem shouldn't be awake yet, but it was getting close to that time. She landed on the fake-rock-pad and waited for the raising door to open. Halcyon jumped off his sister's back and trotted to Yang's room.

Cerise walked as quietly as she could toward her Rider's sleep-cave. The raise-door opened, revealing Nalia in the same spot as before. Cerise touched her mind to her Gem's. Ruby was still scared, but there were three other minds in hers. She wasn't alone.

The dragon tried to take a step forward, but her stone-hard-legs didn't move. She wanted to see her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind, but her legs wouldn't move. There wasn't any magic, the floor wasn't sticky, what was keeping her away? It couldn't be that she regretted the late-night-justice-fight…

Actually, that was exactly it. Cerise stared at the cold-fake-rock-ground to her right. How could she face her Gem after everything she did? Ruby would _never_ approve of something like that. If she ever found out, she would be disgusted, furious. Would she even look at her dragon? Would she give Cerise _that_ smile again?

 _Cerise!_ Nalia called. Cerise flinched as she faced her age-elder. Nalia's head still lay beneath her Rider-shelter-wing. _She's wanted you for hours! Get over here!_

 _Oh! Of course!_ Cerise trotted over to Nalia's side and curled up right by the other dragon's soft-sleep-space. She stretched her mind into her Rider's. Ruby grasped on right away and pulled her dragon in closer. Cerise soon found herself standing by the base of a tall-strong-waterfall. Less than a second later, a fast-wind-petal-storm appeared in front of her.

Right at that time, her Rider latched onto her snout. Since they were in Ruby's can't-be-head-place, Cerise was about the size of a do-not-eat-horse. "Where have you been, Cerise?" Ruby whimpered.

 _I'm sorry, Gem._ Cerise wrapped her wings around her Rider. _I wanted to see if the others could help you without me. I guess I was wrong… and I got hungry. I flew out for a midnight snack._ She tilted her head forward. _If it's what you want, I won't leave your side for the whole day. We can just have a cuddle day._

Ruby sniffed. "I'd like that."

Cerise hummed and brought her front paws around. _This_ was why she killed those Aura-filled-Grimm. They made her always-happy-Gem like this. All her regrets disappeared. If she ever heard of another two-leg-nest, she would attack. They all deserved to die for what they did. Cerise wouldn't stop until her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind could be happy without looking over her shoulder. That could be a long time.

* * *

 **Man, I've wanted to write something like this for a long time. I just could never find the right place until now. I can understand why some people would think Cerise was out of character. It was always my intention to have Cerise go off like this on something other than Grimm, I just could never find a good spot for it.  
**


	75. Self Help

**Just a reminder, my versions of the Relics don't take into account canon rules. The Relic of Knowledge has no question limits. Salem and Watts have as many questions as they want. I understand what RT was going for with the limit and Jin, but to me, this makes much more sense for an all-powerful Relic.**

* * *

"Thank you again for taking Angel to school," Ruby told her sister in law.

"You're welcome, sister," Viki said. "I know how much you need time to yourself."

"That, and I don't trust myself behind the wheel of a car." A door opened elsewhere in the Hall. Ruby faced the sound and forced a smile. "Angel, are you ready for school?"

"No…" Angel walked over to her mother while rubbing one of her eyes with a fist. "I'm tired."

Ruby put her fists on her hips. "Were you up all night reading again?"

Angel stiffened. "You told me not to." Ruby cocked her head and her daughter flinched. "But I did…"

"That's what you get." Ruby grabbed her daughter's lunchbox from the dining table and handed it to Angel. "You'll learn one of these days." She kissed the top of her daughter's head. "Have a good day at school, sweetie. I love you."

"Love you too…" Angel walked toward the garage. Viki followed right after. As soon as the door to the garage closed, Ruby slumped forward and hugged herself. As much as she hated lying to her daughter, she knew Angel seeing her like this would be much worse.

"Cerise…" Ruby turned her head to her dragon. Cerise walked to her Rider and nuzzled Ruby's face. She hummed and licked Ruby's face with the soft part of her tongue. "Let's go lay down."

 _Want a ride?_ Cerise tilted her head down and nudged her snout to Ruby's knees.

"Thank you." Ruby leaned onto her dragon's face and let Cerise pick her up. She held on as tight as she could as Cerise walked back toward the master bedroom. When they reached one of the pads, Cerise curled up and she covered her Rider and her head with a wing. "Can we just stay here until one of us gets hungry or needs to use the bathroom?"

 _Are you sure you want to stay on my face?_

"For now at least. I might want to cuddle your belly later."

 _I am fine with either._ Cerise hummed and slowly blinked. _As long as you're comfortable._

"I am." Ruby squeezed harder and wiggled as close as she could to her dragon.

 _Let me know if you need anything._ Cerise moved her head until she pressed her Rider into her belly. Normally, with a few blankets, this would have been the most comfortable position Ruby could think of. She could have fallen asleep in seconds. Now, it wasn't enough. She couldn't get rid of the memories. They wouldn't leave her.

Cerise started humming, but it wasn't plain happiness or sympathy. It was one of Ruby's favorite slower paced songs. Ruby sighed and relaxed a little. When that song ended, Cerise continued to another one. The process repeated several times without Cerise doing a single song again. When Ruby was going through her ordeal the first time, this treatment soothed her to sleep so many nights. How was having O'Donnell on the loose so different? She knew she was scared of being held like that again. How much of that was tied to O'Donnell?

 _Don't think like that, Gem._ Cerise moved her head and pressed her Rider into her belly. _You are safe here. None of them can touch you. No one will hurt you when I'm around._

"I know you'll keep me safe out here, but what about in my head?"

Cerise poured even more of her mind into Ruby's. There was so much love and care in there that even in her state, Ruby felt a smile grow on her face. She kissed her dragon's scales. "I love you, Cerise."

 _I'm never leaving you, Gem._ Cerise started humming again, this time starting with the song Ruby used for Angel's lullaby for years. A Frying Pan rock song that she used to calm her baby. Now it was doing the same for a grown adult. During it, something in it made Ruby think. She flipped over on Cerise' snout and pulled her Scroll out of a pocket. She entered her partner's number and brought it to her ear.

It rang almost all the way through before the line clicked. _"Rider Weiss Schnee."_

"Hey, sis. You got a minute?"

Weiss hesitated on the other side. _"Saphira, we're ahead of schedule. Slow down a little."_ Saphira hummed on the other side. _"What do you need, Ruby?"_

"I know you're busy and I would have preferred to ask this in person, but… I'm thinking of it now."

" _Don't think anything of it. What can I do for you?"_

"How are you so well put together? As far as I know, you've only freaked out twice since… you know."

This time, Weiss took a much longer time to respond. _"You know, Ruby, I used to wonder the same about you. Up until… this happened, you weren't showing anything. So many people would love to be that stable."_

"But all that's gone. What did you do to get better?"

Weiss sighed. _"Really, I'm not. I'm just good at hiding it and avoiding it… but there is one thing that Saphira and I have done. Shortly after my event after you told me you and Aaron were getting married, I asked Saphira if she could keep me pinned at night with one of her paws. Neither of us were okay with it at first. Saphira hated putting me in that place and I hated being in it._

" _The thing is, it was working. The more it happened, the longer I could last under that. At first, it was one attempt a week, then it was twice a week, then every day up until Neptune and I married. We've tempered it back to once a week since then. I've got to be with Neptune at some time._

" _If it was anyone other than Saphira, this wouldn't have worked. She knew when I was going to panic before I did and let me go as soon as she found out. It didn't start out as a full night. It didn't start as a full second. She gave me all the time I needed. She didn't push me, she went at my pace, not hers, even though I could feel like she wanted to."_ Saphira growled on the other side, but it didn't sound too hostile.

Ruby turned her head back to look her dragon in the eye. Cerise' large pupil was surrounded by a thin ring of red. "So it was all her?"

" _Not_ _ **all**_ _her. I still had counseling and a few other things, but Saphira was the biggest help in the whole thing. I'm sure I don't need to tell you why."_

"Yeah." Ruby rubbed her dragon's scales. "Thanks for the tip, Weiss."

" _You're welcome, sis. I'll try to remember to pick you up some ice cream tonight."_

"If you do, if it's one plain flavor, the whole gallon please."

" _I've got a better idea than that. Talk to you then, Ruby. Love you."_

"Love you, too." Ruby held her Scroll by her ear as the line clicked. She sighed and rested her Scroll on her leg. What could Cerise do for this?

Her dragon hummed beneath her. _Gem, how much do you trust me?_

Ruby looked her dragon in the eye. "With Angel's True Name."

Cerise continued her hum and closed her eyes. More of her mind poured into Ruby's. The Rider sighed and rested the back of her head on her dragon's scales. Ruby thought Cerise was going back to her treatment from before… then she felt tingly in her limbs. At first, she couldn't figure out what was going on, then it clicked. "Cerise," Ruby whispered, "what are you doing?"

 _You said you trust me with something that would give me full control over your baby girl. I figured this is less than that._ Cerise paused. _If you tell me not to, I won't. If you let me, I'll help you overcome one of your fears._

Ruby bit her lower lip. She _did_ trust Cerise, more than anyone else alive or dead. Her dragon would never intentionally hurt her. But… this? Cerise had taken control of her body a few times, mostly when they were worried about someone using her True Name or when those Apathy immobilized her. Even the most recent time hadn't happened for a few years. Ruby always trusted her dragon then… how couldn't she trust Cerise now when her dragon was only intent on helping her? "Okay… just… be gentle."

 _Always. If I don't stop and you want me to, just say so._ Cerise flooded even more of her mind into her Rider's.

Ruby clenched her eyes shut. _It's just Cerise. It's just Cerise. It's just Cerise._ She felt something wet running down her cheeks. Her right arm came up and ran under her eyes. Ruby snapped her eyes open. She didn't tell her arm to do that. _Cerise?_

 _That was me, Ruby. We'll rest here for a little bit._ Cerise started humming music beneath her Rider again but stayed deep in her Rider's mind. Ruby brought both her hands in front of her face just to make sure she could. _When we're on a break, I won't make you do anything, and I won't stop you from doing anything._

"Thank you." Ruby rested her hands on her stomach and stared up at Cerise' wing. She took several deep breaths before nodding. "Okay. Next round."

 _As you wish._ Cerise fell silent again. At roughly the same time, Ruby's left arm came back up to her face. Her hand caressed her face just like she would do for Angel, Zwei, Drei, or anyone that's small, cute, and likes attention. She leaned her head into it. Her own hand was doing it to her, but it was Cerise behind it. It made a big difference.

Still, she didn't like her body moving without her say. Before Ruby could ask Cerise to break, her left arm fell limp. Weiss wasn't kidding about her dragon knowing when to stop. Ruby turned her head as far left as she could and kissed her dragon's scales again. They fell into a routine. Cerise would move Ruby, they would break, Cerise would hum music, and repeat. As time went on, the moving times became longer and the breaks shorter. Ruby also noticed something with all her forced movements. They were all things she wanted to do or things that she would do for others. When she figured that out, she rolled over and kissed all scales around Cerise' right eye. Her dragon really was trying to keep Ruby calm.

After what had to be hours of just moving around on Cerise snout, the dragon tilted her head forward, making Ruby stand. _Are we ready to move onto walking, or are we done for the day?_

Part of Ruby wanted to say she was done. She didn't like being moved without having any say whatsoever. The tear streaks on her dragon's snout proved that. At the same time, it began to feel like Cerise was just helping Ruby along rather than doing all the work… and it was nice having her dragon so close, in multiple ways. "I'm good for a little more."

 _Just tell me if and when you've had enough._ Cerise rested her head back on the ground.

Ruby felt her legs tingle. Her right leg took a step and she lost her balance She yelped and threw her hands out in front of her to catch herself. "I guess you need to work on balance?"

 _Sorry. I've told you I don't know how many times I don't know how you can walk on two legs._

"Very carefully." Ruby stood back up. "Can we work together on this?"

 _I don't know how that would work, but okay._ Ruby's legs tingled again and she took another right step. She held her arms out to her side to catch her balance. Her left leg jerked out in front of her and she almost tipped over again. After a few more shaky steps, Cerise was able to take full control and walk Ruby out from under her wing.

This was… more intense than anything from before. Ruby clenched her eyes and teeth. She didn't want to stop, but she didn't want it to go on. Just as she thought that her body slumped as her dragon released control. "Why'd you stop?"

 _Gem, you're not helping yourself by rushing through this._

"And I'm not helping anyone else while feeling like this." Ruby turned her head back toward her dragon. "I'm a Huntress. I'm a Rider. I'm supposed to help others. I can't do that when I'm this broken."

Cerise took a step forward. _Stop thinking so much about others. Start thinking about yourself._

"What good will that do? All it takes is one mention of that monster and I'm in the fetal position for hours. That's _not_ going to change."

Cerise' ears drooped, then pointed straight back. She growled and curled her claws into her claw-proof pad. _Fine. Then this next one, I'm going to need this._ Ruby's entire face tingled.

Ruby stiffened and stared at her dragon with wide eyes. Cerise never did anything with her face in the whole time doing this. "W… why?"

The dragon closed her lips. _You may have given up on yourself, but I haven't. I could never. I don't want to scare you, Ruby. Far from it. Since you refuse to say good things about yourself, I will with your mouth. I am going to tell you everything I see in you and what you used to see in yourself with your voice._

"I… uh…" Ruby looked away.

 _You're the one that wants to go full speed into this. I can't think of anything more extreme than this._ Cerise slowly blinked. _If you don't want to do this, we are done for the day, and I am going to hold you against my chest until your family gets home._

Ruby sucked her lips into her teeth. What Cerise wanted to do sounded nice, but the unintended effects… Ruby sighed. "Cerise, if I can trust you with Angel'sTrue Name, I can trust you with everything I have."

Cerise' ears drooped. Wasn't that what she wanted to hear? _Okay. I'll be gentle._ She rested her head back on the ground. Ruby's limbs shook again and her legs carried her toward her full-length mirror. She clenched her eyes and breathed through her nose. _It's okay, Gem. You're doing great. I love you so much._

Ruby stopped moving. "I take it I'm there?"

 _You are._ Ruby's face tingled again. _This is your last chance to say you just want to cuddle for the rest of the day._

Ruby thought about it for a second. "I… want to hear what you have to say."

 _Okay, Gem. Here we go._

The Rider's face tingled even more. She felt her lips and eyelids try to move. Ruby clenched them even more on instinct. Cerise hummed mentally and physically. Her mind felt like it was hugging Ruby's. As much as her fear told her not to, Ruby relaxed into it. Her dragon was doing everything right.

She felt her breathing slow down and her heart stopped pounding as much in her chest. How did Cerise manage that? Ruby felt her face moving into a familiar expression, one that she used to use all the time. Her eyes opened and stared at her own smiling face in the mirror. The only thing missing was the light and happiness in her eyes.

Then Ruby's mouth moved without her wanting it to. She might as well listen. "Ruby, you're amazing." That… wasn't something that she expected Cerise to say. "You've helped so many people in your young life. You've never backed down from any challenge, instead tackling everything the world threw at you. You're brave, smart, and kind, which is rare for humans on both sides.

"But now, you're the one that needs help." Ruby's right arm came up and squeezed her left shoulder. "You have told so many others in times of crisis it's not weak to ask for help. It's one of the hardest things to do, especially if you're the one usually doing the helping. It's okay. Get help. Trust your friends. Trust your family. They may know or see something you don't.

"I know you want to be strong. I know you want to be there for your family. Like you've said, you can't do so like this. If you don't want to get better for yourself, do it for them. They want to see you happy. You don't know how much seeing you like this hurts them. "

Even though she had no control over her body, Ruby tried to gasp and slump. _Cerise? What aren't I seeing?_

Cerise mentally hummed. _So much, Gem._ Ruby felt something wet run down her cheek. That was exactly what she was trying to avoid… She convinced so many others that staying isolated was a bad thing. Her left hand came up and wiped the tears off her face. "It's okay to cry. It's not a sign of weakness. It just means you've taken too much. Everyone can reach that point, even your dragon." Ruby thought that was Cerise trying to tell her something.

"Ruby, it's so wonderful what you do for other people. If there was such a thing, and if you'd allow yourself to accept it, you could probably get philanthropist of the year. So many people are alive today or know how to trust themselves because of what you have done. Many of them look up to you, and some are following in your footsteps. You've done it, Ruby. You're what you wanted to be as a kid. You're the hero in the books. Literally. There's that children's book you let that one author write years ago that's about you. It's romanticized, but the real you shines through there."

As Cerise continued to use her Rider's mouth, Ruby let her smile actually become hers. Who knew Cerise had such a way with words? At the same time, they were _Ruby's_ words, and not just because they were coming out of her mouth. At some point, she thought of almost everything her dragon said through her, some she even said as advice to other people. Even the things she hadn't thought of before sounded like things she would say. Something in her wanted to come out, to be released. Despite her feelings from before, she relaxed and let her dragon dote on her. She didn't even try to hold back the tears, not that she could with Cerise in control.

Some time later, the door on the other end of the room opened. "I'm home, Ruby," Aaron called.

Ruby's head turned toward her husband. "Hi, Aaron." Her eyes blinked and she felt her face contort in fear. Cerise disappeared from her head in an instant. Ruby gasped and fell to the ground.

 _Gem!_ Cerise yelped. She pounced from where she lay to Ruby's side. The dragon whimpered and nudged her Rider's snout. _I'm sorry, Ruby. I didn't mean to do that. I only wanted to say these things to you. I didn't mean to-_

Ruby pushed herself off the ground, grabbed her dragon's snout, and kissed her dragon on the lips all in one motion. She hadn't done this with Cerise since… probably Beacon. Her dragon's surprise radiated off her, then Cerise hummed happily and brought her wings around her Rider. Ruby took her lips off her dragon and pulled herself to her dragon's left eye. Cerise' pupil was bigger than the Rider's head. _"I love you so much, Cerise. You're forgiven. Thank you so much for that. I guess I just needed to hear it from my own mouth."_

Cerise hummed high and loud. _**I love you too, Ruby.**_ She closed her eye and pressed that side of her head into her Rider.

Ruby gave her dragon one more big squeeze before standing up. She turned around and faced her husband. Aaron and Nalia stood a few feet away from Cerise' wings, both of them stood tense. "Hey, honey. How was your day?"

Aaron looked Ruby up and down. "Fine. What just happened to you?"

"Nothing bad." Ruby just shook her head. "I just wasn't expecting Cerise to pull out of my head that quick. She's been helping me all day and… instinct took over."

"Okay…" Aaron looked between Ruby and Cerise, then sighed. "If you're okay, I'm okay."

"Good to hear." Ruby sat down by Cerise' neck and gestured at the open floor to her left. "Anything interesting happen today?"

"Yeah… something." Aaron walked to his wife's side. "We got reports of a fire on the other side of Mountain Glen. We got there and…" he sat down next to Ruby and she rested her head on his shoulder. Ruby also wiggled over and leaned on her husband. Aaron froze for a second before he draped an arm across Ruby's shoulders. "…and we were able to take care of it before it got out of hand. No wildfire to take care of in the future."

"Good to hear. With the weather we've been having, that could have been bad." Ruby paused. "I take it since you're home, Angel's home too?"

"She is. Halcyon's out there helping with her homework."

"I suppose I should get out there." Ruby stood up. "I think I actually can help with that now. It's been too long."

* * *

Ruby screamed as the whip struck her right arm. She curled into a ball in the corner of the room. "Know your place, dog," her captor growled.

"Y-ye-yes, master." Ruby held her whipped arm close to her chest. She tensed at her mistake. Dogs licked their wounds, they didn't hold them like that. She brought her right arm up to her face and started licking her bleeding wound.

"Good." Her captor lowered his whip. "I'll be back for you later." He turned around and left the room, closing his slave in the darkness.

Ruby spit out her own blood and applied pressure to her wound. This was her hell for who knew how long. Day after day, night after night. She still had hope that someone would come for her, someone on her team or… someone in red that she could barely remember. She just wanted it all to stop. If she could whittle a spoon down…

She heard something along the lines of metal sliding across metal. It sounded like her old weapon. Her captor said something before grunting. A big thud came from the other side of the door. Ruby raised her head. This was new. She hadn't heard anything like this before.

The door flew inward and Ruby covered her head with her arms. Wood splintered against stone, showering Ruby with bits of door. She peeked through her arms. A… familiar set of black and red shoes and pants entered her vision. She looked down at her legs. They were the exact same thing, only tattered.

"The cells are clear," a familiar voice said. "Only one guard and one captive." The voice paused. Ruby brought her arms down. The woman in front of her wore a red and black motorcycle helmet with similar colored hair dripping down her back and onto the silk hood and cape/ What looked like a living white rose held the hood around her neck and over a black top. A black and red combat skirt completed the ensemble. She held two massive scythes in her hands. Ruby's jaw dropped. The woman looked down at the captive and relaxed. "I copy. I'll bring her out."

The woman collapsed her scythes and walked to Ruby's side. She knelt down in front of the poor girl and set a hand on Ruby's shoulder. The helmet around her head peeled back and into something on her back. Ruby gasped. Even though she figured it before, she was still surprised to stare at her own smiling face.

"Hey, it's okay," the Other squeezed Ruby's shoulder. "I'm getting you out of here. You're going home today."

"I… wha…" Ruby could only stare at her own face as she tried to figure out what was going on. She was being rescued by herself. Did her captor put something in her water or food? When did all this start? She cleaned the bathrooms, cooked dinner, dropped a single spoon… before that… she kissed Angel goodnight, then curled up under Cerise' wing while Aaron held her close. _I'm dreaming… thank God._

Dream her moved her hand from Ruby's shoulder to Ruby's head. "Let's see if I can…" Dream's smile disappeared, then she locked eyes with Ruby. "You're not a…" her eyes grew watery as she returned her attention to her patient's head. She sang in the Ancient language and Ruby felt the fake ear and staple pull out of her head, not that it hurt as much as it probably should have. Dream rubbed a hand over where the ear was once attached. "There. All healed." A smile returned to her face. She locked eyes with Ruby again. "Does anything else hurt?"

"Yeah." Ruby raised her scarred right arm. Dream proceeded to heal every 'injury' Ruby had. Normally whenever Ruby realized she was dreaming, she'd turn it into some fun event with Cerise. Now, just like when Cerise used her mouth, she wanted to see where this went. So far she really liked what she saw.

"Are you in any more pain?" Dream asked. Ruby shook her head. "Okay. Let's get you out of here." She stood up and offered a hand to the dreamer. Ruby took it and Dream helped her to her feet. "Can you walk?" Ruby shook her head, even though she could. "I'll help you then." Dream took one of Ruby's arms and draped it over her shoulders. They started walking off together with the savior supporting the broken.

Dream turned her head toward Ruby. "What's your name?"

Ruby blinked. Was this really happening in her own head? "Ruby."

"Hey!" Dream chirped. "Me too! Small world I guess. Where are you from?" She continued to make small talk with Ruby, talking about anything but imprisonment. Dream's smile never left her face, and it was always directed at Ruby. She seemed so interested in what Ruby had to say. The caring look in her eyes never wavered.

Ruby didn't know what came over her. She stopped walking and started crying on the spot. She turned and hugged Dream, which was returned right away. "Thank you… thank you…"

"It's okay, Ruby." Dream held the back of Ruby's head. "Let it all out. You're safe here. You're okay. No one's going to hurt you." She continued whispering comforting words while rubbing her charge's back. This was so nice. Ruby didn't know why. This was just what she'd done for others in that situation.. _._ Dream pulled away and gestured with her head toward where they were walking. "Come on. There's someone outside that wants to meet you." They started walking again.

They rounded a corner and left the building. Unlike inside, there was a lot of activity outside. Both Atlesian and Valan soldiers roamed around in addition to a few other dragons and Riders. Ruby only cared about the largest one in the area. Cerise looked down at Ruby with the same loving eyes from the day before. Dream gestured at the dragon. "Ruby, this is Cerise. She'll be looking after you for the next little bit. I've got to take care of a few things before I can take you home, but you _will_ be back on Patch in time for dinner."

Cerise extended a leg toward Ruby. For the first time in the dream, the Rider felt her dragon's mind. _I won't bite._ Ruby sat on the leg and the dragon pulled it close to her chest. _I take it you've figured out what's going on?_

"Yeah." Ruby leaned her head against Cerise' while keeping her eyes on Dream. "How much of this was your doing?"

 _I made you hear your weapons unfurl and kept this situation like this. Who knows where you would have gone otherwise. Your mind took over the the creation of that you._ Cerise hummed. _I'd say it's an accurate representation._

Ruby's eyes grew watery as the stared at Dream speaking with a few soldiers. "So, that's what I'm like when I'm at work?"

 _It is, and it's not very exaggerated. You might even be selling yourself short._ Cerise pressed her head into her Rider's. _That is you when at work, and at times with Angel and other family and friends._

The Rider brought a hand up to cover her mouth. "This is how all those people felt around me?"

 _Well, something like that. I can't say exactly, but I'm guessing you're close._ Cerise slowly blinked. _But you need to be you for this to happen. You need to be happy. You need to care for yourself again in order to help others this way._

"Okay, Cerise. You've convinced me." Ruby wiped an arm under her eyes and stood up. "Ruby?" Dream turned around and faced Ruby. The dreamer approached her other self and brought her into a tight hug. "I love you. You're amazing. I want to be you again."

Dream returned the hug, just not as hard. "Believe it or not, I love you too." Ruby blinked. She _didn't_ expect that. Dream pulled away with her smile still on her face. "There's so much good in you, Ruby. I'm in you somewhere, and I can't wait for you to find me again." Dream brought her left hand up and held Ruby's face. "It's going to be tough. It might not be for a while. But when you're back to being yourself, you'll be better than I ever was."

"You really think so?"

" _I know so."_

Ruby sighed. "How does swearing in the Ancient Language even work in dreams?"

"Not a clue." Dream shook her head. "Philosophy isn't my thing."

"Mine neither." Ruby paused. "I guess I didn't know how much I sounded like mom."

Dream blushed. "She was in our head for most of our life. I guess we picked up a few things."

"Probably." Ruby stepped back. "Talking to myself is getting a little weird."

"That's okay." Dream shrugged. "I think it's about time to wake up anyway. See you later Ruby." She smirked, then lunged forward and pinched the tip of Ruby's right ear.

Ruby opened her eyes, then rolled them. At least that part of her was turning into her mom. After that thought, she realized she wasn't staring at Cerise' wing. She was looking at the pad beneath her dragon, and one of her husband's arms. She turned her head and locked eyes with her husband. Aaron had a content smile on his face. "Morning, honey," Ruby sang.

"Morning, Ru." Aaron kissed Ruby on the cheek. "You slept well."

"The back part, anyway." Ruby wrapped her arms around the back of her husband's head and rubbed the side of her face into his. "I think I might have found my self-confidence in the last twenty-four hours."

 _With my help,_ Cerise said sarcastically.

"Yeah, you did." Ruby looked 'up' at Cerise' belly. "No ifs, ands, or buts about it."

"That's good to hear," Aaron said. "I take it you'll be spending less time in here?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna go to my workshop." Ruby rolled off her husband and sat up. "The me I met in my dream had this really cool helmet. I can't believe that I didn't think of it after Black Leopard or Titaniman in War Infinite." She looked down at her husband. Aaron was grinning like an idiot. "What's got you so happy?"

"Seeing you happy." Aaron made it sound like fact, not like cheese.

"Well, hopefully that should be me from now on. I'm at least going to work really hard on it. No more mopey me."

* * *

 **She's not good yet, not by a long shot, but she's on the right path. I can speak from personal experience. Hearing yourself say these things has a huge impact on things like this.  
**


	76. Out of the Shadows

**So, I saw Detective Pikachu the day it came out (I mean, look at my username). Many people loved it but... I was underwhelmed. I thought it was meh at best, which still makes it the best video game movie ever. I'm hoping I was just on an Endgame high or I was expecting something different... maybe I should go again sometime...**

 **I'm rambling. Onto this.**

* * *

Aaron crossed his arms as he stared at the three pictures in front of him. Three suspected Nevermore bases burned to the ground over the past three months. He looked up at Violet. "Same story with this one?" He pointed at the most recent picture. That one was of a former Dust mine on the southern coast of Sanus.

Violet nodded. "Suspected exploded flamethrower, damage from Grimm attack, no survivors."

"Something's wrong here." Aaron set his hands flat on the desk in front of him. "Vale, Vacuo, and Atlas gave us access to all files they recovered from the Nevermores, including from Fort Castle and the North Sanus Mountains. They didn't have many places outside the city that they used as distribution centers. Those that they did have survived several Grimm attacks. They were well defended from other attacks too." Aaron left out the part about Salem breaking the Nevermores out of prison in the first place. Violet and Orchid didn't know about the Shade, yet anyway. It sounded like Arya was planning on reading in some of the more experienced Riders in on the Grimm Queen. "I'm starting to think Raven wasn't being paranoid about some people with the Nevermores avoiding all detection."

"I've been thinking the same thing." Violet rubbed her head behind her coyote ears. "I didn't see any signs of Grimm disturbance in the area surrounding any of these places. Neither did Orchid. None of the detectives I was with had experience in dealing with Grimm attacks, but since they all have more experience than me, I deferred to them. I'll be reporting this to my supervisor when I get back to the station."

"That leaves the question of who's doing this?" Aaron shook his head. "And why are they setting it up as a Grimm attack?"

"Another reason why I never said anything before. I have no proof of anyone else' involvement." Violet grimaced. "My supervisor doesn't trust magic. He needs physical evidence and won't accept searching with my mind as evidence or probable cause." She turned away. "I guess that has something to do with the law, but it's still annoying."

"I guess tying yourself to the police department can hurt as much as it helps."

"You have no idea." Violet hesitated. "If it is people behind this, what are we going to do if and when we find them?"

"If it were up to me, I'd pin a medal on them. But we can't do that. If there were people behind this, we will play by Vale's rules. They are playing judge, jury, and executioner. We will treat them like the criminals they are."

"What if they're on our side?"

"If they were really on our side, they'd have left something behind or let us know some other way." Aaron locked eyes with Violet. "I know why you're asking these things, all too well." Violet looked away and her ears drooped. "If this were Alagaësia before the Fall, I wouldn't hesitate to try to ally with these people. They're doing the world a favor by knocking the Nevermores out. We can't do that here, and I don't think we'll be able to do that in Alagaësia for much longer. It's not right. I'm surprised that _you_ would even suggest something like that."

"Anyone who fights the Nevermores is a good guy in my book."

"The enemy of my enemy isn't always my friend. For all we know, these could be rival slavers taking on the Nevermores. I doubt it, but it is possible." Aaron took his hands off the table and straightened up. "I'll get this information to Qrow, get him started on finding everyone involved. Do you have anything else to report?"

"Just that we've identified a few weapons that weren't mass-produced at the one south of Mountain Glen. It looks like they belonged to team CDRL. I believe you went to Beacon with them."

Aaron clenched his fists. Nalia's growl shook the floor. "We knew them. They were scum back then too. At least we know where they were back then."

"Most of the bodies are too burned or disfigured to get IDs. It could be a while before we find them." Violet paused. "Anything you have for me?"

"Actually, yes." Aaron pulled out a box from beneath his desk and set it on top. "Arya wanted our rank and affiliation to be clearly visible without taking out our badges every time." He shifted various pieces of the package around until he found the plastic bag with Violet's name on it. "She ordered special pauldrons for all of us. Yours are already here." He handed the armor over.

Violet took the package and opened it up. They were mainly stark white with different markings on each shoulder. The left shoulder had the logo of the Riders surrounded by a blue ring as Violet was with the defensive section of the Riders. Under that laid two horizontal swords showing her rank with them. The other shoulder had the letters VPD in yellow, accompanied by the vertical line with two hooks on top for the detective insignia.

"White isn't really my color." Violet held one of the pauldrons against her violet and red top.

"They can be painted solid colors, but no special designs unless it's camouflage for a mission," Aaron explained.

"I can work with that." Violet grabbed the other pauldron and held both in her right hand. "Well, if that's all you've got, Orchid's wondering if you'll step outside so she can give you a kiss."

"That's Ruby's thing." Aaron shook his head. "I only accept them from my direct family."

 _You used to like it…_ Orchid whimpered.

Aaron craned his neck to look past Violet to the purple dragon laying in the clearing outside the grown building. "You used to be small."

 _Like that matters…_ Orchid whimpered.

Aaron shook his head. "Never stop being you, Orchid."

"I won't let her. Tell Ruby I said hi." Violet turned around and walked out of Aaron's meager office at the base of the mountain. She climbed Orchid's side and the dragon flew off.

"Still a fangirl after all this time." Aaron took out his Scroll and checked the time. It was about time for his break, and Angel's second game should still be going on. "Nalia, how about we go surprise my daughter?"

 _Let's not surprise her too much,_ Nalia said. _It wouldn't be good to distract her._

"Maybe land a little bit away from the field. Don't want to distract anyone with your landing." Aaron walked out of his office and around the tree to his dragon.

 _I hope she'll play better with you in the crowd._

"As long as people don't say that Ruby or I are helping her succeed." Aaron climbed onto his dragon's back and settled in the saddle. Nalia leaped off the ground and angled toward Vale.

 _What would you do if Angel made it onto the Krakens eventually?_

"I believe that would make her the first woman in the KFL. If not, I'd still be at every game." Aaron couldn't help but smile at the thought. "My daughter, a professional athlete. That would be something to see." He hung his head. "Well, it would be fun while it lasts."

Nalia turned her head back. _When are you going to tell her about it?_

"I don't know. She might not understand it for years. Maybe when she's ten. That's when I understood it... Then again, that's after you hatched for me."

 _You might need to talk it over with Ruby. That's coming up soon._

"Yeah. It still gives us some time to figure it out." Aaron looked off his dragon's side. Down below, one of Vale's larger sports parks sprawled out in the residential district, surrounded by suburban houses. A few fields were taken by various games going on. Only one of them had a red dragon as a spectator. "I think there's our field."

Nalia nosed down to the field behind Cerise. _I don't think the refs will mind us being here. No disruption on us._ She glided down to the ground and touched down as soft as a hatchling and turned to face Cerise. Aaron dismounted as his dragon watched. On the field where the game was going on, a lot of the players stood staring at the dragon that just landed. _Aaron, could you turn on my band?_ Nalia lowered her head to Aaron's level.

"Of course." Aaron opened the panel behind Nalia's left ear and flicked the power switch.

 _Thank you._ Nalia settled down by Cerise and laid her head on her paws. "Go on," she told the kids on the field. "Play ball, or whatever it is you say in this sport." The coaches shouted something similar to their teams.

"Hey, Aaron!" Ruby waved at her husband from Cerise' paw. "Didn't expect you and Nalia here today."

"We're spending our break here." Aaron sat on Cerise' paw and beside Ruby. "What have we missed?"

"Angel's getting a chance at quarterback today."

Aaron searched the far sideline for his daughter again. He found the orange and black eleven standing pretty much right at midfield. He locked eyes with Angel across the field. His daughter waved and he waved right back. "Really? How's she doing?"

"She has two completions, six dropped passes, and only one that I had no idea where it was going. That was just one drive."

"Have you been counting?"

"That's my…" Ruby pressed her lips together and looked around. "That's my baby girl out there. Of course, I'm interested in her stats. Then I'll know how to help her improve."

"You would think like that." Aaron focused back on his wife. "And how have you been since I left this morning."

Somehow, Ruby's smile brightened. "I finished my first collapsible helmet prototype right before I brought Angel here." She pulled her hood back and pointed at a black and red box sitting at the base of the back of her neck. "Right now, I'm just seeing how comfortable it is. You probably don't know this, I'm terrible at ergonomics the first time around. I've had to redo the hilts on three swords so far. Anyway, this is surprisingly comfortable for a first attempt. It's not perfect, but it's better than I thought it was going to be." Ruby faced Aaron and part of her smile disappeared. "What's that face?"

Aaron didn't realize how much he was smiling until Ruby said something. "You're really beautiful when you geek out about something you like. I missed it."

Ruby blushed and turned her head away. "Thank you. I missed it too." She looked back to the field and she perked back up. "Angel's coming back on!"

Aaron faced the field. Angel trotted onto the field with the rest of her team's offense. As much as Aaron called his daughter his little girl, she was one of the tallest kids on her team. It looked like she had more muscle than some of the boys too. She didn't even exercise that much. She might get to be as big as Aaron and Yang when she was older.

The two teams set up along the line of scrimmage. Angel looked up and down her team. "Red and green! Chocolate sundae!" Aaron tried to hold back a laugh. He didn't need to touch his daughter's mind to know she was just shouting whatever was on her mind to sound like the people on the CCT. She knelt down and the ball was flung into her hands.

The lines crashed into each other as Angel dropped back. Other kids ran downfield and waved their arms. Angel stomped on the ground just like the Kraken's quarterback before throwing the ball. To Aaron's surprise, it was a near perfect, beautiful spiral. It fell right into the hands of one of the other kids ten yards downfield. The receiver turned toward the endzone and started sprinting toward it. He was fast, but he tired out as he approached the score. One of the defenders tackled him from behind a few yards short of the endzone.

Aaron clapped along with so many other people. That was nice all around, especially for kids. Ruby clapped too but she whimpered through her smile. "You couldn't give Angel her first touchdown pass…"

"It's okay. She'll run it in on the next play." Aaron said.

 _She already has a rushing touchdown,_ Cerise said. _Last week, she ran it in from twenty yards out._

"Did one of you tell me that?"

"I did," Ruby elbowed Aaron. "I think you were distracted by the aftermath of that hostage situation."

"That'll do it." Aaron focused back on the field. The teams lined up once more. Angel yelled more cute gibberish before the next play began. Just like Aaron called, Angel kept the ball and ran through two defenders and into the endzone. Aaron pumped a fist while Ruby cheered and clapped.

"That's my girl!" Ruby yelled while bouncing on Cerise' paw.

 _She's a strong girl._ Cerise' hum had a little bit of a satisfied growl to it. _She'll be able to defend herself._

 _Not that we won't help,_ Nalia added. _Nothing will touch our hatchling._

Aaron shook his head as Angel was congratulated on the sideline. "With how you two have been around Angel, I'm really regretting not doing the same."

Nalia snorted. _Like that would work with Amor._

"You've got a point there." Ruby laughed. "Oh, wild dragons are a handful."

Cerise grunted. _My three were, now they're strong fighters and fliers. It's so worth it._

"So far, Angel's been the same way." Aaron crossed his arms and leaned back on Cerise' paw as the teams took the field again. He looked around the field to find a clock. He didn't see one… or a scoreboard. "Don't tell me this is one of those leagues that doesn't keep score."

"Angel didn't want that." Ruby shook her head. "The coaches and the white hat are keeping score. So am I." She tapped her head to the right of her bionic eye. "Fourteen to zip Orange Tigers. Angel's on the winning side."

"As she should be." As Aaron turned his head back toward his daughter, he thought he saw someone behind the other sideline. He tried to find them again. He froze as he recognized Angela in the crowd. She was looking right at him with a smile on her face. She waved, pointed south of the field, then walked in that direction with an overlarge cat following right behind her.

 _Looks like our break's over,_ Nalia mentally growled.

 _Yes, it does._ Aaron stood up from Cerise' paw. "We should get going. We're on patrol in the area."

Ruby nodded. "Stay safe, you two. I'll tell Angel what you thought."

"I'll do the same later, maybe with a little something from Viki's. See you later." Aaron walked away with Nalia taking a few more seconds to watch the game, and block Aaron making a call from Ruby's sight. "Vale one to Vale two, I've located Target Hotel. I am approaching with caution. I'll be out of contact for the next few minutes. Only inform me of emergencies."

" _Copy that. I'll keep things running."_ Pewter had taken to being Aaron's second in command of the Vale Response Force rather well. He'd watch his boss' back as well as keeping the others working. Aaron switched his Scroll to its emergency only mode.

By the time Nalia jumped away from the playing field, Aaron was well out of Ruby's sight. He walked the suburban streets around the park to where Angela pointed. The ground tinted orange a few times as Lavi flew overhead. While Aaron knew those two would be close, it was nice to have some visual confirmation.

Aaron walked onto the street directly south of the sports park. The road only had cafés and restaurants on the side opposite the grass. Angela sat outside one of them with a mug of something sitting on the table in front of her. She had a white shawl covering up her top and black pants on bottom. A set of golden earrings drooped from either side of her head. Solembum sat curled up at her feet.

"I was starting to wonder if you would show up." Angela gestured at the seat across from her. "Please sit down."

Aaron sat in the offered seat, never taking his eyes off the herbalist. _"I hope you won't mind speaking in this language. I don't think it would be beneficial to either of us to have so many people listening in."_

" _Oh, I completely agree. Then we'll also know that each other are being completely honest with each other, as flexible as the truth is."_

" _There is that."_ Aaron leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. _"Last I checked you aren't on the list of approved people who are allowed to be in Alagaësia. You are in violation of the treaty signed between all Kingdoms on both sides."_

" _I believe that applies only to citizens of the Kingdoms. I don't believe I belong to any of them."_ Angela smiled like she didn't have a care in the world.

" _Considering there is no official list of citizens in Alagaësia, and all approved citizens have identification cards given by Vale and are in their systems, I doubt the courts will appreciate the difference."_

" _I wouldn't be so sure. The Kingdoms here like their loopholes. I know for a fact no monarchs of Alagaësia can lay claim to me."_

Aaron grimaced. Angela had a point. The Riders had exploited several of them before. _"Why are you here?"_

" _That's simple enough."_ Angela took a sip of her drink. _"Mmmm. This hot chocolate is something we need in Alagaësia."_ She set her mug down. _"There are so many new things here. I'm an explorer. I must see them all… that, and I like to be where interesting things happen."_

" _So you think something interesting is going to happen here?"_

" _Things are much more interesting here than in Alagaësia. The only thing that's happening there is King Deynor looking to marry a Surdan… but yes. I smell something brewing. I don't know what, but I want to be here when it happens."_

" _About that,"_ Aaron leaned forward and rested an arm on the table, _"Ruby said she met you the day the Nevermores broke out of Atlas."_

Angela's smile disappeared. _"I don't like what you're suggesting."_

" _I don't like that someone that shouldn't be here showed up the same day those who kidnapped and tortured my wife escape from prison. I'm sure you can understand why I'm asking about this."_

Angela leaned forward with her eyes narrowed. _"I had nothing to do with the Nevermores escaping. If I could, I would track them and put them back in that prison in the most humiliating ways possible."_

Aaron huffed and leaned back in his chair. _"You're Grey Folk."_

Angela's face leveled out and she cocked her head. _"Yes. How did you know that?"_

" _Tenga's alive. Yang met him in a tower on a continent southwest of Surda. She learned a great many things from him, including many names for things on Remnant that don't exist in Alagaësia. What really concerns me is everything else in that tower, the interdimensional observation post. What does he want to do with all that?"_

" _Inter…"_ For the first time, Angela looked confused. _"I have no idea. If I've been in that tower, I apparently didn't know what it was. All I know is that he wants to answer some of the most bizarre questions I can think of, and I can think of ones that can make your head spin."_ She looked off into the distance. _"Like… do toads actually exist?"_

Aaron stared open-mouthed at Angela. Of course, toads existed. Before he could question her further, his Scroll vibrated in his pocket. He took it out, expecting to see Pewter's face and name on the screen, not a black outline and Bullworth police. Normally those things would go through Yaela back at base. Something was up. Aaron turned to the side and answered the call. "Rider Aaron Benson."

" _Rider Benson, this is the Bullworth Chief of Police. I regret to inform you that there has been a break in and a double murder at the house of one of your new Riders."_

Aaron jumped to his feet and looked to the sky. "Can you give me an address?" As the Chief rattled off the address, Lavi darted overhead and toward the strait. Nalia curved around and dove for the open grass closest to her Rider. "Thank you. I'll be there with one of my detectives soon." He ended the call then ran across the street as soon as it was clear of cars.

Nalia landed hard with a snarl on her face. _Get on._

Aaron leaped onto his dragon's back and braced himself when Nalia jumped away. The Rider dialed Violet and brought his Scroll to his ear. He wasn't going to send all Riders in Vale into a panic until he knew more. "Violet, I need you to meet me on the coast. Now. There's been a double murder at one of our new Riders' house in Bullworth. We need to get there ASAP."

" _Oh… uh… on my way."_ Violet sounded a mixture of confused, upset, and angry.

Aaron ended the call and slammed his Scroll back into a pocket. He craned his neck to search the coastline for his second in command. Lavi hovered a few hundred feet off the coast. The water beneath her wasn't quite swirling yet, but that would come. Orchid flew out from downtown and joined the other two dragons.

As soon as the water started swirling, Pewter faced Aaron. "I'll keep things going for you here."

"Contact Weiss, tell her what's going on. She'll take it from there." Aaron stared at the portal and pat his dragon's neck. Nalia jumped in and dove for Lake Isenstar. Another pair stood on the beach. They stared up at the newcomers but did not approach. Aaron cast the between worlds spell again with downtown Bullworth in mind. A new portal opened and Orchid dove through before Nalia could do so.

Nalia followed after the younger dragon and stayed in the air over the city's CCT relay. Aaron pulled out his Scroll again and entered the address the police chief gave him. The map that popped up gave him a straight line right to it. The Rider felt his dragon use his eyes to see the map. Nalia banked to the right and flew toward the house as fast as she could.

When they were about a mile away from the house, Aaron saw the flashing lights of a couple emergency vehicles. The two sat on a residential road with decently sized houses on either side. From the sky, nothing looked out of place. Then again, things weren't always what they seemed.

Nalia and Orchid landed in the street and their Riders dismounted. The front door of the house opened and a man in a suit stepped outside. He had to be a city detective. A quick scan of his mind confirmed it. "You got here quick," he called.

"I heard double murder at the home of one of my Riders. We drop everything when that happens, and I'm sure you do too for one of your own." Aaron looked over the front of the house as he approached. No broken windows, barely any wear and tear, nothing gave away what happened. "How'd you find out about this?"

"The neighbors called it in." The detective turned back into the house. "Screaming, followed by gunshots, then squealing tires. Whoever did this wanted to get out in a hurry." The detective stopped outside a doorway and nodded inside.

Aaron stepped around the corner. Two bodies, one male, one female, sprawled across the floor with their blood staining the white carpet red. Another detective stood over the body taking pictures. Both corpses were Faunus. One was missing one of her cat ears, the other had half if his lizard tail cut off. "Nevermores," Aaron growled.

Violet looked into the room as well. Her face gave away nothing. "How do you know a Rider lives here?"

The detective gestured a thumb down the hall toward the living room. "We found pictures of these two with a boy and a hatchling in his arms."

"I met these two once," Aaron said. "Last week when a silver hatchling chose Noir. He was a shy kid and his parents were about as nice as you can get." He shook his head. "I have a pretty good guess why this happened."

"Where is Noir?" Violet asked.

The detective shrugged. "All I can tell you is he's not here. The call didn't have anything about a kid or a hatchling in the area."

"I think I have something," the detective taking pictures said. He knelt down and reached toward the male's jacket with a gloved hand. He pulled out a red spotted piece of paper. "Well, this is a thing." He held it out toward Aaron. "It's for one of you."

Aaron took the paper. 'To reptile fuckers' was written in on the front. _If only people didn't think we actually did that._ Aaron opened the note and grimaced as he read it. 'We may not be able to touch you command people, but your mutts you carry with you are free game. Come get the mole and the salamander if you can.' "They have Noir and his dragon." Aaron handed the note back to the detective. The dragons growled outside.

Violet swore under her breath. "We have no idea where, do we?"

"Not one." Aaron shook his head. "Now we really need to find whoever's attacking the Nevermores. If they attack wherever Noir and his dragon are being held, they could be killed too."

"I'll work with these two to see if the Nevermores left anything behind." Violet shook his head. "I've read up on other reports. They typically leave nothing behind. Hopefully they've slipped up since they've had time off."

"Do what you can. I want a report when possible." Aaron turned around and left the detectives to do their work. He drew his Scroll and turned it to the VRF comms channel. "Vale one to all VRF. One of our own has been captured by the Nevermores. Noir Belmont is a mole Faunus with the snout of the animal. His dragon has pure silver scales. I shouldn't need to say this, but finding them is our top priority." Aaron waited for any response, but only Yaela acknowledged, and that was for her logs.

Aaron left the house and looked over the two dragons. Nalia's claws dug up the front yard of the house. She pinned her ears back and bared her teeth. Her growl shook the ground. Surprisingly, Orchid had all of those same things, only her growl sounded more primal. Aaron touched the younger dragon's mind. If Nalia's rage was a wildfire, Orchid's was a volcano. Orchid was so mad, Aaron couldn't figure out why. That was not like the friendliest dragon alive at all.

The Rider gave Orchid a wide berth as he approached his dragon. He climbed Nalia's side and pat her side. "I need to write up a report for Arya… and inform the elder of what's going on."

Nalia stopped growling and turned her head toward her Rider. _I thought you keep work and family separate._

"I know Ruby's not the Leader of the Riders anymore, but she still has an important role. She needs to know what's going on." Aaron turned his head away. "Also, as much as any of us hate to admit it, she's the expert on the Nevermores."

Nalia's growl returned, but not in anger. _I know she has gotten better recently, but is she ready to hear that?_

"Like you said, she's getting better. She needs to start hearing these things again sometime."

 _I'm surprised you're the one bringing this up, not me or Cerise._ Nalia jumped out of the yard and flew toward the ocean. She hovered over the water for her Rider to cast the between worlds spell. Aaron did that there, then again at the lake in Alagaësia. Nalia landed on the house' pad and knelt down.

Aaron dismounted then walked into the house. As he hoped, Ruby was back from the game. She and Cerise sat in the area in front of the massive projector. Nothing was being displayed and no sound came from the area. Did Ruby already know?

Ruby looked over her shoulder at her approaching husband. "Aaron, what are you doing here?" She sounded disappointed, but it wasn't directed at Aaron.

"Something happened right after I left. I need to report to Arya and the elders, which for now, it's just you."

"That's a thing?" Ruby cocked her head.

"For something like this, yes. I had to do something like that right after I was declared a Rider in Full." Aaron looked around. Not only didn't he hear his daughter, he didn't see her. "Where's Angel?"

Ruby sighed and shook her head. "She was so happy after her team won, she thought she could get anything she wanted. When I said no to ice cream, she threw a temper tantrum. She's in her room until dinner, no electronics. She won't hear."

"Well, there's that." Aaron sat down next to his wife and looked up at Cerise. "Ruby might need your help here."

Cerise' ears drooped and she rested her head right by her Rider. _What happened?_

Ruby looked at her dragon, then back at Aaron. Her lips curled in concern. "I take it the Nevermores are involved?"

"They are. A recently chosen Rider and his dragon have been captured by the Nevermores."

Ruby's entire body slumped. "What?" Cerise narrowed her eyes but she didn't growl. "But… how…" She shivered then she closed her eyes. She took several deep breaths while resting a hand on one of Aaron's knees and her dragon's snout. Ruby stayed that way for about a minute before she opened her eyes. "Do we know where?"

"Not right now. Violet's working with a couple detectives. If there's anything to find, they'll find it."

Ruby nodded. "Okay… You know I would love to help… but… I can't." She squeezed Aaron's leg and Cerise' scales. "I'm nowhere near a hundred percent."

"We'll find him, Ruby." Aaron gave Ruby's wrist a comforting squeeze. "Stay here, out of the action. Stay with Angel and Cerise. They've been so good for you. Take your time getting back out in the field."

"Yeah." Ruby nodded like a tree in the wind. "Just…. Find them."

"Yes, ma'am." Aaron stood up and walked toward the elevator in the house. He had some paperwork to fill out… one of the few things Arya mandated that he didn't like. It was necessary, but that didn't mean anyone had to like it. Still, if it would make it easier in the long run to take down the Nevermores again and find the kidnapped pair, he'd do it. He wouldn't stop until the mission was done.

* * *

 **Here we are, the main reason O'Donnell was released. There's going to be hell to pay.**

 **One last thing, happy belated mothers day to all you awesome moms out there.**


	77. Back in the Saddle

**Full transparency here, uploads for the next month or so could be a little... unreliable. So many factors are coming into play all at once. Some of it's travel, others I don't have permission to day yet. If I can't get chapters up on Monday nights, I'll try for Tuesday at some point, but even then that's not guarnteed. I'll do my best, but it's really out of my hands.  
**

* * *

Ruby stared down the Ursa Major and growled back at the Grimm. The bear charged and the Rider raised her sword to defend herself. Right as the bear was about to strike, Ruby used her Semblance to shift to the side. Now behind the Grimm, she jumped onto the creature's back and buried Máni Bláto to the hilt through the bear's head. Nothing coated the blade on the other side. Ruby rode the beast down to the ground. She waited until the Ursa dissolved before she moved.

"Another one down." Ruby ran a hand across her forehead. She wasn't that sweaty, but it was a habit. "Any others, Yaela?"

" _Negative, Ruby,"_ Yaela's voice went right into Ruby's ear. _"I've only got movement from a few birds. It looks like you've cleared them all out."_

"Really?" Ruby looked around herself and stretched her mind out. Just like Yaela said, she only felt birds and other small animals. She sighed and allowed herself to smile. "Thanks for the help. I needed this."

" _You're welcome, Ruby. Now I need to get back to my other work."_

Ruby sighed and looked skyward. "Cerise, I'm ready for pickup."

 _Coming, Gem._ Red flashed between the gaps of the canopy. _There's a clearing nearby. I'll set down there._

"I'll meet you there." Ruby folded up Máni Bláto and walked in the direction Cerise flew. As she walked, she couldn't help but laugh and shed a few tears. About a month after Cerise used Ruby's mouth to tell her Rider what she needed to hear, Ruby finally felt like she might be ready to head back out to the field, or at least she could start thinking about it.

One of the biggest reasons for that came into view through the trees. Cerise stared at her Rider with wide eyes. Her happiness rolled off her in waves. She hummed high and long, sounding happier herself than she had been in a long time. _I am so proud of you, Ruby._

"Same here, Cerise." Ruby rested her forehead in between Cerise' nostrils and brought her arms up to hug her dragon. "I wouldn't be able to do it without you."

 _Give yourself and your family some credit. They helped too. Like, twelve percent of the credit.  
_

Ruby laughed then punched her dragon's shout. "Even Aaron's not in my head every waking moment. You're the only one that can claim that." She tilted her head back and kissed her dragon's chin. "Let's fly."

 _Allow me._ Cerise tilted her head down so her snout was just over the ground. She pressed it into Ruby's legs, forcing her Rider's legs off the ground. Ruby's weight fell onto her dragon's face. _Let's fly like this._

"Okay, Orchid." Ruby shook her head but didn't argue. She was pressed even more into her dragon's snout as Cerise took off. The world ran backward past her as Cerise flew, which was more than a little disorienting. Instead of staring at that, Ruby closed her eyes and hugged her dragon's face tighter. Cerise wouldn't let her fall, but it was still more than a little comforting. Ruby just listened to the air flowing past her and her dragon's breathing.

A few minutes of peaceful flight later, Cerise landed at the house. Ruby dropped off her dragon's snout and walked through the massive door. Angel sat in front of the projector with Halcyon curled up beside Angel's seat. The young girl had gotten better at doing her homework by herself, so this wasn't out of the ordinary.

"Angel, I'm home." Ruby leaned on the back of Angel's couch. "How's it going?"

"Everything's fine, mom," Angel said, though she sounded more frustrated more than anything.

Ruby blinked. It normally took a lot to get under Angel's skin... or being told no to any type of candy, chocolate, ice cream, or cookie. She looked down at Halcyon. _Has she been like this since Yang brought her home?_

 _Not this bad._ Halcyon opened one of his eyes and stared up at Ruby. _She was a little frustrated, but she wasn't making a fuss._

 _Okay…_ Ruby faced her daughter again. "Angel, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Angel spat out. "I'm fine."

Ruby pressed her lips together. She walked in front of Angel and put her fists on her hips. "Angel Rose, I don't like that tone of voice. What is bothering you?"

Angel looked up and glared at her mom. "You are! Dad is!" She exploded. "Everywhere I go, I'm compared to you and dad. All anyone wants to know about me is what it's like living with dragons, one I'm not allowed to talk about, or what it's like having you and dad as my parents. All the teachers I've had treat me like I'm some sort of famous person. Some of them who have met you say I'm just like you. But I don't want to be 'just like you!' I want to be _me!_ Not anyone else." Angel breathed heavily as she glared up at her mom.

Ruby put on her poker face and straightened to her full height. Angel froze in place and her glare turned into fear. She knew what she did wrong, but that didn't make it acceptable. "Angel, I challenge you to make me and your father remembered for only being your parents. We couldn't be prouder if you do. But you do _not_ talk to me like that. _Understand?"_

Angel shrunk in her seat, once again looking like a little girl instead of an angsty teenager. That must have been an Alagaësian trait. "Yes, mommy…"

"Good. Now go to your room." Ruby pointed at Angel's door. "Don't come out until I call you for dinner, or if you need to use the bathroom." Angel hung her head as she slid off the couch. She took her current homework in one hand and dragged her backpack with the other. Not a single word left her mouth. Ruby never took her eyes off her daughter as Angel entered her room and closed the door behind her.

Halcyon picked his head off the floor and stared at Angel's room. _That could have gone better._

"Yes, it could have." Ruby turned her glare to Halcyon. "You could have gotten her to talk before so she didn't go off on me."

The android flinched and turned his head up toward Ruby. He somehow looked smaller than he actually was. _Well, uh, you see…_

"It's too late now." Ruby shook her head and walked away. _There goes my good mood._

 _I take it a cuddle session won't help?_ Cerise asked.

Ruby turned toward where Cerise lay. Her dragon curled in a half crescent with one of her wings open in invitation. _Maybe not, but it couldn't hurt either._ Ruby walked over to her dragon and settle down in the crook of one of her legs. She sighed and rested her head on her dragon's scales. "Okay. This is helping. You didn't get angry, did you?"

 _As much as I love Angel, I leave the mothering to you._ The floor shook and Cerise turned her head toward the door. _Oh. Nalia and Aaron are here._

"Please tell me they're here early to join us." Ruby knew that likely wasn't the case, but she had to hope.

 _No._ Cerise stiffened. _Aaron's walking here fast. He looks serious._

 _Why…_ Ruby looked over her dragon's neck toward her husband. Like Cerise said, Aaron marched right toward her at full speed while also wearing full armor. Something serious was going on alright.

"Ruby, Violet found Noir." Aaron stopped right on the other side of Cerise's neck. "We're getting ready to move on the Nevermroes."

Ruby dropped her jaw, then brought it back up. "Thanks for telling me in person, but shouldn't you be wherever you're setting up to attack?"

"We're trying to keep things off the records and airwaves, so everyone we want to bring in, we're telling in person."

"Then why are you…" Ruby blinked and straightened up. "Oh. You want me coming along with you?"

"As much as all of us hate to admit it, you're the expert on the Nevermores. We'd love to have you with us." Aaron relaxed and his gaze softened. "I know you've improved so much in the past month. You're not back to where you were before, but I've seen things that I haven't seen since before it all happened. I wouldn't be here if I didn't think you were ready."

Ruby looked at her lap. She thought she was ready to fight Grimm, but what about these monsters? They were stronger, smarter, and scarier than any Grimm. They hurt her so long ago. They were the reason that she got so depressed in the first place. They were the reason she was so scared… All those reasons fell flat in her head. _She_ was fine. _She_ was years separated from it. Her family surrounded her at all times. The number of cards and gifts she got from her fans during that time never failed to overwhelm her.

The people the Nevermores currently held had none of that. In all likelihood, they were just kids. Noir definitely was, only thirteen, lucky enough to have a dragon hatch for him in the first few days of his session. They, along with who knew how many others, were in the worst days of their lives. They needed to be helped. They needed to get out of that hell. Aaron could do it, police or special forces could do it, but none of them knew what it was like. Ruby knew all of that. Those kids needed someone like that to help them. Orchid's kisses wouldn't be enough.

The Rider took a deep breath and closed her eyes. _Cerise, what do you think?_

 _I think you could take on a level five Grimm attack all by yourself._ Cerise added a growl to her words, encouragement mixing in with her anger.

Ruby opened her eyes and stood up. She faced her husband with her usual mission face. "Is this a Rider only op or are we working with police or military?"

Aaron straightened up again. "Violet's called in Vale's SWAT team. JNPR is either out on mission or watching their kids. We don't have a quick contact with the military available, so we're going in without them."

"Got it. I guess I'll need my new ID. You put my pauldrons by my new helmet, right?" Her husband just nodded. "Yang's in her room. Fill her in on what's going on now. I'll give Angel the no answer explanation."

"I thought I'm the boss now," Aaron smirked. "I give the orders around here."

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Elder. I have authority over everyone but Arya and Fírnen. Now do what I told you." She faced her daughter's room and walked toward it. She relaxed as she knocked on the door. "Angel, Daddy and I are going out on mission. Auntie Yang is in charge until we get back. What I told you earlier still applies. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mommy," Angel's dejected voice filtered through the door.

The Rider turned away from her daughter's door and walked into her room. She headed right for her dresser and took a second to look over the things on top. Two red pauldrons sat on either side of the red and black box that held her helmet. Unlike so many other sets, her new pauldrons had only the Rider's logo in addition to her rank. The rank of Former leader of the Riders was represented by a large gold star surrounded by a silver star. Once she put those on, she was back in it. She picked up the one for her right shoulder. After another second of staring, she nodded. "You're gonna be sorry you woke the Shadeslayer." She secured her new armor and placed the boxed helmet on the back of her neck. She rolled her shoulders and her neck to get used to the added weight.

Ruby turned around and walked out of her room. Aaron, Nalia, and Cerise stood by the dragon door, all three stared at the one approaching. "You ready, Ruby?"

"As ready as I can be." Ruby stopped right in front of her husband. "I'm in control of my head now. I can't sit around while others go fight this."

 _Just so you know,_ Nalia started, _once you leave here, Arya will consider you active. She may call on you for other things._

"She already has." Ruby shrugged. "Some of the Eldunarí are getting restless. Arya wants me to finish the housing for the Eldunarí so they can start crewing vehicles. I'm finishing up the prototype and I'm planning on having Irolon test it in the Bullhead in the next week."

"I thought that was just a personal thing." Aaron shook his head. "Either way, we need to move." He pulled himself up Nalia's side.

Ruby jumped onto her dragon's back then faced Nalia. "Lead the way."

 _We're meeting the others at the police station downtown,_ Nalia said. _We leave from there._ She jumped off the landing pad and flew toward the city. Cerise flew right on her tail. The dragons circled the building once before their Riders dropped to the ground. They spooked the officers standing guard on the roof but were let inside without hesitation. Aaron led the way through the building and past a few heavily secured doors until they reached the ops room.

There were only a few other people in the room; Violet and two SWAT officers, one of them being the SWAT commander that Ruby had worked with several times before, Captain Graham. At first, Violet's mouth hung open as she stared at Ruby but she quickly brought it back up. The other officers didn't react other than a couple of raised eyebrows.

"We're here," Aaron said. "What's the situation?"

Violet cleared her throat. "While working with the other detectives, I was working on a spell that could track where Noir went, and I succeeded. The specifics… well, that's a Rider only thing." Ruby nodded. While that was good in this situation, depending on how the tracking spell worked, it could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands.

"Anyway, I used it and followed the trail to this building southwest of here, about ten miles off the Armen Highway." Violet hit a button on the table in front of her and a hologram of a dilapidated barn appeared over the table. "I believe the Nevermores have taken over the entire farm. There were people in the house nearby and in the grain silo."

"How many hostiles can we expect?" Graham asked

"I counted fifteen people that weren't terrified out of their minds, three people that were, and one dragon that was so scared I don't know how the place wasn't crawling with Grimm when I got there."

Ruby clenched her fists. "We have floor plans for anything there?"

"We do." Captain Graham hit another button on the table. The picture was replaced by a full 3D rendering of the barn and the house and silo Violet mentioned. "This place used to be a legitimate farm, abandoned soon after the Battle of Beacon. This place had no Kingdom run utilities before, so they likely have everything they need to stay in business on site." He faced Ruby. "You're the expert, what can we expect?"

The Rider Elder leaned forward and rested her hands on the table. She had only raided one place like this, and that was Fort Castle. Still, she forced herself to remember every instance her mom told her while she was still around and everything Raven told her about these places. Ruby thought she'd never need to use that experience to fight the Nevermores, but it sure came in handy now.

"If they are fully set up, we can expect the hostages to have electrified chains. Going by what they think of Faunus, the kids will likely be in the barn. If we're noticed, the Nevermores, or if they think they're going to lose, they'll activate the chains. It's a tossup on which one will happen. If they haven't learned, that will be activated from the command center which should be…" Ruby looked over the farmhouse quick. All interior rooms could be seen in the hologram. The main floor looked too exposed, but the basement… She pointed right at it. "There, the most secure place in the building. The silo is likely just a lookout and sniper tower and a storage area. Other guards will roam the other levels of the house. There might be someone in the barn, but they mostly leave their captives alone with how they're tied up."

"That's more than I expected to go off of." Graham brought a hand to his chin. "I take it you have your own ways of going about things?"

"I don't know about Aaron, but I'm going into the barn right away. Get the chains off the captives, no electrocution." Ruby faced Violet. "Mind if I borrow Orchid for that?"

Violet shrugged. "Since I'm going in with SWAT, she was going to volunteer if you didn't ask."

"Nalia and I can control the perimeter," Aaron said. "Cerise can help too."

"It's settled then." Graham hit another button and the hologram disappeared. He pulled out a flash drive and handed it to the other officer. "I'll brief my team on the flight over. If we're done here, let's get moving."

Ruby was the first out the door, then waited for Graham to take the lead. This was his mission, not hers. The whole group walked back to the transport pad on the roof where the rest of the twelve-man SWAT team waited. A few minutes later, an armored Bullhead flew onto the pad. While all officers loaded into the transport, three dragons flew overhead. The Riders cast a simple up spell and flew up to their dragons. The Bullhead took off the pad and angled southwest. All dragons followed it across the sky.

The Elder turned her head to face her former apprentice. _Violet, how does your tracking spell work?_

 _Without going into the exact working right now, it tracks the target movements from the last time they touched an object or were in a room to where they are now._ Violet shifted on Orchid's saddle. _I'm sure you can see why I don't want to talk about it._

 _Oh, yeah._ Ruby quirked her lips. _If anyone other than you came up with it, I'd be worried. You're too pure-hearted to use it for anything but helping people._

 _Thank you. I take it you don't want me to tell this to anyone else?_

 _Not unless you trust them with Orchid's life, if not more._ Ruby faced forward again. _We don't need any Riders accused of stalking._

 _I'm surprised that hasn't come up more in the first place. I wouldn't put it past most of the people I've helped put away._

 _We've all run into those creeps, Violet. Let's just focus on our mission and deal with the aftermath later. I don't think anyone will rule in the Nevermores' favor._ Ruby pulled back into her own head and closed her eyes. She took several deep breaths. She didn't have any regrets about coming on the mission… yet. _I'm fine. I can do this. The Nevermores can't stop me, especially with everyone else coming on this mission. I can fight, I can win._

 _You might not even need to face them,_ Cerise said. _They might not have anyone in the barn._

 _Fingers crossed._ Ruby opened her eyes and stared out over the wilderness. _I'll keep an eye out for Grimm._ As the miles rolled by, no Grimm rose to stop them. Then again, there weren't exactly a lot of negative emotions coming from them, with Ruby making up most of the hate in the flight. Everyone was determined more than anything else. At the same time… _no_ Grimm in the air or on the ground? Salem broke the Nevermores out of prison. Either the Grimm were all Alagaësian so they couldn't be felt with telepathy, or the Nevermores ended up making Salem mad. Either one could be true. She hoped the latter.

 _We're almost at the AO,_ Orchid called. _We should be in mental range. The farm is straight ahead of us._

 _Copy that._ Ruby stretched her mind out ahead of the flight squadron. It took her a little while, but she found the farm. Like Violet said, there were three people terrified beyond belief and a hatchling that put those three to shame. All had the hazy feeling of being drugged. Ruby clenched her teeth.

The hatchling gripped onto Ruby's mind as hard as he could. He said no words, sent no images, just mental claws digging into the Rider's mind. _It's okay,_ Ruby soothed. _We're going to get you out of there. You'll be back in your Rider's arms soon._ She sent soothing emotions as well. Cerise piggybacked off her Rider's mind as well to calm the dragon. Ruby tried to figure out which of the kids were Noir, but all their minds were too jumbled up to tell anything. She hadn't even met Noir before, so she couldn't even tell from basic feel.

In the captive Faunus' general area, a single person with a clear mind stood laughing. Another stood higher than everyone else. A group of ten or so others were at another place, most of them were serious with a few others being bored. The people in charge and the guards. This was it.

With a thought, Ruby's helmet expanded from the box behind her neck to cover her whole head. The HUD lit up on her visor with information on the exact mission. She started broadcasting in the local area. "Captain Graham, this is Shadeslayer. I'm counting fourteen hostiles. One sniper, one in the barn, the rest in the house."

" _Copy that, Shadeslayer. We will approach. Proceed as planned. Dragons, try not to alert them until we're right on top of them."_

 _We can be silent when we want to,_ Nalia retorted. _This would be one of those times._

"Never doubt a dragon's ability." Ruby picked Máni Bláto from her side and extended it to rifle form. She looked down the sights to try to find the farm. It wasn't in sight yet, but it was still quite the distance away.

The squadron flew over a mountain and the forest cleared out ahead of them. A lonely farm sat in the open fields. Ruby sighted in on the silo. The sniper there was looking exactly the other way. "Captain, I'm taking out the sniper. No alerts for them." She didn't get a response, so she was cleared… then again, she didn't take orders from him. Ruby aimed her weapon at the man's chest and pulled the trigger. A single gunshot rang out. Three seconds later, the man's chest exploded onto the wall behind him. Ruby grimaced. She still didn't like killing people, even these monsters. At least she should be far enough away for the gunshot to not attract attention. "Sniper down for good."

Ruby shifted her attention to the house, specifically the windows on the upper floor. The guards she felt earlier were set up there. Everyone else was likely in the basement. Cerise' left wing occasionally blocked Ruby's view, but it wasn't too bad. Part of her wanted someone to step into sight, the rest of her screamed for that not to happen. She'd have to take the shot. Not only would it likely kill the one on the receiving end, but alert everyone else in the house.

Unfortunately when the fliers were only a mile away, a woman stepped into view. The guard looked at the ground, then directly up into Ruby's crosshairs. Her jaw dropped as the Rider pulled the trigger. Ruby closed her eyes right after. She didn't need to see that mess. "They know we're here. One more hostile down."

" _Copy that. Weapons free. Remember, capture if possible. If they have a weapon, light 'em up."_

Cerise roared and shot ahead of the pack before the much faster Bullhead kicked its engines into gear and sped past her. Ruby pulled her legs up as she prepared to jump off her dragon. When the time was right, she kicked off the saddle and fell to the ground. Right as her feet touched down, she extended Máni Bláto to full scythe form. She ran into the barn and punched it open with her bionic arm.

A single man without a weapon stood with a cigar in his mouth in the center of the barn. He faced the newcomer and his cigar dropped from his mouth to the ground. Ruby ran forward and smacked the slaver with the blunt part of her weapon in the stomach. The man flew toward and through the back wall of the barn. Ruby took a quick look around the place. The captives were chained to the walls, but there were no more hostiles. "Barn is clear. Freeing the kids now."

Ruby folded up her weapon and positioned herself so she could see all kids at once. "Jeirda." All their chains snapped at once. With a thought, her helmet returned itself to its box behind her neck. Now wasn't the time to smile, yet anyway. There was still the hatchling to find too. Ruby tracked the dragon's mind to what looked like a walled-off stall. She pushed the door open and tried to keep her face straight.

The hatchling had his wings pinned with stones. His snout was muzzled. All his limbs and his tail were chained to the ground. That was in addition to all the cuts that the Nevermores did to their 'property.' "Jeirda." All metal on the dragon snapped off. _"You're okay now."_ Ruby pushed the rocks off the dragon's wings. _"You're safe."_ Ruby picked the dragon up and held him close to her chest. The dragon whimpered and he relaxed in Ruby's arms… which was probably more of a slump than relaxing. _"Easy. I'll take you back to your Rider now."_

Ruby walked out of the stall while rubbing an uninjured spot on the hatchling's back. As expected, no kids had moved from their spots. The Rider looked at each of the kids for the first time. Noir looked like the tip of his mole snout was cut off. The other boy was missing one of his mouse ears. The girl didn't look like she was missing anything, then Ruby saw the gills. The ones she saw didn't look too bad, but the other set had to be mangled. Like all of the Nevermores' captives, they had terrible scars, bruises, and cuts.

Now was the time to start smiling and calming them down. "Oh Noir," Ruby sang. The boy looked up at her. "I have someone here that wants to see you." She gently shook the hatchling in her arms. Noir's eyes widened. He groaned and raised his arms. The hatchling looked down at his Rider. He whimpered and pointed his neck down at Noir. Ruby knelt by the boy's side. "Here you go." She handed the hatchling over. Noir wrapped his arms around his hatchling. The baby dragon whimpered and licked his Rider's cheek.

Those two were each other's medicine for now. Ruby looked over the other two again. Both were in pretty bad shape. _Orchid, can you fit through the doors?_

 _If I squeeze and take my time opening the doors,_ Orchid said. _I don't want to bring the whole building down on you._

 _Take your time. I'll do what I can in here._ Ruby shifted her attention to the fish Faunus. She rested a hand on the girl's uninjured knee and put on the best smile she could in the situation. "Don't worry. I'm going to take your pain away. You're going home today." She focused on the worst of the wounds that she could heal, so all of the injuries that weren't the gills. She'd leave those to Orchid.

Light spilled into the barn with purple specs flying everywhere. Orchid hummed and the ground shook a little with her steps. As soon as her purple head came into view, Ruby backed away. The girl was in good hands. The Rider skipped over the young bonded pair and to the other boy. She was able to heal all of his injuries except his ear while Orchid worked on the girl.

" _Building is secure,"_ Graham's voice came out of the box on Ruby's neck. _"All hostiles are down. Proceed to Grimm control positions."_

Ruby reached back and pressed another button on the box. "This is Shadeslayer. I could use the antivenom in the barn ASAP." She turned her attention to the young bonded pair. "I didn't forget about you two."

"Hmmmm firrt." Noir tried to push the hatchling out in front of him.

After a quick look, Ruby determined that the baby dragon was in worse shape. "Okay, then right to you." She continued with the same process as before, with the worst injuries first then onto ones that were more painful than dangerous. The hatchling never had to leave his Rider's arms. Once those were done, Ruby moved onto Noir. His injuries were the worst of the kids. That had to have been intentional. Still, Ruby had healed worse battle wounds. After only a few minutes, Noir's only visible injury was his half nose.

Ruby stepped back and Orchid took her place in the system. The Rider faced the large open door to see Aaron jogging over with a medical case. "I secured the one you knocked out of the barn," he said. "Everything go okay in here?"

Ruby double checked that Orchid was blocking her from the former captives before saying anything. "As well as things can go with people in this situation." Ruby shook her head. "How could anyone do this?"

"They're not right in the head." Aaron paused. "Speaking of which, how's yours?"

"I'm…" Ruby looked to the side. She'd gone into autopilot there. Actions without thoughts. Now that it was over… "I'm a little shaky, but I'll be okay."

"Good to hear." Aaron hefted the medical box. "I've still got these to distribute."

"You do that." Ruby stepped aside to let her husband pass. She let herself breathe a sigh of relief. She thought for sure this would be a trap. Maybe they actually got the drop on Salem for once… if she was still working with the Nevermores. Either way, she could chalk this one up as a win.

* * *

As much as Salem wanted to smirk at this victory, she couldn't. The sight and sound the Seer in front of her displayed what Noir saw and heard with perfect clarity. The parasite she had Noir infected with was working as intended for now. The question was how long would it last and would it be discovered? This was her first ever attempt at a Grimm like this one, and she would never get another chance like this. It had to be perfect, otherwise another plan would be thwarted.

She saw Ruby walk around Orchid and to the parasite-infected Rider. Salem no longer wondered how Kingkiller held such a high place in the hearts of the people and was always able to bounce back. She had such a way with words, no hostility, and such a friendly face. Seeing it like this provided such a better insight than news reports and books. At least she now knew what she was working with.

"Your Grace," Watts' voice rang through the throne room, "I have just received a call from Granite O'Donnell."

Salem took her attention off her Seer. "Is he reacting like we expected?"

Watts nodded. "He wants to know why we let the Rider we ordered sit to be taken and what we're doing about whatever is attacking his other installations."

"Tell him what we discussed before. He may yet prove useful. If he grows to be a deterrence, I will send Tyrian for him."

Watts nodded. "Of course." He left the throne room without another word.

Salem returned her attention to the Seer. Noir was looking at his dragon, which was infected with a similar parasite. These two would be incredible spies in the future. They could get her eyes where none of her Grimm had managed before, Mor'anar Vera. She needed to see what the Riders were hiding. If only she could speed up their aging without being found out. If this failed, her plans would have to change.

* * *

 **Quick find? Yes. Intentional? Oh yeah.**


	78. Blindsided

**If this is uploaded Monday night, I made the long drive and braved the latest of the Midwestern rainstorms. If it's Tuesday morning, something went wrong in the drive. If it's beyond that... well, I couldn't tell you. I have this prepared so I can just upload from my phone if need be. Also, if I'm right about the timing, I won't be able to get the next chapter up until next Tuesday night. I'll do my best to get it to you on time, but I can't promise it.  
**

* * *

Ruby squeezed Noir's shoulder. "If you need anything, don't be afraid to call me. You have my number. If I'm not available, I'm likely on a mission somewhere."

"Okay…" Noir looked away. "I'm just more worried about Argent."

"Same here." Ruby stood up. "Take care of yourself and your dragon. Recovery starts with you." She walked out of Noir's room and walked down the stairs. Noir's aunt and uncle stood in the living room on the main floor.

"How is he?" Noir's aunt asked.

"He's a strong one." Ruby stopped right in front of the couple. "I've never seen someone so put together after being through that. He's not even trying to look strong, it's all real." She nodded. "He's a hero himself."

Noir's uncle sighed and relaxed his shoulders. "I was worried about that."

"We all were." Ruby paused. "Argent, on the other hand, needs some serious help. He's three months old and hasn't said a word. That's not normal for a bonded hatchling."

"Is there anything we can do for either of them?" Noir's aunt asked.

"Keep them calm. Don't do anything that could remind them of what they've been through. No problem or worry is too small. I'll tell you two what I told him. You have my personal Scroll number. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to call. Time of day doesn't matter. Noir's one of us. He gets as much of our attention as anyone else." A reminder blinked to life in her bionic eye. "I've got to be at a meeting on the other side of the planet. I've got to go."

"Thank you for everything you've done." Noir's uncle extended a hand.

"It's my pleasure." Ruby shook the offered hand and did the same with Noir's aunt. She left the house and looked at the side yard. Cerise was curled up around the horse sized dragon. Argent was small for a dragon his size too. Being dragonnapped and tortured at such a young age had to have done more damage than anyone thought. Not even Orchid's kisses had an effect for long.

Cerise raised her head toward her Rider. Her ears drooped down the side of her head. _Do we have to go?_

"You know we do. Arya and I were speaking in the Ancient Language."

Cerise whimpered then returned her attention to the young dragon. She nuzzled Argent's head then stood up. _Let's go before he guilts me into staying._

Ruby watched the silver dragon as she approached Cerise. Argent didn't even twitch, his eyes never left the spot of grass in front of him. _I don't think he's going to be guilting anyone, Cerise._ She climbed up her dragon's side and pat Cerise' neck. Her dragon took off and flew toward the nearest lake. Ruby looked back over the outlying village as Cerise flew over the walls. It looked decently defended. Noir and Argent should be safe in there.

A couple of between worlds spells later, Cerise flew over Mor'ranar Vera. Several other dragons flew around, most of them not giving Cerise as wide of a berth as they used to. At least word was getting around that Ruby and Cerise didn't want the reverence that Riders showed the Elders before the fall.

Cerise flew to the keep and landed on one of the landing pads. Ruby dismounted and they walked into the large building together. The pair walked up the stairs to the meeting place in the Hall of Colors. When they arrived, everyone else was already there. Arya, Aaron, Weiss, Velvet, Violet, Avrart, Brom, Oromis, all of their dragons, and the senior Eldunarí of course.

" _Sorry we're late,"_ Ruby said. _"We decided it would be better to go a little long with Noir and Argent."_

" _Understandable."_ Arya nodded. _"What are their conditions?"_

" _Noir is more put together than I was after being kidnapped, Argent needs so much more attention that I am not qualified to give."_

 _ **Can he not come here to speak with the Eldunarí?**_ Nalia asked.

 _ **Not unless we carry him,**_ Cerise said. _**I've scanned his mind. He cannot care for himself. Argent has only eaten because Noir's relatives have provided meat for him.**_

" _As much as we're all concerned about those two,"_ Weiss interjected, _"we have much more to discuss."_

" _Weiss is right."_ Arya faced Brom. _"I believe you have something?"_

Brom nodded. _"I have noticed a peculiar trend that started among Remmartian Riders that has spread to the Alagaësians. Some claim they no longer want to be associated with the Riders. That is not their decision to make."_

Aaron sighed. _"I was worried about this. Remmartians are a lot more free-spirited than Alagaësians. When they want to do something, they'll do it. When they want to stop, they will. They're in it for the experience. Loyalty isn't as strong among them."_

" _What_ _ **do**_ _they want to do?"_ Ruby asked. _"I'm sure we can find places for them if it's not something that's common around here."_

" _They have many wants, exploration, excitement, jobs that are unique to Remnant, the list is not short."_

 _ **I'm assuming this excitement doesn't involve fighting Grimm?**_ Saphira asked.

Brom shook his head. _"There are various forms of excitement they seek, some of which I nearly attacked them for even thinking about. Some of them want glory in combat which we will not allow, others want nothing to do with a sword."_

" _Right now, we're the only ones that can provide housing for their dragons,"_ Ruby said. _"We'll hold onto them through that, but that's not how we should retain Riders."_

" _There are various positions with the Riders that need to be filled,"_ Avrart said. _"I know as we grow, I could use help with logistics."_

Arya straightened up. _"Brom, make me a list of everything these Riders want to do. We will see if we can fit these into the Riders."_

" _You will have it by the end of the day."_

" _Weiss?"_ Arya faced said Rider. _"Do you have an update on egg couriering?"_ It looked like this meeting was going in a clockwise circle.

" _I do."_ Weiss straightened up. _"One of my couriers reported that two of her eggs hatched, one in Narda and another in Lithgow. It sounds like our new Riders are eager to learn and serve."_ She looked down at the table in the middle of all of them. _"But… I am worried about one egg Saphira and I have been carrying with us since my first runs."_

 _ **It's the last egg that Galbatorix held hostage,**_ Saphira growled. _**It's been on nearly a hundred runs around Remnant and Alagaësia. We haven't heard so much as a squeak from it. It hasn't moved either.**_ Her growl turned into a whimper. _ **We're starting to worry that something might have been done to it during its time in captivity.**_

" _Not necessarily,"_ Aaron said. _"While I was only an apprentice courier, I was taught about many things that could happen while looking after eggs. Some hatched on their first run, others were carried around twenty years or more. But I don't know the history of that egg,"_ He faced Umaroth's Eldunarí. _"Has Gleilna recovered yet?"_

 _ **She has,**_ Umaroth said. _**I spoke with her two days past. She had just regained her sanity. Weiss and Saphira, I will inform her you two are now in charge of couriering dragon eggs. She has more experience in dealing with eggs than anyone.**_

" _Thank you."_ Weiss gave the Eldunarí a small bow. _"We will appreciate the help."_

Arya straightened up and crossed her arms. _"There is something I want to address now. Ruby, I am sure you saw this problem coming. I have received several communications from the original four Remmartian kingdoms. The councils are getting concerned about our strength. They are worried about us potentially using it to gain power or land."_

Ruby shook her head. _"I got plenty of that when I revealed the Wyvern. It's only going to get worse when I finally get Irolon's fighter built, and then all the other vehicles I'm going to modify."_

 _ **Is there any way to please the councils?**_ Glaedr asked.

 _ **They all have their own demands,**_ Fírnen growled. _**Some of them conflict. There is no pleasing all of them.**_

" _The only thing that would shift their attention away from us is to bind ourselves completely to one Kingdom."_ Arya shook her head. _"We all know that is unacceptable."_

" _We do have the strength of a Kingdom now,"_ Aaron said. _"They may have cause to be worried."_

Weiss turned her head to Aaron. _"Are you saying that we would attack the Kingdoms?"_

" _Not at all. Humans just fear the unknown and those who have more power than them. While we have fortified our position here, we can operate from anywhere in the world and can create our own supply chains. If we do go rogue, it would be hard for them to fight us."_ Aaron shrugged. _"I am simply trying to see things from their point of view."_ Ruby blinked. _That_ was a first, at least to this level.

" _I am looking for options,"_ Arya said. _"I will consider anything."_

" _We definitely have the support of Alagaësia,"_ Ruby said. _"As shaky as the student exchange at Beacon has been since it's started, it's been successful and has provided huge benefits for everyone on the other side."_

" _None of them can take on a Remmartian Kingdom,"_ Aaron said.

 _ **Not without heavy use of magic,**_ Nalia added. _**As much of an advantage as it is, it can't take down Atlas.**_

Ruby gave her husband and his dragon a look. There went Aaron's points from earlier. _"You think I'm talking about war? Despite everything we've done here, that's only a small part of what the Riders have done through history."_ Ruby faced Arya. _"Since the technological infection has already spiraled out of control, I propose we should encourage more sharing of knowledge on both sides. While Alagaësia won't have much technology to contribute, the stories and the history of several completely different cultures will catch the interest of so many on Remnant."_

Weiss' jaw dropped as she stared at her partner. She touched her mind to Ruby's. _How did_ _ **you**_ _come up with that?_

 _I've been thinking of it for a while,_ Ruby thought back. _Started when I was still leader of the Riders._

" _I will consider it."_ Arya looked around the table but no more suggestions came up. She focused in on Aaron. _"How are things in Vale?"_ The meeting went much the same way around the table. Ruby had to stop herself from rambling over her progress on the new Eldunarí interface. All around, things sounded like they were going fine if not great. But… why did Arya skip over Violet? Why was Violet there in the first place? As good as she was, she wasn't anywhere near command level.

When the circle made it back to Brom, Arya looked around the room. _"Only Qrow Branwen and the Academy Headmasters may know what I am about to say. Am I understood?"_ There were nods all around. Ruby thought she knew what this was about. She never read Violet or Avrart in. It looked like that was about to be taken care of. _"To those of you who don't know, we have a known enemy here. She may be just as dangerous if not more than Galbatorix."_

Avrart looked at Arya like she had grown a second head. _"Is that even possible?"_

" _We are not underestimating her. The Grimm have a queen, and she is a Shade named Salem."_

Violet's shoulders slumped. _"Grimm Queen?"_

" _Shade?"_ Avrart growled. _"Why didn't we know about this before?"_

 _ **We don't need any Riders going out to try to kill her themselves,**_ Cerise growled. _**Ruby barely survived her first encounter, and she was more experienced than most Riders are today.**_

" _Yes, I'm a Shadeslayer,"_ Ruby said. _"I killed Durza through because I had an advantage he couldn't possibly know about. I had a shot with my bionic arm and I took it. I doubt I could get that lucky again. He was strong, fast, and smart. He had thirty years at most to train. Salem has had millennia. I wouldn't be surprised if Salem is stronger than Galbatorix ever was, even with all the Eldunarí."_

Saphira cocked her head. _**As much of a threat Salem is, I believe that is an overstatement.**_

" _Maybe not pure magical strength,"_ Ruby continued, _"but she's had that long to create spells and wards. Not to mention however much energy she's placed into gemstones throughout the centuries."_

" _Then there are all the difficulties of fighting a Shade on top of that,"_ Aaron added. _"Salem will not go down easy."_

" _I am sure some of you are wondering why you are now part of a small group that knows this."_ Arya looked at Violet and Avrart. _"Violet, you are investigating the attacks on the Nevermore bases outside of Vale."_ Ruby shifted on her feet. She didn't like that Aaron kept those attacks a secret from her for as long as he did, for multiple reasons. _"Salem freed the Nevermores from prison. The headmasters have used their influence to keep Salem's existence a secret in the past. I must ask you to do the same. We do not need panic to spread, and we do not know what Salem would do if her existence is revealed."_ She faced the logistics chief. _"Avrart, you will be working with Weiss to make preparations for scouting missions and an eventual assault."_

Ruby straightened. _"I take it Atlas' satellites surveyed Manchu?"_

" _They have, but I'm afraid that we have gained no information on Salem's whereabouts."_ She pressed a button on the table in front of her. A hologram of Remnant appeared over the center of the table. Only… the entirety of the fifth continent was blacked out. _"Qrow delivered the information personally yesterday. This is the complete map Atlas' satellites compiled."_ Arya pointed at Manchu. _"It appears Salem didn't want us to know where she is."_

" _Are these the same satellites they're using to map the ocean?"_ Violet asked.

" _They are,"_ Weiss said, _"but since the satellites themselves are controlled by the military, they can restrict what information is allowed to go public. I'm sure they'll be able to fake the map when they release the rest of it. They've done something similar before."_

Arya pressed another button and the map disappeared. _"She has the power to conceal an entire continent from view from space. Let that be a testament to her power. I do not know how many Eldunarí it would take for that to be possible for one of us."_

Ruby quirked her lips. Satellites were their best shot at finding Salem with having the entire continent searched without risking many lives or equipment. Ruby briefly discussed autonomous fighters to scout the continent with Ironwood before she stepped down. Hopefully that would still be an option. _"As long as we don't step foot on that continent without a plan."_

" _We will avoid that if at all possible."_ Arya looked around the room again. _"If that is all, we will disperse for the day."_ She focused in on Ruby. _"I would like to speak with you before you return to Vale."_

Ruby nodded then faced her husband. _"The van's at the end of the tunnel. It could use some fuel though."_

" _I'll fill before I pick Angel up."_ Aaron and Nalia left the room, followed by almost everyone else. The only ones left on legs were Ruby, Arya, and their dragons.

" _Please, walk with me."_ Arya gestured to another doorway not used by any other pair. She walked toward that with Ruby right behind her. Cerise was about to follow but Fírnen made a strange mixture of a growl and a hum. After a few seconds of silence, Cerise' joy poured into her Rider. Her ears rose and her own hum burst from her chest. She turned toward the door she came in from and pounced out of it. Fírnen followed much slower.

" _I take it something happened with one of her hatchlings?"_ Ruby asked Arya.

The elf nodded. _"One of her wild children is in the city with her mate. I believe that dragon is carrying eggs of her own."_

" _Cerise is going to be a grandma?"_ Ruby shook her head. _"I still have a hard time wrapping my head around her having her first clutch when she was three. That just seems so wrong to me. I know dragons age and mature differently than the rest of us, but it still kind of creeps me out."_ She paused. _"I take it this isn't about something you want to be done in RnD?"_

" _You are…"_ Arya paused, _"…not entirely correct. I have received multiple requests from various divisions for a harness for dragons to carry objects and people without using their paws. It makes landing difficult."_

Ruby made a note in her bionic eye. _"I'll get on that when I'm ready to mass produce the new Eldunarí interfaces. Shouldn't take more than two weeks. Now, what was the main thing you wanted to talk about?"_

" _I wanted to ask how you have been faring since you have returned to duty."_

" _Honestly, it started off pretty shaky. After those first few weeks…"_ Ruby sighed in contentment. Her lips curved up on their own. _"I'm having the time of my life. I'm working with weapons—I'm switching completely over to Brightanium, by the way—people are coming to me for advice on things I can actually give advice on, I'm working from home most of the time so that's more time spent with my daughter, and I can still get out in the field like I've wanted to since I was a kid. I still have the occasional nightmare, but I think I'm over it for the most part."_

" _It's good to hear that you are recovering. Morale was low after your initial announcement. I have noticed it increase steadily since you helped raid that farm."_

" _I try."_ Ruby's smile faltered. _"It's not all good though. I've been thinking about it for a while, but I might have to hand the plans for my bionic limbs off to someone else. I've been thinking about it for a while. Just one person supplying bionics for all of Remnant doesn't work... and I've kind of been ignoring it for a while because I wasn't right in the head."_

" _I'm sure some of the Riders Brom mentioned would take up that mantle."_

" _Maybe. It requires highly specialized skills for everything there. If they're Alagaësian, they likely won't have those."_ Ruby paused. _"Although, it would be nice to keep it in the Riders. Then I'll know for sure that no one's trying to turn a profit off it. On another note, I'm thinking about going back to school to get a degree in counseling. I'm told as I would have been classified as a Counselor on Vroengard, so I might as well commit to it. That… and so I can help people in Argent's situation… and to have people in the profession give me the respect I deserve."_

" _You have the respect of the elves when it comes to this. That is not something to be taken lightly."_

" _I know, but the professionals here with a degree think they know everything over someone who learned in the field and by doing. Who knows, I might learn some things while doing that."_ Ruby paused. _"What about you? How has being Head of the Riders treating you?"_

Arya hesitated and for the first time that Ruby knew of, the elf looked worried. _"There are times I cannot help but think that my mother was right. I cannot hope to accomplish what those who have come before me have."_

Ruby couldn't help but smile as the two walked outside to another veranda. _"Really? You? How do you think I felt? I had to start from nothing. The only other Riders were my close friends and family. I had to oversee all this coming back."_ She gestured to the city of Mor'ranar Vera beneath the keep. _"Everyone did their own part, but they all came to me for just about everything. Yes, I built the Riders we see today. I buillt the foundations,"_ Ruby faced Arya again, _"you're strengthening those while building on top."_ She faced forward again and started the long walk to the city proper.

" _Maybe."_ Arya followed Ruby out of the keep. _"I suppose this is all so overwhelming."_

" _Talk to Umaroth about this. He'll tell you how unprepared he and Vrael were for taking over themselves."_ Ruby looked out over the city. Cerise was in one of the central plazas with a much smaller red dragon in front of her. She was nuzzling her daughter while covering her with a wing. Yep. That was a pregnant dragon alright.

Ruby looked out over the ocean. She thought she saw a bunch of dragons flying over the island a few miles off the coast. _"What's going on out there? Training?"_

Arya shook her head. _"Not entirely. You wanted the Riders to be able to hold our own prisoners. I have directed Aithlin to build a prison on that island. If the Kingdoms wish to be rid of some of the more dangerous prisoners, we will accept payment to house them as well."_

" _See? I would never think about something like that."_ Ruby paused. _"Why are you suggesting this? Are we not in a good place right now?"_

" _Yes and no. We are fully capable of responding to and protecting anywhere in Alagaësia. If we only worked there, we would be fully self-sustainable. However, Remnant poses a few additional challenges, mainly in the form of ammunition and things that need power."_

Ruby nodded. _"I take it we don't have as much Dust here as we thought?"_

" _Burn Dust and Lightning Dust, yes. No others. Weiss predicts we could fuel this city for centuries, even with expansion. Propellant for the weapons will last even longer. But we don't have the equipment necessary to refine large amounts of Dust, nor the ability to produce equipment other than basic weapons."_

" _That does leave us with a huge disadvantage. Will we be doing much with the iron deposits west of here?"_

" _We have more than enough to both trade away and use for ourselves. I am sure that more tradable resources will follow"._

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. _"And that's more than I understand."_

" _My point is that we will not be able to be self-sufficient like we were before, but we will hardly be weakened by our current position."_

" _The Kingdoms here have thrived since they're all so interconnected. Some people have said we're becoming a Kingdom, so it only makes sense we're involved in the same things."_ The conversation between the two Riders devolved into small talk, though from the sound of it, Arya was too focused on work and not anything else. Ruby knew that feeling from years ago. She had a few plans to get the Head of the Riders out in the world. Maybe getting back to her old team would help her out.

Just as they reached the outlying buildings, Vert landed in the road in front of them. Velvet dismounted her dragon and approached the other Riders. _"Something come up?"_ Ruby asked.

" _Noir's test results came in."_ Velvet handed a tablet to Arya. _"I thought the two of you would like to see it."_

Ruby looked over Arya's shoulder. Most of it was text, but there was an outline of Noir's body with a red highlight in what looked like his digestive tract. There wasn't anything for Argent. _"What is that?"_ Arya pointed at the red line.

" _Tapeworm."_ Velvet folded her hands in front of her. _"We were so worried about everything else, we overlooked this possibility. Our tests here revealed this."_

Ruby sighed. _"So Orchid and I got everything… Well, physically anyway."_

Velvet nodded. _"I'm just glad we got to him before anything could be done to them."_

 _ **But what are we going to do for new Riders and dragons?**_ Vert asked.

" _What do you mean?"_ Arya asked as she handed the tablet back to Velvet.

" _It's something some of our newest Faunus recruits have said when one of my staff or I give them their physicals."_ Velvet's ears drooped. _"They're worried what happened to Noir and Argent will happen to them."_

Ruby clenched her teeth and fists. She wasn't mad at the Riders, far from it. She knew that fear, she lived it. Of course, they'd be scared of _those_ monsters. They were kids. _"One more reason to find them and take them out for good."_

" _But what can we do? We can't keep them here if they don't want to be. If we place too many wards around them, we'll hinder their development. I doubt many of them would appreciate having guards or constant surveillance either."_

Arya brought a hand to her chin. _"I will speak to Weiss about this. She will have insights on what to do."_ She paused. _"Why didn't you bring this up at the meeting?"_

 _ **We didn't know how widespread this was until after we returned to the hospital,**_ Vert said. _**Velvet's doctors asked her about it when she picked up their reports.**_

Arya nodded. _"Very well. Thank you for your report."_ Velvet nodded and turned away.

A portal appeared over the ocean near the coast. Ruby focused on that. _"Looks like someone's coming in."_

A smallish teal dragon Ruby didn't recognize flew through the portal. An elf's mind touched Ruby's. _**Ellesméra is under attack!**_

Ruby nearly jumped with the force of the mental yell. Velvet and Vert stopped and looked up as well. Arya took a single step toward the flying pair. _**Fly to us, now.**_

 _Ruby, what's going on?_ Cerise called. _You seem scared._

 _Apparently, Ellesméra's under attack._ Ruby closed her natural eye and her bionic zoomed in on the approaching messenger. The elf on the dragon's back held her right arm close to her chest. Blood was dripping down it. Her dragon's left wing had a large tear in the membrane. _Get over here now. We're flying out soon._

Cerise mentally growled. _I'll rally the others on the way._

The Riders on the ground backed up to give the injured dragon room to land. The teal dragon's wing thrusts grew more and more labored as he approached until he fell out of the sky into the street. Ruby jumped forward to start tending to his injured wing. She spared just enough attention to see Velvet helping the other Rider to the ground.

Arya walked over to the injured Rider. _"Tell me what happened,"_

" _We were training like Master Oromis wanted us to while he was here,"_ the young Rider breathed. _"We heard a roar not belonging to a dragon, then we saw a bird the size of a mountain fly out of a portal right over Ellesméra. I don't know how many other Grimm flew and fell through it. Take it from my head."_

Arya's eyes lost their focus. Her mouth dropped open. _"How?"_

As the wing stitched itself closed, Ruby took her focus off the healing. _"How bad is it?"_

Arya closed her mouth and her eyes regained her focus. _"Level ten, against a city that has no established defenses, and mostly Alagaësian Grimm. They don't stand a chance."_ Arya stood up and faced the ocean. _"Not without us."_ Arya ripped her Scroll from her belt. "This is Rider Prime. Ellesméra is undergoing a massive Grimm attack. All combat capable Riders not on critical tasks are to respond immediately."

Ruby backed away from the injured dragon to open landing space. _Cerise, you coming?_

 _I'm almost there._ A few seconds later, Cerise swooped over the buildings lining the street and landed in front of her Rider. Her teeth were bared and ears pulled back. _Let's kill some Grimm._

Ruby jumped onto Cerise' front right leg and her dragon took off right after. Before they touched down on the beach, the Rider started the between worlds spell. By the time she finished, a dozen pairs flew above her. The portal opened and the swarm dove through. A couple of stragglers and Arya and Fírnen came in later. When it looked like only Vert was still in the sky, Ruby climbed to her dragon's back. When her mate passed, Cerise jumped through the portal after him. Ruby let the portal close behind her.

Ahead and deeper into the forest, it looked like over half of all current Riders were flying over the edges of Du Weldenvarden straight toward Ellesméra. Others would be flying in from other elven cities, more still would have to go to Remnant before returning to Alagaësia. This was an impressive thunder flying in here. The problem was not all of the Riders had Huntsmen training, and not all those that did were far along or were any good. All these Riders and dragons against a level ten Alagaësian Grimm attack? This was going to be a bloodbath.

Cerise flew to the head of the pack to fly behind Fírnen. Saphira joined a few minutes later with Nalia for once being the slowest to catch up. None of the dragons or Riders spoke to each other. They all just prepared their weapons while their dragons focused on speed. Ruby looked at the air force behind her. For the first time, she heard just how the flock of dragons got its name. The sound coming from several dozen dragon wings was incredible. If they weren't flying to battle, it would have been cool. The back of the pack was flanked by the Wyvern and the old combat Bullhead.

Several hours after the flight started, Ruby saw smoke on the horizon. She drew both her scythes and extended her helmet over her head. Her visor zoomed in on the horizon. It looked like there were quite a few Grimm ahead, but not as many as she feared. Where was this massive Grimm that elf from earlier spoke of…

A massive black beast rose from the trees with a splotch of gold and a few other colors hanging on it. Ruby stiffened. Glaedr and a few other dragons were fighting the Roc of Solitas. Ruby keyed her mic. "Wyvern, get up there and take that Roc down by any means necessary."

 _Copy that,_ Halcyon said. _Kicking on the afterburners._ A second later, the Wyvern shot past, creating a sonic boom behind it.

" _Riders, here's the plan,"_ Arya's voice came into Ruby's helmet. _"Kingdom Response Forces, listen to your leads. Any apprentices, stay close to your masters. They lead you on other tasks. Any independents, follow Ruby Shadeslayer."_

"Independents, join frequency RRSB." Ruby created that one and waited for others to join. Only a few people joined in, with Weiss surprisingly being one of them. Cerise turned away and flew toward the edge of Ellesméra. The dragons in the squad banked to follow. "Okay Rose Force, we're going in with no intel of how many Grimm are there. We'll leave the big guy to the response forces. We'll go on perimeter control. Keep the Grimm contained. Help people as you see them." She got a chorus of acknowledgments.

Saphira flew up alongside Cerise. _We'll follow your lead, Ruby,_ she thought. Weiss nodded her agreement.

 _Take half of us and circle the other direction. We'll cover more ground._

 _Got it,_ Weiss said. _See you on the other side._ She started calling out names of dragons, then they all curved in the other direction.

When the leading edge of the dragons reached five miles away from the city, another portal formed above what looked like the clearing of the Menoa tree. Ruby grit her teeth. _Reinforcements._ Ruby was about to call it out on the Rider wide frequency when dozens, if not hundreds of Grimm rose from the trees. She aimed her weapons on the ambush, ready to blast the leading edge…

But all Grimm flew toward the portal. A few Manticores and Nevermores faced and shot their own projectiles at the incoming dragons, but the vast majority flew toward the portal. They were… retreating? That was new. The Roc of Solitas was among them with only Halcyon peppering it with missiles and Dust rounds. No other dragons flew in pursuit.

Ruby stared at the ground below. Fires from Manticores raged throughout the city. Animals streamed away from their former safety. A few Grimm roamed around, which Ruby shot on sight each time. Gunshots from behind her said her group was doing the same. When they reached the outlying homes of the living city, dead bodies filled the gaps between trees, quite a few of them too. Nothing could be done about those. Some strange gunshots came from the center of the city, but it looked like another group was flying in that direction. They'd help the survivors.

As Cerise circled toward the Menoa tree, Ruby noticed differences in the trees. Of course, some were charred and broken, others… it looked like a fairytale haunted forest had taken over that part of Ellesméra. Branches and even leaves looked like they were sharp enough to cut bone. Tree trunks grew spikes, though some looked like the spikes were shot into them. Ruby felt like the Menoa tree could have done that to her if she hurt it while retrieving the Brightsteel for Máni Bláto. She wouldn't past the tree to do all this.

Cerise flew over the clearing that held the Menoa tree and yelped. Her wings hitched before she hung in the air. The rest of the squadron stopped behind her. Ruby couldn't breathe as she stared at the corpses of dragons and Riders below. Some pairs looked like they had been completely killed. Others… Riders wailed at the lifeless forms of their soulmates. Dragons roared at the sky while protecting their Riders that would never rise again. A hatchling that couldn't be more than a month old nudged a young elf missing a good chunk of his chest. Aaron's Vale Response Force was already there, but they had to be overwhelmed. Weiss and Saphira's group flew over the clearing from the other side and stopped much like Ruby's.

"Rose Force," Ruby whispered into her mic, "if you have substantial medical training, get down there and help the survivors. Everyone else, keep patrolling." Most of the dragons from behind Cerise dove for various places on the ground. Ruby continued searching the area for the worst off. Cerise flew around the Menoa tree… Glaedr was missing a wing with Oromis nowhere to be seen. The massive dragon laid on one of the few places that looked soft in all the gnarled and spiked roots.

Cerise dove for the golden dragon's side. She landed softly as some of the spikes in the roots pulled back into the wood. Ruby jumped off her dragon's side and used her Semblance to run to her former Master. She found Oromis with a large gouge in his chest with no light in his eyes lying on one of Glaedr's paws. His mind was similarly empty. It was at that point Ruby noticed Glaedr wasn't breathing either. No Eldunarí lay anywhere.

"No…" Ruby stumbled back as she stared at the two corpses. Those two couldn't have left Mor'ranar Vera an hour before the Riders learned that Ellesméra was under attack. They were fighting only a few minutes ago. They could have sent someone ahead… she did. Ruby looked skyward and sought out the Wyvern. _Halcyon, what the hell happened?_

 _I'm sorry, Ruby,_ Halcyon whimpered. _They were beyond anyone's care when I arrived. I did what I could to save the others, but I was too late to help them._

Ruby shook her head and drew her mind back. She didn't know what to be angry at… To hell with that, yes, she did. Salem did this. Salem and the damn Relic of Knowledge. It's the only way anyone could get anything this deep into Du Weldenvarden by magic. Salem could get anywhere she wanted to. She did exactly what she wanted to. Come in, kill lots of people and dragons, get out. What else could go wrong?

Yang's mind touched her sister's. _Ruby, we have a problem._

 _Yes, we do,_ Ruby returned. _Oromis and Glaedr are dead._

 _Oh…_ Ruby felt Yang's anger rising. _As bad as that is, this might be worse. I found Queen Islanzadí. She's alive, missing a hand, but alive. But we're at the place they were holding Sol._

Ruby slumped her shoulders. _Dead?_

 _Worse. Right before he died, one of her guards said she was taken._

Ruby huffed. _Now Salem has the Summer Maiden too._

 _Ruby,_ Cerise interrupted her Rider's thoughts, _tend to the living now, mourn the dead later._

 _Yeah…_ Ruby turned back to her dragon to grab her gloves from the saddle. She wasn't going to handle blood with bare hands if she could help it. _Let's get to work._

* * *

 **Yep. That happened.**


	79. Choice

**Second week in a row I'm uploading from a phone, but now I can say I was on vacation last week. Oh my gosh, I needed it. Ziplining, far too many (or not enough) Krispy Kreme, a Disney quality theater production, and an office/game room/theater room with a seven foot projector screen... that was so nice. Still can't say what's happening this weekend because it's not official, but it's pretty major for me.  
**

 **Enough of the Facebook status update. To this.**

* * *

Ruby stared at the diamond hammer that laid on the conference room table. She tilted her head to look at the staff Arya carried. As far as she knew, this was the first time two Relics were in one place. At the same time, she could only feel the immense energy and Aura in the room if she touched her mind to one of them. She turned her head the other way to face the Fall Maiden. "Let me guess, Ironwood put forth another round of arguments as to why we shouldn't possess another Relic?"

"I thought he was going to explode." Pyrrha shook her head. "In the end, Oscar and Glynda talked him down. None of them are happy. Frankly, I'm not happy that we have two of them. It makes us way too strong, and it makes us a target."

"Not even Salem would be foolish enough to attack us," Arya insisted. "Two Relics outweigh the power of one."

"She has one for now." Ruby crossed her arms. "She got an army into Ellesméra. What's to stop her from making a portal into the Vault beneath Shade and taking it out without anyone knowing what's happening? With the Summer Maiden under her control, she doesn't even need to do anything special." She faced Arya. "I know I first created brightanium with that staff. What other spells can it make?"

Arya raised the staff in front of her. "I am not sure. Umaroth explained the dangers of this Relic when it was first given to me. I have not attempted to use its power for anything. Given the circumstances, I would think now would be the time to test it."

"You're the boss." Ruby stood back from the table. "The room is yours." Pyrrha joined Ruby by the wall.

Arya tilted her head back and pointed the staff at the ceiling. A bright green light appeared near the center of the ceiling before it faded out of existence. A few seconds later, a strong wind blew through the room. If there were papers around, they'd be flying everywhere. As soon as it started, the wind stopped. Arya lowered her head and looked at the staff. She cocked her head but nothing happened. A little later, Ruby felt her wards getting stronger, then even more wards being added. She could have sworn her Aura was getting stronger too. She looked down at her hands. Her skin was a little redder than normal with her Aura flared. Just when she thought the growth was done, her Aura started growing more and more. Her Aura almost became opaque as it overcharged. It didn't feel like a temporary thing either. Ruby looked at the two others in the room. Their Auras were flaring as much as hers.

"Arya, that's enough." Ruby held a hand out toward the elf. The Aura flow to her stopped and started to fade back to translucency. Arya faced the Elder. "We are strong enough already. We don't need any more Aura."

The elf narrowed her eyes. "If we were strong enough, Salem would be dead and Ellesméra would never have been attacked."

"We can't change what happened in the past." Ruby raised her bionic arm. "I turned this back into a natural arm and changed it right back. That's to much power. We can do great things without playing god. Overpowering our Auras? If I'm feeling this right, it would take a blast from an Atlesian frigate to take us down."

"That was my goal. One of us three has the best chance of killing Salem. I merely gave us a better chance of doing it."

"By making us nearly invincible?" Pyrrha asked. "In my competitive days, I was often called invincible, but I was no more skilled than many of my opponents. This, we can't be matched by anyone."

Arya narrowed her eyes and glared between the other two women. "Are you two saying you could go rogue?"

"Who's to stop me from going out there and enforcing my will on people?" Ruby asked. "Sure, I could think I'm protecting the people, they could see it a whole 'nother way." She gestured at the Relic. "With that thing, I could have shaped Remnant in whatever way I wanted to. Everything would have been perfect according to me. Others, it could have been hell. We defend people, but if good people stop doing things because they're afraid of retaliation from us, we've become the people we want to stop."

"I understand your concerns, but this is war. We all need to make choices that we never would before. I will accept your request to no longer increase your Auras, but I will do everything necessary to defeat Salem." Arya turned her head toward the command level landing pad. "I need to be elsewhere. Find out what this other Relic does and report back to me." She walked around the table and left the conference room.

As soon as the door closed behind the elf, Ruby sighed. "That could have gone better." After she said that, her Aura returned to its natural transparent state.

"Is she okay?" Pyrrha asked. "I've never seen her act so aggressive."

"That's all the elves right now. Quite a few of the Eldunarí too, including Umaroth. Elesméra was attacked, something that hasn't happened since the elves' war with the dragons. Most of the city was wiped out with a good chunk of it burning. The city's most dedicated guard and so many people in Islanzadí's court were killed. With the dragons… we lost six with three more on suicide watch since they lost their Riders. A similar number of people are in the same place. Besides that war and the Fall, only a really bad hurricane has a higher kill count at one time. They're all understandably angry." Ruby shook her head. "I just didn't think Arya would fall to that too."

Pyrrha nodded. "I can understand that." She faced the hammer on the table. "Now, what does this do?"

Ruby picked up the hammer and looked it over. Much like the Relic of Creation, nothing on the Relic itself gave away what it did. All anyone else would see is a hammer that for whatever reason was made of diamond. "The Relic of Creation could make just about anything. How does that work with choice?"

"The Two Brothers," Pyrrha brought a hand to her chin. "That's the story based off these, right?"

"Yeah…" Ruby nodded. She didn't believe all it, but it was all they had to go off of. "They gave us the power to create and destroy, the knowledge of how to do those, and the power to choose which to… do…" She stared open-mouthed at the Relic. A huge part of her screamed to throw it away, but another said that was the reason that she needed to be the one to protect it. "Please don't be right."

"You think you have an idea?"

"Yeah…" Ruby locked eyes with her friend. "I think this makes people or animals do whatever the wielder wants."

Pyrrha straightened and stared at the Relic as well. "Oh. That's…"

"Powerful." Ruby slumped. "If I'm right, I don't want to test it. At the same time, I need to know what this thing does if I ever need to use it."

Silence reigned in the room. Ruby couldn't take her eyes off the Relic. How could she do it? "You can test it on me," Pyrrha said.

Ruby whipped her head up. "No. I couldn't do that to you."

"Which is why you can." Pyrrha grabbed Ruby's left shoulder and squeezed. "I know you wouldn't take advantage of me. I can take what you have in mind."

The Rider nodded and took a few steps back. She raised her left arm, pointing the Relic at Pyrrha. Ruby didn't even try to hide her shaking arm. She was about to break one of her rules she never wanted to break. _Hop backward three times._ As soon as her thought finished, Pyrrha did exactly as Ruby thought.

Pyrrha blinked and looked down at herself. "I suppose you told me to do that?"

"Yes, I did." Ruby brought her left arm back to her side and stared at the Relic. "I can…" She shook her head. This could very well be worse than making someone a Name Slave. At least with that, you needed to know someone's True Name to do anything. This… she could… "I can make anyone do anything."

"But _will_ you?" Pyrrha shook her head. "I can't think of anyone else I'd trust more with that."

"You have a point…" As much as Ruby loved and trusted her family and their dragons, none of them knew what it was like to be forced to do something against their will. Not even Weiss or Cerise knew. Ruby sighed and let her left hand and the Relic hang by her side. "That doesn't mean I have to like it… and I still have to test the limits of this thing. I'm going to need to head out for that."

"Grimm?"

"If I can help it," Ruby raised the hammer again but jerked it to the side before aiming it at Pyrrha, "I am never using this on a person ever again. If I ever use it, it will be on Grimm or Salem herself." She sighed. "I'm going to have to disappoint Angel again, but I need to do this."

"I don't think Rusty and Sarah will mind staying a little while longer. They like Halcyon and everything they can do in the Hall."

"Are you sure Rusty doesn't just like Viki's game collection?"

Pyrrha laughed. "I suppose there's that too."

"Well, let's head up." Ruby walked out of the room and stared at the Relic as she walked. The diamond hammer shrunk in her hand until it could fit in a pocket. She was still surprised that another Relic besides Creation could do that. The Maiden stuffed it in by her Scroll as she waited for the elevator. When the doors opened, the women stepped inside. Ruby fought herself to smile on the ride up. She didn't need to worry any of the kids.

The elevator opened and the happy laughs of kids poured in. Ruby stepped out to see Angel and Sarah running around with Halcyon right behind both of them. Yang, Viki, Jaune, and Rusty sat in the projector 'room' with what sounded like Lario Kart on the projector. A few steps away from the elevator showed that was exactly the case.

Ruby focused back on her daughter. "Angel, could you come here for a second?"

Angel turned her head toward her mom then jogged over while Halcyon kept chasing Sarah. "Yes, mommy?" Angel asked.

"I'm sorry, sweetie." Ruby bent down, resting her weight on her knees. "I'm going to need to go out on mission."

Angel slumped her shoulders and she poked out her lower lip. "Again?"

Ruby was about to reprimand her daughter for pouting, but she had been out quite a bit lately. "I know. I know I promised you we could go see that movie, but things change. We can go sometime later this week. But since _I'm_ the one who promised, I'll pick you up something from Viki's on the way back. How's that sound?"

The girl perked up and beamed up at Ruby. "Thanks, mommy!" Angel reached up and hugged her mom.

Ruby returned it right away. "You're welcome, sweetie." She kissed the top of Angel's head then straightened out of her daughter's arms. "Auntie Yang's in charge while I'm gone. I'll be home before supper… hopefully. I love you, Angel."

"I love you too, mommy." Angel turned around and ran back toward her running partners. Her Aura wings popped out, flapped, and carried their host off the floor. Angel swooped over Sarah and Halcyon making the other girl fall to the floor laughing. Whatever game they were playing, they were sure enjoying it.

The Rider turned around and walked toward the main dragon door. As she passed the projector, Yang cheered, followed by Rusty. Ruby faced the projector. If everyone used their normal characters, Yang and Rusty came in first and second with Viki not far behind them in third. Jaune… seventh place overall. He was normally pretty good. He must have gotten screwed over near the end.

Viki looked over the back of the couch at Ruby. "Hold on a second." She stood up and jogged over to Ruby. "I need to ask you something."

"Sure." Ruby stopped and faced her sister in law. "What's up?"

"I've… actually wanted to ask this for a while…" Viki looked away and rubbed the back of her neck. Her knees bent and she pulled her arms in. It wasn't quite as bad as her going back into her former state of mind, but it was close.

"Hey." Ruby squeezed one of Viki's shoulders. "Don't worry, you can ask me anything." She hoped the Relic in her pocket didn't influence the former slave.

Viki nodded. "How do you know... if a man likes you? Like how Aaron likes you?"

Out of all the things Ruby thought Viki could have asked, that wasn't one of them, not that it was a problem. "I take it you have your eye on someone?"

"Maybe. There's a regular customer at my store that's really friendly, he looks good, and he's said some really kind things to me."

Ruby smiled. Her little sister had a crush on someone, probably her first ever. "I'd love to help, but I'm not the woman to ask. It took years for me and Aaron to figure it out ourselves. You might have better luck asking Pyrrha, _might…"_ Ruby cocked her head. "Nah, they weren't in the best shape either. Neptune laid it on a little thick… I think Velvet would be your best place for that kind of advice."

Viki sighed. "I thought so."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby flicked Viki's shoulder. "Any guy would be lucky to have you. It's their fault if they don't see it." The Rider continued backing up toward the dragon door. "I've got to go. Good luck with that and on any races." She turned around and left the house.

Cerise lay curled up on the pad. She raised her head as she faced her Rider. _I thought you'd never get out of there._

"You know how much I'd like to not be leaving at all." Ruby climbed onto her dragon's back. "Fly us south of Armen. Grimmcast says it's supposed to be pretty bad around there."

 _Got it._ Cerise jumped off the pad and banked west. _Fly there, or do we hop worlds?_

"Just fly. I need some time to put my head together before I do this."

Cerise banked a little more to fly straight toward their destination. _They're Grimm. You can't do this to Grimm?_

"I don't want to control anything like that. It's too close to what Galbatorix did to me." Cerise turned her head back but didn't say anything else. Ruby didn't think her dragon wanted to risk causing another attack.

Most of the rest of the flight was spent in silence. A few Nevermores and Griffons flew to intercept Cerise but Ruby shot them through the eyes with Crescent Rose' laser. Killing them was better than changing how their minds worked than turning them into her slaves. She was going to do that later anyway, but the less she did, the better. She didn't need more stains on her mind.

A red warning message appeared in Ruby's bionic eye. It said 'INCREASED GRIMM ACTIVITY IN THIS AREA. CAUTION ADVISED.' Ruby stretched her mind forward. There was indeed an abnormal amount of Grimm in the area. It wasn't enough to scare Ruby, especially with the supercharged Aura she recently got. "Take us a little further in, Cerise. We're almost there."

 _Any place in particular you want?_

"The place with the highest concentration."

Cerise raised her ears and turned her head back. _Really? After all you've said?_

"If necessary, I need to know how many Grimm I can control." The words felt like gunk coming out of her mouth. "What better way to do that other than taking control of as many as possible?"

 _If you say so._ Cerise looked forward again. _I'd just rather not have to help you fight off nightmares again._

"You and me both, Cerise." Ruby drew the Relic of Choice from a pocket. It grew back to its normal size. She touched her mind to the Relic. Her already overcharged Aura flared even more. Ruby closed her connection before things got out of hand.

Cerise hovered over a clearing where a pack of Beowolves gathered. They all growled up at the dragon. A few flying Grimm rose from the trees as well. _Are **you** going to do something or are **we** going to do something?_ Cerise asked.

Ruby raised the Relic above her head. "Stop!" After a light drain on her Aura, all Grimm she could see stopped in place with the fliers only hovering in place. "You didn't feel anything, right?"

 _Nothing, but try to only address the Grimm from now on._

"Will do. If something goes wrong and my Maiden Magic doesn't do anything, come get me." Ruby dropped from her dragon's side down to the forest. She pointed the hammer at the Beowolf pack below. "Clear!" The Grimm made a hole in the clearing, giving Ruby quite a bit of breathing room. She landed and stared at the Grimm surrounding her. They all growled and glared but they didn't even paw the ground in front of them. That was a good sign.

Ruby stretched her mind out as far as she could, which was quite a lot farther than she remembered.… there was an elf in her range as well, but considering he didn't pay attention to Ruby, that could wait for another time. Judging by the feel, she thought that she felt Alagaësian Grimm as well. Either the Relic was doing a lot, or her enhanced Aura from Arya's buff was. _All Grimm, come to me._ She felt another slight drain on her Aura as she felt each and every Grimm feel the urge to approach the Rider. Ruby knew that urge. She could never forget it. It was like she knew all the Grimms' True Names.

One by one, then pack by pack, Grimm surrounded Ruby. None of them approached farther than the circle made by the initial pack of Beowolves. The creatures were of all kinds and sizes, from Creeps to Deathstalkers in the clearing to a couple Goliaths and Giant Nevermores standing over the trees, staring down into the clearing. All their Alagaësian varieties were there too. Ruby felt the hate and the hunger coming off all of them without even touching their minds. Ruby glared back at all of them, her right hand ready to snatch up Máni Bláto if need be. These Grimm either weren't leaving this clearing alive or of their own free will.

As soon as the last Grimm Ruby felt were in the clearing or the surrounding trees, the Rider raised the Relic of Choice. "All Grimm, listen to what I say. You are no longer bound to Salem. You listen to and take orders from me." All growling and hate aimed in Ruby's direction disappeared in a blink. "You are to no longer attack people, whether they be human, Faunus, dragon, dwarf, elf, Urgal, or werecat, or any others that I've forgotten or we haven't met yet. Any exceptions come through me, Cerise Longtail, Aaron Benson, or Nalia Quickwing. You are to only interfere with civilization to protect them. I know you are attracted to negative emotions. Use that to help people. You are no longer hunters, you are protectors. Avoid fights with people and Grimm who are not with us. If people attack you, let them have their way. If other Grimm attack, return the favor."

As she spoke, the Relic tugged on her Aura and something… different happened to the Grimm she could see. Slowly but surely, all their eyes turned from red to blue. The color on their masks did the same, on the Remmartian Grimm anyway. Grimm with blue eyes… where had Ruby heard of that before? She saw it from Weiss' Summons but could have sworn she heard about it on actual Grimm. No matter the reason for this color change, the tension in the forest vanished. Some of the Creeps and Beowolves took on the stances of overly friendly dogs. Other Grimm took similar stances to be less threatening. It looked like the Relic worked like a charm… now hopefully Ruby didn't miss anything or the Relic took care of anything she missed.

"Now go!" Ruby waved the hammer in an arc in front of herself. All the Grimm turned around and walked back into the forest with the original pack lagging behind. Ruby sighed and let her upper body hang. She was in their minds as she changed the way they thought. That was… terrible. That was on Grimm. People… Ruby shuddered. She looked at the hammer in her left hand. "As long as Salem is alive, you are mine." The hammer shrunk again and Ruby stuffed it into a pocket.

She raised her head and froze. A single blue-eyed Beowolf was approaching her. Ruby grabbed Máni Bláto and extended it to sword form. The Grimm recoiled but kept approaching. The Rider focused on this Beowolf's mind… it no longer felt like a Grimm's mind, more like Zwei in his later years. Ruby stayed in place as she watched the Beowolf approach. The creature stuck its snout toward the human's left hand… and began licking it.

Ruby blinked and she let her sword arm fall. This was… something. She never expected to see friendly Grimm outside of movies, much less have a Beowolf licking her hand like a big dog would do. "Huh." Ruby collapsed her weapon, clipped it back to her belt, and pet the Grimm's head. The Beowolf's fur was surprisingly soft. She'd never taken the time to feel one of these like this before. "You're a good boy." The Rider stepped back and looked up. "Cerise, I'm ready for pickup."

Cerise swooped down and landed in the clearing. The Beowolf yelped an surried away like a frightened dog. _Are we heading home?_

"No. There's an elf out here that I don't recognize." Ruby climbed up her dragon's back. "I want to know what that's about." She stretched her mind out toward where she felt the elf the first time. It felt like he was roughly in the same position. Once again, he didn't react. Ruby was getting better at not letting people know she was in their heads.

 _I feel him too._ Cerise jumped out of the clearing and flew directly toward the elf. _I could have sworn I've felt the minds of all elves on Remnant._

"So I'm not crazy." Ruby hung her head. "Then again, I suppose some positions needed to be filled after what happened in Ellesméra."

Cerise hummed sadly. _I suppose that's true._ From there, she concentrated on flying.

When they were only a mile away from the elf, Cerise roared and angled down toward him. She crashed through a few trees to land in a much smaller clearing. Ruby looked down at the bewildered elf. The armor and sword at his hip said he wasn't a diplomat.

The two exchanged the traditional elven greeting with the elf going all the way for formality. With that done, Ruby made a point of looking the elf up and down. _"You're a long way from a city to be a guard for one of the embassies."_

" _I am not a bodyguard, Shadeslayer."_ The elf shook his head. _"I am here to scout the surrounding area for Queen Islanzadí."_

Ruby and Cerise exchanged a look. Since when were the elves doing that? The Rider faced the elf. _"May I ask the purpose of your mission?"_

" _I am to determine the strength of the Grimm in the area. My Queen wishes to know the strength of our opposition here before she calls more forces and potentially our allies here."_

" _ **More**_ _forces? The elves have soldiers here?"_

The elf blinked. _"I thought you knew."_

" _Knew what?"_ Ruby didn't like where this was going.

" _After the Grimm attack on Ellesméra, Queen_ Islanzadí _ordered that we have a permanent presence on Remnant. Fort Castle was chosen as our staging ground."_

Cerise growled and dug her claws into the dirt. _**Fort Castle? That place of death?**_

Ruby grimaced for that and other reasons. She faced the back of her dragon's head. _"Let's go."_ Cerise jumped out of the trees and banked toward the mountain fortress. Ruby leaned her head forward and held it in her hands. "Oh, this is not good."

 _Stay with me, Gem._ Cerise soothed. _Focus on me._

"I'm not thinking like that, Cerise. Just… in what way is breaking the interkingdom treaty like this a good way? If this was Atlas, I guarantee you this would mean war. Even with Vale, this is bad."

Cerise turned her head back for a second then faced forward again. _The elves were the ones with the least complaints on the restrictions. I get they're upset, but… this? In Fort Castle of all places?_

"If Islanzadí is there, she better have some answers." Ruby ran through different scenarios in her head to try to figure out why they would come here. They knew Grimm couldn't attack Ellesméra on their own. Did they have some other way of finding Salem, or was this all just trying to kill as many Grimm as possible? Was this a land grab… that couldn't be it. There was plenty of unclaimed land east of the Hadarac Desert. What were they thinking?

About a half hour later, the fortress built into the side of a mountain came into view. Ruby slumped a little in the saddle. The last time she was here, she helped quite a few kids out of hell… and she found out her mom died protecting her. She saw that battle from her mom's perspective later on as a training exercise. She didn't have any good memories of this place and she didn't think that would change anytime soon.

It looked like the forest started to take over the large walls… except it didn't look entirely natural. Trees and vines climbed the walls in straight lines. Cracks in the concrete were filled with other greenery. The slots for the massive cannons on either side of the main gate were untouched. It looked like a few wooden watchtowers were in the process of being sung into shape. The keep and the other buildings and fortifications behind the main walls didn't look touched. Still, the elves had to be here since right after the attack to do all this. That, or there were a heck of a lot of elves down there.

As Cerise approached the outer wall of Fort Castle, a call ran out on the walls. Like every other time the elves saw a dragon approach, they were happy and likely awaiting to help the dragon and Rider in any way possible. They were probably about to be upset by what Ruby had to say.

Cerise flew over the outer wall and slowly dropped to the ground. A messenger elf trotted over to Ruby. The Rider dismounted and the two ran through the elves' greeting again. _"Is Queen Islanzadí here?"_ Ruby asked when finished with the greeting.

" _She is. I can lead you to her if you wish."_

" _Please, lead the way."_ Ruby gestured toward the keep where she figured the Queen would be. The elf woman nodded and walked toward the keep. Ruby took the time to look around. Her eyes stayed way too long on the spot her mom died. The rest of her body followed suit. She felt tears come to her eyes. She had her mom in her head for so long. Why did it hurt like this?

" _Shadeslayer, are you well?"_ The elf messenger asked.

" _Yes."_ Ruby ran an arm across her eyes. _"It's just… this is where my mother was murdered when I was a toddler. I found out when I was fifteen and my team raided this place."_

The elf's jaw dropped. _"Oh. I… I'm sorry to hear that."_

" _It's been most of my life now. I've come to terms with it. Please, take me to the Queen."_

After a second, the woman nodded and started leading the way toward the keep again. Flameless lanterns lined the halls inside the building. Other than that, there was no other obvious indication of elven habitation. They walked through several halls to a place that Ruby had never been. They ended up in what looked like an old storeroom. Islanzadí and Däthedr stood on either side of a desk. The former had a new bionic hand attached to her right arm, given to her by Ruby two days after the attack on Ellesméra. The room itself was only ten feet high and the hall outside was only six across. This couldn't be where _they_ held Vert.

The Queen looked up and straightened. She gave Ruby a diplomatic smile. _"Shadeslayer. This is a surprise."_ Däthedr turned around as well.

" _I met one of your scouts out in the forest."_ Ruby crossed her arms. _"Why are you out here? You're violating the treaty that you signed when you first make contact with Remnant. Not only that, this is a protected Vale historical site. You are going to cause quite a few problems just by being here."_

Islanzadí's smile disappeared. _"I believe you have stated on multiple occasions that you are not strong in politics. Leave that to me."_

This wasn't going as planned. _"You know that it was Salem that attacked Ellesméra. What good will-"_

" _It will teach our soldiers how to combat Grimm,"_ Däthedr interrupted. _"With the Huntsmen trained at Beacon Academy training others, no Remmartian Grimm will be able to stand in our path."_

" _I trust Lord Däthedr's assessment,"_ Islanzadí continued. _"While we may not be able to go against Salem in the foreseeable future, our warriors will be ready for when we do. You will not change my mind about this, Shadeslayer."_

Ruby sighed. She _did_ have the Relic of Choice, so she _could_ change Islanzadí's mind but that would never be an option. When she was still Leader of the Riders, she tried to convince the Queen of several things, but once she set her mind on something, especially when she says it in the Ancient Language, it was pretty much impossible to change her mind. She wasn't going to try when Islanzadí was so dead set on this. _"But why Fort Castle? Surely you know the history of this place."_

The Queen relaxed her shoulders. _"Arya told us as much when she suggested this place."_ That caught Ruby off guard. _Arya_ suggested Fort Castle? _"I know what happened in the Faunus War, I know what happened when your team assisted Atlas in taking this place from the Nevermores. The rooms we suspected to hold the prisoners have been sealed off. No one will be treated that way here again."_

" _Well, there's that."_ Ruby paused. _"If Vale comes after you here, I can't support you. The Riders shouldn't either."_

" _We would not expect you to. Now if you excuse us, we have work to do."_ The elves returned their attention to the table in between them.

Ruby turned around and left the room. _The elves are in Alagaësia, likely to stay… what's going to happen now?_

* * *

 **Drastic times call for drastic measures... that's the saying, right? I've having a brain fart.**

 **On a far more serious note, I have a grandpa in the hospital. We're not sure how long he has. If you're the type, my family could use your prayers.**


	80. Suspects

**So, that big thing I've been talking about for a few weeks, it's happened. For the first time since 1998 (but I was two years old then, so I don't remember it, so it's really the first) I've moved. I am now living out of my parent's house. Had an internet snafu so I was worried I won't be able to get this to you. We also got a cat the day after we moved in. My sister/roommate named the kitty Cinder. I don't think** _ **that**_ **Cinder, but that's what I think of. Ours is much cuddlier than Salem's minion. We just got internet wired in last night. I would have uploaded last night but I was at a baseball game. Now what I'm finally set up, hopefully it gets easier from here on out… wait, how much is my rent again?**

* * *

"Let's see…" Ruby leaned against the side of the minivan in the parking lot of the Bullseye by the entrance to the Armen Highway. A list of errands was displayed on her bionic eye. "That's done, that's done…" Items got checked off one by one as she ran down the list. All her heavy shopping was done for the day, bills were mailed, cookies were bought… it looked like all that was left was picking up some more ammo for Máni Bláto and Crescent Rose. Since she didn't need to pick Angel up from practice for another two hours and parking downtown absolutely _sucked,_ Ruby started walking toward her favorite Dust shop. Cerise would have flown her everywhere like she used to, but her wingspan was too big to fly and land anywhere that didn't have a dedicated parking lot or a park or plaza nearby.

An all too familiar sound came from overhead. Ruby looked up in time to see a couple of Bullance fighters fly overhead. She grimaced. Vale found out about the elves occupying Fort Castle a week after Ruby did. The two weeks since had been a tense standoff. The few times reporters asked her for comment, she told them the truth. She couldn't convince the elves to leave and she couldn't convince the Riders to make them leave. No shots had been fired, but Ruby couldn't help but think they were a sneeze away from an interdimensional war, one that Vale couldn't hope to win. Ruby couldn't understand all the politics behind it, but she did know that no Remmartian Kingdoms liked land being taken away from them, even if it was uninhabited and unused land. Ruby shook her head. She'd done everything she could. If it did come to a war, she'd find some way to stop it, even if it meant putting herself physically in between the two sides.

"Enough of that," Ruby whispered to herself. "No one's that stupid." She focused on the road ahead again… and saw Viki walking with a man holding each other's hands. Ruby pulled her lips into her teeth to fight a squeal. She didn't need to interrupt Viki's first date… if only they weren't walking right toward each other… and if only Viki didn't look right at her sister in law.

"Ruby!" Viki waved. The guy she was with looked at Viki, then at Ruby. He stiffened and suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"Hey, Viki." Ruby walked through the crowd toward her sister in law. Viki moved in for a hug, so Ruby gave it to her. The Rider pulled away and looked at the guy. "I take it he's the one you told me about?"

"Yes, he is." Viki smiled at her date. It wasn't anywhere near the looks that Ruby and Aaron gave each other, but there was a spark in there that Viki hadn't given anyone else.

"Uh, hi." The guy's accent sounded south Animan like Scarlet, already quite the catch. He was between Ruby and Viki in height and had a yellow and brown color theme in his jacket and khaki pants. He stuck a hand toward Ruby. "Flax Carson."

"Ruby Rose, Viki's sister in law." Ruby shook Flax's hand. His name and his face ran a couple bells. "Did you go to Beacon?"

"Yeah." Flax took his hand back. "I was two years behind you."

"I thought you looked familiar." Ruby held her hands in front of yourself. "I won't take up any more of your time. I've still got some errands to do."

"Okay." Viki nodded. "I'll see you at home sister." She grabbed Flax' hand again and they walked off together. Flax wanted to walk a lot faster than Viki.

Ruby shook her head. "I didn't think people I went to Beacon with got starstruck." She started walking again to the Dust shop. A Huntsman, a south Animan, a shy guy, was he a cuddler too? That would be about perfect for Viki… well, unless he turned out to be a jerk, in which case Ruby would feed him to Cerise for hurting her little sister.

 _I don't know about him,_ Cerise told her Rider.

Ruby hitched her steps. _Something wrong?_

 _I don't know. Something about the way he talked…_

The Rider turned her head around. Viki and Flax were out of sight but Ruby still could find her sister in law's mind if needed. _Should I follow?_

… _No._ Cerise huffed. _I'm being paranoid. I don't want to share._

A small smile regrew on Ruby's face. _Neither do I, but I don't want to hold her back either._ Ruby faced where she was walking rest of the trip to the Dust shop was uneventful. She got in and out fast, then walked back to the van without being stopped. With quite a bit of time remaining until she needed to pick up Angel, Ruby decided to drive home and kill time there. She wanted to get to work on a few new ground vehicles for Eldunarí to drive around. She had a few vehicles waiting in the vehicle bay of the house to give the Ruby treatment to.

A quick drive later, Ruby parked the van in the garage and grabbed a few bags from the back. She called for Yang and Halcyon's help as she brought her bags to the kitchen. Her sister could take care of that. Ruby waved to Cerise before walking back into the garage and to the vehicle bay.

Ruby turned a projector onto VNN for some white noise while she worked. She pulled up a file for an old firetruck she planned on turning into a tank and got to work. After a little bit of tinkering, something on the news caught her attention. It was a live shot of Fort Castle. One of Vale's Aerial Corvettes hung in the air about a mile away from the walls. That was new. Vale _really_ wanted the elves out. Ruby hung her head. Islanzadí wouldn't listen to her. Surely Arya realized how much of a mistake this was. She had to be talking her mother down, right?

When the news switched to another less interesting story, Ruby returned her attention to the plans. The design was almost finished, she just needed to figure out how it moved, which would ultimately decide its role. Reinforce the wheels for urban defense and light off-road or tank treads for rough terrain and little urban movement. She quickly worked up rough designs for both and rested her chin on her hands. They both looked good and when refined they'd be just as sturdy…. She'd need to ask the Eldunarí she had in mind for that particular vehicle to make sure.

As Ruby closed that file, something else showed up on the news. She dropped her jaw. _Another_ Nevermore controlled building had been attacked by a mysterious organization and Grimm. That was the first time that happened in almost two months. She was surprised that there were so many set up so quick when they were first torched. It looked like they found some more terrible people to recruit. Forever Fall… Cerise went out for a midnight snack last night. Maybe she saw something.

Ruby walked out of the vehicle bay, through the garage, and into the Hall. Cerise was curled up near the entry door. She looked outside at the approaching form of Nalia. "Cerise, you got a minute?"

 _Of course._ Cerise turned her head toward her Rider. _What do you need?_

"You went hunting in Forever Fall last night, right?" Cerise nodded. "You see or hear anything going on there?"

Cerise cocked her head. _What do you mean?_

"VNN just said another Nevermore facility was attacked last night. You know anything about that?"

Cerise growled and narrowed her eyes. _If I did, I would have helped the attack myself._

"With everything that was going on could it have been the… elves?" Ruby stared at her dragon. One of her lie detecting spells triggered. Cerise _lied_ to her? "Is there something you're not telling me?"

 _Why would I keep secrets from you?_

"You know I have spells that let me know when people are lying to me. One of those triggered."

Cerise froze in place. Her eyes widened and her lips sagged. _Oh… I…_

Ruby quirked her eyes. "Cerise, what's going on?" She looked over her dragon and she slumped her upper body. "You're covering for one of us, aren't you?"

Cerise whimpered and turned her head away. _Yes…_

"Oh…" Ruby looked away. Some of the Riders were loyal to a fault and had an Alagaësian sense of honor. Some of them might have sought Alagaësian justice. "Do you know who?"

 _Yes._ Cerise shifted on her feet.

"Who?" Ruby waited for an answer but none came forth. "Cerise, I need to know who did this." More silence. "Whoever is doing this is putting themselves in grave danger not just from combat. They're playing judge, jury, and executioner. Even with these guys, Vale won't like it. If it's a dragon…" Ruby looked away. "I don't know. Quite a few people still see you like animals, including most of the council."

Cerise growled. _You don't think I know that?_

"Then tell me who did this. We can keep them in the prison off the coast of New Vroengard to keep them safe from whatever Vale could do."

 _You'd throw one of us in prison?_ Cerise shrunk away from Ruby.

"Is that even a question? Yes! What's gotten into you? Whoever's doing this is committing mass murder. You know how much I hate them and want them gone, but this is not okay. They're criminals and they need to be-"

 _ **It's me!**_ Cerise pinned her ears back and her growl returned full force. _**I am the one who attacked all those places.**_

Ruby dropped her jaw and her arms hung by her sides. "You?"

 _Yes, me._ Cerise rose to her feet and glared down at Ruby. _The Nevermores aren't humans. They are Grimm with Aura. They have kidnapped, tortured, enslaved, and killed so many people, including you. They may not have killed you physically, but they did in every other way._ She narrowed her eyes. _I have no regrets. Neither should you._

"Neither should I?" Ruby narrowed her eyes. "How many people have you killed in these raids?"

 _Over a hundred Aura filled Grimm._ Cerise stopped growling. _If it makes you feel any better, I never killed anyone that wasn't there with the Nevermores or to set up an order._

"I…" Ruby shook her head. "I can't believe what I'm hearing." She turned around and brought her hands to the side of her head. She heard the dragon door open behind her. Aaron and Nalia were home. They'd back her up. Ruby rounded on her dragon. "Cerise, how could you?"

 _How couldn't anyone else here?_ Cerise' growl returned. _Everyone here is afraid of doing what needs to be done. Putting them in prison did nothing to stop them from doing this again. Killing them is the only option._

"We aren't murderers! I can't believe you would think like this."

Both Aaron and Nalia walked into the house looking completely out of place. "Is there something going on?"

Ruby gestured a hand at her dragon. "Cerise just admitted to being a mass murderer, and it sounds like she enjoyed it." Cerise' growl stopped.

Aaron stared at his wife while Nalia glanced at Cerise. "What are you talking about?"

"She's the one who's been attacking the Nevermore bases."

 _She's not the only one,_ Halcyon called. Ruby turned around and dropped her jaw. Halcyon trotted up with his head held high but tail dragging on the floor. Yang followed her dragon but much slower. _I joined my sister on all her attacks. Someone had to watch her back._

Ruby pulled her lips together and faced her sister. "Did you know about this?"

Yang winced. "The first one, yes. Not any of the others."

"Like that makes it any better!" Ruby whirled on her husband and his dragon. "What about you two?"

"Violet was beginning to suspect a dragon was involved," Aaron started, "but she didn't have any named suspects.

 _And I allowed them to go,_ Nalia said. Ruby whirled on her, her mouth dropping. _It is how things were done in Alagaësia. It worked there. Considering the amount of Faunus disappearing hasn't risen since the Nevermores escaped, it works here._

Ruby felt something break inside her. She felt water build up behind her eyes. "What's the matter with all of you?" she screamed. "We aren't murderers! We aren't criminals! Are you trying to become the people that we fight? That's not us! We don't get our way through fear." She glared around and everyone who surrounded her, daring them to defend themselves.

Aaron stepped forward. "Ruby."

"You're the one I'm the least mad at here." Ruby stuck a finger at her husband. "Be careful with what you say next."

"I… Nalia and I have fought and imprisoned over a dozen assassins coming after one of us since Angel was born." After his hesitation, Aaron straightened up and held his head high.

Cerise growled behind her Rider. _You what?_

Ruby clenched her teeth together. "So… you kept secret… the initial reason I hate secrets in the first place."

Aaron hesitated. "Yes. I wanted to tell you much sooner, but-"

"But nothing," Ruby spoke with the calmest voice she could manage. She looked at everyone around her. Cerise glared at Aaron like he just threatened Angel's life. Her muscles tensed like she was about to pounce. "Aaron kept secret that he was protecting the family. You murdered over a hundred people in cold blood."

Cerise' growl stopped and she loosened up. She looked down at Ruby with her ears drooped. _Ruby-_

"Don't." Ruby held up a hand. "Don't. Say. Anything. Else." She sealed her mind and started walking toward the garage. The others verbally and mentally called for her but she ignored them all. They were sensible enough to not approach her. Ruby stepped into the garage and looked at the minivan. Aaron would need it to pick up Angel later. Her baby girl didn't deserve her anger. Instead, Ruby used her Semblance to run through the tunnel all the way to its exit on the Armen highway.

Once back in the fresh air, Ruby took out her Scroll and dialed Weiss. It rang twice before her partner answered. _"Rider Weiss Schnee."_

"Hey, sis," Ruby sighed. "It's me. Mind if I stay at your place for the night?"

" _For the night?"_ Weiss sounded very confused. _"It's barely after noon."_

"I know, it's just… I am furious at everyone at home right now. Well, everyone but Angel and Viki, but that's a given."

" _I'd… think it would be a given for everyone. Spend the night?"_

"I don't think I'm going to be able to let this go before then." Ruby ran an arm under her eyes. It was wet when she pulled it away. "I don't want to explain over the Scroll."

" _O…kay. I'll let Klein know you're coming in. I'll be in when I'm done with my current project."_ Saphira growled on the other side. _"If my dragon lets me stay that long."_

Ruby grit her teeth. If she wasn't ready to give her own dragon the beatdown of her life, she would have laughed. "I'll see you then." She ended the call then walked into the city. "Why did they all…" Her throat tightened up, stopping her from continuing. Murdering so many people, betraying her trust by keeping some of the worst secrets… Why would they do that?

The Rider tried to keep an even face as she walked through Vale to the old SDC Hangar that Weiss turned into her home in Vale. She acknowledged a few people that called to her but never slowed down. It's not like she could tell anyone that the one she trusted most was a mass murderer and her husband betrayed her trust… Her eyes grew itchier and itchier as they wanted to leak.

About a half hour later, Ruby walked into the back alley by Weiss' house. She walked up to the front door and looked up at the camera. "Hey, Klein." She waved at the camera. "Can you open the door?" The lock in front of her clicked. "Thank you."

Ruby pushed open the door and stepped into a place much different than the one she built the Wyvern and Halcyon's Shell in. The entire floor of the main hangar area was covered in a blue, claw and scale resistant padding for Saphira to walk and sleep comfortably on. All of the catwalks were removed. The walls were painted mainly white with Saphira blue highlights scattered but not overbearing. Weiss, or at least the contractors she hired to do all this work, really made this place look good.

Klein walked out of what used to be the security room toward the Rider. "Ruby, it's good to see you again."

"It's been a while, Klein." Ruby walked over to the aging man and hugged him, which was returned right away. "I don't come down here enough." She pulled away and looked the much shorter man in the eyes. "I take it Weiss gave you a short explanation?"

Klein blinked and his eyes turned brown instead of their former yellow. "You said you've had a major disagreement at home. I can't imagine what's made you want to stay here and not there."

Ruby shook her head. "You don't want to know." She faced the far corner of the hangar that Weiss and Neptune used as their bedroom. For Weiss, it had to be pretty sparse. For just about everyone else, it had everything a house would need except a kitchen and a bathroom. Those were in another part of the building. "I'm just gonna wait for Weiss over there."

"Do you want anything while you wait?"

"No, thank you." Ruby gave Klein a light smile. "You're not a butler anymore. You don't need to tend to my every whim."

"Maybe." Klein shrugged. "But you are still a guest in my house. I will see to it that you are tended to."

Ruby sighed. "Well, if that's the case, do you have any ice cream here?"

Klein blinked again and his eyes turned green. "Coming up in a jiffy!" He turned around and practically skipped toward the kitchen. Ruby laughed to herself. Angel loved seeing Klein like that. Even Weiss admitted that personality was her favorite when she was a kid.

The Rider walked over to the sitting area by the bed and sat in one of the comfiest chairs she ever had the pleasure of knowing. She practically sunk into the plushiness. Ruby reached for the nearby remote and turned on a projector meant for humans. She turned on VNN to see if anyone else she loved wanted to stab her in the back.

After a few political stories that she just tuned out, Klein returned with an overloaded bowl of ice cream, complete with N&Ns, chocolate sauce, and a mountain of whipped cream… dealing with Weiss and Winter for so many years must have made him able to tell what people were really thinking and how to cheer them up. Ruby thanked the former butler and went to town on the sugar rush. It felt so nice to have something sweet come in instead of all the bitterness from before.

About an hour later, the hangar doors on the roof opened up. Saphira dropped down onto the padded floor, shaking the building. As her Rider dismounted, she turned her head to face Ruby. _Welcome to our home._

"I think I should be the one saying welcome." Ruby stood up from the comfortable chair. "I've been here for quite a long time."

Saphira snorted. _Fair enough._

Weiss walked around her dragon, trailing a hand on Saphira's scales. "Hey, sis. How you feeling?"

"Not the best." Ruby walked over to her partner and gave her a stronger hug than the butler. "I don't think I'll be leaving here today."

"That's what you said on the call." Weiss pulled away and looked at the empty bowl by Ruby's chair. "How full was that?"

Ruby looked at her former snack as well. "Counting the whipped cream, about a foot high."

Weiss blinked and Saphira growled like she'd been hurt. "Wow. You're _really_ not okay."

"Not one bit." Ruby shook her head.

"You want to talk now or continue to binge of Wayfarer?"

"Galaxy Trek first." Ruby rubbed the sides of her head as she walked back to her chair. "I've still got to figure out everything." She groaned and collapsed into the chair.

"Okay then." Weiss sat in the chair next to Ruby and grabbed the remote. "Resume Galaxy Trek Wayfarer binge." The projector switched to that and the show started playing from where it left off.

"Why are you home so early, anyway?" Ruby asked. "I didn't think you'd be around until much later."

"That would be her." Weiss pointed at her dragon and gave Saphira a weak glare. "She thought I was overworking. Stabbed a claw right through some of my paperwork."

 _You_ _ **are**_ _overworking,_ Saphira growled. _You almost missed Ruby's call and you've been more worried about numbers than the people those numbers represent._

"Cerise has come after me a few times for overworking before. Our dragons only want the best for…" Ruby took her eyes off the projector and looked at the floor. That certainly seemed to be why Cerise killed all those people in the first place.

Weiss never said anything in response. Saphira curled up in a ball while the partners 'watched' their show together. Ruby's mind was focused on other things. In comparison, Aaron keeping secret that he took care of quite a few assassins felt minor. Cerise… her little Cerise… a cold-blooded killer? This couldn't be real.

"You okay, sis?" Weiss finally asked. "You look like you've got something on your mind."

"Yeah…" Ruby wasn't ready to say that quite yet. She finally faced her partner. "Any news on kids of your own?"

Weiss blinked at Ruby. "Okay, you don't want to talk about it yet." She faced the projection again. "As for kids… no luck. I think Neptune and I have a non-verbal agreement that if it doesn't happen naturally, we won't do anything else." She shrugged. "With both of our jobs and neither of us wanting to leave them, it might be better if we don't have kids." She faced Ruby again. "What you and Aaron are doing with Angel is wonderful. We just don't think we can do it."

"Where is Neptune anyway?"

"He's out in Armen for a detective's conference. He won't be bothering us."

Saphira opened one of her eyes. _Because I know you are going to ask, Fírnen and I aren't trying. For now, we are content with our current clutch._ Her ears raised just a bit. _Our hatchlings are strong dragons. They would stand out even among those on Vroengard._

"That's good to hear. I haven't been able to keep up with all the dragons for quite some time." Ruby bit her lower lip and faced her lap. "Weiss, who am I talking to right now?" _No backing down now._

Weiss hesitated. "I don't know what you mean."

Ruby faced her partner, though her view was distorted from the tears she fought back. "Who am I talking to, my sister, or the second in command of the Riders?"

Weiss glanced at her dragon. Saphira snorted and nodded. The Rider faced Ruby again. _"Whatever you say here, we will not use against you or anyone in a Rider capacity."_

"Thank you." Ruby wiped an arm over her eyes. "For one, Aaron kept secret that he had taken out quite a few assassins coming to take one of us out. If that was it, I would have just yelled at him for a bit before we came back together and cuddled for the night… on top of everything else…"

Ruby sniffed. "Cerise and Halcyon were the ones that attacked the Nevermore's bases around Vale leaving no survivors. Yang and Nalia knew about it but they did nothing."

Weiss' jaw dropped and Saphira growled. "Those two?" Weiss asked. "That's not like either of them, especially not Cerise."

"To kill people just because, no. To protect me… Cerise would do just about anything."

"That's…" Weiss shook her head. "I don't know what to think about that."

"How do you think I feel?" Ruby brought her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. "I was just telling her that we couldn't let whoever was doing it get away with it, that they should be locked up somewhere… If it was anyone other than her and Halcyon, I'd throw the book at them now…" She shook her head. "I couldn't do that to my dragon or my sister's dragon."

 _If it makes you feel any better,_ Saphira started, _I doubt those two would get anything more than getting their snouts slapped._

Ruby faced the dragon. "What do you mean?"

Saphira pulled her lips back and growled. _Killing in that amount for revenge or sport is not our way, not even among wild dragons. Those two should be punished for what they've done._ She pulled her lips back together. _But I don't know who would want to. The Kingdoms see the Nevermores as terrorists or just below them. They might just pin medals on those two and leave it at that. Even if they did try to charge Cerise and Halcyon, their policy is to hand troublesome dragons to the Riders and ban them from the Kingdom. Do you really believe Arya would punish those two with everything that is going on here?_

"No…" Ruby sighed. "What do I do?"

"That's up to you, Ruby." Weiss gave Ruby a nervous, apologetic smile. "I just swore we would never use what you told us against anyone. We can't do anything."

"So it's up to me to punish those I love the most. I don't like doing that to Angel. This…" Ruby blinked away a few more tears as she faced her partner. "Do you ever see Saphira as a hatchling? Like… that little bundle of blue scales that wanted to cuddle and liked to pounce on Cerise' and Nalia's tails?" Saphira growled, sounding more embarrassed than anything else.

Weiss' smile turned genuine. "All the time, especially at night. She hums some of the songs I sang to her in her egg."

Ruby couldn't help but laugh. "Wow. That's cute."

 _I am not a hatchling,_ Saphira growled. _Don't talk about me as such._

Weiss gave her dragon a look. "I'm in your head. I know you like it."

Ruby held her smile for a few more seconds before letting it fall. "I love them both so much. How do I do something that fits the crime but won't hurt them too much?"

"Take all the time you need." Weiss reached over and rested a hand on one of Ruby's. "I like your company here."

"I won't be talking much. I've… got a lot to think about." For the rest of the day, the two watched their show with minimal talking between them. At one point, Klein brought in some _really_ good pizza for dinner. Apparently Weiss' veganism didn't apply to cheese, unless the stuff on here was made differently than Ruby thought. Either way, both Riders relaxed and started talking a little more. Ruby still hadn't figured out what she'd do about Cerise and Halcyon, but she thought she had a basic idea.

When night time rolled around, Weiss offered her bed to Ruby as she'd be sleeping with Saphira. Ruby turned her down. She planned on honoring her agreement with Aaron on not going to bed angry at each other… while she never made that same agreement with her dragon, she wanted to extend the same thing to her. Weiss grabbed a pillow from her bed and walked over to her dragon. She laid on the floor and Saphira pinned her Rider with a paw. Weiss wrapped her arms around one of her dragon's toes and Saphira rested her head right by her Rider's. It was the first time Ruby had seen those two do that. It looked cute but she knew the real meaning behind it and it lost all of its appeal.

Through the night, Ruby put some real thought into what she was going to say and do. She couldn't hate Cerise or Halcyon. She still trusted both of them with her life. She trusted them with Angel's life and True Name. She loved them so much, nothing was going to change that. They would undoubtedly feel the same way about her. Still… what could she do to them? Something had to be done. But what? All her ideas felt more like slaps on the wrist, or snout as Saphira put it. What would be enough what would be too far? Her ideas became more and more ridiculous as she grew more and more tired.

Ruby was still thinking about it when light shone through the few windows in the hangar. She ran a hand over her eyes and looked out the nearest window. The time appeared in her bionic eye. If she started walking home now, everyone would be up by the time she got there, and Viki and Angel would be gone for the day. They wouldn't hear any of it.

Not wanting to wake a sleeping dragon that wasn't hers, Ruby left the house without saying goodbye. Weiss would understand. Ruby walked back toward the tunnel to her home. She got a few stares that didn't feel normal like they knew something was wrong. Ruby hadn't looked at herself in the mirror before she left. She had to look like a zombie or something… then there were a few people that muttered 'pixie' under their breath. That had come up a lot more in the past few weeks as well.

She entered the tunnel and slumped over when she couldn't see the sky. No one could see her, why bother acting awake? After a second's thought, Ruby activated her Semblance and ran back to the garage. She didn't see Viki's car on the way or in the garage. As hoped, Viki and Angel were gone. There was no need to hold back.

Ruby took a deep breath, then opened her mind to those inside the house. She stepped through the door and into the Hall. Cerise lay curled up near the sitting area with her eyelids hanging halfway closed. Nalia sat nearby watching the projector. She didn't look nearly as tired. Aaron sat on one of his dragon's paws slouched over. Halcyon laid beside the dining table while Yang ate breakfast.

Cerise visible eye turned to her Rider. It widened with the pupil dilating. She hummed, drawing everyone else' attention. _Gem._ She raised her head and moved to walk toward her Rider.

Ruby raised a hand. "Don't. Move." She crossed the remaining distance to her dragon with everyone else in the house approaching as well. They had to at least have a good guess on what was about to happen. Ruby looked over them all with her same glare. "I am so disappointed in every one of you, all for different reasons. We all know what those are, so I won't waste our time listing them out."

She looked between Cerise and Halcyon. The punishments didn't fit the crime at all, but it was still all she could enforce without Arya's support... and they needed as much support in the fight against Salem as possible. "If I was still the Head of the Dragon Riders, you two would be in so much more trouble." Ruby focused on Halcyon. "No Gravity Dust for twenty years for you."

Halcyon's mechanical wings carpeted the floor. _Isn't that a little extreme?_

"If either of you were any other dragons, I'd have you sent to the prison island off Mor'ranar Vera for decades for what you've done. Feel lucky this is all I'm punishing you with." Ruby faced her dragon. Cerise' ears were drooped and she looked at her Rider with wide eyes. "You are to never go out without supervision for twenty years. I don't care if it's to take a bath, hunt, or use the bathroom. No more 'midnight snacks.'" Ruby paused. A tear dripped from her right eye. "I can't believe I've needed to resort to this."

Ruby looked between Cerise and Halcyon. "I need to both to swear-"

 _ **We already did,**_ Cerise interrupted. _**We can no longer go after anyone like that again.**_

"Good." Ruby shifted her gaze to Yang and Nalia. "You two. If either of you hear about something like this from any civilian or Rider, you bring it to me, the Kingdom Response Forces, Arya, or some combination thereof. Do I make myself clear?"

 _Crystal._ Nalia hung her head.

"Okay." Yang rubbed the back of her neck. "Ruby, I swear, I only knew of the first one."

"Like that makes it better." Ruby faced her husband. "You." She marched up to Aaron and looked him up and down. His eyes were red and he had bags underneath them. It looked like he had as much sleep as she did. Ruby had never wanted to slap Aaron more than she did at that moment. Instead… "Sparring session. Right now. I don't care that we're both dead tired. We are settling this, right now." She turned around and walked toward the main door. She stuck a hand toward her dragon. "Hitta." A second later, the compacted form of Máni Bláto slammed into her hand. She'd kick Aaron's butt, take out all her aggression, then they could fall asleep in each other's arms like they had so many times before. She didn't like being mad. Leave it all out on the pad.

* * *

 **Looking on the timestamps of this and the next chapter… I remember those weeks and I wish I didn't. If things don't make complete sense… blame my depression.**

 **Also, that Weiss death battle, saw that coming a mile away… Screw Attack, don't you** _ **dare**_ **put Ruby in there. Don't you** _ **dare**_ **animate Ruby being killed.**


	81. Daylight Raid

**Last major timeskip, I swear. I'm trying to rush toward the end here, even though I'm nowhere close to writing 'The End.' I am close to the last arc though. Not much else to say, except** **Grind abr Foldar** **means Gate of Worlds**. **You'll get it when you get there**.

* * *

Ruby crossed her arms as she stared at the map in the projector in front of her. "Are we sure this is the place?"

Winter nodded. "This facility was a Vale military base that was used in the Faunus War. Unlike Fort Castle, this place was properly decommissioned. All weapons and other technology were removed when Vale pulled out. However, the structures remained." She hit a few buttons on the table in front of her and an image of the old base appeared on the projection. Large, concrete walls surrounded several other buildings. It looked like quite a few others that were in Faunus War movies. "The walls were meant to take an initial Goliath charge upon their construction. They will likely have a similar strength today."

"Not that it will matter." Yang shrugged. "Unless they got AA."

Aaron shifted his gaze to Winter. "Would you mind telling me how the Atlesian Military received this information before anyone in Vale?" The Vale special ops commander in the room grunted her approval.

"It was not Atlesian Military," Winter said. "An SDC survey satellite passed over the area while searching for potential mining locations. One of their operators contacted us with this suspicious activity. A brief investigation showed it was the Nevermores that occupied this facility."

Ruby looked over every inch of the projection while her bionic eye created a schematic of the base with the floor plans of the initial base. She thought she had a good idea of how to go in. But it's proximity to Alagaësian territory could be a problem. "This is right on the border of Grind abr Foldar. Do the elves know that we're operating in their backyard?"

Spec ops commander Scarlet Joy faced Ruby. "I invited them personally to this meeting. Their representative declined the offer." Ruby grit her teeth. The elves' territory had grown considerably since they first occupied Fort Castle. They claimed most of the lightly defended land between Vale and Vacuo. Vale was lucky Bullworth didn't join them. The place started appearing on maps about a year after they arrived. Considering they'd taken in dwarves and humans as well and they'd started building their own settlements and they hadn't all killed each other yet, they were on Remnant to stay. They hadn't been recognized as a Kingdom by anyone yet, but they sure acted like it. This could be a problem if they pulled the sovereign territory card… unless they recognized it as a Rider led operation. That would change things in the team's favor.

"Who am I going in with?" Ruby asked.

Winter straightened. "I volunteer for the duty."

Ruby blinked. That solved the 'who is leading this mission' problem. "I'll be glad to have your help, General."

Yang gave Ruby a look. "As your bodyguard, I strongly suggest that you either not take this mission or let me come with you."

Ruby returned the look. "Denied. You aren't stealthy at all."

Yang shrugged. "Fair point. I guess I'll stick back with the rest of the air support then."

"I guess that leaves us to clear the buildings and take command." Joy focused on Winter. "With your permission, of course, General."

Winter nodded. "Granted."

"Okay then." Joy faced Ruby. "Find Alpha target and take him out if possible." She turned to Winter. "I know your set of skills includes stealth infiltration. Get in there, report any revisions to the floor plan, troop positions, anything that will make our jobs easier."

"You will have it." Winter faced the Elder Rider. "If you can turn me invisible, my skills will be enhanced."

Ruby inclined her head. "It's not a problem. When you're ready, Cerise is ready to fly."

"I am ready now." Winter looked at Joy. "You will have your intel." She led the way out of the ops center with Ruby right behind.

"Ever flown on a dragon, General?" Ruby asked.

"I have flown on Saphira once or twice." Winter never turned her head back. "I will have no problems on Cerise' back."

"Good to hear. It wouldn't be good to have a first-time flier going into a battle like this." Ruby paused. "I'm sure you can understand that going in invisible is more complicated than it sounds."

Winter nodded. "I can see how that can be a problem."

"I may have something that can help with that." The two women left the building and walked across the military base toward where the Riders' air force lay. In addition to Nalia and Cerise, Halcyon's and Irolon's Wyverns and a new Boarbatusk fighter piloted by Roula, one of the Eldunarí that originally 'defended' Ruby's mind in Galbatorix' throne room. The fighter wasn't the prettiest, but as Angel put it, the Borbatusk had a lot of dakka.

Ruby passed Winter and walked up to Cerise. She climbed her dragon's side and pulled out her spare collapsible helmet. "Put this behind your neck." She underhand tossed it to the General. "It'll pop up with the right thought. It's designed for my head, so it could feel a little weird… and you might want to do something about that bun. Not sure how that would interact."

Winter placed the box on her neck then pulled the pins that kept her hair up. Her hair draped to the bottom of her shoulder blades. "It shouldn't need to be cut, should it?"

"It doesn't with mine." Ruby stuck a thumb at her own hair of similar length. "I planned around this. Getting my hair caught in things _sucks."_

"Which is why I always wear my hair up." Winter climbed up Cerise' side and settled behind Ruby. "I don't know how your sister survives."

 _Wards,_ Cerise said as she stood up. _Lots of wards. Most things just slide right off her hair or make it flow in the wind._

"It's surprisingly complicated. I don't understand it all." With a thought, Ruby's helmet wrapped from the box behind her neck to encase her head. "This thing is sound proof so we can relay our information to everyone else. The visor will also outline the wearer's body when invisible. It took about two years for Yaela to figure that out."

"Interesting. What else can your creations do?"

"Classified." Ruby leaned forward and pat her dragon's side. "Let's get going."

 _Hold on._ Cerise raised her wings and jumped out of the base and toward the ocean. _ETA to water source, five minutes._

With a thought, Ruby cued her helmet's mic. "Wraith One, comms check."

" _Wraith two, comms check,"_ Winter said right after.

" _Squad hears you both, Wraiths,"_ Joy said. _"Find us a way in."_

" _Wilco. Wraith two out."_ Winter paused. _"Ruby, I know your history with target Alpha. Will you be okay with facing him?"_

Ruby closed her eyes. She took a breath through the nose and let it out the same way. "Yes. I have to be. Cerise won't be in the fight, so she'll help if needed… Plus, I got the family tickets for the Krakens game tonight. I have a feeling we'll be done long before then." Ruby allowed herself a small smile. Angel had turned into quite the middle school quarterback. She probably knew about the high school interest in her, but maybe not how much.

 _Ruby, focus,_ Cerise ordered. _We're taking done the man who tortured you. Focus now, celebrate later._ She dipped her nose to the river in front of her. _That is if the intel is good._

"Five and a half years of searching." Ruby grit her teeth. "I'm getting tired of all this. The sooner O'Donnell is behind bars again, the better."

 _Agreed._ Cerise landed by the river. _Waiting on you._ Ruby chanted the between worlds spell then again when they reached Isenstar. Once over the far side of the Emerald Forest, Ruby made herself and everyone with her invisible. She heard the others call that they left base and that they were an hour out. That should leave the scouts more than enough time.

An alert appeared on the left side of Ruby's visor. "Wraith one to Squad, we're nearing the target location. You'll be getting more info soon." Ruby didn't get a response other than two mic clicks. They heard.

The trees thinned out, revealing where the old military base rose on a plateau. Ruby stretched her mind forward. They didn't know they had incoming. At the same time, Ruby couldn't tell if O'Donnell was there. She never felt her captor's mind when she was first kidnaped and she never bothered to do that while he was in prison. For the first time, she wished she knew what went through that madman's head. Take him out, take out their central command, and take a lot of intel for other places.

 _I'm touching down._ Cerise glided to the ground. Ruby couldn't see her dragon, but she felt her tense, then the comparatively soft landing. _Do your thing. Don't make me need to get you two._

"Copy that, boss." Ruby slid off her dragon's back, grabbing her two weapons on the way to the ground. She looked at where she felt Winter's mind. Unlike her arms and legs, her mission partner didn't appear in a blue outline. "See you on the other side, Wraith Two."

" _Good luck, Wraith one,"_ Winter returned.

Ruby faced the base and ran the quarter mile without her Semblance. No need to clue them in by leaving rose petals. A few guards walked on the outer walls but none of them looked at Ruby. Most of them were bored out of their mind. Ruby couldn't blame them. It didn't feel like there were many Grimm around and they had no idea an attack was coming. That was good to know.

The Rider used magic to climb over the walls. Considering Winter never said anything at any point, she didn't need help. Ruby stood on the interior edge of the wall and looked into the base. A lot of slavers roamed around, some armed, some not. The important thing was that Ruby felt no minds of captives. As expected, this place wasn't a distribution point. Everyone thought it was a command and logistics base more than anything. If they were right, something in this place had to have records of every other Nevermore base in existence, if there were any others. Qrow and his spies had proven quite effective in that manner. It wouldn't be long until this place was friendly hands.

With her initial scouting done, Ruby dropped off the wall and walked to the building she thought was the command center. She kept her mind on Winter the whole while. The Atlesian General was moving toward what at least used to be the armory. Ruby could guess what the other infiltrator was going to do.

Ruby pressed up against the command center and waited by one of the doors. She listened to Winter call out a few things in the armory, including things she was sabotaging. It turns out all the fighters weren't overkill after all. They had some pretty impressive weaponry… for a few decades ago. Still, it would be enough to hold off a substantial Grimm attack. Not so much from a special forces and Rider raid.

The door next to her opened up and a woman with an assault rifle walked out. No one else was watching or right on the other side. Ruby slipped through the open door and walked through the building. There weren't any people in the hall, so there was that. She walked down the hall until she heard voices. The Rider slid against a wall and looked into the room. Several people were standing around a table, with maps and pictures of familiar people laid out. A knife was stabbed into her picture. She might return the favor later. None of the people were her target, so she kept moving. There were still other people in the building. One of them could be _him._

Ruby walked further into the building. She heard someone else talking. Another person joined in. Ruby froze and her heart rate monitor appeared in her bionic eye. It was _him._ Ruby swallowed and took a few shaky steps forward. _You can do this, Ruby. Just get visual contact and report in._ She felt Cerise send support of her own.

The Rider peeked around a corner and faced her torturer… on a projection. O'Donnell was raving at someone else about not protecting bases and 'product.' He was about to have another surprise incoming. Ruby stretched her mind to cover the whole base and the surrounding area. No one was saying the things O'Donnell was. Ruby sighed and turned her head away. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before cuing her mic. "This is Wraith One. Alpha target is not here. He's just on a visual call."

" _Copy that, Wraith One. Alpha Target is not present. Our mission is not compromised. We are still green to proceed."_

Ruby sighed then froze up. She never felt any of Salem's lieutenants the few times she's faced them. Could O'Donnell have received the same treatment? She started walking again, searching every room she came across. Every time she thought she found something important, she called it out over the comms. Joy responded each time with some variation of 'got it.' Winter was still doing the same thing. She even got a few fixed AA emplacements that could potentially take down the fighters and the dragons. With both scouts combined, it felt like they had the whole place mapped out. When the rest of the team arrived, they'd be able to make quick work of the Nevermores. When Aaron reported they'd attracted a few friendly locals, those odds improved big time.

" _Target location in sight,"_ Yang said over comms. _"Requesting permission to make ourselves known?"_

" _Granted. Take 'em out."_

" _You heard 'em, ladies. Let's light 'em up!"_

" _I'm not a lady,"_ Irolon said indignantly.

" _Quit complaining and breathe fire,"_ Roula ordered.

Seconds later, Ruby felt the ground shake from the countless dozen Dust rounds striking the earth. The signature _brrrrt_ of the Borbatusk's main gun came seconds later. More violent shakes came from missiles striking. Something told Ruby that most of the main defenses were now shrapnel.

"Wraith Two, meet me just outside the command center." Ruby started walking her way there as she avoided people running toward the exit… wait, she was invisible. Who said she had to play fair with slavers and terrorists? After the last few bases, it was time to make these monsters hurt. When the next one ran by, she swung her bionic hand at the man's stomach. He flew toward another wall and slammed halfway through it. "Actually Wraith Two, feel free to stay invisible and kick butt. That's what I'm doing."

" _Try not to get caught in the fire,"_ Aaron called. _"I don't want to file that paperwork."_

Ruby touched her husband's mind. _Gee, I feel loved._

 _I'll fix that when we get home. Stay safe._

Ruby felt her dragon recoil. _Really you two? Now?_ Cerise growled.

 _We're here, too!_ Nalia added.

 _Wasn't me, guys._ Ruby grit her teeth. _Aaron, you'll be fixing something, but with what I've seen in here, you're wrong about what._ She pulled back into her own head and ran down the hall in the direction she came from. The few other people she encountered, she punched into either the wall, floor, ceiling, door, whatever was closest. If these people were anyone else, she would have felt guilty. Against these people, it was therapeutic. It felt good. She'd taken out quite a few Nevermores while searching for O'Donnell. Punching them only got easier with time.

Ruby left the building and looked around. Two heavily armored Bullheads sat in between buildings while Vale special forces roamed about. Some of those mosters were bleeding profusely. Several feathers the size of people stuck out of the ground. Small arms fire chattered all over the place. The three fighters and two Guardian Nevermore Grimm circled the base, but for now their guns were silent. Considering the gunfire was quieting down, the last of the Nevermores had to be routed. Another victory for the Riders, but their main prize was nowhere to be found.

"Wraith Two, when ready, come to the main door on the command center. We'll be visible again." Ruby leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. There were enough people doing what they could. Taking one off the battlefield wouldn't hurt. She looked around the area. Maybe she'd see something others couldn't.

After a little bit more time, the special forces started escorting out the Nevermores that survived the fighting. Another armored Bullhead arrived and all the prisoners were loaded up into it. Still, there was no sign of O'Donnell. Part of Ruby was happy she didn't see him, the other, she wanted to punch him in the stomach, head, and nuts as hard as she could with her bionic arm.

" _Wraith One, this is Wraith Two,"_ Winter started, _"I'm right outside the main door."_

"I feel you." Ruby looked at where she felt Winter and started chanting in the Ancient Language. About a minute later, both women became visible. Ruby collapsed her helmet and shook her hair out. As much as the helmet was designed not to mess with hair, it still felt restrictive. "How'd this thing work for you?"

Winter's helmet collapsed… revealing her face and hair completely drenched in sweat. So _that's_ why Winter felt a little more frustrated than usual. "Besides being a little warm, it worked fine."

"Oops." Ruby rubbed the back of her neck below her helmet box. "Forgot about that. You know why I don't need that in my helmets."

"I do. Now, let's regroup with the strike team." Winter turned around and walked toward the Bullheads. Ruby followed at a distance. She could feel that the General wasn't exactly happy with her right now. Then again, she wasn't that happy with Winter. She said that O'Donnell should have been here and he was nowhere to be found. Ruby wanted to be done with these bastards. Now there was at least one more monster to take care of.

At the Bullheads, Joy was looking through a manila folder with a smirk. There were a few more under the one that had her attention. She looked up, snapped to attention, and saluted Winter. "General, we've hit the jackpot."

"Explain." Winter crossed her arms.

Joy dropped her salute and handed the folder over. "Locations of destroyed, existing, and planned locations, a list of what looks like all kidnapped Faunus over the past few months, and those who are affiliated with the Nevermores in any way."

Winter took the stack and looked through the top file. She nodded and flipped through a few papers inside. "Interesting. I'm surprised they have locations in Atlas as potential distribution points."

"What about O'Donnell?" Ruby asked. "Any sign that he's been here?"

"We are still working on that, Rider." Joy faced Ruby. "My men in the barracks broke into what they believe to be his quarters."

Winter looked at Ruby out of the corner of her eye. "The time between when Atlas received this intelligence and the attack was significant enough for Alpha target to vacate the area without us knowing."

Ruby shook her head. "I was _really_ looking forward to punching him a new one."

"I'm sure you'll still get the chance," Joy grunted. "He can't hide from us forever. It's not like he'll have anywhere to hide once we take out all these places."

"There's that." Ruby sighed. "Well, do you need anything from us now, or can we send reports through email as usual?"

Winter raised an eyebrow. "You allow that here?"

Joy gestured at Ruby. "Something that she negotiated years ago when she was still the head of the gold hoarders."

Ruby stiffened and she heard Cerise growl from somewhere. "I'm sorry, what did you just call us?"

Joy just stared at Ruby. "You didn't know that's what we call you?"

"Excuse me?" Ruby jabbed a finger at Joy. "I _never_ want to hear you or anyone else call us that again."

"What's the problem with that?" Joy narrowed her eyes.

Ruby clenched her fists. "What's the problem with insinuating Faunus have heat cycles?" Joy's eyes widened again but Ruby didn't wait around for a response. She stormed off toward where she felt her dragon. The Rider chanted in the Ancient Language and her dragon appeared by what used to be some kind of fixed weapon emplacement. She climbed up her dragon's side and pat Cerise neck. Her dragon jumped out soon after, followed by the other dragons, whether living or in a fighter.

 _The nerve!_ Cerise growled. _Why don't we don't call them squishy meat sacks? Or lecherrabbits? That would be accurate for so many here._

 _How didn't we know about this sooner?_ Nalia added. _We've worked with the military on how many ops? Not one has called us that!_

 _What else can we expect from humans?_

 _All of us are or were bonded to humans,_ Halcyon said. _Not all of them are like that._

 _Not all, but many,_ Nalia growled.

 _Can we change the subject, please?_ Ruby brought her hands to the side of her head. _Like how the heck O'Donnell keeps evading us at every turn?_

 _He's got Salem backing him up,_ Aaron offered. _I wouldn't be surprised if she's getting him out every time._

 _Or we've got a leak somewhere,_ Yang offered. _I don't think so, but I'm just putting it out there._

Ruby shook her head. _I highly doubt it. I'm sure people can guess what I'd do to them if I found out they were helping the Nevermores. It wouldn't be pretty._

Cerise turned her head back toward her Rider. _I'd make it even less pretty._

 _To be fair,_ Aaron started, _he had plenty of time to leave before we showed up._

 _That's what Winter said._ Ruby shook her _What about the three other times? Salem is definitely getting him out. Heck, the last place I heard someone yell 'get O'Donnell out of here!'_

 _The bastard is running out of places to hide,_ Cerise growled. _We're getting too many Riders on Remnant for him to hide._

 _There's that._ Ruby sighed. _I just want all of this to be over._

 _We all do._ Aaron paused. _Now that you've had a little time, do you still need any of my help?_

 _Maybe._ Ruby grit her teeth. _We'll see after the game tonight. If we do good, maybe not._ She straightened her head. _Aaron, you're the ranking officer among us. Want to run us through verbal shakedowns?_

For most of the Riders' force, this was just another routine thing they needed to do for everyone to hear. Since this was Roula's first non-training op, she needed to be walked through how things were done… and Ruby and Aaron realized they needed to figure something out for Eldunarí to work with the official reports. Another thing that they didn't think about. It wouldn't be such a problem for the Riders, but since they were working with Vale's military, not having anything from a fighter pilot, even an 'AI' one, wasn't an option.

This time also served to calm Ruby down. As much as she hated to admit it, she'd gotten a reputation of being unfazed by combat, that she could go from life and death combat to a smiling, laughing woman who was happy with life. While that itself wasn't a problem, it was the fact that people expected it of her, and things happened whenever she wasn't like that. She had to fake it more times than she cared to admit, but when it was genuine, she didn't care. At the same time, it also put Angel at ease. She always got nervous when her family went out on mission, no matter how many times it happened. Angel wasn't such a little girl anymore, but she was still young, so full of optimism, so pure. She always broke down when someone came home hurt in one way or the other. If only she could stay that way forever…

The mountain house appeared from behind other mountains and the dragons slowed down. The fighters sped ahead toward their hangar in the mountainside. Ruby sighed and looked over her shoulder at Aaron and Nalia. _You two ready to see the Krakens kick butt tonight?_

 _Oh, yeah._ Aaron's mind suddenly felt a mixture of excited and giddy. _It'll be nice to beat the Knights for once._

 _I don't know. Ask Angel to go more in depth._ Ruby faced the house again. _She'll be talking from now until kickoff._

 _She sure knows how to run her mouth._ Cerise turned her head back to look at her Rider. _I think I know where she gets that from._

 _No,_ Nalia started. _She's worse than Ruby was. It has to be Yang's influence._

 _Oh, Yang has much more influence than just her mouth._ Ruby couldn't help but smile. _She may share by face, but she's built like Yang, Aaron, and her grandpa.  
_

When the dragons got closer to the house, Nalia curved off toward the part of the base that held the dragons' armor. Since Cerise didn't have any, she simply headed for the main pad. Ruby dismounted and walked into the house. Like so many other times she returned home, Angel was hovering above the sitting area watching something on the projector. Her Aura wings dripped rose petals into a large tub directly beneath her.

Angel looked down at the new arrivals. "Hi, mom." She leaned forward and glided down to the floor. When she was a few feet away from her mom, she flared her wings and brought her legs back beneath her. The girl touched down and her Aura wings disappeared. She stood a little shorter than half of Ruby's height, a little taller than her mom was at her age. She had a set of jeans and her Krakens Jersey on. "How'd it go?"

"We kicked butt," Ruby chirped as she hugged her daughter. "We didn't get everyone we wanted to, but we did a good job. We may not have helped people directly this time, but we got some intel that can help so many people in the future."

Angel gave her mom one more squeeze before stepping back. "How long until we can go to the game?"

"When your Auntie Yang comes back in and your dad and Nalia finish taking off their armor." Ruby took off the helmet box behind her neck. "That's me done."

"Why don't you have any Krakens shirts?" Angel cocked her head.

"Orange isn't my color." Ruby held her hands out to her side. "If it was, I'd so have one."

"Ah well." Angel's Aura wings glowed to life once more. "I'm going for a quick lap around the mountain… or however many it takes until everyone's done." She flapped her wings and flew over her mom and Cerise and out of the house.

Ruby smiled as she watched her daughter go. "Cerise, thank you so much for teaching her how to fly."

Cerise puffed her chest out. _She's a good flier, better than some of my hatchlings._

"And better at landings than Amor... actually, that's a given." Ruby put a hand on her dragon's side. "Well, I'm going to go help Aaron. Get us out of here quicker."

 _Be quick. You know how Angel is when she gets impatient._

"And she knows how I get when she gets snippy." Ruby shook her head and walked toward the elevator. Maybe this day wouldn't be that bad after all.

* * *

Salem sent her Seer away. Her gamble on having the Nevermores on her side failed for the last time. O'Donnell was the only one of his cell in the field, unless he had recruited more since the last time. Salem would have had more Grimm defend her pet project, but she ran out of patience long ago. They served their purpose. Now she was more focused on infiltrating the Riders' ranks. Her one infected pair had unwillingly gotten her a lot of information. She just needed to figure out how best to use it.

She felt Watts' mind in the hall right outside her throne room. "Come in, doctor."

The doors on the far end of the room opened up and Watts walked across the floor. "Salem, O'Donnell wishes to speak with you."

"I figured as much." Salem straightened on her throne.

Watts walked forward and set a small projector in front of the Shade. It chirped to life showing Granite O'Donnell with his teeth and fists clenched. _"What the hell, Salem? We had a deal. I keep distracting the Riders for taking and selling animals, you keep my men safe. They just took out my central hub. If it's anything like the places over the last two years, if there were any Grimm there, it was those damn ones with blue eyes. Where the hell is my support?"_

"I didn't expect to have to hold your hand the entire time you were out of prison. I'm sure you knew the risks if taking on the Riders and the militaries of the world. Adding my Grimm to the mix would not make much of a difference."

" _Starting out, you had Goliaths watching out for me! I haven't seen so much of a Creep on our side in over a year."_

"I cannot control every one of my Grimm at once. You are lucky I have ordered them not to attack any of you. Those Guardian Grimm are not under my control and I have no idea where they came from." Actually, she did, and it was the second time in history she's had Grimm not responding to her orders. Somehow the wards surrounding the Relics under Rider control were stronger than those surrounding Du Weldenvarden. It had to be something to do with the Relic of Creation.

" _Well bravo for you."_ O'Donnell released his fists. _"We are done here. If I ever see your face or the faces of any of your toadies again, you're all dead."_ The projection disappeared without another word.

Watts raised an eyebrow. "I assume you wish me to inform Tyrian he has a new target?"

"Not yet." Salem folded her hands in front of her mouth. "I have seen that type of desperation before. The Riders will end him for us."

"Shall we prepare?"

"No. The Grimm will now attack him like any other human. He has no chance of making it here, even if he knew where here was." Salem set her hands on her lap. "I would be more worried for whoever his real target is. I can guarantee you it won't be us. He will either succeed then get himself killed, or fail and get himself killed."

* * *

 **It's fun to have the bad guys get their asses handed to them on a silver platter.**


	82. Cheating

**Toy Story 4: It's a cash grab, but it's a well made cash grab. All I have to say before going into this.**

* * *

"Bills…" Ruby set another envelope in the 'boring' pile. "Bills… Junk." She set something else in the 'shred' pile. "Junk… Oh." At the bottom of the day's mail lay a letter to Angel from Signal. Considering the mail she'd gotten from other high schools, Ruby had a good feeling about what this was. Signal was the last one in the city of Vale, so it was time to bring it up. Just to be sure, Ruby opened that envelope and pulled out the paper inside. It was a little different from the others, but it had the main thing the others had. Angel had a big choice to make.

Ruby stood up from the dining table and walked to the junk drawer in the kitchen. She pulled it open and grabbed the other four letters from inside. Those were already opened. Angel never read anything official anyway. The mother set the letters on the dining room table then walked toward her daughter's room. She knocked on the door before opening. Angel sat in front of her computer with headphones on. She had a long string of text on the projector in front of her that made absolutely no sense to Ruby. "Angel? Can you come here?" She had to raise her voice to get through her daughter's headphones.

Angel turned her head and took off her headphones. "Yeah, mom?"

"Could you come here? We have something important to discuss before I take you to JNPR's."

"Sure. I was just about done." Angel faced her computer and clicked a few things before it went to her desktop. She set her headphones on her desk and left her chair.

"What were you working on, anyway?" Ruby let the door close after her daughter passed. "That wasn't a game."

"It was." Angel smiled up at her mom. "There was a graphical glitch in one of my games that a lot of other people were running into. I went into the code to see if it was something I could fix. I think I got it. I'll just check when I get home. If it does, it's going up on the Mist Factory… not that a lot of people go there for graphics fixes, but it'll be there."

"Yaela's lessons going well, I take it?"

"All those things just work for me." Angel held her hands out to her sides. "Physical things… not so much."

"Don't worry about it. Your dad can't run PointPower or build much." Ruby walked in front of her daughter and took her seat at the table. Angel pulled herself into her chair next to her mom.

Ruby pulled the letter toward her then to Angel. "Everyone here knows you're a good quarterback for a middle schooler." Angel straightened in her chair and her smile widened. "All high schools in Vale have taken notice. I didn't know this was a thing before we got the first letter in the mail, but since we technically live outside the Kingdoms, they can recruit you."

Angel's smile disappeared and she cocked her head. "Like college?"

"Not really. It's more like you get the first choice at electives and you're guaranteed to either be the starter or second string. Take a look." Ruby handed the papers over. Angel took them and looked at three-time regional champion North High first. Ruby stayed silent as her daughter looked through all the flattering letters that she got from various high schools. This was Angel's decision, possibly the biggest in her life so far. Ruby would only give advice if asked.

Angel got to the one from Signal and cocked her head. "Signal has a football team?"

"They attempt to. They have the strength and speed, but not the coordination." Ruby shrugged. "I think it has something to do with the conference or whatever trying to balance out the teams with terrible coaches at Signal." She paused. "But that's not the main reason they sent you that. Read it."

Angel's eyes moved across the paper. "They want me to be a Huntress?" She looked up at her mom. "Why?"

"This is something they do for the kids of all the people that went there. Many kids like to follow in their parents' footsteps. This is just them saying that you'll be accepted right away if you choose to go there. Of course, they'd like you for quarterback as well, but this is mainly for letting you know that you're welcome there."

Ruby shifted on her seat. "Also, I know you'd like a dragon of your own." Angel's shoulders slumped. "Because of how we do things, you will only get the chance at Signal. We only want people who are willing to fight to help others. Since there are so many people on Remnant, we can afford to be picky. We don't make exceptions for anyone, even you."

Angel looked away. "So, if I want to go to one of the other schools for football, I can't get a dragon."

"Yeah." Ruby put a hand on her daughter's shoulder and squeezed. "I know it's a hard decision for you. I know how much you want both. The KFL's new unlocked Aura rules will make you eligible to play in the league. The Krakens' new QB came from Signal. If colleges see talent, they'll come find you. And hey, if neither work out, both will still let you be a pilot." Ruby took her hand back. "You don't need to make a decision today. You've got a few months. Just keep it in the back of your mind."

"Okay…" Angel looked to the side and set all the letters back on the table.

"Come on." Ruby stood up and pat her daughter's back. "Let's get going." Angel stood up and started walking toward the garage. Ruby took the lead and pushed the door open. Her daughter walked to one of the van's side doors while she headed for the driver's seat. She kept an eye on her daughter. Angel's head hung and her feet dragged across the floor. That was very much unlike her. Ruby waited until halfway through the tunnel before speaking again. She looked at her daughter in the mirror. "Hey, cheer up. Don't worry about it. You either get to be the first female quarterback in the KFL, a kick-butt Huntress or Dragon Rider, or one of the best pilots Remnant's ever seen. Any way that goes, you win big time."

That got Angel to smile. "Yeah. I guess I do."

"That's the spirit." Ruby paused. "So what exactly were you doing with your game?" Angel's smile practically exploded off her face. She started talking a mile a minute as her mom drove around the perimeter of the city. Most of the stuff went over Ruby's head. She'd only dealt with programming that did physical things, not digital. It sounded a lot more complicated… that or just different. Programming just wasn't her thing.

Ruby pulled up in front of the JNPR duplex and parked on the curb. Sarah, Rusty, and Slate were already out in the front yard. Pyrrha sat on the front porch, watching all the kids. She waved at the van that just arrived. Angel opened her door and waved back. She faced her mom as she unbuckled. "Bye, mom. See you later."

"Have fun." Ruby waved at her daughter as she closed the door. She waited until Angels wings sprouted out of her back before driving away. "I swear, she spends more time in the air than she does on the ground."

 _She's a flier,_ Cerise said. _If she wasn't so naïve, I'd say she has the heart of a dragon._

"I'm not going to spoil that for her. She needs to find that out for herself." Ruby shrugged. "I don't know if that can be taught." She pulled up a to-do list on her bionic eye. It looked like she had to pick something up from Coco before heading back home. Unfortunately, it was deep downtown… so many stupid drivers.

As Ruby tried to keep a level head while driving downtown, she caught a familiar face in the crowd. Viki and Flax had been dating for a few years. Cerise and Nalia weren't so sure about him, something about him smelling wrong, but no one else had any problem with him. Ruby was wondering when he was going to pop the question. There was no way Viki was going to do it herself. She was too Alagaësian for that. Since she was at a stoplight, Ruby raised a hand to wave… but stopped just short.

The woman with long brown hair with Flax wasn't Viki… and Flax had a ring on his ring finger.

Ruby dropped her jaw as she watched the two walk into an Appletree's. _What? No! That can't be him._ Ruby gently touched her mind to the man's… it _was_ Flax. _No…_ The car behind her honked. Ruby faced forward again and drove through the light. "Oh, gosh, no…"

 _I felt that too,_ Cerise growled. _He's not going to get away with it._

"Oh, heck, no. I want to punch his stupid face in, and I would if it wasn't assault and battery." Ruby dipped her head as much as she could while still keeping her eyes on the road. "How do I tell Viki? This will break her heart, if not more… what if this sends her back."

 _Can we keep this from her?_

"One, heck no. Two, how? I won't let my little sister keep dating a cheater! How would I lie to her? He's moved to Atlas without telling anyone?" Ruby shook her head. "She has to know… but how do I tell her without sending her back?"

 _You got a Doctorate in Counseling for this. Use something you learned there._

"I got that to shut the other professionals up. I haven't really changed anything." Ruby bit her lip as Coco's downtown office came into view. "I'll think of something." She parked the van and walked up to the nearest door. It opened before she got there and Coco stepped out. "I guess I've got timing."

"That, you do." Coco handed a package over. "A runner from Arya dropped a bunch of these off. He didn't say why he didn't just run one of these up to you." Coco looked over her sunglasses at Ruby. "You feeling okay? You're a little squirmy."

"Not one bit." Ruby shook her head. "Flax is cheating on Viki… or he's cheating on someone _with_ Viki. I don't know which yet."

Coco's jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding me. He knows that's a death wish, right?"

"If he doesn't, he soon will. Any chance you can help destroy him?"

"I'll see if I can work it into my schedule." Coco pushed her sunglasses back up. "Let me know when Viki knows. I won't do anything without her okay."

"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have a little talk with him." Ruby turned back to the van and climbed in. She drove back toward that Appletree's and parked in the lot nearby. She stretched her mind inside to find the cheater. Sure enough, he was still having a wonderful date with whoever he was with that wasn't Viki. It was time to change that.

Ruby got out of her car and walked into the restaurant. She walked past the hostess like she was just meeting someone there, which wasn't too far from the truth. The cheater and his date were on the far side of the restaurant, and Flax was laughing. He wouldn't be for long.

The Rider forced a smile as she walked up to Flax' table. "Hey, Flax!" She stopped right beside her sister's soon-to-be ex-boyfriend. Flax stiffened at the sound, even more so when Ruby put a hand on his shoulder. "I was just stopping in for some lunch after running some errands. Didn't expect to see you here."

Flax' head creaked in Ruby's direction. "Yeah… uh…"

"You talk with Ruby Rose?" Flax' date gasped. "Why didn't you say anything?" She smiled up at Ruby and stuck out a hand. "I'm Kelly Carson."

"You obviously know who I am." Ruby took Kelly's hand. "I don't know how he hasn't mentioned him talking with me. He's dating my sister-in-law."

Kelly's smile audibly shattered. "I… what?"

Ruby took her hand back. "Yeah. He's been dating my sister-in-law for over five years now. They're so cute together." She slowly turned her head to focus on Flax, her smile being replaced with a glare. "At least I thought that until I saw that ring on your finger." She growled out the last four words while pointing at the ring. "If that's not a fancy purity ring, we're going to have a problem."

Flax swallowed and gestured a shaky hand at Kelly. "She's my wife."

"What is going on here?" Kelly half-yelled.

Ruby drew her Scroll and navigated to a picture from only two days before of Viki and Flax in each other's arms looking lovingly into each other's eyes. She turned the Scroll so it faced Kelly. "This is what's been going on at my house for the past few years."

The Rider didn't need to look at Kelly to know how mad she got. She felt the air heat up and the other woman's emotions, even though Ruby was sticking in her own head. "Excuse me?" Kelly whispered.

"Did you really think you'd get away with this?" Ruby put her Scroll back in a pocket while keeping her glare on the cheater. "No wonder you wanted to keep your relationship with Viki out of the public eye." She glanced at Kelly. "He's all yours. I've got to figure out how to break my sister's heart." Ruby walked away without another word. She felt the eyes of quite a few other people on her as she walked. A few Scrolls were pointed in her direction too. That made Ruby a little nervous. She wanted to tell Viki herself. Hearing from other people… well, people didn't _know_ Viki and Flax were dating. They might not mention his name in her shop… if they knew it at all. That would give Ruby some time to think over what she'd say.

Ruby left the Appletree's, got back in her car, and drove out of the city. She drove into the tunnel and hit her head on the headrest of her seat repeatedly. "Why? Why'd he have to be like that? Viki was so happy… Now I'm going to have to kick his butt when Viki asks… Or I could leave it to his wife and when this eventually goes online. That can probably do more damage than I ever could." Ruby smirked. "That sounds like a plan… now to figure out how to break the news to Viki." She blinked when she realized that she couldn't feel her dragon. She was too deep underground. Cerise didn't hear any of that. "And I've just been talking to myself this whole time."

The Rider sighed as she continued to drive. Ruby parked in the garage and shared her thoughts with her dragon when she could. Cerise mentally growled. _If this were Alagaësia, I believe someone would have the right to castrate him._

"Oh, I'm sure of it." Ruby grabbed the package she got from Coco and left the car. She walked into the Hall and headed to where her dragon lay. "Nalia laid out a whole host of things that she'd do to Aaron if he did anything like that to hurt me."

Cerise snorted. _If she wouldn't, I would. No one hurts my Gem like that._

Ruby crossed her arms in front of her dragon. "I'm not so fragile that I can't take care of myself."

The dragon hummed and lowered her head to her Rider's level. _You are so right, but I doubt you would hurt anyone like that._

"Unless they hurt Angel. Then the gloves are off." Ruby looked around the Hall. "Looks like we have the house to ourselves for once."

 _We do._ Cerise cocked her head. _What do you have in mind?_

Ruby drew her Scroll and opened the app that controlled the audio systems in the house, one that she didn't use often enough. She set it to play a personal playlist that had everything from Frying Pan to Fruittales. One of Frying Pan's songs was up first. Ruby bobbed her head to the beat as she sat on one of Cerise' paws. She cranked up the volume up to the point just below where it hurt Cerise' ears, where both of them liked it. Yang was the only other one in the house that loved it. Considering the elves downstairs never complained, the soundproofing worked.

The Rider looked at the package she got from Coco. If Arya wanted a lot of people to have these, it was important, but not supremely important. Ruby tore the package open and pulled out the thick book inside. She smiled. "Looks like Arya finally got the Rider handbook she wanted."

 _Didn't you want something like this when you were in charge?_

"Yeah. I just didn't have the skill to start it off. None of us did." Ruby opened the book and looked through the table of contents. "Let's see what Arya's team put together." She blinked and she set the book on her lap. "How am I excited to read a book of rules and regulations?"

Cerise laughed and nudged her Rider. _I think that's because you want to see your idea come to fruition._

"I guess there's that." Ruby raised the book again. "Still, how the heck did I come up with an idea like this? It's not me."

 _But you see the sense in all of it. Not everyone works like you._

"Yeah, there's that." Ruby began reading through the handbook. It was well written and more comprehensive than Ruby would have thought. Then again, Arya probably had elves go through it… or through someone that Weiss suggested, or both. It covered what to do in several circumstances, from different types of Grimm encounters in certain places to what to do if the media asks for a word. Ruby could have used some of the latter back when she was Head of the Riders. There were so many things in there that she was proud of that the Riders had accomplished, others she didn't like that had to exist at all, and one thing overall that saddened her that the Riders had fallen so far.

A few chapters into the book, Cerise raised her head and faced the dragon door. _Did anyone make a reservation for the day?_

Ruby sighed and leaned her head against her dragon's side. People had been asking to meet with her more and more lately. Then again, she and Cerise were the only living Elder pair. Aaron and Nalia probably got that quite a bit too, being the last ones alive from the Old Order. "You're the one with the perfect memory here. Since you're asking me, I take that as a no. Who is it?"

 _I believe it's Moli and Rowan._

"Really?" Ruby straightened and looked toward the dragon door, even though she could only see her dragon's scales. "When was the last time they were in Vale?"

 _They have to have been here since they were first trained in. It's been too long for them not to have._

Ruby stood up and walked around her dragon, shutting off the music at the same time. Sure enough, a teal dragon soared down toward the landing pad. "Those two do like how things are in Alagaësia over here. Then again, Rowan was a shepherd. They do like simpler lives." She sighed. "At least they're not likely to ask about combat techniques. I'm getting a little tired of those."

Moli landed on the pad and the dragon door opened. Rowan dismounted and he and his dragon stepped in. Rowan had grown quite a bit since he and Ruby first met. His face had also gotten much more angular and his ears pointed. Even though he looked like an elf now, he still acted much like he did before. "I hope we are not intruding, Master Ruby," Rowan said.

Ruby waved him off. "You're fine. And please, you're in my house. You don't need to call me Master or anything like that. Ruby will do just fine."

 _I told you, Rowan._ Moli nudged her Rider with her snout. She then walked past her Ride tor rubbed her side against Cerise'. She always was a hugger, not as much as Orchid, but that was pretty much impossible.

Ruby smiled at Moli, then faced Rowan again. "You hungry? I've got a fully stocked kitchen, including some things that kids enjoy. Moli would need to ask Cerise for anything for her."

"If you have water and bread, I will take some." Rowan paused. "And I have grown quite fond of this thing you call chocolate."

Ruby laughed again. "Chocolate is one of the best things ever. I've got plenty here." She gestured at the sitting area. "If you want to take a seat, go on ahead. Take your pick." She walked over to the kitchen, filled a couple glasses of water, and raided her fridge for a couple Gershey bars. She also grabbed a loaf of homemade bread. The Elder underhand tossed one of the bars to Rowan as she got close. Ruby sat down in a chair next to the other Rider and set both glasses of water on the coffee table in front of them.

"Thank you." Rowan grabbed his glass and took a sip. He sighed. "Of all the technology here, I must confess that everything that makes things cold is my favorite."

"I hear that a lot from Alagaësians, mostly about cold water. Combined with filters like my kitchen, it's more refreshing and healthier for you than anything on the other side." Ruby looked Rowan up and down. He wasn't sitting comfortably. He kept shifting in his seat and sat almost straight up. When they talked in Mor'ranar Vera, he was always so relaxed. Something was bothering him and he didn't seem ready to talk quite yet. Might as well try to put him at ease. "I've been out of the loop on some of the finer details of the goings on in Mor'ranar Vera for some time. How's your breeding program going?"

Rowan relaxed a little and a small smile grew on his lips. "It's going according to plan. There are almost enough cattle, deer, and other large animals for them to sustain a large population. I might be able to announce that bonded dragons may eat more than they have been."

 _It's been so hard not to eat the Snalgí._ Moli settled down behind her Rider. _They taste so good. I can't wait until we can eat them without dwindling their numbers._

 _Snalgí?_ Cerise asked. _I thought those were just rumors._

"It was not easy taking a herd from Vroengard." Rowan shook his head. "It took quite a long time and several dragons to get enough. Then there was the problem of the poison in the air around the island."

"I'm assuming you asked for guidance on how to properly shield yourself from that?" Ruby asked. "That's not a spell that's easy to come up with on the fly."

"Mas… Aaron was in Mor'ranar Vera at the time. I asked him about the time you arrived on the island when you rescued the eggs and Eldunarí. How did you already have wards before you knew the poison existed?"

"There was a problem at the first nuclear power plant in Mistral. We needed wards to go in and help people evacuate. Thankfully no others have been built like that. We don't need any more radiation."

"There are so many other dangers on that island too." Rowan shook his head. "The Eldunarí Moli carried said the animals and plants are changing, they're more hostile than ever before. They hardly recognized the city." He looked right at Ruby. "New Vroengard has its own challenges with the Grimm, but they are much more predictable from what we saw there."

Ruby glanced at Cerise. "We didn't experience any of that when we were there."

 _Then again, we were in Nalia's and Irolon's cave,_ Cerise added. _I think there were wards around that part of the mountain to keep undesirables out._

"And that was quite a few years ago. Things have to have changed since then."

"I'm sure." Rowan nodded.

Ruby once again looked over Rowan. Now was the time. "Something tells me you didn't come here to tell me about our dragon's diets improving."

Rowan sighed. "Nay. There is something happening in the Riders, which I'm sure you know about, but I have to voice what I'm seeing. I know you have Arya's ear, much more than I do, which is why I'm here." He paused. "You were setting a larger reach for the Riders, humanitarian missions, disaster relief, healing, and mediating in addition to fighting physical threats. Since Arya has taken over, it feels like she is focusing too much on fighting the Grimm. They are a threat, but Remnant has survived such a long time without our help. They are doing just fine without us as well. I fail to see why killing so many Grimm is helpful if they are just rebirthed before much else can be done."

"Oh." Ruby nodded. "Yes, I have noticed this. If Ellesméra was never attacked, this would never be a problem. I can't say much, but her reasoning stems from that event. I feel it is an overreaction, but there is sense to it."

 _How did the Grimm make it to Ellesméra?_ Moli asked.

 _We cannot say,_ Cerise said. _That attack is part of a series of other events that are the reason for a classified operation. Only senior personnel are allowed to know what's really happening._ She made a sound halfway between a whimper and a growl. _We wouldn't tell you if we were in a position to read people in._

"Trust me," Ruby started, "we are doing everything we can to turn the Riders away from the combat only path. Unfortunately, I don't think Arya's open for debate. All the elves want revenge on the Grimm for what they did to Ellesméra. I don't know when that will be sated. I don't think they do either."

Rowan looked to the side. "At least you know."

"Don't worry about it too much. Just do what you can to make the Riders better. That's all any of us can do." Ruby's scroll rang in a pocket making her jump. That was Angel's ringtone. She knew to not call unless there was an emergency or if she needed to be picked up. She never broke that rule before and Ruby didn't have reason to doubt her daughter now. Something was up. "Excuse me. I need to take this." Ruby stood up and answered the call. "Yes, Angel?"

A deep, throaty, definitely _not_ Angel laugh came over the Scroll. _"I didn't think you thought of me like that."_

Ruby froze in place. Cerise snapped her head to her Rider, her pupils slits. The voice sounded familiar, but Ruby couldn't place it. "Who the hell are you and why do you have my daughter's Scroll?"

" _You know exactly who I am, dog. I'm surprised you didn't recognize my voice."_

Ruby's blood ran cold. _That's_ where she heard that voice before. Granite O'Donnell. He had her daughter's Scroll. He likely had her daughter. Ruby stretched her mind downstairs. _Yaela. Trace Angel's Scroll. Now._ "What do you want, O'Donnell?" Cerise shifted around and stared out toward the city, likely searching everywhere with her mind.

" _For now, I have what I want. I have your daughter, so I have your attention."_

There is was. "Bullshit. You'd have to get through JNPR to get anywhere close to her."

" _Be careful who you trust. I was nowhere near your precious little Angel, yet here she is."_ A girl whimpered on the other side.

A huge part of Ruby screamed that the sound belonged to her daughter but she didn't know for sure. "That could be anyone. Put her on."

" _Of course. Here she is."_

A million years passed before another word was said. _"Mommy?"_

Tears burst from Ruby's eyes. That was, without a doubt, her baby girl. "Angel, where are you?"

" _I don't know. I thought-"_ Angel screamed, a blood churning sound that shattered Ruby. She could only imagine what that monster did to her daughter.

" _There's your bitch, dog,"_ O'Donnell laughed with Angel still screaming in the background. _"Satisfied?"_

Ruby clenched her free fist. "If you so much as hurt one more-"

" _If you so much as put one more word in your threat, your precious little Angel loses a limb."_ Angel's scream reached a new pitch. _"I might do that just for fun."_

Ruby clenched her teeth together. "What do you want?" Her voice cracked halfway through.

" _You'll find out soon enough, reptile fucker. I'll let you know when I want you to know. If I so much as think one of your pixies is following me, you get your daughter's head in a bag. Do I make myself clear?"_

Ruby blinked away some of the water in her eyes. "Crystal."

" _Good. I'll talk to you later, dog."_ A crunching sound came over the Scroll followed by an error tone.

Ruby dropped her Scroll and fell to her knees. Water ran down her cheeks like rivers. She didn't notice it while she was talking. Cerise whimpered and jumped toward her Rider, wrapping Ruby in a wing. _I'm sorry. She's not anywhere around here._

"The Scroll trace?" Ruby whispered.

Cerise stayed silent for a few seconds. _They were twenty miles over the ocean before the signal disappeared._

"Twenty miles already… how…" Ruby clenched her teeth and snatched her Scroll off the floor. She hit Jaune's speed dial and pressed her Scroll against her ear.

A few seconds later, the line clicked. _"Arc resi-"_

"What the hell are you doing there?" Ruby cut Jaune off. "Who's keeping an eye on the kids? Who lost track of my daughter?"

" _Whoa, Ruby, what's going on?"_

"I just got a call from Granite O'Donnell on Angel's Scroll and she is already being tortured!"

Jaune didn't say anything. Ruby didn't hear anything from the other side until a chair hit the ground. Even though it was faint, Ruby heard Nora yell, _"Slate! Rusty! Sarah! Get inside! Now!"_

" _How'd that happen?"_ Jaune finally asked.

"You tell me," Ruby spit out through clenched teeth. "You were there. Not me."

" _This have something to do with why you had Flax pick her up?"_

"I didn't have…" Ruby's jaw dropped. "That son of a bitch." She clenched her Scroll harder. "Help find her, or you'll regret it." She ended the call and her upper body fell forward. She barely caught herself on her hands. Just then, she remembered that she and Cerise weren't alone. Ruby turned her head toward Rowan and Moli. "Get out!" she screamed. "Get out of my house!" The two ran off. Ruby stopped caring when Cerise blocked them from view.

Cerise poked her head under her wing and nuzzled her Rider. _Gem?_

"Call in every favor we have." Ruby tried to look her dragon in the eye, but she couldn't see anything past the lakes in her eyes. "Elves, Riders, military, everything. Find my daughter."

* * *

 **Before I go into my bunker, I'll say this is the LAST TIME something like this to happens. I've run a couple options by a few people, and this is the best way to end the Nevermore problem that didn't involve a sniper shot from a mile away.  
**


	83. Where it All Began

**I know a bunch of you are thinking/have thought something along the lines of 'how the hell did flax trick the Riders for so long? I ask in return... ever hear of Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow? Even the Riders wouldn't be able to tell her intentions with a quick emotional search.**

* * *

Twenty-four hours. It had been twenty-four hours since O'Donnell called. Twenty-four hours since Ruby knew her baby girl was kidnapped. Twenty-four hours since she heard Angel's scream. Twenty-four hours since all heat left Ruby's body. Twenty-four hours of silence on her Scroll. Twenty-four hours of no news.

Ruby hadn't slept a blink. She hadn't eaten or drank anything. The only words to leave her mouth were to yell at people to do their jobs better, several choked laments to her husband and dragon, and a few whispered words to Viki. She could barely breathe. Her eyes had run dry long ago. If the floor wasn't magic reinforced concrete, she would have made ruts in the floor from one end of the Hall to the other with all her pacing.

So many people were gathered around the dining table and the sitting area. Those were mainly from Vale police, KBI, and even Vale's military. Islanzadí had sent an elf to act as a communicator for the numerous elves she sent out to search. For once, Ruby was extremely happy that the elves wanted to repay their debt to her for taking out the Traitor. Viki had taken it upon herself to keep everyone supplied with coffee and other things to keep them awake and focused. Of course, all Rider operations were handled downstairs. Yaela was in charge down there and Cerise was doing all the talking for Ruby in the Hall. Her dragon was also one of the three Ruby let talk to her without yelling at them. Aaron and Viki were the other two.

The dragon door opened and Ruby snapped her head toward it. Violet and Orchid walked inside side by side. Ruby walked up to them, hoping for some good news. "Well?" Her voice was hoarse from over use and lack of hydration.

Violet shook her head. "Not yet."

"Not yet?!" Ruby yelled. "It's been a day! What the hell is taking so long?"

Orchid narrowed her eyes and stuck her glowing tongue out. _If you don't let my Rider finish, I will kiss you until you're ready to snuggle with all the people at your dining table._

Ruby winced. She didn't want to feel blissful while Angel was missing. She faced Violet again. "Why not yet?"

"We don't know if O'Donnell has any more eyes in the city," Violet explained. "If we go for Flax now, someone else could let O'Donnell know. That could very well be it for Angel if that's the case. We don't want to give him any reason to hurt Angel."

As much as Ruby wanted to punch Flax' face repeatedly for what he did, that could wait. She didn't want to sign Angel's death warrant. "Yeah…" Ruby turned around and started pacing again. She didn't know what else to do. Her baby girl was missing and she was useless.

She looked at the projector that the officers were using to document everything that came in, including a rough map of places O'Donnell wasn't. Qrow had a few elves using Violet's tracking spell to follow exactly where O'Donnell went, but it was slow going. That path was also up on the projector. It, for the most part, seemed pretty random, but Ruby noticed a pattern toward the northeast. She knew what was in that direction. She had a good feeling she knew where the monster was. Cerise asked long ago for Qrow and Islanzadí to send people up there to make sure.

Ruby heard a short ringtone and used her Semblance to run to the table. Rose petals blew by her to surround the officers. The Rider stared at her Scroll in the center of the table and sighed. It was just Qrow's text tone. More coordinates. She turned around and let the officers do their work. One of them rattled off a string of coordinates and a new 'X' appeared on the projector. It looked like O'Donnell decided to make landfall… on the foothills of the North Sanus Mountains.

That sent another spear into her heart. Her baby girl was in the one place Ruby swore to herself she would never go again. She had never even seen those mountains in real life. Before, she was either unconscious or on the _Vytal._ Cerise went through great pains to make sure her Rider never saw those peaks when they still traveled long distances the traditional way. Ruby never wanted to see those mountains. She was terrified to go near them. To save her daughter… she would dive into the depths of hell to pull out her baby girl. If that was indeed where O'Donnell was, it might as well have been the same thing.

"Ruby," a hand fell on her shoulder, "you're going to hurt yourself."

"I don't care, Aaron." Ruby sniffed. "She is hurting so much worse."

"Doing this to yourself won't help her."

Ruby faced her husband. "How are you so calm in all of this?"

Aaron shook his head. "I'm not." His mind touched his wife's. A roiling volcano of rage flowed off him. One push in the wrong direction and he would literally tear Vale apart to find his baby girl. "I'm keeping it together so one of us can keep the other stable."

"Thank you." Ruby pressed her forehead against Aaron's chest. "I don't know what to do."

"Neither do I." Aaron wrapped his arms around Ruby and held his wife's head. "We can only wait for O'Donnell to make his move."

"I hate having to wait." Ruby clenched her fists. "Especially for _him."_

Aaron paused. "He's likely just going to want you. What are you going to do?"

"Get Angel away from that monster as fast as possible. After that… whatever is needed to make sure _He_ never hurts anyone again. I don't care what I have to do. I'll-" Ruby's Scroll rang again, this time the default ringtone for her kind of Scroll.

Ruby freed herself from her husband's arms and once again sprinted toward the table using her Semblance. All other talking silenced as more rose petals rained down. Ruby grabbed her Scroll, careful not to unplug the wires connecting it to a better tracing device than what the Riders had. Sure enough, an unknown number took up the screen along with a silhouette of a person with a question mark in the center. The officer in charge nodded at Ruby. The mother answered the call and brought her Scroll to her ear. "What do you want?" Her voice thankfully didn't crack in that.

" _Straight to the point."_ Ruby could hear the smirk on O'Donnell's face. _"Not wasting either of our time. Here's the deal, dog. You come to me, alone, and unarmed. I don't care about any Lien or other goods. I just want you. You break those rules,"_ Angel whimpered on the other side, _"your bitch dies."_

 _No one calls my baby girl that word._ "Where are you?"

" _The one place on Remnant I know you're terrified of."_ The line clicked. At least Ruby didn't hear Angel scream like that again.

Ruby sighed and set her Scroll back down. "North Sanus Mountains. That's where he is." A few others with Scrolls of their own spoke into them and gave the people on the other side information. "If any of you approach him, I will take them out myself." She turned around and walked toward the main exit.

"Shadeslayer," the elf representative Wyrden started, "you shouldn't go."

Ruby stopped in place and took a breath through the nose. She turned her head to give Wyrden the best stink eye she could. "And why shouldn't I go save my daughter from a man who wants nothing more than to torture her?"

"Because you are too emotionally invested in this. You won't make the best decisions."

"Oh." Ruby whirled on Wyrden and marched up to him. "And who should go in my place? A SWAT team? Special forces? Elves? If any one of them makes a mistake, Angel is dead. If O'Donnell thinks anyone other than me is there, Angel's dead. If we magically make someone look like me, guess what? Angel. Is. Dead. No one here knows what that bastard did to me. I'm sure he's put in his research to know what I'd say. He's that psychotic. If whoever takes my place says something that I wouldn't, and with an elf, that is _extremely_ likely, that's it. In other words, if anyone but me goes there, my daughter dies. I am going. _Alone._ No ifs, ands, or buts about it. End of discussion." Ruby whirled around again and stormed off without giving anyone else a chance to retort.

Cerise walked beside her Rider. _Gem,_ _do you really have to go alone?_

 _I won't be alone._ Ruby glanced at her dragon. _I'll have my big little brother with me. I need him to fly. Besides, I'm never unarmed. I've got both kinds of magic and…_ She patted her right pocket where the shrunk Relic of Choice rested. _I'm going to make him wish he was never born._

Cerise cocked her head. _Would you really go to those lengths?_

Ruby clenched her teeth together. _As a last resort only. If I use it, I'm no better than Him. It's here more to use as an energy and Aura store… or to get Grimm on my side._

 _Good to know._ Cerise growled and peeled her lips back. _Give him hell._ She stopped short of the dragon door and turned back inside.

The hangar just off the landing pad was a little more crowded than normal. Irolon's and Roula's fighters were prepped and ready to go. In addition to those and Halcyon's Wyvern, Ruby asked for the Riders' air ambulance to the Vale base a few hours after the first call. It was fit long ago for an encased Eldunarí, or in this case, Halcyon's Core. He could fly Ruby to her daughter.

Yang stepped out of the air ambulance and faced her sister. "You got a location?"

"North Sanus Mountains." Ruby took a step into the air ambulance and stopped just inside. She felt Halcyon's Aura all around her so he was already in the transport. "Halcyon, you were never there. I don't know where exactly this place is."

 _Nalia let me know,_ Halcyon said. _I know exactly where it is and how to get there. I'll keep the engines warm once you hit the dirt._

"Thank you." Ruby looked at where Halcyon's shell lay in waiting. He was going to be the first dragon to Angel when they got back. Getting greeted by a dragon more her size would help her so much. Those two had a special bond since Halcyon was Angel's 'guardian dragon.' That bond had only strengthened since Angel had 'flown' with him, until recently when she had gotten too big. Being with him on the flight back and seeing him right away would probably help her so much… but first they needed to get Angel out of hell.

"Let's get going." Ruby walked through the back of the air ambulance as the back door closed and the whole thing lifted off the ground. By the time Ruby reached the cockpit, the transport was already flying out of the hangar. She looked out the windows of the cockpit to see the two other fighters taking up flanking positions. They wouldn't follow all the way in, but they'd be nearby just in case. Ruby sat in the pilot's seat and rested her right hand on the compartment that contained Halcyon's Core. "Get us there as fast as you can. I don't care what I have to fix later. As long as you can get us there and back again, you can't go too fast."

 _Copy that. You might want to buckle up._ The engines ran harder as the transport sped up. Ruby buckled herself in as the transport banked hard to the northeast. The number on the airspeed indicator kept rising and even turned red as the air ambulance reached speeds it was never built for. The frame shook as it increased speed then leveled out once it reached cruising velocity. _We're moving as fast as I can safely take us. ETA, one hour._

"Thank you." Ruby leaned her head on the back of her chair. "An hour to think of all the terrible things that my baby girl could be going through.

 _An hour to figure out the best way to kill the son of a bitch._

Ruby quirked her lips. "Something tells me that's what it's going to come down to." She reached for where she normally kept her scythes in their travel forms but her hands came up empty. She had no weapons besides both kinds of magic… and her left arm. Since it was fairly well known that her bionic arm had a gun in it, she'd be taking that off too. Angel had seen her mom like that plenty of times before and willingly helped with normal chores when she did… she wouldn't be scared to see her mom like that.

As time went on, Ruby shifted in her seat. She didn't know what to think about. Imagining all the terrible things that could be happening to Angel made her want to cry tears that ran out long ago. Thinking about how best to kill O'Donnell went against pretty much everything she stood for, but she couldn't _not_ think about that while trying to figure out various ways to get Angel away from that monster. Ruby couldn't even enjoy the scenery below her. It was all leading up to that terrible place.

About three-quarters of the way there, Ruby saw the peaks of those dreaded mountains. She swallowed as she keyed the air ambulance' comms. "This is Ruby. The mountains are in sight." She didn't get any response besides her two escorts peeling off and angling down for the forest below. Halcyon slowed the transport as they got closer. Ruby noticed a little grinding in the engines but it didn't sound too bad. They should still make it back to Vale… _Focus on the now, Ruby. Focus on getting Angel out in one piece._

Ruby drew the Relic of Choice from where she hid it. She stared at the diamond hammer and grit her teeth. She brought that thing mainly to overcharge her Aura and wards in case the worst happened. Grimm coming to the area would seem likely, whether or not this was Salem's plan. A distraction from the Grimm could make an opening that Ruby could use to get her baby girl out of there.

Another mind touched Ruby's. She threw her mental shields up, then she recognized the feel of an elf's mind, one that she had felt before. _**Blödhgarm, have you found my daughter?**_

 _ **I have,**_ the elf said, _**but she is not well.**_

 _ **Where is she?**_

 _ **She is near the top of the flat top mountain. Granite O'Donnell is holding a knife to her neck.**_

Ruby closed her eyes. _**Are there any other elves with you?**_

 _ **There is one other healer in the mountains. Invidia and I are armed with sniper rifles aimed to take out O'Donnell.**_

 _ **Can you take the shots without hurting Angel?**_

 _ **At the moment, no. We are searching for positions that will allow us to neutralize the threat without hurting your daughter.**_

 _ **What about his wards? What does he have?**_

 _ **None that we can detect, but that is just as worrying. Queen Islanzadí has told us of the one that broke the Nevermores out of prison. We know the kind of enemy we are fighting.**_

 _ **Good to know.**_ Ruby opened her eyes and stared at the growing mountains. _**Stay in my head. Don't fire until I tell you to… Also, don't fire on any Grimm that approach the mountain. They may very well be mine.**_ She grit her teeth as she stared at the ground below. The Rider gripped the hammer and spread her mind out as far as she could go and not including Halcyon or the elves. She felt so many Grimm in the area, with some of them feeling like Alagaësian Grimm. _All Grimm, follow me. Protect my daughter. Do not let O'Donnell hurt her. Do not hurt those trying to help her. Do what you want to O'Donnell as long as it doesn't hurt Angel._ She had no idea if her orders worked other than feeling directed rage. If the Grimm were still hostile to her, she could hopefully order them on the fly.

Ruby faced forward again and watched as her destination grew in detail. Halcyon adjusted their course a few degrees toward a mountain that had an outcropping that was relatively flat. The rock around there appeared to be darker from the rest, probably still scorched from when the _Vytal_ fired on it.

The air ambulance rose above that ledge and its nose tilted down. Ruby's throat constricted to painful levels as she saw a knife held to her daughter's neck. Her bionic eye zoomed in. Angel had a dog ear stapled onto her head. Her hair was stained red with some of it drying on her face. What was left of her clothes barely covered her up. Considering Angel never wore red, there was only one place that color could come from. What Ruby could see of her daughter's skin was bruised, bloodied, and scarred, with some cuts still leaking. Angel looked up at the incoming transport. The look of despair in her eyes shattered what was left of Ruby's heart… but a faint flicker of hope stitched it back together.

O'Donnell looked up too. A satisfied smirk appeared on his face, one that Ruby couldn't wait to destroy. A black sword hung on his hip. The Rider stretched her mind to the monster… and found that it wasn't blocked unlike Salem's other minions that she faced. The monster also thought that his mind was shielded from mental searches. _That_ was a huge advantage, one that Ruby planned on making full use of… and she planned to demand why the hell Blödhgarm and Invidia didn't attack the monster's mind.

The transport turned around so the back door faced those already on the mountain. _I'm ready for a quick getaway, Ruby,_ Halcyon said. _I can blast off right as you come back in._

"Thanks, Halcyon." Ruby waited until she felt the air ambulance shake on touchdown before moving. She unbuckled her restraints and twisted her bionic arm off. "If you have to say something, make it mental. Not a word until after Angel is onboard." She set her arm on her seat.

 _Of course. I'll stay in your head._

Ruby stood up from her chair and walked for the back hatch. She hit the open button and waited for the agonizingly slow door to lower. O'Donnell appeared through the opening and laughed. "I didn't expect you to come alone, dog. In fact, I expected you to shoot me on sight. It looks like my training has held after all these years."

"Your training's done nothing, O'Donnell." Ruby walked down the ramp, ignoring the pounding in her chest and the increasing red number in her heart rate monitor. For the first time since she was kidnapped, she was face to face with her torturer. If her daughter's life wasn't in danger, Ruby might have run in the other direction and had Halcyon or the elves take care of him. Her own fear didn't matter at all with Angel having a blade to her neck. Ruby stopped at the base of the ramp with her left arm facing the kidnapper. "I'm here. Alone. Let Angel go. This is between me and you."

O'Donnell clicked his tongue three times. "That's not how this works, dog. Salem told me what you are. You're a Maiden. The second I release your bitch, you impale me with an ice spear." He tensed his knife arm. Angel whimpered and a new line of red ran down her neck. Ruby fought down the urge to attack. Blödhgarm would have said if he had a shot. "I'm in control here. Besides, you don't want to kill me yet." He opened up his jacket revealing a suicide vest. Ruby took an involuntary step back. She searched his mind for any other surprises… the entire area was rigged to blow on O'Donnell's death or when he triggered it. This was bad. "Do I have your attention?"

Ruby locked eyes with her former captor. "Yes, you…" she hesitated as she felt one of her wards using some of her energy, one that made other people's Semblances have no effect on her. O'Donnell was trying to influence her somehow. _Halcyon, search his mind, find out what his Semblance does._ She didn't wait for a response before she focused back on the slaver. "Yes, you do."

"Good." O'Donnell pointed at the ground in front of him. "Get on your hands and knees." He smirked even more. "Well, _hand_ and knees."

Angel's eyes flicked to her captor, then to Ruby. "Mommy?" Her voice was hoarse. Some of her normally pristine white teeth were also red or missing altogether.

"It's okay, Angel." Ruby held her arm out to her daughter as she bent to her knees. "Everything is going to be alright." She leaned forward more and put the weight of her upper body on her hand. _Halcyon?_

 _He can make people afraid,_ Halcyon growled. _Afraid of him, the Nevermores, whatever he wants. As far as he knows, it stays with his victim for life._

Ruby felt her eyes twitch. That explained so much. It was also probably why it never showed up in her True Name until it was too late. She glared up at O'Donnell. "Now what?"

"I want you to beg like the dog you are." O'Donnell tightened his grip on Angel. "Beg, and I might just let your bitch go."

Ruby grit her teeth. _That_ would panic Angel. That would make her lose trust in her mother. She needed a plan. The knife was just a normal hunting knife, the sword on his hip a shortsword... no, it wasn't. _That_ had wards and magic in it, a lot of them. Ruby narrowed her eyes. It had a lot in common with… Durza's. It was a Shade's blade. That explained why it could hurt Angel so soon after being kidnapped, and it could likely break through Ruby's Aura and wards as well. She needed a plan… and the surrounding growls gave her one.

O'Donnell looked around the area. An entire Beowolf pack climbed the cliff and toward the humans. A few flying Grimm also circled the area. Ruby glared at the monsters, but none of the Grimm were looking at her. The slaver laughed, not seeing the threat surrounding him. "And here I thought Salem was done with me. It looks like I was wrong." An Alpha Beowolf walked up behind O'Donnell, not making a sound. Angel stared at all the Grimm surrounding her. It looked like she was going to panic.

"Oh, you think Salem's on your side?" Ruby tried to stall. "You don't know what she is, do you?"

"She's not an animal, pixie, orc, or midget, so that means she's a human."

"Maybe at one point, but now she's a Shade, pretty much a vampire. She doesn't care about you, or anyone. She's just out for her own gains."

"Then why did she send the Grimm?" O'Donnell's smirk turned into a malicious smile. "To gloat?" The Alpha reached around O'Donnell and jerked the slaver's knife arm away. O'Donnell's smirk disappeared as he jerked his head toward the Grimm. "What?" His other arm was pulled away from Angel Another Grimm stalked over and removed the sword as well.

"Salem didn't send them, I brought them." Ruby stood to her full height. "She's not the only one that can control Grimm." Ruby softened her gaze and faced her baby girl. "Angel, come here."

Angel sprinted away from her captor and jumped into her mom's waiting arm. "I want to go home…"

"We will, Sweetie." Ruby kissed the side of her baby girl's head. "Now get behind me." She straightened up and glared at O'Donnell while Angel hid close behind her mom's back. "This is what happens when you hurt my family."

O'Donnell struggled in the Grimm's grip. "What the hell are you?"

"I'm a mother protecting her daughter who also happens to be a Rider and a Maiden." Ruby let her eyes glow and made the wind pick up and cooled it down to bone-chilling levels everywhere except around Angel. "I know your Semblance. I know what you did to me and so many others. You don't scare me anymore. You won't scare _anyone_ anymore." She opened her left hand and formed an ice lance. She raised her arm and prepared to throw… but she held back. Her baby girl was right behind her. Angel had never seen anyone die before. As much as Ruby wanted to, she wouldn't kill the man in front of her daughter… that, and killing him would blow up absolutely everything. _Halcyon, Angel's coming on board, then I'm going to finish this bastard._

Ruby threw the lance and it took off one of O'Donnell's ears, burying itself in a Grimm behind the slaver. She turned around and placed her hand on Angel's back, taking care to not touch the massive scar on her daughter's back, and walked with Angel back toward the air ambulance. "We're going home, Angel. Don't-"

"I'll kill you, dog!" O'Donnell yelled. Ruby turned her head back. The slaver had somehow managed to kill the Alpha holding onto him. "I'll kill us all!" He raised a Scroll with a big red button on the screen.

Ruby's heart dropped. _Halcyon! Fly!_ She pushed Angel to the ground and threw herself on top of her daughter. The Maiden created a dome of stone around herself and Angel as she heard two gunshots ring out. Ruby held her baby girl tight and clenched her eyes.

More explosions than Ruby could count tried to break her ears. The ground shook like the mountain was opening up. She tightened her grip on her daughter as tight as she dared, dropping all pretense of trying to keep Angel calm. If she held her tight enough, no harm would come to her baby girl. Ruby didn't think she screamed and she didn't hear anything from Angel. Then again, she couldn't hear anything but fiery death.

After a year of waiting, the shaking stopped. _Halcyon, are we clear?_

 _You are,_ Halcyon said. _Four sniper shots right to the head. O'Donnell's down for good._

She stretched her mind out to the surrounding area. She felt no Grimm and no other humans. A huge part of Ruby was so glad to feel that, another hated that she couldn't run the bastard through herself. She wanted to break down right then and there, but the terrified girl beneath her needed all her focus. _Tell the elves to kill any Grimm they can then get down here as fast as they can. Angel needs serious attention._

"Naina." A soft red light appeared in the small dome. Ruby readjusted herself on top of her baby girl and looked into her daughter's eyes. Angel just stared back, no response. The mother shifted her attention to Angel's most recent wound on her neck. "Waíse heill." The fresh cut on Angel's neck sealed itself, along with a few other minor injuries in that general area. Ruby pet the top of her baby girl's head and kissed Angel's hair. "It's okay, Angel. You're okay. It's over now."

Angel slowly blinked and her eyes turned glassy. Her lower lip quivered. "Mommy?"

"You're safe, Angel." Ruby kissed her daughter by the eye and kept her forehead against her daughter's. "I'm not going anywhere." Angel blinked a few times and water started pouring from her eyes. Her crying started soft and slow but it grew hard and loud in a few seconds. Ruby rolled off her daughter and pulled her into a hug. Angel returned it as hard as she could, or that's what it felt like anyway, and it felt weak. Ruby would have done the same, but that's not what Angel needed. She needed calm, she needed safety, she needed soft, she needed love. Ruby was perfectly okay with giving her scared little girl all of that and more.

 _I'm landed,_ Halcyon said. _The door is open. Come on in whenever you feel like it._

 _Got it._ Ruby kissed her daughter's forehead once more then collapsed the stone dome around her. Nothing was on fire, then again, there wasn't anything to burn. It stunk something fierce though. "Sweetie, can you walk?"

Angel shook her head. "It hurts to stand."

Ruby didn't bother asking if Angel could fly. With all these cuts and bruises, her baby girl hadn't had any usable Aura for quite some time. "That's okay. I can carry you there." She stood up and pointed her hand down at her daughter. "Adur." Angel floated off the ground to the height of Ruby's hips. The mother found a relatively uninjured part on Angel's left shoulder and started pushing her floating daughter to the air ambulance. The transport had a few scorch marks on it but it all looked superficial. It wouldn't be a problem getting back to Vale.

She heard the sound of metal sliding across rock behind her. Ruby whipped around and pointed her left hand at the source, ready to send ice pillars at whoever it was… then she recognized the blue-furred elf and one of those that helped evict that spirit from her head. Both Blödhgarm and Invidia had sniper rifles slung on their backs. Blödhgarm knelt on the ground, one hand around the hilt of O'Donnell's sword. He held up his empty hand toward Ruby. _"We are not here to fight, Shadeslayer. We are here to help."_

Ruby lowered her arm and looked at the sword. _"I hope you're only taking that to see how Salem crafts her blades."_

" _That is my only intention with this weapon."_

"Who's there?" Angel whispered.

Ruby returned her attention to her daughter and continued to push her toward the air ambulance. "Elves. They're here to help." Angel turned her head toward the elves and stiffened. She looked up at her mom, her eyes pleading… she was scared of the elves. Ruby knelt down and kissed Angel's nose. "Angel, if I didn't trust them to help you, I would have flung them off this mountain." She pushed Angel into the air ambulance and into safety.

* * *

 **One bastard down, one to go.**


	84. Dish Best Served Cold

**So... Spiderman... I love it 3000. Now more than ever, stick around for the post credit scenes! I promise it's more impactful Shwarma.  
**

* * *

Ruby floated her daughter over the medical bed in the air ambulance. She slowly cut the flow of magic and her daughter lowered onto the padded bed. "The elves will help me take care of you. They are good healers, better than me, anyway." She faced the two elves. _**I don't trust my voice to stay level if I talk. I'll leave that to you.**_

 _ **We will do what we can, Shadeslayer,**_ Invidia nodded. _**We may need to examine the sword we recovered to heal some injuries.**_

 _ **I know. Nora's scar still tries to hurt her.**_ Ruby smiled down at her daughter. "They'll take your pain away, I'll wash you up."

"I'm here too, Angel," Halcyon's voice came over the transport's speakers. "I'm flying us back home. Nothing but smooth flying from here."

"Uncle Halcyon?" Angel turned her head around looking for something.

Invidia walked over and placed a hand on Angel's forehead. "Save your strength, young one. Let us take care of you."

"Hold on back there," Halcyon called. "I'm lifting off." The rear door closed and Ruby felt the transport rise off the ground. She kept her hands on the medical bed until the air ambulance reached cruising speed. There was a little groaning from the engines, but nothing to scare Ruby too much. "We're at top speed. Feel free to move about the cabin."

As the elves started singing in the Ancient Language, Ruby returned to the cockpit and clicked her bionic arm back into place. She walked back toward Angel to see Invidia had already removed the stapled ear. One thing done, a few thousand to go. The Maiden formed a ball of water in her left hand and crouched by Angel's side. "Just tell me if it's too hot or too cold." She brought the water to her baby girl's forehead. Angel sighed and relaxed as the water pushed to surround her forehead. That answered that question. Ruby made the water spin and it gently washed the blood and grime off Angel's forehead… this brought the Rider back to when she and Velvet found Weiss in the Hadarac Desert. It wasn't any fun then either.

Angel looked 'up' at her mom. Her throat constricted and she started crying again. Ruby repositioned to crouch by Angel's side while still washing her daughter's head. She kissed the tears off her daughter's face as they rolled. "I love you, Angel, so much. You're such a brave girl." She brushed Angel's face with her free hand. "I'm going to take care of you, however long you like. When we get home, you can do pretty much anything you want. Food, drinks, movies, games, whatever."

Her daughter looked away then back to her mom. "I want to go to Signal."

Ruby blinked. "Like… visit Grandpa Tai?"

Angel shook her head. "Like you and Auntie Yang did."

Ruby dropped her jaw then pulled it up. Angel wasn't thinking right. She probably had a head injury too. There was no way she could make that kind of decision in this state. Still, this was not the time to voice those concerns. "Okay, Sweetie. You'll make a great Huntress. I know it."

The mother returned her focus to cleaning up her daughter. When Angel's face was done, Ruby moved to her daughter's hair. It was terribly matted, stained, and otherwise filthy… as far as she could tell, it was only her daughter's blood and normal grime in there. If it wasn't, Ruby would have ordered Halcyon to fly back to the mountain so she could blow O'Donnell up again. Nothing about the situation was okay, but she didn't beat O'Donnell up for _that._

When Ruby and the elves did all they could for Angel's front side, they flipped the girl over. The mother fought back a gasp and tears as she got a better look at her daughter's back. An angry, red and black scar ran from Angel's left shoulder to right hip. Ruby knew it was there from a brief glance on the mointain but that didn't make it any better. She recognized the look. It was the same scar Nora had… but she couldn't show her concern. She knelt down in front of her daughter's face. "Are you feeling better, Sweetie?"

"A little." Angel's eyelids hung. "I'm tired."

Ruby's small smile disappeared from her face. She held Angel's head between her hands. "Angel, I need you to stay awake. I know you're tired and you probably haven't slept for two nights, but you need to stay awake a little longer. When we get home and you're tucked into your own bed, you can sleep. Now, we need you awake so we can know if we've gotten everything, okay?" She sent a little of her own energy into her daughter to help, ignoring how tired she was getting. She could pull energy from the forest once they landed.

"Okay." Angel's eyes opened a little more after the energy transfer.

"Thank you." Ruby kissed Angel's forehead and began cleaning her daughter's back. She touched her mind to the two elves in the transport. _**Don't bother trying to heal that scar fully. Orchid's the only one that might be able to do something about it. Even then, I don't know for sure.**_

Invidia stopped singing for a second and diverted her gaze to Ruby. _**This is the same kind your friend Nora has?**_

 _ **Exactly the same.**_ Ruby blinked away a few tears. Her baby girl in so much permanent pain… she almost cast the spell that prevents the target from feeling any pain right then and there, but that wouldn't be right. Instead, she went back to cleaning her baby girl. At some point in all that, Halcyon mentally told Ruby that he'd called ahead saying that Angel was okay and what kind of state she was in. Her family would be ready for her. That would help Angel get better so much faster.

The whole cleaning and healing session lasted two hours. When it was finally over, Ruby took Angel's right hand. "Sweetie, do you want to try walking now?"

Angel shook her head. "No." She still sounded as terrified as she was before, only this time it was from her pain.

"Okay." Ruby caressed Angel's face. "You can stay here then." She looked up and in between the healers. The elves walked around the medical bed and into the cockpit at the unspoken request. Ruby then looked around the area around her. A few projectors were mounted in the walls. "Halcyon, can you link your exterior cameras through the projectors in here?"

"I can try," Halcyon said. "This will be the first time I've ever done something like this." As Ruby watched, the normal medical screens flickered and changed to show an outside view of the transport. One of the screens panned to show Irolon's Wyvern. It looked like Halcyon was thinking along the same line as Ruby.

"Angel," Ruby pointed at the projector, "look at that."

Angel's head creaked toward where Ruby pointed and her jaw dropped at the purple fighter flying alongside them. "One of the AI fighters?"

"Yeah." Ruby scooted around the bed to get the same view her daughter had. "The other's on the other side." Angel turned her head completely around to watch the Boarbatusk on the other projector. "Come on. You see them in the hangar all the time."

"But not flying."

"Very true." Ruby paused. "Sweetie, would you like it if I hook up one of the old flight simulators upstairs for you to use?"

Angel turned her head to her mom and gently nodded, her fear had faded only a little. "Yes, mommy."

Ruby squeezed Angel's shoulder. "If you want to talk, my ears are open."

"I don't want to talk." Angel dipped her head and shook it.

"What do you want to do?" Angel looked up at Ruby again. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Ruby's neck. She pulled herself closer to her mom and started crying again.

Ruby lifted her baby girl a little off the bed and into her arms. She kept her hands on Angel's back the whole time. After the complete panic from the last twenty-four hours, Ruby was more than okay just holding her daughter close while Angel cried into her shoulder. She just rubbed her daughter's back and the back of Angel's head while humming some of her daughter's favorite songs. Halcyon caught on quick and started playing some of those songs in the back of the transport. Angel never stopped crying, gaining and losing intensity at random intervals. Ruby was sure to kiss the side of her daughter's head when it got really bad.

"I'm scared, mommy," Angel whispered.

"It's okay to be scared, Sweetie. I was scared too." Ruby found a new reason to be scared. Angel hadn't called Ruby 'mommy' that regularly for a few years, unless she wanted something. 'Daddy' was a little more common, but it was still 'dad' more often than not. The mother hoped to God that it was just like that from her kidnapping and not permanent.

When Angel quieted down a little, Ruby faced the cockpit. She touched her mind to the two elves. **_I_** _ **f the Queen told you about Salem, I'm assuming she told you about what Arya, Pyrrha Nikos, and I can do to fight her. What I did in here was exactly that. You are not to reveal any of what I did to anyone.**_

Both elves peeked through the cockpit door and nodded. _Y_ _ **our secret is safe with us, Silverhand,**_ Invidia said.

 _ **Thank you.**_ Ruby looked straight out the cockpit windshield. The city of Vale appeared over the horizon as well as the mountains just beyond it. "Angel," Ruby whispered, "we're almost home."

Angel pulled her head off her mom's shoulder and wiped an arm under her eyes. She turned around and looked out the windshield. "Home…" she choked out.

"Yes, home." Ruby rested her chin on Angel's right shoulder. "Everyone is going to be so happy to see you. That bad man had us so worried about you."

"Is daddy home?"

"Everyone's home. You're going to have the biggest group hug of your life within seconds of stepping inside." Angel didn't say anything in response but Ruby felt her daughter relax. The two fighters peeled off when the air ambulance flew over the city. Halcyon slowed the transport even more as he approached the house. The windows on the dragon door were polarized so no one could see in, but those inside could see out. Everyone inside knew Angel was back.

Halcyon landed the transport in the hangar and powered down the transport. "Angel, I'm sure the elves took away as much pain as they could. Can you try to stand for me, Sweetie?"

"I can try." Angel pushed herself up off the bed and swung her legs. She dropped to the floor and tested her weight. Her jaw dropped and she looked up at the two elves who now stood in the cockpit door. "Thank you." She walked up to Invidia and gave her a hug. The elf returned it right away. Angel pulled away and did the same for Blödhgarm… considering all the _male_ elf wore was a loincloth and a belt for weapons, Ruby raised her bionic fist in warning. She wasn't taking any chances with what Angel just went through. Blödhgarm just pat Angel's shoulders, not leaning down showing any indication that he paid attention to Ruby's threat. Then Angel started running her hands up and down the furred elf's lower back. "You're soft."

And _that_ was a completely different motherly worry. "Okaaay, Angel." Ruby pulled her daughter away from Blödhgarm and into the cockpit. "Just like it's not okay to ask if you can pet Faunus, you can't say that about people, Faunus or otherwise." Angel looked up at Ruby, looking like she thought she did something terribly wrong. Her mom just leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "Just don't do it again, okay?"

"Yes, mommy." Angel hung her head like she did something terrible.

Ruby kissed the top of her baby girl's head. "You're forgiven." She opened Halcyon's Core's compartment and pulled him out. "Let's all get inside." She led the way out of the Riders' air ambulance with Angel following slowly behind her. The mother walked to Halcyon's shell and put his Core inside. The android body shivered and Halcyon's eyes snapped open. He pounced toward Angel and wrapped his front legs over her shoulders and around her neck. His posture said that he carried his own weight and possibly a good chunk of Angel's. The girl returned the hug and rubbed her face against Halcyon's neck.

Ruby let that continue for a few seconds before she rested a hand on Angel's back. "Don't hog her for yourself, Halcyon. You got to fly her for a few hours."

 _But I didn't get to hold her._ Halcyon dropped to the ground and rubbed his head against Angel's side. _This is different._

"I want to see daddy…" Angel mumbled.

"Then let's head inside." Ruby gave her daughter a gentle push and escorted her toward the house. She pushed the human-sized door in the dragon door open and let Angel walk inside first. The whole family, in addition to Violet and Orchid, was gathered around the sitting area. All their heads jerked toward the new arrivals.

"Angel!" Aaron ran toward his daughter.

"Daddy!" Angel fast walked toward her dad. Aaron slid to a stop in front of Angel and she practically fell into his arms. Yang and Viki weren't too far behind. All of them had tear-stained faces and weren't even trying to stay calm. They all pulled Angel in tight with Aaron kissing every bit of his baby girl's head. Before in these types of reunions, Ruby stood back and let the family have their moment… but this _was_ her family. She walked to the pile and squeezed her way in between Aaron and Yang and joined her husband in the kiss attack. Halcyon came in and wrapped his wings around everyone. Nalia and Cerise curved around the group with their snouts hovering over Angel's head. Ruby touched her mind to her daughter's. The fear wasn't gone by a long shot, but she felt safe in the center of all her family.

Aaron pulled back as best as he could in the pile. He brought his hands up to hold both sides of Angel's head. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Are you…" His eyes wandered down before locking right back on Angel's. "Yang, get her clothes."

"On it." Yang forced her way out of the pile and ran back toward the sitting area.

"Before that," Ruby started, "I think she needs a checkup from Nurse Orchid."

Aaron looked at Ruby like Angel had just been shot in front of him. "What couldn't you heal? What's wrong?" He returned his attention to his daughter, looking her over every inch of exposed skin.

Ruby would have stopped Aaron right there for scaring Angel, but _she'd_ scare Angel with that. "Her back's like Nora's scar." Aaron snapped his head to his wife. All the blood drained from his face. He faced Angel again and pulled her close once more, only this time much more gentle.

Cerise and Nalia peeled away and Orchid snaked her head in front of Angel. _I'm going to kiss you and make you better, okay? By the end of this, you won't be in any pain._ Angel nodded as much as she could on Aaron's shoulder. Orchid nuzzled Angel's head and moved her own toward Angel's back. Her ears dipped and her visible eye flicked to Ruby. _You say this is like Nora's?_

 _Yeah. Have you tried to heal hers?_

 _No. In her own words, 'Ain't no one licking me there.'_ Orchid looked at Angel again and her ears raised. _Angel, can you turn your head toward me, please?_ The girl did as asked but not without hesitation. Orchid stuck her glowing tongue out and licked Angel's face. The girl's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. The dragon licked the scar once before returning to Angel's face. The process continued until Angel's eyes were half-lidded and she didn't hold onto Aaron like her life depended on it.

As much as Ruby didn't want to ask it, now was the time. She slid to the other side of Aaron and cupped one of her daughter's cheeks. "Angel, who brought you to that terrible person?"

Angel's blissful face contorted for a second. "Flax." Orchid kissed Angel's face again then returned her attention to the scar.

"What?" Viki whispered. Ruby looked at her sister in law. Viki's mouth was wide open with even more fear and concern in her eyes than before. "Flax? Not my Flax."

Ruby sighed. "I talked to Jaune right after I heard about all this. He said Flax picked Angel up." She paused. "He's not who you think he is. He's already married." Viki gasped then looked away. Her shoulders slumped and her eyes glistened again. She hadn't looked so defeated in years… though there was a little anger in her eyes, something that Ruby had seen so few times she could count them on half of a hand.

The mother kissed her daughter's forehead again. "Angel, I'm going to go arrest that bad man. He won't hurt anyone again." Ruby stood up and rubbed her daughter's head. You'll be safe here." In response to that, Aaron gave Angel a quick squeeze. Ruby walked out of the tangle of people and into open space. Yang stood with Violet by Orchid's tail. Ruby stretched her mind to those two. _I don't care if you don't have a warrant. The elves want that bastard as much as I do. I'm going to find that son of a bitch whether Vale wants me to or not and kick the shit out of him._

 _There is now a warrant out for Flax Carson's arrest,_ Violet said. _I'd say that you should hold back but I doubt that's going to happen._

 _You know it._ Ruby walked as calmly as she could toward the exit with Cerise following close behind. She looked up at her dragon. _You with me in this?_

Cerise turned her eyes toward her Rider. _You chewed me out for killing Nevermores for revenge. I'm going to hold you to the same expectations._

 _Oh, I'm not going to kill him._ Ruby clenched her fists. _That would be too easy. O'Donnell got it too easy. Flax is going to suffer._

 _If we're in that situation, I'll hold him down._ The two left the house and Cerise spread her wings. Ruby jumped onto her dragon's back and they flew away. _Will you need your weapons?_

 _I don't think so._ Ruby brought her bionic fist in front of her face. _I want to feel something crack._ Normally Ruby wouldn't have approved of such thoughts, but when her daughter was involved, the gloves were off. _No one_ hurt her baby girl and got away with it. She was about to pass that message onto the world and not care about the repercussions.

Ruby stretched her mind out toward the city. Normally, finding a specific person among a couple million was complete hell. Now, the Rider barely felt minds that she wasn't familiar with. Most of JNPR and their kids were at home with Jaune elsewhere in the city. Less than a block away, Ruby found the traitor. _Jaune, you tailing the bastard?_ she called.

 _I am,_ Jaune thought back. _He's at a bar with a woman I've never seen before. He moves on fast._

 _Another one?_ Ruby grit her teeth. _Whatever. Make sure he doesn't leave. Back me up when I get there._

 _Shouldn't we leave this to the police? They can-_

 _Back. Me. Up._ Ruby pulled back into her own head.

Cerise finally released a primal growl. _The police may hold him, but he's ours first. It's not their fight._

 _Damn straight._ Ruby glared at where she felt the bastard's mind. Cerise hovered over the building. _Jaune's my backup. Don't even worry about the care package this time._

 _Give him hell._

 _With pleasure._ Ruby dropped from Cerise' back and onto the street below. She looked to her right to see Jaune walking up with sword and shield raised. "Ready to take down a cheating bastard?"

Jaune grimaced and hefted his sword. "He kidnapped Angel from my home and with my kids right there. He's going away for good."

"Glad to hear it." Ruby glared at the entryway to the bar and stormed inside. Her target sat at the bar itself, way too close to another woman. Even though it was barely past seven, the place was packed. Very few people took their attention off their drinks or conversations to look at the newcomers. Ruby took a deep breath. "Flax Carson!" Most heads in the place turned toward Ruby. Her target's head turned the fastest and his face paled. "You are under arrest for the-"

Flax pulled a pistol from a hidden holster, just like Ruby knew he would. The Rider sprinted forward and grabbed the cheater's extended arm. She pulled and flung Flax over her head and slammed him into the concrete floor. She felt something give in the bastard's arm, giving Ruby a perverse pleasure that she never would have had two days ago. Flax groaned as he reached with his left hand for his other hidden holster. Ruby drew back her bionic arm and switched it to gun mode. She pointed it directly at Flax' face with the reticle in her bionic eye centered in between the cheater's eyes. "Go ahead. Resist. Give me a reason to pull the trigger."

Flax blinked, fear in his eyes and radiating off him. "How?" He put his arms behind his head.

"How am I alive? Your boss couldn't kill me." Ruby switched her bionic arm back to a hand and forced flax onto his stomach. "Now as I was saying, you're under arrest for the kidnapping of Angel Rose." She looked up at Flax' apparent date. Her mouth was practically on the ground as she stared at Ruby like she was an alien. "You could do so much better. He's married and he's been dating my sister in law for years."

Jaune walked over and confiscated Flax' dual pistols. "You come to my house and take a kid from my yard. If it wasn't Ruby coming for you, someone on my team would be."

Ruby grabbed Flax' clasped hands and mumbled gibberish while she froze the bastard's hands together. She then hoisted the cheater to his feet and sat him down in the chair he had before. "Now, while we wait for the police to take you away, you get to deal with me." She narrowed her eyes. "Keep in mind, you are wanted by the elves too. If I hear something particularly scummy or insults, I have the authority to take you to them instead of Vale where I or the elves can do whatever we want to you. Understand?"

Flax winced. "I'm sure you know you can't make people like me talk."

"In none of the normal ways, yes." Ruby narrowed her eyes. "I also know people like you pride yourselves on not giving up anything. So I'm going to tell you what's going to happen. Since you handed my daughter over to a known torturer, you are in Rider custody. I can choose to hand you over to Vale or take you to the Riders' prison. If you answer all my questions, I will let you go with Vale. If not…" Ruby sent several mental lances into Flax' brain. The traitor clenched his eyes and threw his head back. "That's only a small sample. O'Donnell killed himself before I could do anything to him. I've got a lot of pent up anger to take out. In all my fun, I will pull everything from your head that I can use at any point. I don't care if you end up brain dead. And guess what, I will have all the answers to questions I don't even have yet and information on any and all of your previous employers. Do I make myself clear?" She sent another mental attack for good measure.

Flax partially opened one of his clenched eyes. "I'll cooperate."

"Good. How long were you planning to hand my daughter over to a slaver? I doubt you swung it that quick after I exposed you to your wife."

"He approached me two weeks ago with the promise of Lien and a Faunus woman for myself." He groaned as he moved his right arm. "I think you broke something in here."

"Do you want to hear the list of injuries you enabled my daughter to have?" Ruby said all that with teeth clenched, then delivered a left hook to the bastard's chin. His Aura collapsed and a tooth went flying. "You're lucky that's all you have. How did you meet him?" She continued her interrogation for a few more minutes. During that time, the bar cleared out and Jaune smoothed things over with the bar's owner. Ruby ignored the cameras pointed in her direction. She'd definitely be taking some heat for her actions but she didn't care one bit. Screw the media. As long as she got justice for her daughter, it was worth it.

When Ruby was wrapping up with her mini interrogation, she heard sirens and saw red and blue lights flashing in the bar. "Looks like your ride's here. Since you've been a good boy, I'll let you go with Vale police. That's the best you're going to get from me." She pulled the cheater to his feet and pushed him out the door.

Outside, a couple officers stood by their patrol car. Ruby pushed her prisoner two steps forward before a familiar voice screamed from the side. "Traitor!" Ruby blinked and looked to the left. Viki stormed toward the others with her steel melting glare focused only on her recent ex-boyfriend. "I trusted you!" One of the two officers moved to intercept Viki. The woman didn't resist but she did her best to get an unobstructed view of Flax. "I loved you! We took you into our home! How do you repay us? Repay _me?_ Kidnapping my niece? Giving her to a slaver? I hate you! I'm done with you!" She spat at Flax and it landed on his shoes. The officer pushed a little harder. "If I ever see your face again, you won't have time to be sorry!" She backed away from the officer and walked back the way she came.

Ruby blinked after her sister. She had never seen Viki lose her temper before. Ruby didn't know Viki _could_ get that angry. That was another person that needed to be fixed at home, though Ruby had to admit that she wholeheartedly agreed with everything Viki said. It made her feel good inside. But how did Viki get to this part of the city so quick? Ruby looked up at the right time to see Nalia fly overhead. That would do it.

She shook her head and handed over her prisoner to the officers. "Can we get this done quick? I want to get back to my daughter as soon as possible."

The officer pushed Flax into the back seat of his patrol car then faced Ruby. "I can understand that." The officer started asking a series of questions that Ruby had gotten used to over the years, basically what happened from her point of view to what led up to her use of force. She downplayed that last bit from what actually happened. It wouldn't be good to say she wanted to beat Flax' face in on an official report, not that it couldn't be seen already.

With the formalities out of the way, Ruby walked away, leaving Jaune to the mercies of the officers. As she went, another mind touched hers. She was about to fight it off but she recognized the feeling of an elf's mind, one that she had worked with once or twice. She didn't have a name, but she knew the one on the other side was friendly. She looked over her shoulder at the source. One of the two officers looked back and nodded. It looked like Flax was going into Rider custody after all. Good.

Ruby left the scene and pulled out her Scroll. She hit Aaron's contact and brought the Scroll to her ear. It didn't get through the first ring before Aaron answered. _"Need something, Ruby?"_

"I'm still in the city, is there anything I can get for Angel while I'm here?"

" _Hold on a second."_ There was a little movement on the other side.

" _Mommy?"_ Angel whispered, some of her emotions making it through.

Ruby fought back a few more tears. "Hi, sweetie. I'm still in the city after arresting that bad man. Is there anything I can get you while I'm here?"

Angel didn't respond right away. _"I'm hungry."_

"Okay, Angel. I'll pick something up for you." Ruby turned down another road, walking away from her dragon. "Your belly will be happy when I get back. I may be a while, but I promise it'll be worth the wait." She paused. "How are you feeling, sweetie?"

" _I don't hurt. Auntie Weiss and Saphira have a present for me… I'm tired, but I don't want to sleep."_

Ruby's legs froze up for a second before moving again. She knew that exact feeling. "We can talk about that when I get home, Angel. But for now, could you give daddy his Scroll back?"

" _Okay, mommy… I love you."_

"I love you too." Ruby waited to hear the Scroll change hands before saying anything else. "Whose idea was it to bring Viki down here?"

" _Hers,"_ Aaron said. _"She went alone with Nalia. I'm not leaving Angel's side. Very few of us are."_

"I'll join you once I get back." The family's favorite Vacuo Roadhouse appeared from behind a few other buildings. "I'll get some food for all of us. Barely any of us have eaten anything substantial in a day."

" _You've got me there. I'll trust you."_

"Thank you. You won't be sorry. I'll talk to you when I get home." Ruby ended the call and put her Scroll back in its pocket. "Weiss finally made it. I wonder what she has for Angel…"

Ruby pushed into the Vacuo Roadhouse, ignoring the stares from other people. With how far and fast word had spread that Angel was kidnapped, even people who lived under rocks had to have heard of it. The hostess up front stared at Ruby with an open mouth as the Rider walked up to her. "I need to speak to your manager."

"Oh." The other woman blinked. "Of course." She walked off into the kitchen while someone else took her place. About a minute later, the hostess returned with Claret in tow.

"Ruby!" Claret walked right up to the Rider. "Why are you here? Is Angel okay?"

"Angel is fine." Ruby raised a hand to calm her fellow former captive. "She's safe at home, surrounded by friends and family." She lowered her hand. "We got him, Claret. We got O'Donnell."

Claret's shoulders slumped and her rabbit ears drooped. "Really? Is… is he…"

"He won't be hurting anyone else ever again."

Claret let out a breath and stumbled forward. Ruby caught her friend and just held her. It was a tough few years for Claret too. The two got a few looks and glares from other patrons in the restaurant, but a glare from Ruby sent them away. After about a minute, Claret pulled away and wiped a hand under her eyes. "Sorry. That was unprofessional. Is there another reason you're here?"

"It's been a long couple of days and everyone's hungry. The usual for the whole family."

"Of course." Claret nodded. "I'll see if I can get everything sped up." She turned around and walked back into the kitchen. Ruby leaned against the wall right by the entry door. Even though she knew it took a while to get everything prepared, she couldn't help but get antsy. She just wanted to get back to her baby girl as soon as possible. About twenty minutes later, Claret came back with two oversized and stuffed to the brim takeout bags. "Here's your order, and it's on the house."

Ruby sighed. "I don't have time to argue. Just expect a big tip next time we're in." She took the bags and walked back outside. She looked up to where her dragon hovered overhead. "Adur." Her feet left the ground as she flew up to her dragon. Cerise positioned herself under her Rider and Ruby ended the spell. "Take me to my baby."

 _Hold onto your food._ Cerise turned toward the mountains and flew at somewhere between a leisurely pace and frantic. Competing desires must have slowed her down. When she reached the house, Ruby didn't wait for her dragon to touch down before dropping to the ground. The dragon door opened revealing only Saphira in the Hall.

Saphira raised her head from the floor to face the newcomers. _I trust you got him?_

"We did, and now I'm home for good." Ruby walked straight toward the master. "How is she?"

 _Scared, hungry, tired, I think she's held onto either Aaron, Yang, or Weiss' present since we got here._

Ruby glanced at the dragon. What kind of present would take Angel's attention away from her family? Just as she was about to walk into her bedroom, Ruby heard someone crying in the Hall. She faced the sound and the sitting area. Viki was the only one over there. This had to be overwhelming for her too… Angel was surrounded by friends and family... She could wait a minute more for her mommy.

The Rider walked over to her sister in law. Viki had tears running down her face. Rage and sadness competed for dominance in her head. "Viki?" Ruby started as she set the food down.

Viki gave Ruby a sideways glance before returning her gaze to the floor. "Why?"

"Some people are jerks." Ruby sat next to Viki and draped an arm over her sister in law's shoulders. "I'm sorry you had to deal with one more."

"He was married. He kidnapped Angel and gave her to a slaver… I wouldn't blame her if she hated me."

"You know her. She loves you. She could never hate you."

Viki clenched her fists and eyes. "It's his fault. it's all _his_ fault!"

 _Well, the dragons knew he was hiding something, but none of us listened,_ Ruby thought to herself. _But that's a good state of mind for her to be in._

" _He's_ the one who sold out Angel. _He's_ the one who betrayed our trust. _He's_ the one who lied to me for years." Viki released her fists and hung her head. "I loved him. He was part of the family." She finally looked at Ruby. "I was going to ask you if you could make me able to have babies again."

Ruby felt her lips part. That was the first time she heard Viki say anything like that. "Viki… I don't know what to say."

"Say you'll make sure he never gets out of prison," Viki growled. "If he does, he won't be out for long. If he does, I'll find him. I'll find the traitor. I loved him, and he repaid me by working with a slaver to try to kill Angel. I hate him. He's dead to me, and if I ever see him again, he will be dead."

If this were any other day, Ruby would have admonished Viki. Considering what happened, she couldn't be happier. "I'll be right there to back you up."

"Thank you, sister… I don't suppose you could teach me how to shoot?"

"I can do that. With where we live, it's good for you to be able to defend yourself anyway."

"Thank you again." Viki sighed. "Now I have to hope I can repair my relationship with Angel."

"She loves you and you love her. It won't take you too long." Ruby stood up and grabbed the food again. She pushed her way into her massive bedroom and her question from before she went into the Vacuo Roadhouse was answered. Nalia curled up around a life-sized Bright Wing stuffed dragon which in turn curled up around Aaron and Angel. The girl now wore her favorite set of pajamas. Yang and Weiss leaned over the white plush on either side of Angel. The girl herself had her arms wrapped around the Bright Wing's head while her dad rubbed her back. Ruby thought she'd have to force a smile but felt it coming on somewhat naturally. "Make a friend there, Angel?"

Angel looked up at her mom and nodded. "She's soft." Her eyes focused on the bags of food. Ruby heard her girl's stomach growl from over a dozen feet away. Normally she would have teased her, but now wasn't the time.

Ruby reached the group and started handing everyone their meals. Angel started stuffing her face with the rolls as soon as the food reached her hands. Ruby gave Weiss a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, I know you don't like Vacuo Roadhouse, so I didn't get you anything."

Weiss waved her off. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine." She touched her mind to Ruby's. _I know you're gonna ask, so I'll just say it now. I am willing to help Angel in any way._

 _Thank you._ Ruby sat down next to her daughter while she ate her own food. Angel slowly leaned into her mother's side as time went on. No one talked much while eating with Angel not saying anything at all. When she finished, she hugged her mom and buried her face in Ruby's chest. Even though Ruby still had most of her own meal to go, she held her daughter close.

After everyone was done eating, Ruby looked back and locked eyes with her partner. Without saying anything verbally or mentally, Weiss nodded and walked around the stuffed dragon to sit by Ruby and Angel. The mother rubbed the side of her daughter's head. "Angel? Can you look up please?" Angel did as Ruby asked, though her eyes were half-lidded like she was going to fall asleep at any moment. "Angel, your Auntie Weiss and I know how you feel." Yang and Aaron stood up and walked away, giving the others some privacy. Cerise walked over and covered those with her Rider with a wing.

Angel cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"We know what it feels like to go through a situation like the one you did," Weiss explained.

Angel's head sunk into her shoulders. "No, you don't."

"Yes, we do, Angel," Ruby said. "When I was only a little older than you, that same bad man who did those things to you did them to me." Angel turned her eyes up toward her mom.

"Other bad people did similar things to me," Weiss continued. "We both know hurt that so many people don't and wish no one did."

Ruby kissed her daughter's forehead. "We know it hurts. We know it hurts right now and when you go to sleep. Your whole family will be there to help you if you ask, but if there's something that you want to talk about only with people who know your pain, we will listen because we know what it's like."

Angel dipped her head. "When will it not hurt?"

Ruby sighed. "It could take a long time, if it ever goes away." She shivered. "When I'm reminded of what happened that day, it hurts. It hurt so much more knowing that you were going through what I did." She brushed some of Angel's hair to the side to better see her daughter's face. "It hurts to talk about what happened. I know. But it feels so much better to talk about it than to let it stay and build up."

Angel just stayed silent. "I'm tired."

"I understand." Ruby kissed her daughter once more. "You can stay here with Cerise." She tried to stand up but her daughter held her down.

"Can you stay?" Angel looked at her mom with large, pleading eyes.

Ruby's mouth dropped open then she pulled it back up. "If that's what you want." She leaned back onto the stuffed dragon. Angel cuddled up close to her mom. In less than a minute, Angel was fast asleep. Ruby turned her attention to her partner. "Thank you for being here."

"You're welcome." Weiss nodded. "I'll leave you alone." She ran a hand down Angel's back before walking toward the door to the room.

The mother closed her eyes and rested her head on her baby girl's. _I'm here, Angel. I'm not going away any time soon._

* * *

 **Oh, that felt good. Now, we're done with the Nevermores! They're in the trash, not going to pull them back out. Full focus on Salem from here on out.  
**


	85. Tesla Tower

**So... Area 51... I'm not storming that unless I have my kick butt XCOM squad with me, which so happens to have three generations of Colonel Roses. If not well, it's good for the memes.  
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 **Just as I was about to upload this thing, I saw that this fic has finally reached 200 favorites! As per tradition, that means another chapter on Friday... assuming things don't stack up against me like they did today...**

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"Thanks, Pyrrha," Aaron said into his Scroll. "I know it's sudden, but that's all I got."

" _I understand,"_ Pyrrha responded. _"I'll be there in about twenty minutes."_ The line clicked without another word.

Aaron sighed and put his Scroll back in a pocket. "Now to tell Ruby..."

 _You know she's not going to like this,_ Nalia growled.

"I know, but we need to jump on this as fast as possible. Yang can take over here. Get down to your armoring spot. I'll be down when I can." Aaron walked out of the sitting area and toward Ruby's main level workshop. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. Unlike so many times Aaron found his wife in the room, there was no banging metal, no bright welding light, no paper or holographic diagrams. Instead, two swords lay on her main workbench. She chanted in the Ancient Language with her natural hand hovering in between both weapons.

Ruby lowered her hand and faced Aaron. "Need something, honey?"

"Yeah." Aaron looked at the two swords. "Find anything with those?"

"I think so." Ruby focused back on the blades and pointed at the one on the right. "Durza's was imbued with magic to cause its victims immense pain when it was forged, which is why Nora's scar was so bad." She pointed at the other one. "The one Salem gave O'Donnell doesn't have that, but it can break through most wards, probably even the kind on Riders' weapons. I found everything else on Durza's blade." Ruby smiled at her husband with her eyes glassy. "It's not a fluke that Angel hasn't had an attack yet. She may have that scar permanently, but she won't have those pain attacks. I just hope that's because Salem didn't think of it and not because she didn't trust O'Donnell with a stronger one."

"You don't know how happy I am to hear that… actually, you probably do." Aaron paused. "I wish I was just here to ask you that. Arya has a mission for us."

Ruby's smile disappeared. She blinked and her eyes grew hard. "She can stuff it where the sun don't shine. I'm _not_ leaving Angel. I thought you of all people would understand that." She stormed past Aaron while glaring at him.

"Pyrrha's on her way here right now." Aaron turned around to see Ruby open the door to the Hall. "Arya's going to be on the mission too."

The Elder froze in the open door. Her shoulders slumped and she turned her head back toward her husband. "All our Maidens? This is big, isn't it?"

"If it wasn't, I would have told Arya myself that I'm not leaving Angel. It sounds like we may have a location on one of Salem's lieutenants.

"Really?" Ruby straightened her neck. "What else do we have?"

"Nothing. It was a coded message. She wants to meet in person with the others that are going to be on mission… the meeting's at Fort Castle."

"It's in elf territory then." Ruby nodded then turned her head away. "I guess we need to go break the news to Angel."

"Yeah." Aaron shook his head. A week after the event, Angel's head hadn't gotten any better, except for using 'mommy' and' daddy' less often. "I don't want to leave either, but we can't pass this up."

"You can say that again." Ruby stepped into the Hall with Aaron following. She looked toward where her dragon lay by Angel's bedroom. "Cerise, I know you were listening. Get downstairs and get the elves to armor you up." Cerise snorted then left the house as well.

Ruby walked up to her daughter's door and knocked on it before opening. Aaron followed his wife inside. Angel's room was a mess on a normal day. Now with all the chocolates, stuffed animals, and other gifts from other Riders, friends and family, and even a few elves, it was almost impossible to walk across the room. One of the elves even made the Bright Wing able to hum and curl up around Angel by sewing an enchanted diamond into the stuffed animal's ear. That was the position his daughter was currently in, leaning against the stuffed animal with Yang while the two of them raced in Lario Kart.

"Can you pause this for a second?" Aaron asked.

"You got it," Yang said. A pause symbol appeared in the center of the projection. She and Angel looked over the back of the stuffed dragon at Ruby and Aaron. "What's up?"

"Something's happened. Ruby and I have to go."

Angel's eyes teared up and Yang's jaw dropped. The latter's eyes flicked to her sister before she loosened up. "Oh."

"But… why?" Angel whimpered.

"Oh, sweetie." Ruby walked around the stuffed dragon and hugged her daughter. Angel returned it while the stuffed dragon adjusted to include Ruby in its curl. "We don't want to leave, but we have to." She pulled away and looked Angel in the eyes. "We're going to go fight somebody that could hurt a lot of people if we don't. This is the first time we've had the chance to do this. We can't ignore it."

Aaron crouched in front of his daughter and placed a hand on her right knee. "Auntie Yang and Uncle Halcyon are going to be staying with you. They can take care of you if something goes wrong." He took his hand off Angel's knee and caressed her face. "You're my strong girl. You won't let anything go wrong, will you?" Angel slowly shook her head. "That's my girl." Aaron leaned forward and kissed Angel on the forehead. "We'll be back as soon as we can."

Ruby kissed her daughter as well. "I love you, Angel. Be good for your Aunt." The parents stood up and started walking toward the door.

"She's not the one that's going to need to be good for the other," Yang called right as the door was closing.

Aaron glared at the door. "She better be joking."

"Come on, Aaron," Ruby said in her mission voice. "Let's get this done so we can spoil her later."

"Copy that, boss." Aaron followed Ruby to the elevator and they rode down together. The couple then walked to the armoring room where several elves were already getting the two dragons suited up. Aaron put on his own set of mixed plate and Kevlar armor while Ruby just helped the elves. A few minutes later, Pyrrha joined in the process, taking off her relatively light joint armor to do so.

When the dragons were combat ready, their Riders mounted them with Pyrrha joining Ruby on Cerise. They took off in the twilight sky toward the nearest river. Aaron cast the first between worlds spell and Ruby did on the other side. Fort Castle had changed quite a bit since the first time Aaron was there. Not only were the walls fixed up. Elven guard towers lined the perimeter and the two giant cannons on either side of the main door had been restored. The keep inside was built back up with stone in the traditional elven flowing design with it appearing that trees held the whole thing together. Outside the walls, a small city grew. Of course, elves shaped the trees to be whatever they wanted them to be. However, Remmartians had also started building their own houses and paving streets in the area. Soldiers from the other Alagaesian kingdoms lived in the city as well. Possibly even a few civilians too. They were there for different reasons, but their end goals eventually lined up.

Nalia and Cerise flew over the wall and landed on either side of the fountain in the center. That wasn't there the last time Aaron met with the Queen several months ago. He looked at the statue on top and his jaw dropped. At first he thought it was Ruby in stone, but the face was a little more rounded, the clothes were a little different, and the vertical sword the woman leaned on wasn't Máni Bláto. Aaron looked across the way at his wife. Ruby stared at the statue of Summer Rose with an open mouth. At the same time, Pyrrha looked between the daughter and the stone mother.

Without a word, the three humans dismounted the two dragons and grouped up in front of the statue. "Did you know about this?" Pyrrha asked Ruby.

"I didn't." Ruby shook her head. "I'm assuming they talked to my dad about this." She stared at the ground, but there was an intent to it. "It's over the exact spot where she…" She sighed. "I didn't expect them to do this."

"I just wish I got to know her for real." Aaron focused on the plaque on the front of the fountain. It read, 'In Memory of Summer Rose, Mother of Ruby 'Shadeslayer' Rose and Yang 'Goldmane' Xiao Long, Huntress of Vale, Victor of the Vytal Festival Tournament, Leader of Team STRQ, Bane of the Nevermores. _Thus Kindly I Scatter.'_ "They definitely talked to your dad about this. They would not do something this personal without permission from relatives."

"I guess, yeah." Ruby smiled. "Does this stone make me look fat?"

Pyrrha gave Ruby a look. "I'm sorry?"

"It's nothing." Ruby laughed a little to herself. "It's just what my mom would likely say about this. Anyway, I'm practically her clone."

 _I hate to break this up,_ Cerise started, _but we have a mission briefing to get to._

Ruby cleared her throat. "Yeah. Aaron, you know where this meeting is?"

"Arya said she'd send someone to get us." Aaron looked around the courtyard. Most of the center of the area was clear, but there was a group of elves wearing… Atlesian armor. Aaron quirked his eyes at that group. That was different. Was this mission going to be around here or in Atlas? "I'm not the only one who sees them, am I?"

The two women also looked at the soldiers. "No, I see them too," Ruby said.

"I thought I saw an Atlesian transport sitting outside." Pyrrha offered. "That still doesn't explain this."

Ruby squinted her eyes and took a few steps toward the group. "Is that Yaela in there?" Aaron took a closer look at some of the faces. He indeed saw Yaela in full armor with her helmet on her lap. A few other elves that he had experience with were also in that squad. Actually, he knew all of them. They were the same elves that helped attack Urû'baen. Everyone that he knew in that squad was a strong spellcaster… but that was a big battle tactic and magic didn't work against Alagaësian Grimm. He was missing something here.

"I think our escort has arrived," Pyrrha said. Aaron turned his head toward the keep. Blödhgarm, also wearing a type of Atlesian armor with no helmet, was walking toward the group at the fountain. How that worked with all his fur, Aaron didn't know. The humans walked around the fountain to meet the elf at the halfway point.

For once, the elf skipped the greeting. "Riders, Huntress, please follow me to the briefing." He turned around and headed back toward the keep.

"Is there anything you can tell us?" Aaron asked. "Like why are so many of you wearing Atlesian armor?"

"We will be working with the Atlesian military in this mission. We are armored so we can blend in with their soldiers without being noticed by our enemy."

"Why are all the elves we worked with in Urû'baen here?" Ruby gestured toward the squad in question. "And why didn't Yaela tell us about this?"

Blödhgarm straightened. "Queen Islanzadí hand-picked twelve elves, specifically spellcasters, to help the Riders and our other allies to fight Salem. We all have strengths in different areas to enable us to cover many different missions. Yaela is the best of us at placing wards, and she can work with Remmartian technology the best out of all of us." He looked back at Ruby. "Yaela didn't tell you because the Queen wished to tell you herself. But since you have seen them, it would be counterproductive to keep that information from you."

"A small strike force." Aaron nodded. "But I still don't see why you're so many of you are wearing _Atlesian_ armor."

"Arya and General Ironwood will explain."

Aaron slowed down and glanced at the two people he came with. Ruby had her eyes quirked in suspicion while Pyrrha just looked confused. Aaron could understand both. They were all right under Arya in the command structure. Why were they being given the runaround?

 _Weiss and Saphira are flying in,_ Nalia called. _Pretty fast too._

Aaron stopped in place and faced back toward the courtyard. Ruby did the same. So many high ranking members of the Riders were all in one place. Especially considering the people involved, this felt poorly organized. _Tell Weiss to follow our minds. That'll save a little time, something I get the feeling we don't have a lot of._ Aaron turned back around and walked to catch up with Blödhgarm and Pyrrha.

The elf led the way into a small conference room. Arya stood in front of a mirror that showed Generals Ironwood and Schnee in the frame. James and Winter were armed and had more armor on than normal. Arya faced the newcomers. "Good to see you here on such short notice."

"We came as fast as we could," Ruby stepped forward and crossed her arms. "Now what's going on?"

James cleared his throat. "Normally I would wait for all major members of an operation to be present, but since time is of the essence, we cannot wait for that luxury." Both Atlesian generals backed up out of frame and a hologram of Solitas and the black cover over Manchu took their place. "One month ago, one of our satellites discovered a heat trail from over the ocean matching one of our troop transports." The hologram zoomed in on one section of ocean with two lines of red, orange, and yellow growing toward Manchu. "At first, we thought it was an anomaly in the camera. Still, one of my technicians followed it and noticed it disappeared before it reached the cover that keeps our satellites blind." Like the general said, the two heat trails terminated in a perfectly straight line about a mile away from the cover. "Further analysis of the data showed that the camera was functioning properly and that the trails were a perfect match for an M6 Manta dropship, specifically one that was built six years ago."

"So someone's going to Manchu in an old, invisible transport," Aaron summarized. "Judging from the armor many of the elves are wearing, you traced this thing back to somewhere on Solitas."

"Indeed." The hologram shifted again to show two more heat trails running across over land. Weiss walked in during this time and watched the hologram through the mirror. Just like before, the trails ended in a straight line a few hundred feet away from a mountain. "This footage is from ninety minutes ago. The target is twenty-five miles north of Mantle. We don't know who it is or what is in there, and we don't have time to properly scout it out. If we don't move on this now, I don't know how long it will be until we have another opportunity."

Pyrrha cocked her head. "The satellites can pick it up over the ocean and most of Solitas, but it loses visual when it reaches its destination. That feels like a big oversight."

"That feels like a trap," Ruby said. "At least Salem is kind enough to let us know it's a trap before we go in."

"Our thoughts exactly," Winter said. Weiss straightened at the sound of her sister's voice. The hologram disappeared and the two generals stepped back into frame. "We are moving on this as soon as we are done here."

Arya stepped forward. "We are the infiltration teams here. Blödhgarm and I are Wraith One. Ruby and Aaron, you two are Wraith Two. Pyrrha and Weiss, Wraith Three. We will all approach the mountain from different sides. After that, we're on our own. We have no numbers on Grimm or any other hostiles. When we arrive, I will be using the Relic of Creation to create wards and spells that prevent the creation of other portals to and from the mountain. Salem will not be able to evacuate whoever is there, nor will she be able to bring in reinforcements."

"If and when you discover Salem or one of her lieutenants," James started, "Atlas is ready to engage large numbers of Grimm and other enemies. I will lead the First Air Task Force from the _Hammer of Atlas."_ Aaron saw Ruby's eye's shine at the mention of Remnant's first purpose-built aerial carrier. From Aaron's understanding, the _Hammer_ was simply a carrier with two flight decks and four engines keeping it in the air. Naturally, Ruby wanted one and to put even more guns on it. "Only the captains of the _Hammer_ and the _Vytal_ know what is really going on here. I believe you are acquainted with Captain Bradford."

Ruby nodded. "Last time we saw him was on the _Saint Nick._ It'll be good to see him again if it comes to that."

"I will be leading Atlas forces on the ground," Winter said. "We should be able to keep the Grimm off you while you do what you need to. From my understanding, the rest of your spellcasters will be protecting my men from any hostile spells Salem may have placed." Aaron inclined his head. The elves _were_ using that old tactic.

"Why call me here?" Weiss asked. "I was already up there checking in on something at our facility up there. I could have met up with the task force in much less time."

"We needed a reason for a portal to form over Mantle," James said. "A meeting here and you responding to a call for assistance given by the Atlesian military would do it. The other dragons will fly in invisible, and so will you and Saphira after you check in on the _Hammer."_

"We don't have time to waste," Arya relaxed her arms. "We need to move before Salem and whoever it is we are tracking are alerted to what we're doing. Get to your dragons and get ready to fly."

"You got it, boss." Ruby turned around and took a few steps away.

" _Before you go,"_ Islanzadí called, _"I must remind you that not all elves are under your command. I did not appreciate hearing about your… discipline of those that assisted you against O'Donnell."_

Aaron felt the air grow cold, and it wasn't from Ruby's Maiden abilities. He looked at his wife out of the corner of his eye. Ruby turned back around and gave Islanzadí the fiercest glare Aaron had ever seen. _"If they were under my command,"_ Ruby started, her voice something out of a dragon's nightmares, _"they would have come back with physical scars as well as mental ones."_ She shifted her glare to Blödhgarm who flinched and looked away under her gaze. Even the Queen looked uneasy. Ruby turned around again and walked out of the room. Aaron followed his wife out.

Out in the hall, Ruby elbowed Aaron. "When was the last time when we were on the ground together on a mission like this?" Her voice had none of the hostility it did only seconds before.

Aaron stared at Ruby for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Way too long. I've got your back."

"And _stay_ behind me if we run into the Summer Maiden, whoever she is now." Ruby looked behind her at Wraith Three. "I know for a fact you two haven't flown together yet. You going to be okay?"

"If I didn't need to be invisible the whole time," Pyrrha started, "I wouldn't have a problem with it."

"We'll manage," Weiss said. "We've got the helmets you built. That makes things a whole lot easier."

Ruby nodded. "Good to hear." The group walked out of the keep and back into the courtyard. "Let's get in the air." She walked toward Cerise while Aaron angled toward Nalia. The other Riders went for their own dragons. Blödhgarm yelled something at the other elves in the area, making them grab their gear and walk for the large doors in the massive exterior wall.

When he was settled in the saddle, Aaron pat Nalia's neck. "Let's get the first portal opened."

 _Got it._ Nalia spread her wings and jumped out of Fort Castle. She angled toward one of the nearby lakes. The other four dragons going on the mission followed soon after. When the lake came into view, Nalia dove for the water's edge. Aaron cast the between worlds spell from Nalia's back. Cerise dove through the portal first followed by Fírnen and Saphira. The Manta carrying the rest of the elves arrived about a minute later and entered slowly. Nalia waited a few more seconds before diving in herself.

Instead of Lake Isenstar like most other times, they flew over open water between Narda and Vroengard. One by one, the other dragons turned invisible. Aaron put his own helmet on and cast the spell himself and Nalia disappeared beneath him. He knew that Nalia was beneath him but his eyes said that there was nothing beneath him. Times like this were the only ones that gave him vertigo anymore. The visor in his helmet just gave him the outline of his own body, not his dragon's.

Weiss, Saphira, and the Manta were the only things still visible above the water. Another portal opened and Aaron felt himself falling as Nalia dove. They plunged through the portal and into open air over the city of Mantle. Several Atlesian warships hung in the air over the recovering city, including the _Hammer of Atlas_ and the _Vytal._

 _Big Green, Street Rat,_ Ruby called, _we're going to circle around and go in from the North. Keep us on your minds._

 _We hear you, Shadeslayer,_ Aaron said. _We'll follow you in._ He felt Nalia turn north and Ruby and Cerise' minds fly in front of them. _How's it feel to be ordering us around again?_

 _Who's ordering who? I thought we were in this together. As far as I'm concerned, we're all on an even playing field here… but I'll leave reporting to Arya to you. You're more knowledgeable when it comes to current terminology._

 _Works for me._ Aaron stared into the distance roughly at where their destination lay. _Let's see what Salem has in store for us._

No more words passed between the dragons and Riders except for communications reporting progress or that they've reached their destination. Cerise and Nalia took a wide berth around the mountain so they wouldn't accidentally run into whatever was around it. As expected, Wraith Two reached their destination last as they had the furthest to travel.

"Wraith Two to Wraith One," Aaron whispered into his helmet's mic, "we are in position. Awaiting orders."

" _Copy that, Two. All Wraiths, move on target. We don't know if we'll lose our comms, so prepare for mental communication. Big Green, if something happens inside, it's your job to let Atlas know."_

" _I hear you,"_ Nalia's voice came over the comms. _"Wraith Two flying in."_ Aaron leaned forward and drew his V4. He already had a few silencing spells on the weapon, so he wouldn't alert any defenders with gunshots. The problem was he didn't know if the outline of his weapon on his visor was accurate. He might just be spraying and praying and hoping he didn't hit Nalia at all.

Aaron felt himself pass through some sort of barrier and the entire space in front of him changed. Dozens if not hundreds of Grimm filled the air. Some kind of aircraft were mixed among them as well. Unlike the other side, very little snow covered the ground. Instead, the ground was a black and red writhing mass. In addition to various types of Grimm, including the red striped mega varieties, dozens of mechs and androids roamed around. Some were Paladins and Knights, others were models Aaron had never seen before. At the center of it all rose a castle on top of a mountain with a large CCT transmitter sticking out from behind the walls. Another mountain rose to the side of the first, that one being a lot smoother… almost too smooth.

" _Wraith One to Hammer Actual,"_ Arya called. _"We are inside the bubble. Do you copy?"_

" _Hammer Actual to Wraith One, we hear you loud and clear. Your helmet cameras are transmitting as well. We can see everything you do."_

" _A good thing too,"_ Ruby said. _"We've got a lot of contacts and what looks like the Roc of Solitas here."_

Aaron focused harder on the second mountain. On this look, he noticed a few cuts and the patches he thought were snow were actually bone plates. "We don't have the firepower to take that thing down in here," Aaron said. "We're going to need the _Vytal_ to kill that thing. That thing killed the only other pair that survived the Fall. There's not much stopping it from ravaging Atlas. It needs to die today."

" _Copy that. Wraith One, are you prepared for our distractions?"_

" _Not yet. Give us a little more time. All Wraiths, move in."_

Aaron leaned forward as Nalia sped up. _I see a landing pad and our invisible Manta. I'm guessing our suspect is in there._

 _Good call, Big Green,_ Ruby said. _Tell us when you're clear._

 _Got it._ Nalia rose a little and angled directly for the landing pad. She hovered above an empty space, letting Aaron dismount at a safe speed. The Rider pointed his V4 into the castle while he waited for his wife's mind to reach his side. About a minute later, Ruby arrived and they entered the castle together.

"Wraith Two to Wraith One, we're in." Ruby's voice came from Aaron's side as well as through the helmet's speakers. The other two Wraith teams called in as well. Arya called in Atlas right after. It would still take the first wave of fighters a few minutes to make it to the bubble, which would give them a little more time to search the area.

A few halls in, Aaron reached out and grabbed Ruby's shoulder, or at least he thought it was her shoulder. "I take it you're just in your own head?" he whispered.

"I don't want to trigger anything, so yeah. Something tells me the fleet won't be able to hear us with everything going on in here. This doesn't look like a basic Great War or before castle. I'm just waiting for the trap."

"Me too. There has to be something waiting for us here." Aaron turned down a side hallway and he felt Ruby follow. "I highly doubt there's not something for us here."

"Oh, yeah." The ground shook and Aaron leaned against the nearest wall. The muted sound came a second later. Ruby grunted and her mind moved a little forward. "Our reinforcements are here."

"And our time is running out. Let's move." Aaron fell in behind where he felt Ruby's mind. He heard footsteps coming toward him and pressed himself against the wall. A squad of at least ten modified Atlesian Knights filed past him without stopping. When they disappeared, the two invisible Riders kept going.

As they continued, they kept passing more and more squads, each one more and more well armed. At one point, the androids switched from the Knights to something bigger with much scarier guns and grenade launchers on their backs. Aaron had a suspicion that he knew who was here.

The Riders reached the courtyard in the center, or what was probably intended as a courtyard when the castle was originally built. Instead, the CCT transmitter took up most of the space. Two Super Paladins and a plethora of other mechs and androids stood outside the door. This was it. Aaron walked toward the entry while keeping his weapon trained on one of the nearest androids.

One of the Super Paladins looked right at Aaron and its light 'eyes' glowed. "Targets identified." All other machines turned toward Aaron and space to his left.

"We've been made!" Aaron pulled the trigger and three Dust rounds tore into the nearest Knight and blew its head off. He cut the energy sustaining his invisibility spell and his arms and his weapons came into view. Aaron shifted his aim to a line of Knights and held down the trigger. That entire squad fell in seconds. Ruby dispatched a few of the lightly armored androids herself.

Then the machines opened fire. Aaron called on his scarcely used Semblance to protect him. A green Aura barrier appeared in front of him. Dust rounds hit the shield but it didn't drain him as much as it would have if it hit his Aura directly. He opened a slit in the shield and began firing at the various Knights scattered around the clearing. The smaller androids fell but the medium mechs held their ground. "Ruby! Anytime now!" The mechs with the grenade launchers on their backs widened their stance and launched their payloads. They were so spread out that they'd hit him no matter what. "Son of a-" Aaron extended his Aura shield to cover his head just before the grenades hit. The explosions drained Aaron and broke the shield. He was forced to the ground and his V4 clattered away.

Aaron raised his head, expecting to see dozens of guns pointed at him. Instead, ice spikes rose from the ground or shot out from the side, impaling nearly all of the androids. A roar came from above, quickly followed by Nalia slamming into the courtyard directly on top of the remaining machines. She turned her head toward her Rider with a growl. _Get off the ground! Your wife and I are doing all the hard work here._ She jumped back out of the courtyard, her shoulder mounted guns firing as soon as she cleared the walls. Three Beringels with _wings_ flew after her.

Ruby ran over to Aaron and crouched by his side with Máni Bláto in scythe form aimed at the entry to the transmitter. "You okay, honey? You took quite a hit there."

"I'll be fine." Aaron pushed himself up and grabbed his fallen rifle. "I can still fight."

"Good to hear. I have a feeling we-" A myriad of screeches filled the air. Ruby and Aaron looked up at the dozens of flying Grimm flying right toward them. "I've got something for them." She reached into a pocket and drew… a diamond hammer.

"Really? Now?"

"We need allies and eyes on Solitas." Ruby thrust the fist holding the Relic of Choice straight up. "You are now with me!" All the Grimm stopped in their tracks and their red turned blue. Aaron still didn't know what caused that change, but it was a nice visual indicator of what Grimm were on their side. "Fight on our side! Fight the Grimm! Fight Salem!" The fliers flew in random directions. The other hostile planes Aaron saw on the way in took their place.

"We need to move." Aaron sprinted for the door to the transmitter. Something slammed into his back and suddenly he was standing in a metal hallway with rose petals flowing in front of him. Outside, the courtyard practically exploded from what he could only assume were missiles or bombs. "Thanks for the save, Shadeslayer."

"You're welcome," Ruby pat his back. "Lead the way."

"You got it." Aaron compacted his V4 to submachinegun form then drew Redemption. Unlike the castle, the hallway was perfectly straight with a single door on the far side. He thought he heard a single voice speaking frantically. As he got closer, the voice grew clearer.

"-are here! We are out of time! I have no escape. Get me out of here!"

" _I told you, I can't,"_ a female voice said. _"Something is stopping my portals from opening. No one is nearby to use the Relic."_

"That's Salem," Ruby whispered. "I think I can guess who she's talking to right now."

"All the machines gives it away," Aaron agreed. He picked up his speed and pushed the partially open door open. A man in a black trench coat stood with his back facing the two Riders. A Grimm which matched Ruby's description of a Seer floated in front of the man. "Arthur Watts!" The man turned around, his eyes narrowed and his mustache twitching. "You are coming with us."

Watts glanced back at the Seer. "Salem..."

" _I am sorry, Arthur,"_ Salem's voice came from the Seer. _"You were very useful to me."_ One of the Grimm's spiked tentacles rose and aimed itself at the back of Watts' head. Two shots from Máni Bláto blew apart the weapon. The Seer fell to the ground and evaporated in a second. Watts didn't even flinch.

"I guess we know what she thinks about you." Aaron walked forward with Redemption pointing at the mechanist.

"Oh no, I asked for that." Watts returned his glare to Aaron. "I don't believe I care for spending the rest of my days in a Rider controlled prison."

"Too bad for you that's exactly what's going to happen." Ruby walked forward with her left hand raised. Watts' hands froze to his sides. "Wraith Two to Hammer Actual, we have one suspect in custody. We need a pickup."

" _Acknowledged, Wraith Two, but extraction is currently not possible. The Roc of Solitas is proving to be a difficult target for our air support to handle."_

"Acknowledged." Ruby forced Watts to his knees. "Also, when available, send Rider tech support to my position. I think we have a gold mine here." Her helmet's visor focused on Aaron. "Get out there. I'll keep this one subdued."

"If you say so." Aaron turned around and jogged out of the room. _Nalia, I'm coming out to you._

 _Good to hear. I could use a little more point defense here._ Nalia growled mentally and Aaron felt a little nick on a tail he didn't have. _Damn Griffon._

 _How's the Roc doing?_

 _Swatting Atlesian fighters out of the sky left and right. Saphira and Fírnen are doing their best, but they're not doing anything._

 _I guess we have to wait for the big guns._ Aaron left the transmitter and looked skyward. There were quite a few more friendly fighters in the air as well as the Grimm that Ruby converted earlier. Most of Watts' fighters were gone as well. The Roc of Solitas though… That thing was way too fast. It darted across the sky almost as fast as Cerise. Saphira and Fírnen were on the Grimm's neck likely doing their best. But that thing was bigger than Shruikan. It was going to take a lot to take it down.

Nalia dove into the courtyard and landed by her Rider. The shielding on her wings glowed purple. Aaron jumped onto his dragon's back and braced himself for takeoff. His dragon soared over the walls and flew toward the battle. Aaron extended his V4 to rifle form and took aim at the nearest Grimm.

A few minutes later, Aaron saw a beautiful sight. About a dozen Atlesian warships cleared another mountain and aimed directly at the battle. His radio clicked. _"This is the_ Vytal," now Captain Bradford began, _"clear the area immediately around the Roc of Solitas. We are going to fire."_ Even though Nalia was nowhere near the large Grimm, she flew even farther away while Aaron protected her tail.

The _Vytal_ flew up to the head of the formation. Two red lights glowed to life, then two lasers shot out and into the Roc miles away. An ear piercing shriek filled the air. Aaron clamped his hands to the side of his helmet on instinct. It took a few seconds for his helmet's speakers to drown out the sound. With his ears ringing, he faced the Roc of Solitas. The large Grimm fell out of the sky, a couple of massive holes in its chest. Both Fírnen and Saphira dove for the dying Grimm and most others scattered. It looked like killing this one had the same effect of killing the Dragon of Glen.

" _The Roc is dead,"_ Fírnen's voice came over the comms. _"Tore its throat out myself."_

" _Copy that, Roc is dead,"_ the _Hammer's_ comms person said. _"Stand by for the General."_

A few seconds passed before James' voice came over the radio. _"Well done everyone, but we are not finished here yet. We appear to have discovered a fortification used by Arthur Watts, creator of the Black Queen Virus, and traitor to the Kingdom of Atlas. We are going to gain as much data as we can from this structure as possible. Riders, we appreciate your help in this venture and your continued support."_

Aaron shook his head. That was essentially James asking them to stay a little longer to secure the area, not that they were planning on leaving. _Nalia, can you hear again?_

 _What?_ Nalia mentally yelled adding an audible growl. _I can't hear you. I think that thing burst my eardrums._

 _You'll be fine._ Aaron scanned the sky some more. _Let's get back to work._

* * *

"You will never beat Salem," Watts droned. "She is stronger than you'll ever know."

Ruby groaned as she continued to stare at the computer projector in front of her. "Tech, how far out are you?"

" _Our Manta was intercepted by a swarm of flying Beringel,"_ Yaela said. _"We are landing in the courtyard now."_

The Rider growled. She saw them before, but she still couldn't believe it. _"Flying_ Beringel? How?"

Even though it was rhetorical, Yaela answered anyway. " _They have wings. One of them knocked out one of our escorts in a single punch."_

Ruby groaned. "There's always something."

"My loss will only be a temporary setback for Salem," Watts continued. "I imagine she is sending forces to kill me as we speak. I will not live long enough for you to get any information out of me."

"Tech, do you need Watts conscious to do your work?"

" _Negative. I should be able to infiltrate his systems without his help."_

"Good to know." Ruby turned away from the projector and walked up to Watts. The mad scientist smirked. He opened his mouth to speak but Ruby slammed her bionic fist into his face. Watts fell backward and unconscious. "That felt good." She blinked as she stared at the body. She could have used the Relic of Choice on him to make him unlock his systems. That would have been nice.

Footsteps thundered down the hall. Ruby turned toward it and drew Máni Bláto and Crescent Rose. She didn't even fall into a defensive stance before she recognized it was Yaela leaving a squad of Atlesian soldiers. The troopers stormed past Ruby and cleared the room themselves while the elf just walked up to the Rider. Her eyes though were focused on the large computer on the opposite side of the room. "I assume that is my target?"

"That it is." Ruby positioned herself at the opening of the hall. "I'll keep the Grimm off you. Do your thing." There was some activity at the far end from other soldiers. After a few seconds of staring, the soldiers turned and ran into the long hall. A Beringel with _wings_ landed behind them. It looked like Yaela wasn't exaggerating.

Ruby spun her scythes and stuck them into the concrete floor. Two targeting reticles appeared as the Rider lined up her shots. She pulled the triggers and two Dust rounds buried themselves in the gorilla's eye sockets. The Grimm stumbled and roared, then charged down the hall. The soldiers turned around and opened fire, their rounds just bouncing off armor and skin. Ruby fired both her weapons again, this time directly into the Grimm's forehead. The beast fell, revealing another one untouched behind it.

The Rider didn't wait for an invitation. She fired at the Grimm's head right away, this time two in the eyes did the trick. Another hulking Grimm was behind that one. The soldiers formed up in a line on either side of Ruby and started firing down the hall themselves. For each gorilla they put down, another took its place. With soldiers on either side of her, Ruby couldn't use her Relic to get these Grimm on her side.

"Tech!" Ruby yelled as she slammed her only laser mag into Crescent Rose, "How much longer do you need?"

"I've barely begun," Yaela called. "This is not as simple as hacking into a personal computer."

"Hurry it up." Between shots, Ruby looked at her firing line. All soldiers had at least three mags on the ground by their feet. "We're running dry on ammo here." _Wolf's Bane, could you clear the courtyard?_

 _I'm on my way,_ Cerise called.

One of the soldiers pressed himself against a wall and brought a hand to his ear. "Menace to _Vytal_ , we could use some support here." Ruby didn't hear the response for that one.

About a minute later, Ruby heard her dragon's roar over the gunfire, followed by mounted chaingun fire. The hall lit up at the far end and she felt intense heat. "Hold fire!" Ruby ordered. The soldiers looked at her like she was crazy but they did as they were told. Ruby killed two more Beringels from range before she could see Cerise through the decaying Grimm. "Good to see you, Wolf's Bane."

Cerise snorted. _I'll keep the skies clear._ She turned away and jumped out of sight. A few seconds later, a large mech stepped in front of the opening. Ruby was about to wreck that one too but the IFF on her helmet's HUD said it was a friendly.

As the soldiers regrouped and counted their ammo, Ruby walked to Yaela's side. Several lines of text that made no sense to Ruby filled the projector in front of them. "Any idea how long it will take to crack this?"

"Until I find some vulnerability, I can't give you anything." Yaela shook her head but her eyes never lost their focus. "Watts is good. No wonder he was able to break into Atlas' systems. Then again, so can I."

Ruby turned to the most recent gunfire outside the transmitter. "We can't hold out here forever. If you can't crack this in five minutes, we have to leave. I have a feeling the fleet is going to level this place.

"Copy that. I'll…" Yaela blinked and started typing faster. Lines of text flashed across the projector until several other windows opened up. She smirked. "I'm in, and I win. Give me five minutes to get this all transmitted to base."

"You'll have it." Ruby walked away and opened a comms channel. "Wraith Two to Hammer Actual, we've gained access to the target's computer. The Grimm might decide to attack the transmitter while we're getting the computer's contents out of here."

" _Hammer Actual copies, Wraith Two,"_ Ironwood's voice came over the radio. _"We'll keep the Grimm off you until you're finished."_

Ruby closed the channel and looked around the room. If this transmitter was like any of the others, it would be nearly impossible for ground Grimm to break in the base except through the main entry. It would be up to those in the air to keep the transmitter safe… wait… they weren't alone in the room.

Ruby used her Semblance to put herself in between the west wall and the computer. A Geist shot out of the wall and flew at her. She swung Crescent Rose at it but missed. The Grimm collided with her bionic arm and disappeared. Its mask appeared on her hand. Error messages filled Ruby's bionic eye and her arm began to spasm of its own accord.

The Rider yelped as she suddenly had to dodge Máni Bláto as it swung toward her head. Ruby dropped Crescent Rose as she tried to pry her arm off. Meanwhile, her rogue arm began shooting at the soldiers in the room. Ruby was able to use her weight to throw each shot off course but it was always too close for comfort.

She managed to twist her bionic arm off and it fell to the ground. The error messages in her bionic eye disappeared. Ruby stared at her hijacked limb as it flailed around on the ground. She reached down and compacted her weapon into her natural hand, revealing the Geist's mask. "Thank you. I never thought to add wards against that." She reached down and wrapped her fingers around the mask. She squeezed until the bone shattered in her hand. The bionic arm fell limp.

Ruby picked up her arm and twisted it back into place. The error messages returned. It looked like the Geist did more than a little damage during the possession. "Sorry about that." She looked across the scattered squad of soldiers. "That was unexpected."

"I saw one of those take over a Specialist's armor once," one of them said. _"That_ was terrifying."

"I bet." Ruby retook her place at the end of the hall, down to one arm and one scythe. "Let's get focused again."

A few minutes later, Yaela clapped. "Transfer complete." Ruby looked over her shoulder. Yaela had stepped back from the computer and drew the assault rifle on her back. She took aim and unloaded an entire magazine into the computer. Sparks and parts flew everywhere. "Mission complete. Let's get out of here.

"Menace to Big Sky, we're ready for pickup." The soldier in command looked over his troops. "Let's go, boys! Let's not keep the bus waiting." The soldiers marched out of the room.

Yaela picked up Watts and flung him over her shoulder. "After you, Shadeslayer." Ruby nodded and let the way out of the transmitter. She stepped outside and looked around. A Manta dropship was on the way, escorted by Cerise. Both landed in the courtyard side by side. Ruby mounted her dragon while the others filed into the Manta. Cerise jumped out of the courtyard and into the relatively clear air.

That's when Ruby noticed how quiet it was. She looked around the sky. There were still quite a few Grimm around but it looked like there were more fighters flying around. One of Atlas' aerial corvettes flew in the worst section with guns on all sides still spitting fire and downing dozens of Grimm every second.

Ruby allowed herself a small smile. "Finally, a real win against Salem."

* * *

 **Long one, but I didn't like where it ended originally and I didn't want to split this into two chapters. This is already bloated.  
**


	86. Line in the Sand

**Here it is, the bonus thank you chapter for reaching 200 favorites. If you've been around from the beginning, thank you for reading over a million words. I don't know how that happened. If you haven't read from the beginning... you have probably been very confused at times, but thank you just the same. If you've gotten this far in Reconstruction, thank you for sticking through this bloated mess. I'm about to start writing the final arcs this weekend, the final battles against Salem. If you ask me, it's about time.  
**

* * *

Ruby helped Angel off Cerise' overloaded back and looked at her dad's house. She then faced her daughter again. "Angel, it's not too late to change your mind."

Angel shook her head. "I don't want to have Cerise or Nalia fly me to Signal every morning. It'll save time."

Nalia walked over from where she landed with Aaron right by her side. _You know neither of us would mind, Gel,_ the dragon said. _You love flying and we love carrying you._

"That's okay. You'd be going way out of your way. Grandpa teaches there so he'll just have someone else in his truck going to and from work."

"It's not just that, Angel." Aaron walked up to his daughter and placed a hand on her left shoulder. "We won't be able to help with nightmares as well as we have in the past few months."

Angel's small smile disappeared and she dipped her head. "I… uh… I'm okay with that. I need to fight it myself someday. Besides, I've got Drei as a cuddle buddy." The front door of the house opened with 'grandpa Tai' holding it open. A blonde corgi ran past his legs and right toward Angel. The girl's smile returned in full force. "And there he is!" She leaned down and picked up the yipping dog. Drei licked Angel's cheek all over the place. The girl laughed and pet the corgi's back.

"Hope you all had a nice flight." Ruby's dad walked over. He ruffled Angel's hair and she tried to push the hand away without dropping Drei. "Your room's all ready for you. The same one your mom and Auntie Yang shared when they were kids."

"Thanks, grandpa. Can you help move stuff in?"

"In a minute. I need to talk to your mom first." Ruby blinked. That was news to her.

"Okay." Angel put Drei down and faced Aaron. "Can we start this?"

Aaron nodded. "I'll take stuff from the saddles, you can start bringing it into the house." He and Angel walked to Nalia's side and he started loosening his daughter's things from the saddle.

Taiyang gestured to open land away from the dragons. Ruby followed her dad there and Cerise moved to block them from view. "What's up? Ruby asked.

"I get that Angel doesn't want to be in a dorm full of strangers." Her dad crossed his arms. "I get that she wants to stay with family, especially with what she's been through. What I don't get is why she wants to stay here and not with you, or even in a dorm room with Sarah. I'd understand if she doesn't want to fly over all that water by herself, but not why she doesn't want to spend time in the air with one of your dragons. Is something going on at home?"

Ruby sighed. "I don't know, and I don't want to press her for an answer." She bit her lower lip and looked away from her dad. "Actually, she once yelled at me that she wants to be known for herself, not what Aaron and I do. I'm guessing she thinks that flying on Cerise or Nalia would do that."

"You know where that came from?"

"It sounds like a bunch of her teachers treated her like the daughter of a celebrity." Ruby shook her head. "She's the only kid I know of that doesn't like special treatment."

Her dad shrugged. "That half sounds like you. You didn't like getting special treatment because you were a teacher's kid, but I have a feeling you'd eat up any chance of being compared to your mother."

"Well, you're right there." Ruby faced her dad again. "You've said she's me and Yang combined. You raised us both. Any advice?"

"If you asked me a year ago, I'd absolutely tell you to humor her. With what happened two months ago…" Taiyang shook his head. "I know how she was when you first got her back. Is she any better?"

"Yes and no. She wants to fight Grimm even more, but she's terrified of people she doesn't know. She's going to have a hard first few weeks." Ruby sighed. "I guess we let her try for a few weeks and if she wants to come home, we'll bring her home."

Her dad nodded. "That's a lot of what first time parenting is. Trial and error."

"Don't I know it." Ruby glanced at her husband carrying the life-sized Bright Fury that Weiss got for Angel after… _that_ happened. "I swear, the elf that enchanted that thing made it do more than just cuddle whoever's near it. That thing helps almost as much as Aaron and me. It gives her something to cuddle without sleeping with someone else. She hasn't asked for that in a few weeks so don't worry about that."

"Good to hear." Taiyang craned his neck to look at the dragons. "Aaron has things covered for now. Now for what I really wanted to talk about." He crossed his arms as he faced his daughter again.

Ruby didn't like that tone. Her dad used that when he was upset with her. "What's going on?"

"That was your first time seeing him since you were taken." Her dad relaxed. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, that…" Ruby shivered. There definitely could have been a worse question. "I haven't fallen back if that's what you're wondering. But I know why I completely fell apart when he escaped. It was his Semblance."

Her dad cocked his head. "I thought you had wards against that."

"That's the thing, I do, but they're all set to prevent Semblances from having an effect on me when they're used. They weren't retroactive. None of us really worried about putting that many wards around us until after Kialandí, and since none of the Forsworn had their Aura unlocked, we didn't worry much about those." Ruby sighed. "I've corrected that oversight and I felt the ward remove three other effects from me. No idea what they even did, and I'd rather not know."

Ruby bit her lip and looked up at her dad. "What really scared me that day is that he had Angel. I'd be lying if I said going back there and seeing _him_ didn't have an effect on me, but once I found out about his Semblance, all that fear went away. Angel was top priority. Everything against me could wait."

Her dad sighed. "Good. That's what I hoped to hear." His gaze hardened and he straightened up. "I've seen the videos of you arresting Flax, only I'm not sure if that was you."

"Oh." Ruby shook her head. Of course, her dad would bring up _that._ "Have you seen the videos of Sun partying with his students after they found out I killed O'Donnell? I'd be more worried about that."

"Ruby," her dad's tone silenced her. "You know that's not what I meant."

The Rider sighed. "He kidnapped my baby girl, dad. He handed Angel over to the slaver that kidnapped and tortured me. He managed to fool _all_ of us into thinking he was a good guy. I needed to take him down."

"By beating him up and threatening to scramble his brain?"

Ruby gave her dad a look. "You know the feeling of having your daughter being taken and tortured. I dealt with that panic much longer than you did. You found out like what, an hour before I was on the _Vytal?_ I was…" She trailed off and silenced as she saw Angel walk back outside. Her baby girl was happy, if a little nervous. Ruby didn't need to worry her daughter by raising her voice against her dad. "I was dealing with that for a full day. I had twenty-four hours to imagine all the terrible things that could happen to my daughter. Yes, I kicked the snot out of Flax, but I wanted to do so much more to him. If O'Donnell didn't blow himself up, what I threatened to do to Flax would have seemed like one of Orchid's kisses my comparison. Heck, I would have done it if Angel wasn't standing right behind me. She didn't need to see any of that."

Her dad slumped his shoulders. "Where is this coming from?"

Ruby clenched her fists. "I am a General in the longest war in Remmartian history. If Salem wasn't behind Angel's kidnapping herself, she freed the one responsible. Flax worked for Salem by proxy. I can't do things the old way with Salem's forces anymore, no matter how much I wish I could."

Angel disappeared inside the house. Ruby looked away from her dad and let her fists go. "I can't afford to think that way anymore. These people need to be stopped. I was tempted to use the Relic of Choice against Watts to get more intel, but I couldn't." Ruby snorted. "What the Mor'ranar Vera prison warden will do is likely less pleasant and will get the same results."

Her dad just stared at her. "You're starting to sound like Raven."

"Then that's one more reason I'm sure mom liked her so much."

"That wasn't a compliment. You know her history. You know what she did to people."

"And you know what those people eventually did to me and Angel. If there are any more of those monsters out there, I will do the same." Ruby walked past her dad and to the dragons. Halfway there, she paused and dipped her head to look toward the ground and toward her dad. "I hate saying these things. When this is all over, I'll probably hate myself for everything I've done, but for now, I need to end this war." She raised her head again. "No matter how I feel about it, I'm a soldier now. I'm a mother that will do whatever is necessary to keep my daughter safe. I'm doing this so Angel never has to make that choice."

Her dad sighed. "Your mom thought the same thing, only a lot less violent."

Ruby clenched her fists. "Then I will finish what she started, by any means necessary." She continued toward her dragon and felt a pang of guilt. _Cerise was that too much?_

The dragon faced her Rider. _No. I would have told him how good it all felt._

 _You're Alagaësian. I'm not surprised._ Ruby sighed. _At least someone I love is calling me out. I know what I just said and how I feel, but I'm glad some people are still as they've always been._

 _And he will be there to help ground you when this is over._ Cerise tilted her back to her Rider to give her easier access.

 _The sooner this war is over, the better._ Ruby took off one of Angel's suitcases and walked toward the house.

She pushed through the front door and climbed up the stairs and down the hall to her old bedroom. The door was already open with Aaron and Angel on the other side. Ruby looked around her old room. It still had the wood paneling everywhere with a fresh coat of paint on top of that. Unlike when she lived here, there was only one bed in the room. Instead of Yang's bed, there was an open space where the stuffed Bright Wing lay. Angel stood by her bed, taking some of her books out of a box. Her old and tattered dragon blanket that she had since she was a toddler lay unfurled on the other bedding. "Angel, you can unpack later. We've still got a lot to take in."

Angel set her current stack of Galaxy Wars books on her bed. "Okay." She turned around and walked out of the room.

Ruby gently grabbed her husband's arm as he moved to follow. "You still have the box, right?"

Aaron nodded. "On Nalia's saddle in its own locked saddlebag. Angel won't find it by mistake."

"Good to hear." Ruby let Aaron leave the room first and followed behind him. They passed Ruby's dad… carrying four boxes at once. "Dad, really?"

"Hey, Angel laughed." Taiyang had to duck into the room to fit through the door with all the boxes.

"If you break anything, you're paying for it." Ruby shook her head and followed her husband outside. After a few more trips from the dragons to Angel's room, they had all of the girl's stuff moved into her new room. There was still a little time until they needed to be at the Rider's Vale marshaling grounds, so Ruby and Aaron stuck around a little more.

During that time, Ruby paid close attention to how Angel acted. For the most part, Angel was happy or excited. There were a few expressions that said she was nervous, but that was to be expected from Angel moving out of the home she'd lived in her whole life. Nothing said that she was scared or regretting her decision. Besides deciding to go to Signal instead of another school for football, this was the biggest decision of her life.

About an hour after they started unpacking, Aaron pat Ruby's back. They nodded at each other, then Aaron faced his daughter. "Angel, I think I left one thing with Nalia. I'll go get it." He walked out of the room.

Angel stared after her dad, then started looking over her things again. "I… don't think I forgot anything." She looked elsewhere in the room. "Books, clothes, computer stuff…" she scratched her head as she looked around. "Did I forget my toothpaste…" Her eyes widened and she pulled her lips in. She looked up at her mom for a second then away. It looked like she figured out something but didn't want to get it taken.

"It's not something _you_ forgot. It's not even forgotten, just delayed." Ruby smiled down at her daughter. "I believe it'll be worth the wait."

Angel shook from side to side and her lips curved up. "What did you and daddy get me?" she sang.

"Something." Ruby shrugged. "I guess you'll have to wait and see." Angel bounced on her knees with her feet never leaving the floor.

Aaron came back about a minute later carrying a small velvet box. "Found it." He shook the box right at Angel. "Right where I left it."

Angel smiled and put on her best daddy's little girl face. "What did you get me?" She stuck her left foot straight down on the floor and turned it from side to side.

"We didn't get you anything." Aaron handed the box over. "We _made_ you something though."

Angel took the box and stared at it. Ruby looked over her daughter's shoulder. Angel opened the box and a small gasp left her throat. She stared open-mouthed at a golden necklace with a diamond emblem in the front. The emblem itself was something Ruby thought her daughter would like since Angel hadn't chosen one yet. It was the traditional Rose family rose in diamond with gold providing the details. In addition to that, a feathered wing sprouted out from each side made out of similar materials as the rose. As far as Ruby knew, Angel was the first Rose to have something sprout out of them with their Semblance. To Ruby, it fit.

The mother walked around her baby girl to look at her daughter's face. Angel covered her mouth with a hand with her shining eyes focused solely on the necklace. "How do you like it, sweetie?"

"I love it." Angel took her hand away from her mouth, revealing her massive smile. "I love it a lot."

"We made it completely by ourselves," Aaron said. "It took a lot of magic to get the right materials together, but we did it."

"I know you haven't chosen an emblem yet," Ruby rested a finger above the winged rose, "so I thought I'd propose one. If you don't like it, I can-"

"No." Angel shook her head. "I love everything about this."

"Good to hear." Ruby reached out and rested a hand on Angel's shoulder. Her smile disappeared at the same time. "There's more to it than just looks. This thing has so many wards and other magic in it to keep you safe." Angel focused back on her mom, her smile vanished. "I went through the same thing you did. I know what to look for. I know what you're thinking."

"The magic in this will protect you," Aaron continued. "It will stop people from hurting you in so many ways, it will stop Grimm from hurting you, and only someone you trust with your life will be able to take it off you."

"Then there's something I'm really proud of. As long as you're wearing it or holding it, if you think 'help me, mom,' or 'dad' or 'Auntie Yang' or anyone in the family, we will hear and we will be able to speak to you, no matter where we are on Remnant… I don't know if we can hear when we're on the other side though. I didn't have time to test it."

Angel blinked and wrapped her right hand around the emblem. _Help me, mom,_ her thought's echoed in Ruby's head, along with an almost instinctual direction toward her daughter.

"I heard that." Ruby squeezed Angel's shoulder. "If you're in real trouble, don't be afraid to think that. I will drop everything to come help you. If your nightmares get bad again, we will help too, but we won't be able to do as much as when you're one room over."

"Thanks, mom." Angel leaned forward and hugged her mom.

"You're welcome, Sweetie." Ruby kissed her daughter on the side of her head.

Angel pulled away and faced Aaron. "Thanks, dad." She hugged him as well.

"Anything for you." Aaron held Angel close. "I hope we're just being overprotective and that you'll never need to use those parts."

The girl freed herself from her dad's arms and pulled the necklace out of the case. Angel lifted the chain over her head and let it slide down her head and neck. She smiled and held the emblem in her right palm. "It really is pretty."

"Glad to know you like it." Ruby stood up and ruffled Angel's hair. Her daughter whined and batted the hand away. She _was_ Ruby's daughter. "If we don't see you during the week, we'll see you every Sunday at St. Patch's."

Angel blinked and looked at her dad. "You too?"

Aaron nodded. "Me too. I'm thinking about going full time now. You and your mom have been hounding me for a while."

A smile burst onto Angel's face and she hugged Aaron again. She pulled away just as quick. "I guess I better start unpacking."

"I'm sure grandpa will help if you ask nicely." Ruby glanced at the stack of Galaxy Wars books, then back to her daughter. "May the Light be with you."

Angel nodded. "And also with you." She blinked and her mouth hung open. Ruby couldn't suppress a snort in time. Angel looked down and to the side. "Did I really just say that?"

"You're not the only one." Ruby slowly backed out of the room. "See you later, Feathers."

"Bye, mom. Bye, dad." Angel waved at her parents then returned her attention to the boxes on her bed.

Ruby couldn't help but stare at the room as Aaron closed the door. Her shoulders sagged as she turned around and walked down the hall. She didn't raise them even when she left the house. "It's too soon to be an empty nester…"

"I'm pretty sure some of our friends would disagree," Aaron said.

"I mean… yeah, but… you know…" Ruby raised her hands. "I don't want to be a runaround parent, but I want to keep her around a little longer… especially after what happened to her."

Aaron turned his head away. "I'm worried about that too. Still, I trust her with your dad over random people in the dorms."

"There is that. She's in good hands." Ruby took a deep breath, then let it out. "Enough borrowing trouble. I'll check Yaela's latest updates in the air and adjust what I'll say accordingly."

"Got it." Aaron nodded and walked over to Nalia.

Ruby approached Cerise and climbed on. _You hear all that?_ the Rider asked her dragon.

 _Humans hold onto their hatchlings for too long,_ Cerise huffed. _You can't be worried about her. She can take care of herself._

 _Humans aren't dragons, Cerise. She can't survive out there on her own._

 _Maybe._ Cerise shook her head. _But to be honest, it's so gratifying seeing all the young ones grow up._

 _That it is._ Ruby pulled up Yaela's reports on her bionic eye. _Fly when you're ready. I need to review._ She felt Cerise kick off the ground but paid no mind to the movement. The Rider's tech specialist had gone through quite a few of the files from Watts' fortress. Most of it was what he had working in the Kingdoms and all the spyware he had in just about everything. What was important to the Riders were a few locations of weapons caches and people that may help out. There was even something for a new sniper for Barry Price, but no location for the murderer. That was a problem.

As Ruby looked through the findings, Yaela sent a new file labeled, 'The BIG One.' Ruby dropped her jaw. Did Yaela find _Salem?_ The Rider opened the file… and found that was not the case. Instead, the elf said she found the source code and a dormant version of the Black Queen Virus. "Oh, yeah. That's a big one." Yaela was still looking for how widespread the virus was, but that would take a while.

Other than that, the intel was pretty much the same from the morning. That would be enough for the teams working across Remnant. Ruby closed the list and looked at the marshaling grounds in front of her. The area had been cleared out and expanded over the years to hold quite a few more dragons. Offices had been sung into trees and a small armory and a garage was dug into one of the nearby hills. This place was slowly becoming the base in Vale with the floor under the house in the mountains being the hub of communications, RnD, and intel.

Nalia flew ahead and landed in the clearing first. Cerise touched down right after. Dragons and Riders started walking out of the surrounding trees. Ruby dismounted her dragon and they walked off to the side of the marshaling grounds. She would wait until Aaron cued her to take the Riders' attention. Noir and Argent were among them. The silver dragon was still much smaller than other dragons his age, and as far as Ruby knew, he still hadn't spoken a word. One pair flew in much later than the rest, the Rider of two having a posture and facial expression much like Weiss in her first few weeks on team RWBY. The dragon held her head high. That could be trouble and typically was if Aaron was to be believed. That, and Ruby had seen those two on the news far too many times

Aaron stood at what looked like the front of the marshaling grounds and crossed his arms. "Thank you all for being flexible with the meeting today. I'm sure you all gave your best to Pewter and Lavi, but now we have new objectives. I'm sure most of you know that several Riders were involved with the Atlas assault on Arthur Watts' fortress. We now have much more information on things that he was involved in. Locations, names, faces, you name it. We all can do something to track these things down." He nodded at the Elder.

Ruby stepped forward. "I shouldn't need to tell you all that we need to take everything dealing with this man seriously. He hacked nearly the entire Atlesian military during the Battle of Beacon. We fought I don't know how many mechs and drones out there. In some locations, I think we can expect those same things in both city and remote locations. Watts may be behind bars, but he's no less dangerous. We can't allow-"

" _Why should we listen to you?"_ someone yelled out.

Ruby faced the one who interrupted her. It was the elf that was so full of herself earlier. She looked at the Elder like she was annoyed. Everyone else around her stared at her like she just said Grimm are friends, those who had a deep understanding of the Ancient Language anyway. "Iali, I assume?" Ruby asked.

" _I am."_ Iali crossed her arms. _"The first new Rider of Ceris."_

"Why don't you speak in Vytalian so everyone can understand what you're saying."

Iali scoffed. _"If they can't speak this language, they are terrible excuses for Riders."_ A few other dragons growled and their Riders gripped their swords.

Ruby raised a hand toward the angry pairs. "Let her speak." She faced Iali again. "I want to know why she is committing insubordination."

 _ **Because you are a coward,**_ Iali's dragon Lumi growled. _**We know your past. Both Alagaësia and Remnant know how you are scared of a group of humans with Grimm masks. You stepped down as Head of the Dragon Riders. You have no authority over us.**_

Cerise growled behind her Rider. Ruby silenced her with a glance before facing the two insubordinates again. "I'm a coward, am I?" Some of the more inexperienced dragons and Riders murmured amongst themselves. "I'm a coward. Tell me, what is your definition of courage?"

" _No fear in any situation,"_ Iali said. _"Never backing down from a fight. Never giving up."_

"You are right on one of those counts." Ruby started walking toward Iali. "Never giving up against all odds is very courageous and awe-inspiring. That's something all leaders and heroes in history have in common. The other two things will get you killed. Fear keeps you alive. It's your sixth sense. Fear lets you know when you're outmatched. Fear lets you know when it's okay to run away. There is no shame from running away from a fight. Tactical retreats to fight another day are used all the time. If you pick a fight you can't win, you're severely injured if not killed. Also, if you meant that in the way I think you do, you could fight someone harder than intended and end up doing permanent damage to them, which is not our way."

Ruby stopped right in front of Iali. The elf stayed in place with her stare turning into a glare. "You have some courage standing your ground right now, but you still have no idea what it really means. Courage is not letting your fear control you and doing what it takes to get the job done. It's doing what's right even when it hurts or you are hurt. If you're not scared of the Grimm and what they can do to you or the ones you love, you aren't fit to fight them." She turned around and walked back toward Cerise. She looked Iali up and down. "By the way, the White Fang wore Grimm masks, not the Nevermores, and I fought them both to their defeats. I'm sure you don't need reminding what I did for Alagaësia." She turned around and walked back toward Cerise.

 _"Big talk for one who uses others to get their job done."_

Ruby stopped in her tracks and closed her eyes. There was only one way she could beat Iali and start her into the frame of mind a Rider needed to be in… or at least get her to respect the chain of command. The Elder opened her eyes and looked at the commander of the Vale Response Force. _Mind if I knock her down a notch or two?_

Aaron shrugged. _By all means._

 _I won't break her too hard._ Ruby turned around and looked at the elf. "Judging from everything you've said, you won't turn down a spar in front of all these people."

Iali hesitated for less than a second. "Of course not."

"And of course, I have to make this a fair fight." Ruby brushed some of her hair over her bionic eye. She leaned down and twisted her bionic leg off. Her right arm followed suit. So many of the Riders looked at Ruby like she was crazy. Iali just rose her chin and smirked. It looked like Ruby would be knocking down the other Rider's overconfidence too.

Aaron walked over and grabbed the two limbs. _Ruby, is this taking things a little too far?_

 _Not at all. She needs to be taught a lesson. This will also teach everyone else here something._

Her husband grimaced. _No way I can convince you otherwise?_

 _You just said I could knock Iali down a few notches and I've already taken these off in front of everybody. I'm not going back now._

 _If you say so._ Aaron tucked the limbs under an arm and backed up a few steps. "Would you like a weapon?"

Ruby raised her left fist. "I've got this and my Semblance. I'm good." She faced her opponent. "To make this fair, you may use whatever you'd like."

" _If that's the case."_ Iali looked up at her dragon. Lumi knelt down and the Rider reached up to the saddle. She pulled off a shotgun sword that Ruby remembered forging years ago. She knew what kind of weapon that damage could do. She also knew its limitations. Just from forging the blade, she knew how Iali fought. She had no doubt she could win this.

Ruby hopped around on her one leg and raised her fist. "Tournament rules. We go until one of us hits the red or one of us surrenders." The other dragons and Riders backed up to give the two opponents more room. "Your move."

Iali yelled and charged. She swung at Ruby's midsection but the Elder backflipped out of the way, kicking beneath Iali's chin in the process. Ruby landed and wobbled a little, unused to only having one leg. The elf's glare returned in full force, hate emanating off her. "Using hate and rage to fight only gets you so far. Ask Yang Goldmane."

The elf jabbed at Ruby, but again the more experienced Rider dodged to the side. Iali kept slashing and stabbing at Ruby with the Elder dodging, ducking, and jumping out of the way. She never launched another attack of her own. She was waiting for the right time… and she found it during a stab when Iali lost her balance. Ruby slammed her head into the elf's then brought her elbow down on Iali's arm. The limb buckled and the weapon came loose. Ruby snatched the weapon from the air and switched it to shotgun form. Instead of backing up and using the weapon as intended, Ruby whipped it around and used the weapon as a club to smack her opponent in the stomach.

Iali doubled over and fell to the ground. She glared up at Ruby but said nothing. "Surrender," Ruby ordered. "You have no weapon, you're on the ground, and you're outmatched in hand to hand. There's no point in continuing."

" _I can still fight."_ Iali pushed herself to her feet. _"I'm not losing to you."_

"That's enough," Aaron called as he walked over. "I've seen enough." He held a hand out toward the elf. "I need your badge and your pauldrons."

Iali's jaw dropped. _"Excuse me?"_

"I'm taking you off active duty. Not only is your fighting skill not what we want in the field, but your mindset is not at all what we need in the Riders and your actions the past few weeks outside of normal work has violated several of our policies. You have also committed gross insubordination against an Elder. You and your dragon are being reassigned to Mor'ranar Vera and will be under Brom's supervision until further notice."

" _You can't do that!"_ Iali clenched her fists. Lumi growled and took a few steps forward.

Nalia growled and stepped forward. Both Iali and Lumi faced the dragon. Judging by the fact they both shrunk back, the green dragon was giving them a piece of her mind that no one else needed to know. Nalia's growl ended and Ruby felt the dragon's mind. _Now will you two go on your own, or will you require one of us to escort you there?_

Iali scowled, then reached into a pocket and pulled out her Rider badge. _"Fine. We will leave."_ She ripped off her pauldrons and shoved all three things into Aaron's outstretched hand. The elf glared at Ruby. _"Do I get to keep my weapon?"_

Ruby looked at the shotgun-sword in her hand before handing it back over. "Brom reserves the right to take this away again." Iali snatched the weapon back then stormed back to her dragon. She climbed her dragon's side then they flew off toward the nearest river. Brom would straighten those two out whether they wanted to be or not.

"Your limbs are with Cerise," Aaron told Ruby before facing the crowd again. As he addressed the other Riders, Ruby hopped her way back to her dragon. She brushed the hair out from in front of her bionic eye as she went.

 _Ruby,_ Cerise mentally growled, _we need to talk when we get home._

The Rider looked up at her dragon. Cerise' face didn't give away anything. _You see something you didn't like?_

Cerise blinked. _Yes, I did._

Ruby didn't like that tone, but she ignored it. They'd take care of that at home. She reconnected her bionic limbs and faced her husband and the other Riders. It looked like they were all dispersing. Ruby quirked her lips. She had more to say about what to look for while facing Watts, but that little fight took up quite a lot of time. They all needed to get onto their assignments.

Aaron turned around and walked toward his wife. Ruby met him halfway. "Anything you need help with before I head home?"

"You've done more than enough." Aaron shook his head. "You didn't need to go that far." He walked toward Nalia without another word.

Ruby stared after her husband. "Well, excuse you." Ruby mounted her dragon and Cerise jumped off toward the house in the mountains. "What is with everyone today?" Cerise growled but said nothing. Her too? Was Ruby missing something?

Cerise landed on the main pad and the dragon door opened. Ruby dismounted her dragon and opened her mouth to call Angel but closed it right after. That was probably going to be happening a lot for a while. Wasn't homesickness supposed to work the other way around? Instead, Ruby walked toward the sitting area, surprised that Yang and Halcyon were already there. Weren't they taking the day off? "Hey, sis. What's going on?"

Yang looked over the back of the couch. Her eyes had a thousand-yard stare element to it. "Hey, Ruby. I just had an… interesting encounter." Her voice was just as distant as her eyes.

"Everything okay?" Ruby rested her arms of the back of the couch.

"We were taking Bumblebee for a ride on the 160 elevated highway and we found someone sitting on the wrong side of the guard rail." Yang shook her head.

Ruby clamped her mouth shut. This was never fun. "Well?"

"His name is Scott Green. He's originally from Armen but moved here two years ago. The Krakens are his second favorite football team only after his Armen Cliff Divers. He might have the same green jacket as Aaron…" Yang kept on listing things that Scott did and liked. Ruby knew the feeling from when she talked down her first jumper. At one point, Halcyon placed one of his front paws on Yang's right leg. Yang grabbed that paw and held onto it. Ruby wasn't in her sister's head, but she could see on Yang's face that she was in pain.

Eventually, Yang fell silent. She never said anything about a rescue or whatever made Scott think about that in the first place, one of those was completely okay with Ruby. "So… is he okay?"

Yang shrugged. "I've got us front row tickets to the Krakens home opener. He said he'll be there. That's still about a month away, so I hope he'll be there." She ran her hands over her face. "That was so much more stressful than any Grimm or tournament fight I've ever been in."

Ruby nodded. "One word and something terrible happens. I've helped quite a few jumpers down before."

"This is the first time I've gotten to one before anything happened." Yang looked at Ruby then past her. "What's up with Cerise?"

Ruby turned around and faced her dragon. Sure enough, Cerise had a glare firmly fixed on her Rider. No growl was necessary. "That's what I was wanting to know." Ruby walked over to her dragon and crossed her arms. "What's going on, Cerise? What's up with me?"

 _That was not you out there,_ Cerise growled. _I agree that it was necessary to teach her a lesson like that, but you could have done that easily with your weapons and all your limbs. Doing it like that humiliated her. You've never been one for doing that._

"I did it to prove a point." Ruby clenched her fists. "No one else will question me again."

 _Since when do you care about that? What's gotten into you?_

"My baby girl was kidnapped," Ruby pushed through her teeth. "My views have changed since then. I didn't get it out enough before. You heard what I told my dad. _No one_ messes with my family. Of course, I'll help people like that Scott guy the same way I've always done. But when someone threatens my family, the gloves are off."

 _When did Iali threaten anyone here?_

"She was a threat. She questioned my authority in front of the entire Vale Response Force. That can't be allowed. We can't have divided loyalty among the Riders. I made sure everyone there knew who was in charge."

 _You're overreacting,_ Cerise growled. _You didn't make them respect you, you made them scared of you._

"I don't command through fear. They will follow me in battle, and that's enough. End of subject." Ruby walked away from her dragon and to her bedroom. She forced down the part of her mind that said Cerise was right.

* * *

Yang stared open-mouthed at her sister as Ruby disappeared into the master bedroom. Did she really hear all that from her little sister? Ruby never talked to Cerise like that. Yang flicked her eyes to Cerise. The dragon glared at where her Rider disappeared with lips peeled. A little later, Cerise turned away and walked toward the sitting area. "That was… different," Yang said.

 _I don't think this is just from letting Angel stay with your father._ Cerise settled down beside Yang and Halcyon. _Her thoughts have been much more aggressive after what happened to Angel. That in itself I can understand but she attacked another Rider. She willingly used the Relic of Choice on I don't know how many Grimm at Watts fortress, then this._ She snorted. _That was not my Gem in that clearing._

 _I thought you wanted her to be a little more aggressive,_ Halcyon said.

 _I thought I did._ Cerise turned her head away. _I don't want to see her like that again._

Yang faced the door Ruby disappeared through. "Is she really that mad about everything, or is there something else going on?"

 _I don't know, but I don't think trying anything right now will do anything._ Cerise growled. _Her head's stuck in that place. I'll try to break her out of that when she calms down._

"Good luck with that." Ruby rarely got angry at Yang like that, but when it happened, it took a _long_ time for her to cool off. Yang sighed and shook her head. "I just hope nothing comes of this."

* * *

 **Yes, Ruby has been hardened, but her soft center remains. Which will win out?**


	87. Closure

**So, what are the odds of a brand new smart TV having a remote that works with a non-smart TV from 2014/2015, especially when both are different brands? Happened to me this past week. No one cares? Okay. Onto this.**

* * *

Aaron stared at the most recent intelligence from Qrow. It looked like Barry Price was finally active. He hadn't killed anyone, and it didn't look like he had any plans to so coming up. The problem was he was networking. The elves and Huntsmen under Qrow managed to capture a few people that he worked with. None of them knew what was going on, but they all were 'on-call' for something. It wasn't quite an army but there were enough assassins to worry Aaron. "What are you planning?"

"What's that dad?" Angel asked. Aaron raised his head to look at his daughter. Angel and Taiyang sat across the living room working on two different kinds of homework.

"It's work," Aaron said. "Nothing to concern yourself over."

"Okay." Angel turned her attention back to her homework.

Tai laughed. "I'll never get that."

Aaron stared at his father in law. "Get what?"

"How Angel always just leaves a subject just because it's work. Ruby and Yang would pester me until I give them something. It wasn't even true most of the time."

"It's simple, really. We never told her anything, and if she pestered us too much, one of the dragons would come over and use a wing to block her."

"I took the hint when I was grounded for a month after sneaking into the lower level back home," Angel said. "Not going to happen again. That was terrible."

"And don't you forget it." Aaron leaned back in his chair. "When you're one of our pilots, you'll know what's going on." He raised his Scroll again and continued going through the reports Pewter had sent him. Even though Sundays were technically his day off, Aaron liked to still be in touch with what was going on. He could very well be called in at any time if the VRF needed extra help.

While looking over the reports, Aaron occasionally flicked his eyes up to face his daughter. Unlike when she lived at home, she hardly ever asked anyone for help with homework. In recent years, she only asked for help to check her answers, or with history or geography. She was smarter than she gave herself credit for. Maybe she finally realized that.

"Daaad…" Angel moaned. "I need help."

Just as he thought that… Aaron set his Scroll to the side and walked over to Angel's couch. "What's the subject?"

"Alagaësian history."

Aaron leaned on the back of the couch. "Really? I didn't know high schools had those."

"It's the pilot year," Taiyang said. "Barty structured it and he's rolling it out in a few schools across Remnant."

"Good to know." Aaron nodded. "What's the problem here?"

Angel pointed at a piece of paper that had an unlabeled map of Alagaësia on it. "I've got a list of cities and landscape features I need to label. You know it the best out of people here."

"Fair enough. Let's start with what you know." Aaron took this kind of teaching from Oromis. See what the student knows then guide them to the right answer. Angel knew the capitals, Du Weldenvarden, and the Beors. Then again, that's what most people on Remnant knew about. No surprise there. Aaron started with the largest landscapes first, like the Spine, Lake Leona, and the various rivers. Then he helped Angel find the cities.

Teirm was the last on the list, and since the space on the map was the only one left, Angel filled that one in right away. Aaron was about to tell Angel she did a good job, but there was something about the way she looked at the paper. There was nothing wrong on there, unless the textbook they used on Alagaësia had incorrect labeling.

"Dad," Angel turned her head to look at Aaron, "you're from Teirm, right?"

"Yeah." Aaron's small smile disappeared. "But that's a lifetime ago."

"You and mom have taken me several other places in Alagaësia. Why never there?"

"That's…" Aaron sighed. "That's a long story."

Angel stopped smiling as well and returned her gaze to her paper. "Oh. Sorry."

"You're fine. It's an honest question." Aaron squeezed Angel's right shoulder. "Get back to your homework." He returned to his seat and picked up his Scroll again.

 _Are you alright, Aaron?_ Nalia asked. Her head slid into view through a window. _I felt something change in you when she asked that._

 _I don't know,_ Aaron shrugged. _I haven't thought about it in a while. I haven't wanted to go back either._

 _But I feel you thinking about it now._

Aaron turned his head toward his dragon. _I barely even remember my time there. Just time alone would do that. As it is, we didn't focus on repairing those memories after my coma, and then only the good ones after you hatched. We can't do anything about the others._

Nalia cocked her head. _You want to go back?_

 _Angel's got me thinking about it._ Aaron dipped his head. _I never returned there to honor my parents. I think it's about time._

Approval rolled off Nalia. _I agree._ She pulled her head back. _By the way, Ruby and Cerise are returning._

 _I thought they'd be back earlier._ Aaron shrugged. _Ruby probably had a few more adjustments to make._

About a minute later, Cerise landed in the front yard of Taiyang's house. Ruby dismounted her dragon, a long, gift-wrapped box in her hands. Aaron hadn't seen what his wife had built, but it surely wouldn't disappoint.

The front door opened and Ruby stepped inside. "I'm back, and I've brought a gift!"

Angel looked up at her mom. Her jaw dropped and she stood up. "Oh my gosh. Is that what I think it is?"

"Maaaaaybe." She held the box out toward Angel. "Be careful. There might be something sharp in there."

Angel took the box and set it on the coffee table. She cleared her homework off it and started ripping the paper off the box. Aaron stood up and looked over his daughter's shoulder. All he could see at the moment was the reused Bullseye box, but he'd have a nice view when Angel opened that up.

The top flaps opened and Angel gasped. "Oh my gosh." She reached inside the box and pulled out a sword in a snow-white scabbard with golden accents, matching the hilt and cross-guard. She looked up at her mom. "This is mine?"

"All yours." Ruby nodded. "Unless there's a problem and you can't fix it, it's yours to do what you want with it."

Angel returned her attention to her new weapon. She grabbed the hilt and drew the weapon. The double-edged blade's color matched the scabbard with the fuller being gold. It looked to be almost three feet long… probably a little longer than Redemption.

"It's beautiful." Angel ran her right hand over the flat of the blade before she froze. "I shouldn't do this in the house." She sheathed her sword once again and walked past her parents to the outside door, careful not to let the covered blade touch anything. Once she walked outside, she ran out to the center of the yard. The dragons on either side of her gave her a little room and watched.

The adults in the house walked outside as well to see Angel's first experience with her new weapon. The girl hooked the scabbard to her belt, but from the way it sagged, she'd likely need something stronger than that. Aaron made a mental note to get his daughter a Huntsman quality belt so she could keep many more critical things there. Angel drew her sword and took a fighting stance with her sword held in front of her. She shifted her hands to her right in a block then struck out against an invisible enemy. From there, she fell into what Aaron recognized as Angel's warm-up routine, blocking, dodging, and striking at something only she could see.

"That's nice work, Ruby," Taiyang said. "Then again, when do you make something that isn't top quality?"

"My first attempt at Crescent Rose that pretty much exploded in my hands," Ruby laughed. "My work improves all the time. As long as it doesn't fall apart when it needs to stay together, I'm happy with it."

"So far," Aaron nodded at his daughter, "it looks like this one is just fine." He paused. "I know you, and I know Remmartian weapons. What kind of gun is that thing?"

Ruby raised a placating hand. "Wait for it. Let her figure it out first." She shrugged. "It doesn't have any ammo anyway. The magazines are ready, they're just not loaded. It would be better for her to learn firearm basics before she learns on that anyway."

"That starts tomorrow," Taiyang said. "We're starting with pistols, and since she has her own weapon, we'll be working on that by the end of the week."

On the other side of the yard, Angel stood still while looking over the sword in her hands. She looked at the hilt and used a finger to do something with the cross-guard. The blade split in half at the fuller. From a distance, it looked like the two halves shielded the barrel and receiver of a rifle. A section of the sword rotated revealing a scope on the other side. Another part of the sword rotated to what looked like a rounded section, like a place to hold the barrel of a gun without holding the edge. Another part right by that split open but nothing else happened there. The cross-guard and hilt of the weapon also adjusted to be a rifle grip with a skeletal stock extending from the base. Even though Aaron had no idea how any of that worked, he thought it was fairly simple for one of Ruby's designs.

Taiyang whistled. "Smooth." He narrowed his eyes. "What kind of gun is that?"

"For lack of a better term, a multipurpose rifle." Ruby raised her head with a huge smile on her face. "It can either be single shot, full auto, or burst. The barrel extends depending on the mode so it could be a sniper or a regular assault rifle. If I could have figured out how to incorporate shotgun shells into that thing, it would be able to shoot those as well. I'm close to figuring out how to make a gun that takes all ammo, but I'm not there yet. For now, this is as close as anyone can get."

Aaron stared at his wife. "That thing can take different kinds of ammo?"

"The most common kinds for rifles and a few Huntsmen and Rider specialties." Ruby flipped her hair. "And that tech is staying with the Riders and my family. I'm being selfish there and keeping the best for us."

Taiyang laughed. "Of course, you'd be the one to figure it out." He paused. "That sword doesn't have all your enchantments, does it?"

Ruby sagged and sighed. "No. She's not a Rider, so she doesn't get that quality. I gave her the best of everything otherwise."

"In that case," Taiyang nodded at Angel,"I guess I should go test her." He walked away from the Riders and toward his granddaughter.

As much as Aaron wanted to see his daughter's first spar with her new weapon, the thing from earlier was gnawing at him again. "Hey, Ruby, can we talk?"

"Sure." Ruby turned her head toward her husband. "What's up?"

"Something Angel said earlier got me thinking." Aaron paused. "I want to go back to Teirm."

Ruby's jaw dropped. "Oh. Why?"

"I haven't been there since before the Fall. I haven't properly paid my respects to my parents."

Ruby's shoulders sagged. "Does any part of it have to do with me returning to the North Sanus mountains?"

"I didn't even think about it. I don't want to get even with that. It's time I finally go back there myself." Aaron paused. "And Angel asked if she could see the place where I grew up. I don't have a problem taking her if you don't."

"As long as she doesn't have homework." Ruby leaned over and kissed Aaron on the cheek. "I'm glad you're finally doing this. I've been waiting for you to reach the decision on your own."

"Thank you, Ru." Aaron faced his daughter again. Angel and Taiyang were already sparing, though Taiyang didn't even have his gauntlets on. He was taking Angel's strikes with his bare arms. He just defended, never striking at Angel himself. Angel was still giving everything she had, but she was still a novice against an experienced Huntsman. There was no way she could beat him. Just as he thought that, Taiyang punched Angel's sword to the side, then swung his right fist forward just to stop it in front of the girl's nose. It was a good thing too. Aaron didn't care who it was or if it was just sparring. Nobody punched his daughter like that without consequences.

Taiyang picked the sword back up then handed it to Angel. The two squared off again and restarted their spar. Just like the first time, the old man disarmed Angel and stopped a punch right before making contact. The cycle continued several more times with the same end result. Angel always got back up. On the outside, she never got frustrated and she never got beaten down. That was more than Aaron could say when he was first being trained.

After several rounds, the two opponents hugged then walked back to the Riders. Angel sheathed her weapon then trotted ahead to her parents. "How'd I do?"

"You're getting better all the time." Aaron ruffled Angel's hair. The girl whimpered and batted the hand away. She pouted up at her dad but her messed up hair made her look cute more than anything else.

"You've still got a long way to go," Ruby added, "but with how short a time you've been training, you have to be ahead of the curve."

Angel's face turned red and she made her left foot vertical and spun it in the dirt. "I've just had access to my Aura longer than anyone at Signal. That's probably it."

"Except you were hardly using it." Taiyang clapped Angel on the back. "Modesty is good, but don't be afraid to say you've done something good."

Ruby nodded. "It took me way too long to learn that." She paused. "How much homework do you have left?"

Angel shrugged. "Not much. Just a few algebra problems. I can punch those out in five minutes."

"Good to hear." Ruby glanced at Aaron.

"I've been thinking about what you said earlier," Aaron started. "Would you like to see Teirm?"

Angel cocked head, then smiled. "If I can."

"Yes, you can." Aaron turned his eyes to Angel's weapon. "You might want to leave that here, though. It doesn't look like what you have was built to carry that weight."

"Just a bit." Angel grimaced at the belt that threatened to fall off. "I'm going to need something a little stronger."

"That's easy to come by."

"Before you put it away," Ruby interrupted, "do you have a name in mind, sweetie?"

Angel stared at the weapon on her hip. "I… hmm…" She grabbed the hilt and her face lit up. "Eljun!" She froze and looked up at her parents. "That's Endurance, right?"

"It is." Ruby nodded. "I can engrave it if you want, but I don't have the right tools here."

"It can wait." Angel smiled again at Eljun. "Let's show you to your new home… for now at least." She walked into the house and disappeared up the stairs.

 _Did she just talk to her weapon like she would a child?_ Nalia asked from the other side of the yard.

 _I think she did,_ Cerise said. _It's official. Ruby cloned herself._

Nalia snorted. _There's no way Ruby had that much muscle on her when she was Angel's age._

Taiyang glanced back at the dragons then focused on Aaron. "Teirm, huh? I thought you wanted to avoid that place."

"I've put the bad parts of the rest of my life behind me. It's time I do the same for this."

His father in law relaxed his shoulders. "Good to hear that. Hope you find what you're looking for there."

"Thank you, and me too." Aaron walked past Taiyang and to his dragon.

Nalia tilted her back toward her Rider. _Once we get there, I'm not taking you out if you get cold feet. You need to do this._

"I know. I wouldn't ask you to." Aaron climbed his dragon's back and looked back at the house. Angel jogged out of the house and to Cerise' side. Ruby helped her daughter up onto the dragon's back. She then looked over at Aaron and nodded.

Nalia stood up and jumped out of the yard. She curved toward the nearest beach and flew at a leisurely pace. Aaron repeatedly clenched and released his fingers. Even though he talked himself into this, he was still nervous about it. He didn't know what would happen once he arrived at Teirm. He didn't think he'd freeze up, but he likely wouldn't be showing Angel all the sights. That would fall to Ruby. She'd been in the city a few times since Galbatorix was killed.

The ocean came into view and Nalia landed on the sand. Aaron cast the between worlds spell, making the water swirl black and purple. Nalia jumped through and glided above the Alagaësian city. Aaron stared down at the city he once called home. From the bit he remembered, the city hadn't changed much from the air, except for the large cleared out area on the mountain side of the walls. The city was still built with the shortest buildings closest to the walls and the tallest ones backed up to the keep. He searched for where he used to live… but he couldn't remember where that was from the air.

 _Let's find somewhere to land, Nalia. You might remember this place better than me._

 _I believe I do._ Nalia nosed down to a courtyard near the keep next to what looked like an arena, one that Aaron remembered well. That was one thing he couldn't forget no matter what. Nalia landed outside the building, drawing the attention of quite a few locals. Cerise landed shortly after. The Riders dismounted their dragons and met up in front of the green dragon.

"How long until people recognize us here?" Aaron asked.

"Since you haven't been here in years," Ruby started, "a little longer for you. Since I was head of the Dragon Riders, and I'm sure more people have spread the word on how I look, I give it about five minutes before they realize we're not just any other Riders.

 _I'm certain that I'm the largest dragon most of these people have ever seen._ Nalia puffed her chest out. _I'll be recognized before you are._

Cerise snorted at Nalia. _If you were a male, I'd say you were compensating for something._

Angel cocked her head at Cerise. "What does that mean?"

Cerise froze for a split second. _Typically the bigger something is, the slower it is._

"But… Nalia's the fastest dragon I've seen. That doesn't make sense."

Nalia bared her teeth in a dragon smile. _Angel knows how things are._

"That she does." Aaron looked up at the large, by Alagaësian standards, arena. There used to be images of dragons and Riders engraved above the main entryway. Now there were humans fighting each other. Probably one of Galbatorix' orders.

"What's that place dad?" Angel walked to her dad's side and looked at the building.

"That is the Teirm Colosseum. Nalia hatched for me in there years ago."

"Really?" Angel straightened up. "So I'll be in a place like this in two weeks?"

"Not quite," Ruby said. "You'll be in Signal's amphitheater. Not quite as grandiose as this, but it works."

"If I'm right…" Aaron looked around the area. Nothing but the arena looked familiar, but something told him to walk a certain direction. "I used to walk this way all the time." He took a few steps with Angel and Ruby right beside him.

A dragon roared above them. Aaron looked up just as an orange dragon flew overhead. He touched down in the courtyard. His Rider dismounted and walked toward the other two. Aaron internally sighed. He had a feeling this was coming. He recognized the Rider from one of his first training regimens in the Emerald Forest, but he couldn't place a name.

The other Rider stopped in front of Ruby and Aaron and bowed at the Elder. "Shadeslayer, welcome to Teirm. I apologize for not knowing that you were coming. I would have prepared something for you and your family."

Ruby waved him off. "You aren't at fault." She used her Alagaësian nobility voice for that. A quiet laugh escaped Angel. "This was a spur of the moment thing. My daughter wanted to see the city." She gestured at Angel.

The Rider looked down at Angel then back at Ruby. "Would you like an escort or a guide around the city while you are here?"

"There is no need." Ruby shook her head. "We will find our own way."

"Of course." The Rider bowed again. "If you need anything at any time, let me know." He turned back to his dragon and walked that way. He mounted the dragon and they flew away together. Now everyone in the courtyard stared at Aaron, Ruby, and Angel.

"There goes our anonymity," Aaron whispered.

"Don't worry about them," Ruby said as she nudged Aaron back in the direction he started walking in the first place. "This isn't Remnant, and we're not the only ones anymore. I haven't been mobbed in Alagaësia in years."

"Mom," Angel's voice still wobbled from holding back a laugh, "why do you always talk like that while here?"

Ruby smiled at her daughter. "It's important when speaking with other cultures to speak in a way that they'd understand. No Remmartian slang. Anyway, it's generally expected to speak a certain way when working with people you work with. That was a combination of both."

"So I shouldn't mention 'cracked grapes' here?"

Aaron looked down at his daughter. He's heard that used a few times while walking around Vale. "What's that even mean?"

"That a person's crazy, though I think there's more to it than that. It's fairly recent."

Ruby rubbed the side of her head. "I thought my generation came up with weird sayings." She shook her head. "Anyway, we're not here for that. Aaron, lead the way."

"To tell you the truth," Aaron started, "I have no idea where I'm going. I'm just letting my legs carry me."

Ruby put her hands on her hips and puffed her lips out. "'To tell me the truth?' You've been lying to me this whole time?" A little noise came out of her nose and mouth like she held back a laugh.

"Ha, ha." Aaron shook his head and paid attention to where he was walking. As much as it was Angel's first time in the city, Aaron felt like it was his too. Muscle memory he didn't even know he had carried him through the city. Angel asked so many questions about buildings and things on and around them. Either parent answered what they could but it was all generic Alagaësian answers. Neither of them really _knew_ the city.

But there was something out of place that Aaron hadn't seen in any Alagaësian cities before. So many people were wearing jeans and t-shirts made on Remnant. Aaron knew that limited trade had progressed between both sides, but this was his first time seeing it. Seamstresses and tailors in Alagaësia would probably be very upset about it if their own handmade clothing wasn't in high demand on Remnant. Or at least that's how Weiss explained it.

Their walk carried them into another courtyard. Aaron kept moving through until he saw a message board. He was wondering what that cleared out section on the other side of the wall was. Maybe the board would have something. If Ruby or Angel wondered what he was doing, they didn't ask.

Aaron didn't even look for a second before he saw a map with lines drawn between Teirm, Dras-Leona, Ilirea, and Gil'ead. 'Broddring Kingdom' railroad was written at the top. That was news to him. "You know anything about this?" he asked Ruby.

His wife grimaced. "I figured something like this would happen. The dwarves already have a railroad connecting Tronjheim to Surda, among their other cities. King Hrothgar ordered it to avoid a clan war. Don't ask me about the politics, but I think it has something to do with the more religious among them feeling threatened by Remnant's existence and the religions there... Needless to say, they're not my biggest fans, for multiple reasons..."

Aaron dropped his jaw. "That's… I've been out of touch."

"What's going on?" Angel asked.

As Ruby explained the basics of the technological infection to Angel, Aaron turned around and looked around the courtyard. His eyes settled on a raised podium near the center… four stocks stood in a row, thankfully with all of them empty. Angel didn't need to see that. But also… gallows that looked freshly set. There was going to be a public execution later. Angel needed to be out of the city before then.

As much as those things disturbed him, those weren't why he took a few steps toward it. Something in his head screamed that this was where all public punishments in the city were. Humiliations, executions… possibly mounting heads on pikes. This was likely where his parents were killed, if they weren't killed in their own house. Aaron stopped right in front of the raised stage and looked at the floor. Several round holes dotted the stone, some of them stained red on the inside. That almost confirmed it.

Aaron sighed and took a step back. Did his parents even get a grave or were they dumped somewhere? Also, who was the poor girl that was killed with them that an elf thought was Viki? Where were her parents? How many other innocent people were killed here under Galbatorix' rule?

"I wish you two were here," Aaron whispered. "I know you two were worried about my scars. They're gone. I haven't wanted to add any in years. My wife, Ruby, healed them. Well, she wasn't my wife at the time. I asked her to marry me and her condition was that she had to heal them right there." He laughed without mirth. "You'd love her. She's one of the nicest people you'd ever meet. She saw worth in me when only Nalia did. I went through some dark times since I met her, and so did she, but we were there to help each other out. She's a Rider too, so we'll actually be together forever. No outliving each other.

"You have a granddaughter too. Angel Rose. She looks exactly like her mother, only with a bigger body. She's just the sweetest thing ever. She's smart too, with some of the best grades in her class, or so she says. Then again, she doesn't lie much. I guess she got that from me. She's energetic, big-hearted, empathetic… I could go on and on about it. I doubt you'd mind, but I don't have years.

"Nalia's doing well. If she wants, I'll let her go through the specifics. She got as low as me for a time but she's always been able to pick herself up faster than me. I guess you knew she had three eggs the whole time. We only knew about one. Magic to protect them from Galbatorix. She has a good relationship with all of them, though Amor is wild. Nalia says he's a bit of a handful.

"You two would be so proud of Viki. She was… not in a good place when we found her. She's come back so well. She has her own bakery, a stable fanbase from her Twinge streams… not that you'd know anything about that, and she shows no signs anymore of what she lived through for years. If anyone's more caring than Ruby and Angel, it's Viki."

Aaron sighed. "I'm sorry it took me so long to come here. I was scared. I didn't know what would happen when I came back. I was in a coma for a time, so I lost most of my memories of this place… including many of you two and Viki as a child. I've hated this place for so long, but I decided that I needed to come here and make amends. I avenged your deaths. It was about time I came back to pay my respects. I miss you two, and I love you."

Aaron fell silent. He felt something wet running down his cheek. When he walked up, he didn't know he was going to say anything. After he started, he couldn't stop. It felt good. He nodded and turned around. Ruby and Angel still stood by the board. Angel looked confused more than anything while Ruby had a knowing smile. Other people around… it was mainly disgust. Many of the people killed here were probably actual criminals. These people didn't know who he was or who he was mourning. Aaron paid them no mind.

Instead, he walked back to his wife and daughter. "Sorry about that."

"Feel better, honey?" Ruby grabbed one of Aaron's hands in both of hers.

"Much." Aaron nodded. "I should have done that a long time ago."

"It's good for your head." Ruby wiped one of Aaron's tears off his face then kissed the same place. "I'm sorry I couldn't meet your parents. I'm sure they were great people."

"They were. I think I've already told you all my stories about them."

"What do your parents have to do with that place?" Angel asked.

Aaron sighed and faced his daughter. "That's where they died." Angel pulled her lips in and looked away. "You're fine. Don't worry about it. I've come to terms with…" A large black cat walked to Angel's side and rubbed his face against one of her legs.

Angel looked down and she gasped. "Kitty!" She knelt down to pet the oversized cat.

Aaron could only stare. He knew that werecat. "Solembum…" He raised his head and locked eyes with his wife. It looked like she was thinking the same thing. Aaron looked around the area for the witch. He found Angela in Remmartian attire leaning against a house on the far side of the clearing. "I'll be right back." He once again left his wife and daughter. _Nalia, I may need Redemption._

 _I'll let the Rider on Duty know,_ Nalia growled. _I don't like where this is going any more than you do._

 _Good._ Aaron clenched his fists. Angela's small smile disappeared as the Rider approached. _"What's your game, Angela?"_ Aaron stopped only a foot away from the witch. _"The first time we see you on Remnant, O'Donnell gets out of prison. The next, a Rider and his newly hatched dragon are kidnapped. What's going to happen this time, an attempt on Angel's life? You're going to have a hard time if that's the case."_

Angela scowled and raised her fists to rest in front of Aaron's face. _"If you really think I had anything to do with those things, arrest me. Put me on your prison island. That might be the one place that can hope to contain me."_

" _I just might."_ Aaron felt Nalia in the sky behind him, her presence a nonverbal threat.

" _I'm not here to fight you, Rider."_ Angela yanked her arms back down. _"I'm here for answers as well. I know of one man that may possibly have them, and only one of your family knows where I can find him."_

Aaron crossed his arms. _"And who would that be?"_

" _Tenga. As far as I know, your sister in law is the only one who has seen him since Galbatorix was killed. Despite all your secrecy, I have learned about Salem. I know what she can do. I know she was behind both those things you mentioned. Just like Galbatorix, Salem needs to be killed. If you are willing to see past your nose, I am willing to offer my help in that."_

Aaron just sneered at Angela. _Ruby, Angela swore she will help us take down Salem._

 _What about her being involved in a lot of the things that happened?_ Ruby asked.

 _She swore she's as disgusted as we are._

Ruby took a few seconds to answer. _We can't really afford to turn away allies. Take Angel home. I'll talk with Angela._

 _Got it._ Aaron returned his attention to Angela. _"Wait here. Ruby wants to speak with you."_

" _Be my guest."_ Angela leaned against the wall again and crossed her arms. _"Every time you and I speak, you accuse me of something. I believe speaking with Ruby will be more beneficial."_

Aaron turned around and walked back to his family. When he got close, Ruby nodded and walked past her husband. Angel looked in between her two parents. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Angel, we're going to need to cut this short." Aaron looked up at Nalia. His dragon took the hint and landed in the courtyard. "This just turned into a business visit for Ruby." He looked at the currently empty noose. "Besides, we're not going to want to stay here much longer. Something's bad going to happen here. We need to go."

* * *

 **Geeze, I've really underused Angela... I need to fix that.**


	88. Power

**I saved a couple of nerd's lives last week. They were about to see the new Spiderman and neither of them had seen Endgame. I informed them without spoilers that they couldn't see them out of order. They saw Lion King instead. Don't ask me how a couple nerds haven't seen Endgame yet. They didn't know either.  
**

* * *

"Are you sure you should be doing this?" Aaron asked Ruby. "Yang barely got out the last time."

"I know it's not ideal," Ruby crossed her arms, "but what choice do we have? If Tenga knows half as much as Angela claims, we need him on our side, or at the very least know what he knows." She looked down and to the side. "I don't like it either. I wish there could be more of us, but we need speed… If I'm not back for Angel's game tomorrow night, could take over my cheering for me?"

Aaron scoffed. "I might leave that to Cerise. I've got my own brand."

"I guess you're right." Ruby stepped forward and hugged her husband. _"None of us will be hurt. None of us will die. There's no reason to worry."_ She flicked her eyes up toward her dragon. That was as much for Cerise as it was for Aaron.

" _Thank you."_ Aaron pulled away and looked Ruby in the eyes. " _I love you."_

" _I love you too."_ They kissed each other on the lips then Ruby walked toward her dragon. "Cerise, when I get back, we're going flying for as long as you want."

 _Good._ Cerise growled with only Ruby being able to hear the whimper in it. _We'd be doing that whether you wanted to or not, even if I had to take you without you wanting it._

"Jokes on you then. Unless there was a Grimm attack or something wrong with a family member, I always want to fly with you."

Cerise' growl silenced. _You're good._

"I know." Ruby kissed her dragon on the snout. "I'll be back when I can."

 _Be sure you are._ Cerise turned her head away. Even though she tried to hide it, Ruby felt her dragon's anxiety. The Rider ran a hand over her dragon's scales as she walked toward the regular door in the dragon door. She stepped onto the landing pad and turned toward the hangar. The Bullhead was already pulled halfway out of the cave. In addition to the weapons already on the transport, heavy machineguns on gimbal mounts hung out of both sides of the crew compartment like standard military combat Bullheads. Hopefully neither of them would be used.

Yang stepped out of the Bullhead in her old exoskeleton armor. "We're all good here, Ruby. We're just waiting on your go ahead."

"Arya knows and I've given the bad news to Aaron and Cerise. No one's happy, but no one's going to stop us. The autopilot system in?"

"Angela already knows it's Halcyon." Yang shook her head. "Is there any way to keep secrets from that woman."

"Not really," Angela called from inside the Bullhead. "I'm good at figuring things out, especially when their Aura surrounds me."

Ruby thought she felt stronger Aura off the woman. She stepped into the Bullhead. Angela sat in a seat behind one of the machineguns with a young boy standing beside her with a much smaller pistol, Solembum in his human form. "You sure you know how to use that weapon, Angela?"

"It's simple enough." Angela moved the gun around. "If there are as many Grimm there as you claim to be, I should be able to just hold down the trigger and kill dozens of them."

"Very true." Ruby sat behind the other gun and powered it up. Yang stepped into the Bullhead and the cockpit. The Elder pat the metal wall above her. "Whenever you're ready, Halcyon. Take us away." Ruby grabbed the new headset and visor that came with the guns and fit it over her head. A red targeting reticle appeared in front of her eyes.

 _I hope you installed those right, Ruby,_ Halcyon said. _Once we get to the other side, I'm only slowing down to get inside the tower._ The engines spun up and the transport left the ground. Halcyon flew the Bullhead away from the house and to the nearest river. Ruby cast the between worlds spell and the transport nosed in. They emerged in the sky above the destroyed human kingdom. Unlike the last time Ruby was there, a few Grimm flew around.

"Hold fire," Ruby ordered. "Only attack if attacked. There's no need to draw the swarm early." The Bullhead sped forward. Ruby leaned forward to see where they flew. The black tower grew in front of them as the transport approached. Just as Halcyon said, he only slowed down to make sure he didn't catch the engines on the walls.

Once inside, Ruby jumped out of the transport and walked up to the massive set of black doors. She bit her lower lip. Yang said the spells in there nearly drained her Aura dry. If it took a similar amount from Ruby, she'd still be able to use just about everything in a fight. Still, it would likely be painful.

Ruby touched the door with her left hand and lightning shot through her body. She clenched her eyes and teeth and leaned her head back. With all the pain she'd endured in her life, this wasn't so bad. When it stopped, Ruby stepped back and shook out her hand. There was no residual pain, but she still felt tingly.

The doors creaked open outward, forcing Ruby to step back. She faced the Bullhead again. The armed transport now faced outside with all its guns pointing in that direction. "Get ready to back it in, Halcyon." Ruby drew Máni Bláto and extended it to full scythe form. She backed into the room behind the doors while keeping her weapon trained on the opening to the outside world.

Halcyon started backing the transport up and the first Grimm flew over the terrace outside. The Dauthblaka roared for less than a second before Ruby put a Dust round in its neck. The guns on the Bullhead spun up but no Dust left their barrels. Then a black mass appeared over the terrace. The Bullhead spat bullets from all its guns while Ruby picked off any of those that made it through. The doors started to close and the side guns on the Bullhead fell silent. Ruby was forced to stop as well, leaving the top gun on the transport the only thing firing. A Myrkrgarm made it partway through before it got caught in the doors. Its top half-collapsed to the floor as the doors clamped the rest of its body. Ruby walked forward and speared the Grimm through the head, finally killing it.

"Wow," Angela yelled. "These things really are loud."

Ruby shook her head and walked to that part of the Bullhead. "I told you to use hearing protection."

Angela cocked her head. "What?" she yelled again.

Ruby pointed at one of her ears. "Fix these," she enunciated each word so Angela could read her lips. She shook her head and looked around the room she stood in. The others that came with her did the same thing. From the few pictures and the video Yang took years ago, it didn't look like much had changed. The shelves were still lined with books, some of which Ruby recognized from the video. She paused when she saw a Remmartian history book, then kept walking. She knew it was there but it still unnerved her, even if there were copies of it in Alagaësia with the limited trade.

Footsteps came from another part of the library, one that Ruby knew no one else had entered yet. She raised her scythe in a defensive position just in case. Instead of a Grimm, an old man walked out carrying yet another book. This had to be Tenga. The man looked up from his book and at the newcomers with his eyes stopping on Yang. _"Ah. I was wondering when you would return."_

" _This isn't a social visit."_ Yang crossed her arms. _"We've got a problem we think you can help with."_

" _All in good time. With the Grimm outside, no one will be leaving for a long time."_ Tenga turned his head toward Ruby. _"Shadeslayer. It's an honor to finally meet you."_

Ruby nodded. _"I suppose I should thank you. Without your help, I wouldn't have met Cerise or my husband."_

" _A happy accident, I assure you. At the time, I just wished to preserve the Riders."_ Tenga faced his former apprentice. _"Angela. It appears you found me."_

" _You didn't make it easy."_ Angela crossed her arms and walked up to Tenga. _"You are a hard man to track down when you don't want to be found. I had to have a Rider tell me that you were alive in the first place and have two of them escort me here."_ Ruby and Yang exchanged a look. It looked like they were on the same page in not liking Angela's word choice. _"Why hide all the way out here?"_

" _Even I could not overpower Galbatorix. That needed to fall to younger blood. After nearly three years of searching, I found the answer."_ Tenga faced Ruby once again. _"The Remmartians could do it. I am happy I was right."_

" _Why stay away?"_ Angela demanded. _"There was no need to stay out of Alagaësia after the Forsworn were killed."_

" _There was no reason to leave here."_ Tenga spread his arms out. _"The answers to so many questions lie within these walls, far more than I can find in Alagaësia. By staying here, I can fulfill my master's work."_

" _What is the point of finding the answers to questions if you can't share the knowledge with others?"_ Ruby took a few steps forward. _"All these books are just paperweights if they just sit here and nothing is done with what is written inside them."_

Tenga nodded at Ruby. _"Very true, very wise. But as former Head of the Dragon Riders, surely you must understand the need for secrecy. I know you and the Headmasters keep the Maidens and the Relics a secret, among many other things."_

" _If word of the Maidens gets out, they'll have targets on the back of their heads from people who want that power. Same with the Relics."_

" _Just as you keep that knowledge to keep people safe, so do I. I know you know the consequences of interdimensional damage beyond what you call technological infection. What you see and read in science fiction is not far from science fact."_ Tenga paused. _"You are here for a reason. You would not brave the Grimm swarm outside otherwise."_

" _You are the only one living who knows more about Salem than Oscar Pine,"_ Angela said.

" _Ah."_ Tenga nodded. _"Ozma's current incarnation."_ Ruby clenched her fists. While her anger toward Ozpin had lessened, it wasn't gone. _"I didn't know about him until I met Ozpin and Glynda at Beacon, though I recognized him from my master's notes."_

" _What does he have to do with this?"_ Yang asked.

" _Much. Before Salem was a Shade, she was called Phora, and Ozma was Phora's lover."_

Ruby choked on nothing and stumbled forward. _"Excuse me?"_

" _When the spirits took over Phora, Ozma did his best to kill Salem in order to free his lover. My master recruited him along with several other Alagaësians. When Salem escaped, my master brought his force to Remnant. Ozma, a powerful magician, came the closest to killing Salem yet still fell short. My people discovered my master's interference and cursed Ozma. I'm sure you know the rest. I believe that is how that religion started on Remnant."_

Ruby shook her head and ran her hands through her hair. _"I'm going to need to have a loooong talk with him when we get back."_

" _Back on subject,"_ Yang started, _"Angela said if anyone knew what Salem was after, it was you. That, or you could find the answer."_

" _Yet another reason I have not left this tower."_ Tenga set the book he held on the desk in front of him then walked toward the nearest bookcase. _"I have all of my and my master's notes on Salem here."_ He took out a thick hardcover then motioned to Ruby. _"As you said, knowledge means nothing if it cannot be used."_

Ruby walked over to Tenga and grabbed the book. _"Can you give me the Fuze Notes version?"_

" _During their fight, Salem breached my master's mind. He believes she knows about this place and its importance, but not what is in here. With how this tower is defended, she may think there is power inside."_ Tenga looked at the bookshelves around the room. _"She is not wrong."_

" _So she surrounds the tower in an attempt to make it inside…"_ Ruby opened the book and started reading in. Yang continued in her questioning but Ruby paid her no mind. There was more stuff about Salem in the book than Ozpin ever said. Ruby skimmed the pages and recorded a bunch on her bionic eye. She looked for patterns, motivations, strategies, anything that might give her an edge over Salem.

One thing stood out. Salem rarely fought herself. She always worked behind others, whether it was Grimm or someone else. She even had a couple human and dwarf kings working for her at points. An entire Urgal tribe was under her spell… and its members killed Galbatorix' first dragon.

The question was _why?_ Why did she hide behind her minions? She had so much power. She could have controlled Remnant and seized the Relics as soon as she arrived on Remnant. Why did she need to stay back? From the few combats that were described, she wasn't a bad fighter. Not the best, but certainly no slouch. Take into account what she used to fight the Riders on Remnant. Scorn campaigns that Coco was thankfully able to diffuse, a few hacks to expose what little data the Riders kept digitally, turning Ilia into a half Grimm. That last one fit Salem's MO…

Ruby lowered the book a few inches as she thought. That was a thought. What did Salem have to gain from that? A Maiden under her direct control, but was there anything else? When Ilia died, she thanked Arya for doing the deed. What was that about? Did Salem not have complete control… complete control… something about those two words rang true.

" _Salem's not a fighter,"_ Ruby said, likely interrupting another conversation. She rose her head to face everyone else in the room. _"She's a controller. She doesn't want us to die, she wants to control us."_

Yang scoffed. _"She's done a fine job of that. Surely she's figured out by now that people resist that kind of control."_

" _Unless that's what she wants,"_ Angela suggested. _"She may see the Kingdoms as places of entertainment. It's just the larger form of boxing or dog fighting."_

" _Are you trying to say something?"_ Yang accused.

Angela rolled her eyes. _"I get enough of that attitude from your brother."_

" _It's not that. She turned Ilia into a half Grimm. I doubt that's something she could do just for a bit of fun. It was too well done."_ Ruby clenched her eyes. She was onto something. She just needed the last connection. What needed a strong and controlling leader? Dictators, evil corporations, drug syndicates, armies… Ruby opened her eyes and slumped her shoulders. _"She wants an army."_

Tenga stiffened while Yang and Angela just looked confused. _"She_ _ **has**_ _an army,"_ Yang said. _"An army of Grimm."_

" _Whose armies have defeated hers time and time again? Who has defied her every step of the way? Who has resisted that kind of control for centuries?"_

Yang slacked her arms. _"Well… I guess that explains Ilia."_

" _Why would she need an army of people?"_ Angela asked. _"She's doing a fine job of killing people as it is. She even managed to get her Grimm into Ellesméra."_

" _With the help of the Relic of Knowledge. Arya saw to it that-"_

" _Salem has the Relic of Knowledge?"_ Tenga asked. Ruby faced the old man. Tenga's shoulders drooped and it looked like his face had aged a thousand years. _"Then we are doomed."_

" _We have two other Relics."_ Ruby shook her head. _"I have Choice in a pocket and Arya has Creation. No one Relic overpowers the others."_

" _No, but the Relic may allow her to know what is preserved in here."_ Tenga dipped his head. _"She may know the Name of the Ancient Language. She only has to ask."_

Angela stiffened. _"I never thought of that."_

" _And we have no idea where to look,"_ Yang growled. _"What if that can overpower a Relic?"_

" _Well, I guess we start looking."_ Ruby focused on Tenga. The man shifted on his feet. _"Or… do we even have to?"_

Tenga locked eyes with Ruby. _"My people may cast me out like my master, but this is something that needs to be done. Follow me."_ He turned around and walked deeper into the tower. Ruby locked eyes with Yang, then the sisters followed the Grey Folk. This could get interesting.

* * *

Salem waited in the shadows as Hazel escorted their guests in. Iali and Lumi, the Rider and dragon Ruby Kingkiller humiliated in front of so many others. The Shade had been watching these two for a while. They had always been more aggressive than the others and they liked the spotlight from all the cameras, so different from so many other pairs. They reminded her of Silia before she joined Galbatorix. These were the reasons Salem set foot on Sanus for the first time in a century.

"Please, take a seat." Hazel gestured to one of three seats at the table.

"Don't mind if I do." Iali took the seat then crossed her arms. "This better be quick. I need to meet with my supervisor in two hours."

"This should not take long." Hazel sat across from Iali while Lumi laid behind her Rider. "I won't waste either of our times by sugarcoating things. My employer and I have a problem we believe can only be fixed by someone with your talents. The problem is it isn't in the Riders general scope of work."

"It already sounds interesting," Iali leaned forward and uncrossed her arms. "If it's something other than simple police work and Grimm removal, and with how much you're paying, I'm willing to entertain it."

"Good." Hazel paused. "My employer is looking for someone to carry out… less than legal actions on call."

Iali cocked her head. "You know who I work for, right? The largest law enforcement agency on Remnant and Alagaësia? Ever hear of them?"

"I have, but do you care?" Hazel was pushing it, but they needed to know if Iali and her dragon would be willing to betray the Riders in the first place. If not, Salem needed to decide if she was going to let Kingkiller and Arya know two of their own were killed.

Iali stayed silent and looked back at her dragon. She stayed like that for a few seconds before facing Hazel again. "Not really, as long as it can't be traced back to me. I'd rather not spend the rest of my life in the Rider's prison."

"That would depend on how skilled you are. If you lead any investigations back toward us, you won't have much of a life to live."

"Threatening a Rider, and one that you want to hire. Not the smartest move." Iali looked back in Salem's general direction. "Lumi's smelled you since coming in here. I take it you're my actual employer."

" _You would be correct."_ Salem stepped out of her shroud and into the light. Iali shot to her feet as did Lumi. The dragon snarled at the Shade but made no advance. _"I am looking for a Rider who will work against the Riders for me."_

Iali grabbed the hilt of her sword. _"You're a Shade."_

" _Yes, I am."_ Salem felt a dragon's mind try to scratch her defenses. _"Do not try to communicate mentally with me. It will not work and you may end with a new hole in your chest."_

" _What do you want?"_

" _I want Ruby Kingkiller dead."_ Iali loosened her grip on her sword. Salem didn't let her smile reach her lips. _"I believe you have a reason to want her dead too."_

" _Her and several others."_ Iali let go of her sword. _"Not all of them are in the Riders."_

" _Please, tell me. If you work with me, I need to know you can do what I'm looking for."_

" _The Riders are too weak. My own people are weak. They would rather protect the weak rather than rule them. If the Queen wanted to, she could conquer the human Kingdoms of Alagaësia in a year, show them their place."_ Lumi growled behind her Rider.

Salem allowed her smirk to show. This was going better than she had hoped. _"You appear to not think the same about those on Remnant."_

Iali grimaced. _"As much as I hate to admit it, the humans here are strong, even without their Dust. We are a long way from being able to conquer them without magic. Ruling would be impossible. I must settle for having them put us up on a pedestal."_

" _Your views on things remind me of thirteen others. I'm sure you know which ones I am talking about."_

" _I believe I do and I may have a reason for that."_ Iali paused. _"I don't think anyone other than my mother knew that Kialandí was my father."_

Oh. That was something Salem wasn't expecting. She never met that elf herself, so she couldn't see any resemblance. _"Is that so?"_

" _It is. My mother shared his views, but of course, she had to stay silent. Galbatorix or Islanzadí would have had us killed if either of them knew."_

" _And Kialandí was promised the throne in Ellesméra once Galbatorix defeated the elves."_ Salem approached the Rider. To eliminate the Riders as a threat, she needed to make some sacrifices. Losing unhindered access to one species, even one as powerful as the elves, was one she was willing to make. _"Help me destroy the Riders and the Kingdoms of Remnant and Alagaësia, and the throne will be yours."_

Iali exchanged a look with Lumi. The dragon's snarl only then left her face. _"If we refuse?"_ the Rider asked.

" _Then your corpses will wash up on the shores of Peaceful Resort in a few days. The choice is yours."_

The Rider faced the Shade. _"If you can help me dispose of Islanzadí, I will help you destroy the other Kingdoms."_

" _Excellent."_ Salem faced her longtime lieutenant. "You have done well, Hazel. You may return to helping Barry Price prepare for his attacks."

"As you wish." Hazel bowed to Salem then walked out of the old building.

Salem faced her new recruit. _"Follow me. You may not speak about where we are going to anyone, not that you will be meeting with your supervisor ever again."_

" _Good,"_ Iali grunted. _"Brom is almost worse than Ruby and Aaron."_

Salem walked deeper into the ruin with her new Forsworn behind her. She led the way to a small pool she created hours earlier. Thanks to the Relic of Knowledge, Salem had devised a spell that could take her point to point on Remnant. The water swirled black and red and Salem gestured at the water. _"After you. My Grimm will meet you on the other side."_

" _Your Grimm?"_ Iali looked Salem up and down while mounting her dragon. _"You do look like them."_

" _Correction. They look like me."_ Salem crossed her arms. _"They will not hurt you."_

Dragon and Rider exchanged a glance before Lumi plunged into the portal. Salem jumped after them and landed three seconds later on the main veranda of her castle. Lumi landed beside her soon after. Iali and her dragon scanned the area with their eyes. Their faces gave away nothing.

" _Come, my Forsworn."_ Salem held her arms out to her sides. _"You have much to learn, and much to grow."_

Iali dismounted her dragon then walked toward Salem. _"What is this place?"_

" _This is my castle. I will have one of my men give you the tour when you have proven yourself."_ Salem walked into her castle. She felt the dragon shake the ground behind her. _"Iali, you are strong, but you are not strong enough."_

" _If you are talking about fighting Ruby, Aaron, or Arya, you are right. Any one of them could kill me easily."_

" _I know of two powers that can put you on even ground with them. One of them is contained in this castle. It's a power that only four women on Remnant can have at a time. The three others are Riders or allied to the Riders. I cannot control this power as I do not have any Aura. But you,"_ Salem turned her head back toward Iali, _"you will be my Maiden."_

" _Maiden…"_ Iali's gaze drifted to the side. _"I feel like I've heard that word in a context of power before."_

" _You may have."_ Salem said nothing else as she walked through the castle. They had to leave the dragon behind because the halls grew too small. Their path ended at a room just outside the unused dungeons. Salem pushed open the door. Inside, the current Summer Maiden lay chained to the wall. Much like Ilia, Salem forced this one through the transformation into a half Grimm.

Iali stepped into the room, staring at the poor soul. _"What did you do to her?"_

" _I have developed a technique to transform humans and Faunus to better control them. Unfortunately with the Maidens, they need to remain alive or else their power will be transferred to others. Ideally, their memories would be killed while their Aura lives on, but that is not possible in this case."_ Salem scowled. _"My last Maiden fought the transformation at every stage and was able to hinder my control enough to be killed by Arya. This one's broken spirit won't allow her to do anything other than whimper. This has only confirmed something I've learned over the millennia; willing warriors always work better than ones who are forced into service."_

" _Half Grimm, Maidens…"_ Iali shook her head. _"I finally understand Code M."_

" _Kill this woman and take her power. I will ensure you are the last one in her thoughts."_ The Maiden's head rose at Salem's mental command.

Iali drew her blade. _"I've always wanted to kill a human like this."_ She swung her blade and lopped the woman's head off her shoulders. A few seconds of silence followed. A green light shot out of the dead woman's chest and into the elf. Iali gasped and her feet left the ground. She touched down soon after. _"Oh my."_ She brought her hands up and looked at them. _"This power… I like it."_ She faced Salem once more, her eyes hungry. _"Where is this other power?"_

Salem straightened. This would be a massive advantage for her. _"It is beneath Shade Academy in Vacuo, in the form of a sword."_

* * *

In the mirror, Ironwood leaned on the desk in front of him. "And you're sure this will work?"

"As sure as I can be." Ruby shrugged. "Get us the fighters, I can get them to scout Manchu. No blowing up as soon as they reach the shoreline."

Ironwood sighed. "I'll see what I can drag up from mothball or the scrapyard. There is no way I can get you our newest fighters."

"Anything is better than what we currently have."

Arya stepped forward. "I will have our carrier sail toward Atlas within the next few hours. With how many 'automated fighters' Ruby has publicly stated she would like them to have, it would not look out of place for all of them to be loaded onto one of our ships."

Ironwood nodded. "My thoughts exactly." He focused back on Ruby. "How soon can you get this operation running?"

"I'll send you a list of separate materials I need in order to modify the fighters. If you can get me all of those, I can adapt one a day, more if I can get some of the more technologically inclined Riders well versed in the process. Depending on how many you're able to send me, it could be a while until the full force is able to fly."

"Understandable. I'll set things in motion on my end. When the fighters reach you, I hope you will make haste."

"Speed is my thing. I'll get it done, General."

"Glad to hear it." James turned his head to the right. "I need to go. There's a disturbance in the academy's main courtyard." James walked off-screen and Ruby ended the communication spell.

"Halcyon, get those engines spinning!" Ruby whipped around and marched out of the conference room. "Take me to your sister."

"Ruby," Arya walked to catch up to the Elder's side. "Are you sure this will work?"

"With wards from the Relic of Creation and strengthened by the Name of the Ancient Language, yes. There are only so many wards Salem can place around herself. What we can do can pierce any of that." Ruby said all that without taking a breath.

Arya gave Ruby a look. "You are not well."

"I've been away from Cerise for a week. I need to get back to her." Ruby left the keep in Mor'ranar Vera and walked toward the waiting Bullhead. She climbed inside and entered the cockpit. She plopped down in the copilot's seat and let her limbs shake like they had wanted to for hours. "Let's fly, Halcyon."

 _O…kay,_ Halcyon said, sounding concerned. The transport lifted off the ground and flew toward the nearest river. _Yeah. You need to get back to Cerise._

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby snapped.

"Ruby," Yang rested a hand on her sister's shoulder, "it really looks and sounds like you're going through withdrawal."

"What?" Ruby slapped the hand away. "Are you saying I'm addicted to Cerise?"

"Maybe, with how you've rarely ever been out of each other's heads and how good it feels to have them in."

"Yeah, right." Ruby whipped her head away and winced. She really did love Cerise… and she read the reports of how some Riders' and dragons' month away went, including her own. Quite a few of them sounded like that. "Okay, maybe."

"How did you survive when you and Cerise were apart for a month?"

Ruby felt her cheeks burn and pulled her head down between her shoulders. "I had Aaron and… we had a lot of… fun."

Yang made a noise that Ruby couldn't place. "Yeah, you have a problem. You wouldn't admit that otherwise."

"Oh yeah." Ruby stared out the windshield. As she watched, a portal appeared over the water. A red dragon popped out. A wall of happiness smashed into Ruby. The Rider stood up and practically pressed her face against the glass. _Cerise!_

 _Gem!_ Her dragon called back.

Ruby stepped out of the cockpit and jumped out the open crew compartment. She activated her Semblance and shot through the air to her dragon. The Rider connected with her dragon's face and clamped on with arms and legs. _I missed you so much, Cerise._

 _And I you._ Cerise hummed and brought both front paws up. _Do you want to stay there or will you climb into the saddle?_

 _Nah. Here's fine._ Ruby raised her head to look into one of Cerise' eyes. She smiled as she felt waves of love flow in both directions. _I've got a great view here._

 _I don't have a bad one myself._ Cerise banked to her left to fly along the coastline. _Your thoughts are all over the place. Are you okay?_

Ruby winced. _We need to talk._

* * *

 **Yeah... Kialandí** **'s daughter... Well, Morzan hid Murtagh.  
**

 **On a somber note, one of my grandpas passed away last Thurday... he's in a better place now...**


	89. Enhanced

**Everything I have to say is spoilery, so I'll just get right to it.  
**

* * *

Angel leaned back and looked at her disassembled weapon. She took a deep breath and flicked her eyes to Slate. "Just tell me when to start."

Slate turned his Scroll toward Angel, showing a stopwatch app. "Three, two, one, go!"

Angel leaned forward and grabbed the scope of Eljun and the top half of the sword. She fit the scope back into place and flipped it back down to make the edge continuous. She then did something similar with the grips and magazine on the bottom half of the blade. Those were the easy parts. Assembling the receiver was always the tough part. Her mom said she tried to make it as simple as possible, but the assembly always went over her head. Angel did her best, finagling with the inside of the receiver before fitting the barrel on. She checked for any missing screws or anything else small before fitting both halves of the sword over the gun. She thumbed the switch and the blade collapsed. Another flick and the sword split with everything rotating as it needed to.

"Time!" Angel held her hands up. Slate hit the pause button on his Scroll. Six minutes, twenty-three seconds and some change. "Yes! Fastest yet!"

Sarah pat Angel on the back. "Nice job, Feathers."

"As fast as some of the other weapon nuts here." Slate cleared his Scroll and put it back in a pocket. "Then again, all you have to do for most of this is slot things into place."

"Yeah." Angel picked up Eljun and shifted the blades to cover the gun. "I wouldn't be able to put together anything like Crescent Rose or Máni Bláto."

"Don't doubt yourself," a voice said to Angel's right. She faced it and looked up at Auntie Weiss. "With your parents, I wouldn't put it past you to build something great." She reached a hand toward Eljun. "May I?" Angel handed her weapon to her aunt. Auntie Weiss shifted the weapon's form again and inspected the receiver. She fiddled around for a second before. "I thought I saw that. You installed the firing mechanism backward."

Angel slumped her shoulders. "What?" She took her weapon back from her aunt. Sure enough, the firing pin and… a lot of other things she didn't know the function or names of were backward. She didn't even know how that was possible. "Aw, man…"

"While speed is always appreciated," her aunt continued, "I doubt you'll ever be that hard-pressed into assembling your weapon, unless you're involved in a contest. I know from my old team leader that you struggle to put your weapon together without speed being focused. Maybe you should focus on that before you worry about trying to break any records."

"Okay…" Angel hung her head as she worked on fixing her mistake. She heard her aunt walk away while but didn't see it.

"She told you," Sarah snickered.

"But you don't know how good it feels for someone to call me out like that." Angel sighed. "The two of you know how much of a fan professor Hendriks is of my mom."

"I'd say borderline creepy." Slate shivered.

"There's nothing borderline about it. Cheese and crackers, that man is crazy." Angel paused. "He takes it to the extreme, but most of my other professors just see either me or my parents, mainly my mom because, well…" Angel gestured at her face.

Slate pointed at the amphitheater stage. "If you get lucky, it's going to happen a lot more often."

Angel looked at the stage and the three eggs on top. Red, white, and gold. "One of them in particular." Of course, she had a color which she'd prefer. Everyone did. She wanted white, Sarah red, Slate gold. Her mom said Auntie Yang wanted a gold egg to hatch for her which ended up being Uncle Halcyon. Auntie Weiss said most of the new Riders she helped find had their favorite colors chosen before they hatched. That didn't always happen, but all Riders were overjoyed with their dragons.

"Anyway," Angel returned her attention to her friends, "my point is that so many people treat me nice so my parents don't get mad at them. Then there's my actual family that treats me like anyone else." She shook her head. "But it's weird calling Grandpa Tai… just Tai."

"Yeah." Sarah crossed her arms. "I kind of get where you're coming from, being the daughter of a Beacon professor and all that. It's more from other students though." Sarah glared across the amphitheater at a group of guys on their Scrolls. "Those jerks just want to use me."

"Hey, we've got part of my O-line in between us and everyone else." Angel nodded at two of her Guards. Of course, they were there for… other reasons, but they'd keep the jerks off Angel's friends.

"Too bad Gotzesz isn't here," Slate said. "No one would get by him."

Angel winced. While she was glad to have the first Urgal at Signal protecting her on the field, he… was an Urgal. He saw fear as a weakness as did most of his kind. He did his job on the field and hadn't let Angel get sacked, but he had nothing to do with her otherwise. "Yeah, well, Urgals can't be Riders. Something about dragons not being bonded to them. The specifics go over my head."

"They're not supposed to be bonded to Faunus." Slate wiggled his wolf ears. "How many Riders are Faunus?"

"Velvet wrote a paper on that a few years ago," Sarah said. "I've read a lot of her things. I'm hoping I can use some of her stuff in reports someday."

Angel fake coughed into a fist. "Nerd."

Sarah shoved Angel. "You're one to talk. You didn't shut up on her Aura differential research for a month when that came out. That, and you can recite almost all Darvel movies word for word."

"I take offense to that." Angel stuck a finger at Sarah. "I can do that for more than just Darvel." Angel's Scroll buzzed by her side. She picked it up and opened the text from her mom. "Oooooo!" It was a picture of a prototype of her new armor. Angel couldn't tell the material, but some metal would cover her whole body, leaving nothing exposed. Extra plates would cover her joints, torso, and legs. A mini wing stuck out of each of the shoulders. The whole thing was painted white and gold. "Guys! Take a look at this!" She showed her Scroll to her friends.

Slate whistled. "Nice, but no cape?"

Angel straightened up and cleared her throat. She put on her best nasally voice. "Capes are fine in the ballroom, darling, but have no place on the battlefield."

Sarah snorted. "Oh my gosh. Say it. Please, say it."

"No capes!" Angel swung her right hand in front of herself to accent her point. Slate and Sarah burst out laughing. Angel smiled and brought her free hand behind her head. "My work here is done."

"What are you going to do about your hair?" Slate asked. "That can get caught too."

"Either a ponytail or a bun." Angel ran a hand through her hair. "I don't want it quite as long as mom's, definitely not as long as Auntie Yang's, but I still want…" she trailed off as she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She faced it but saw nothing… that is until the red egg shifted on the stage.

Angel shifted her legs beneath her and looked around for her aunt. "Mrs. Schnee?" Auntie Weiss turned toward her. Angel just pointed at the stage.

Auntie Weiss stared in that direction. She cocked her head and the egg shifted again, this time with a soft chirp coming from it. "Everyone," she called, "gather around the eggs. A hatchling is about to choose its Rider."

Most other people in the amphitheater ran or jogged up to the stage. Angel, Sarah, and Slate took her time. They all knew about the process before the first time they were brought before the eggs, thanks to stories from their parents. Someone was chosen, whoever was first to the stage didn't matter.

Angel took a place by the edge of the stage in between her two closest friends and a couple of offensive linemen on either side of them. Auntie Weiss carried the other two eggs backstage then moved the red egg to the center of the mat. She then drew her Scroll and walked past Angel. The girl couldn't help but listen to her aunt. "Velvet, the red egg is hatching… Yes, _that_ egg… I'm at Signal… Good. See you then." Velvet? What was wrong with this egg that they needed the Rider's Chief Medical Officer to come?

Angel returned her focus to the hatching egg. It was a little darker than Cerise. She heard some people call it a blood red, but she disagreed. It was more of an… apple red. Maybe the one who hatched from it would be sweet like that. Angel bounced on her feet as she watched the egg move. This was the first time she'd seen an egg hatch. She'd seen plenty of hatchlings from the few times her parents took her to Mor'ranar Vera, but never something like this.

At the same time, Angel hoped this one _didn't_ hatch for her. She could already hear new ways people could compare her to her mom. She loved her parents with everything she had, but she didn't want to be known for them. Having a red dragon hatch for her would bring so many comparisons to Cerise. She had enough things linking her to her mom already.

The shaking grew more aggressive and so did the chirps from inside. A piece fell out, revealing a white claw. Angel heard and felt an unintentional whine leave her throat. The claw disappeared back inside, hooking on the egg as it passed and taking off another piece. If Cerise' and Nalia's sounds were anything to go by, it sounded like the hatchling inside was frustrated. Hatching wasn't easy for this one.

A few minutes later, a small red head poked out. The hatchling squinted as it looked around the small area he could move his head. He then snarled at the egg surrounding him and started to bite the shell. Angel couldn't help but laugh at the sight. The hatchling was wrestling with his own shell.

The hatchling pulled a large section of the shell off with his teeth and he fell forward. He squeaked again and crawled out of his shell. His wings, which were a shade lighter than his scales, dragged on the floor. Even for one so young, his limbs looked strong and tough. The hatchling growled at its egg before pouncing on top of it, clawing and biting even more at it. The shell collapsed and the hatchling walked away. He snorted and used his tail to bat some pieces away.

A happy hum shook the floor and filled the room. The hatchling raised his ears and looked around for Saphira but stayed in one place on the mat. Auntie Weiss stepped back inside the ring of students a few feet away from Angel. "Saphira isn't in here, little one." The hatchling jerked his head toward the Rider. "You will meet her soon enough. For now, I think you'd like to meet your Rider." Auntie Weiss spread her arms out. "They're in here. You just need to find them."

The hatchling cocked his head and started moving his head around. Angel couldn't place a pattern to his search other than he never looked at the same person twice. His eyes passed over her several times as he looked at different people, including Slate and Sarah. Angel grit her teeth. _Please don't be me…_ He looked at her, then moved on. Angel slumped her shoulders. Red wasn't her choice color, but it still hurt.

The hatchling's searches slowed down. Every time his eyes passed Angel, they lingered for a second. The fourth time, the hatchling looked up at Angel and Angel alone. His wings raised a hair. Angel looked deep into the hatchling's eyes. She saw something in there like how Cerise looked at her Rider. Angel dropped her jaw. _Please be me! Please be me!_

The hatchling took a step toward Angel, then another, then another, until he walked toward Angel with no hesitation. Angel looked up at her aunt. Auntie Weiss smiled at her, though the excitement in her eyes gave her away. "Go on." Auntie Weiss gestured at the hatchling. "He chose you."

"Me?" Angel looked down at the hatchling again. The pretty boy stood at her feet. He raised one of his paws and rested it on Angel's left foot. He stared up at Angel like he was expecting something. Knowing what was about to happen, he probably was. Angel knelt down in front of the dragon and braced herself. This was going to hurt. She held out her right hand toward the baby dragon. "Hey there, little guy." She brushed her hand against the hatchling's face.

Fire shot up her arm. Angel sucked in a breath and clenched her eyes. She thought she fell backward but couldn't be sure. As much as it felt like she was burning from the inside out, it wasn't anywhere near to the worst pain in her life. That didn't mean that it didn't hurt like heck. It probably would have felt better to claw off her own skin.

After what felt like several minutes, the pain stopped. It didn't leave any numbness, but she couldn't feel everything completely right either. Two things stuck out though; the heavy weight on her chest and the lighter one on her right shoulder. Neither were hostile and one of them felt extremely comforting. Compared to the last time she was in any kind of major pain, she was laying on a cloud.

"Oh, sweet babies, that hurt." Angel opened her eyes and blinked at the ceiling. She raised her head and looked at her chest. The young red dragon curled up on her chest with his head resting on his front paws. His eyes focused solely on Angel's face. "Hi there. Comfortable?" The dragon snorted.

"I think that was a 'very,'" Auntie Weiss said. Angel tilted her head to the side. Her aunt smiled at her, with her once again trying to hold back her real excitement. It was her aunt's hand on her shoulder. "Congratulations, Rider."

"Thanks." Angel sat up and her hatchling repositioned to her lap with a grumble. She picked him up just behind his front legs. The hatchling grumbled more but didn't fight it. A new, small mind touched Angel's. It wasn't focused like Cerise, Nalia's, Halcyon's, or any other dragon's, but it was there. "You're a cute little guy."

"Oh my gosh, Angel!" Sarah squealed as she sat beside Angel. "He's so cute!"

Slate took the other side. "He's jacked too. Look at those legs."

"Well, he _is_ my dragon." Angel took her left hand off her dragon and flexed her left arm, showing off the muscles she and Auntie Yang were so proud of. "We're both jacked, yet we're both cute."

"Show off." Slate pushed Angel's shoulder. The hatchling growled at Slate and tried to free himself from Angel's grip. Slate laughed. "I think this one's a little protective." He reached a finger forward and poked the dragon's snout. "Boop." The hatchling jerked his head back and silenced. He then raised his ears and hummed.

Sarah burst out laughing. "I guess he likes getting his snoot booped."

"I guess so." Angel looked at Slate. "Don't tell your mom. She might want to take him away from me."

"Don't worry." Slate waved her off. "I won't mention that thing."

Auntie Weiss re-placed her hand on Angel's shoulder. "Miss Rose, I need to get you entered in our system… and I'm sure both you and your dragon would like to get him a bath."

Angel blinked and looked her dragon over. He was covered in some sort of egg yolk type goop… actually probably more like egg white. "I didn't even notice that."

"You had different priorities." Auntie Weiss helped Angel to her feet. "Follow me." She turned to the nearest door and walked toward it. Angel adjusted her grip on her dragon so she hugged one of his sides to her chest. Her hatchling just laid his head and neck on his Rider and closed his eyes.

Someone else in the amphitheater scoffed. "You only got that thing because of your parents."

Auntie Weiss froze in place. A growl shook the building, making dust rain from the ceiling. Angel's aunt turned around with a glare that could have sent Grimm running. The old woman walked past Angel back toward the stage. The girl turned around to face the action, though she was a little scared. She'd never seen Auntie Weiss like that. She was always so nice.

Her aunt stuck a finger at a guy Angel didn't know. _"Never_ question a dragon's choice in Rider. That is one of the greatest insults you can point at a dragon. If I hear anything else from you, I will remove you from this session and prevent you from coming to any more in the future." Auntie Weiss spun back around and passed Angel again. The girl followed her aunt out of the massive room.

"Does he even know my parents are Riders?" Angel asked as she scratched her dragon's head.

"If he does, it's because I might have mentioned something like it while caring for his egg." Auntie Weiss turned her head back. "Hatchlings can somewhat hear things going on outside their eggs, so I have a feeling this one will either love singing or hate it."

"Eh, probably." The hatchling started purring in her arms. "Wow, were you the one who growled at Slate a little bit ago?" The baby dragon didn't answer in any way.

Auntie Weiss opened the door to an office and gestured inside. "In here, Miss Rose."

"Thank you, Mrs. Schnee." Angel stepped into the office. She looked around the office and found a towel hanging on the back of one of the chairs. She walked her dragon over there and set him down. "Okay, get comfortable there. I'll clean you up."

Saphira's head appeared on the other side of the office window. She hummed and pointed one of her eyes at the hatchling. The baby dragon looked up at Saphira with his ears raised. Angel knew the look from the older dragon. Saphira was speaking with the newly hatched.

The door to the office closed. "Angel…" Auntie Weiss started. Angel turned around to face her aunt. The old woman had one of her huge, excited smiles on her face. "You're one of us!"

Angel smiled back. "Yeah. I guess I am."

Auntie Weiss took a few steps forward and pulled Angel into a hug. "I'm so happy for you, Angel. You don't know how much and you won't know how much for a long time."

"Is it that big of a deal?" Angel asked.

"Yes. So much." Auntie Weiss rubbed the top of Angel's head. "Your parents are going to be so proud." She pulled away but kept her hands on Angel's shoulders. "Mind if I call her? I was going to anyway because she likes to meet all newly bonded pairs in Vale."

"Just don't tell her it's me. I want to see the look on her face."

Auntie Weiss gave Angel a knowing look. "Same here. That's going to be interesting." She pulled out her Scroll and held it flat. While the line rang, Angel diverted her attention to her hatchling. There was so much goop all over his scales and wings. She grabbed the towel and only just started rubbing his head down when the call was answered.

" _Rider Ruby Rose,"_ Angel's mom answered.

"Hey Ruby, it's Weiss. I'm at Signal and the red egg that I've been carrying around for years has hatched."

" _Really?"_ Cerise hummed on the other side of the line. _"I'm on my way. How's the new Rider?"_

Auntie Weiss locked eyes with Angel. "She's a little shy, but she's a fan of yours. I'd suggest staying in your own head until you meet face to face."

" _Okay. Cerise heard that. Nothing before we meet in person. See you soon, sis."_ The line clicked right there.

"What's so special about this little guy?" Angel asked as she wiped down the hatchling's back. "I heard you call Velvet about him earlier and mom sounded pretty excited about him too."

Auntie Weiss froze for a second. "Saphira and I have been couriering his egg everywhere since our third run. This egg has seen the most people out of any since we've started."

"So I've got a picky one." Angel smiled down at her hatchling. The pretty boy stared back with a cocked head. "I guess I'm that lucky."

"Back in the Old Order, it wasn't uncommon for eggs to not choose a Rider for years, but this one was a special case." Auntie Weiss paused. "His egg was one of the three that Galbatorix held captive."

Angel froze mid wipe. She creaked her head up to face her aunt. "Captive?"

Auntie Weiss nodded. "His egg got a padded case but he was alone with three other eggs, including Saphira's."

 _It's true,_ Saphira said. Angel turned her head around to face the dragon. _I may not remember much of my time there, but I remember no visitors besides those the mad king wanted to control._ She peeled her lips back and growled. _It was not a life for any of us. We were fortunate your family arrived when they did. I do not know how long we would have had to wait to find our Riders otherwise._

Angel looked back down at her dragon. This cutie, this sweet baby dragon, had already been held captive. She let go of the towel, picked up the dragon, and hugged him close to her chest. Angel knew how that pain felt. She needed to show her dragon that he was loved. He was a little slimy but that could be ignored. The hatchling grumbled and shifted in her arms. Maybe she was hugging too hard. She relaxed her grip but didn't let go. Her dragon repositioned himself so his wings weren't pinned against anything and he laid flat against Angel's chest. The new Rider tightened her grip again with no protests coming from the hatchling. This was nice. He knew he was loved.

"So," Auntie Weiss walked behind the desk and sat down, "I think I can fill in most of your information without help." A small projector glowed to life in front of her. "Until I find something that I can't fill in, do you have any questions?"

"Do any dragons fight with their wings?"

Auntie Weiss stared at Angel. "Sorry, fight with their _wings?"_

"Yeah, because, you know…" Angel called on her Semblance and her Aura wings grew behind her. Her hatchling stared at the white light like it was the most interesting thing on Remnant. "They're solid like dad's Aura shields, so I could fight with them. If any dragons fight with them, I could learn from them."

"You sound like you've been thinking about this for a while."

Angel let her dragon go then started wiping him down again. "I didn't ask before because I wasn't one of you."

Saphira gave her a look through the window. _Do you really think Nalia or Cerise would have denied you? They'd find out and teach you themselves if they could… though they may break some rules while doing so._

"Then I'd ask Uncle Halcyon. He wouldn't have a problem."

Saphira narrowed her visible eye and snorted. _No, he wouldn't._ She turned her head away. _I suggest closing the blinds. Cerise is landing._

"That was fast." Angel left her dragon long enough to pull the blinds closed. She returned and continued wiping off all the goop off her hatchling. For his part, the hatchling stayed incredibly still. He still voiced occasional growl but that was it. Sometimes when he growled he leaned into the towel. She didn't think it was a happy growl. Maybe he was playing hard to please.

"Do you have any objections if I record this?" Auntie Weiss asked.

Angel shook her head. "I don't have a problem. I think dad would want to see this too."

A little bit later, the door to the office opened, blocking Angel and her dragon from view from her mom. The door closed behind Angel's mom. "Thank you for calling me, Mrs. Schnee. Now, who is this…" She paused and cocked her head at Auntie Weiss. "What's with the camera?" She turned around and locked eyes with her daughter. She gasped and jumped back a foot. Her hands shot up to cover her mouth and her eyes bulged out of her head. "Are you kidding me?" She lowered her hands, revealing a huge smile. "Are you _kidding me?"_ She bounced on her knees until her feet left the floor. "Are you _kidding me!"_ The hatchling growled up at Angel's mom. The woman touched down again with her eyes darting between dragon and new Rider. "Angel, you?"

"Yeah." Angel smiled at her mom. "Me."

Her mom's face lit up again before she jumped forward and pulled Angel into a hug which was returned right away. "I'm so proud of you, Angel! You and your dragon are going to have such a great time together."

"I know. He already likes to cuddle with me."

"Really?" Her mom pulled away and looked down at the dragon. "He looks a little aggressive to me." Angel faced her dragon as well. It looked like he was about to pounce. Angel's mom reached a finger toward the hatchling. "Hey there." The dragon launched his head forward and clamped his mouth around the finger. Angel gasped but her mom giggled. "He's a biter."

Cerise growled outside and the hatchling released the finger. The baby dragon curled up in his chair and whimpered. Auntie Weiss opened the blinds revealing Cerise glaring inside. Another whimper came from the baby dragon. Cerise evened out her face and hummed as she looked at the hatchling. Angel knew that look. She got it so many times from her mom's dragon when she did something right.

"Mom," Angel faced her, "boop his snoot."

Her mom gave her a look then poked the dragon's nose. "Boop." The hatchling perked right back up and chirped at Angel's mom. He rubbed his head against the outstretched finger. "Yeah. I'd say he likes this."

"He's a bit growly and he acts like that." Auntie Weiss walked over with her arms crossed. "Haven't seen this in a while." She flicked her eyes toward Angel. "It's typically one way or the other. Orchid's the extreme on the cuddly side, there are a bunch of others on the aggressive side."

Angel's mom rubbed the hatchling's back while also looking over various parts of the dragon. "He looks healthy, and he's very happy. I'd still rather have Velvet look him over. She's so much better than we are when it comes to stuff like this." She nodded. "But overall, I think we have a healthy…" She looked at her left side and Weiss looked at the Scroll on her desk.

Angel's mom reached into a pocket while her aunt grabbed her Scroll. They both stiffened and relaxed at the same time. "Ruby," Auntie Weiss started, "I'll finish up here then meet you there."

"Okay." Angel's mom smiled at her daughter. "I need to go to Mor'ranar Vera for something. Dad and I'll see you at grandpa's house for dinner."

"Is there something going on?" Angel asked.

"Yes," her aunt answered, "but something for more experienced Riders to take care of. You'll learn about these things when you get older."

"I'll see you later, Angel." Angel's mom squeezed her daughter's shoulder. "Have fun getting to know your dragon. Love you." She left the office without another word.

"We're on a schedule now." Auntie Weiss sat behind the desk. "We'll go through this quick, then I'll let you get back to class."

"Okay." Angel got back to cleaning her hatchling. "I'll just take care of him until you need something from me." For the first time Angel could remember, she enjoyed cleaning something. She didn't want it to end.

* * *

As Cerise flew out of the portal, Ruby searched the ground for the one who called her. Not seeing her, Ruby stretched her mind out. _Velvet, where are you?_

 _We're north on the coast,_ Velvet said. _Shruikan's blocking us from view from the city._

Ruby faced north. The massive black dragon stood by the ocean still as a statue. Cerise banked north and flew at her best speed. _We're on our way,_ the dragon called. No other words were said. None were needed. Cerise flew around Shruikan and landed on the beach. Arya, Velvet, and their dragons stood in a rough semicircle around something.

Ruby dismounted her dragon and walked toward the group. Her steps faltered as she saw what they gathered around. A sword that she forged, with its Rider nowhere to be seen. Well… _half_ of a sword. "No..."

" _I haven't moved it,"_ Velvet said. " _We're still waiting for our crime scene unit to arrive. We don't know whose it is… unless you can tell us."_

" _Iali's."_ Ruby knelt down and held a hand over the fractured weapon. For the most part, it was a completely straight cut. Only the last inch was frayed. _"I don't know what can do this to one of my weapons."_

" _And now we have a Rider missing."_ Arya shook her head. _"Hopefully our CSU will find something."_

 _ **Violet came up with a tracking spell years ago,**_ Cerise said. _**If my memory serves me, our CSU knows several variations.**_

 _ **So do we,**_ Fírnen growled. _**We tried every variation we knew. None of them gave us so much as a direction. We have nothing.**_

Ruby sighed. _"Then she's dead."_

 _ **That is our belief as well,**_ Vert said. _**She may be in Alagaësia, but that is our only other idea.**_

Ruby shook her head. _Aaron was right… I pushed her too hard. "And this day was going so well…"_

Velvet nodded. _"I heard about the egg hatching. Vert and I were about to fly out when Shruikan alerted us."_ Ruby looked up at the black dragon. Shruikan glared at the broken blade but still stayed silent. Ruby faced her friend again. _"I take it you visited the Rider and dragon?"_ Velvet asked.

Ruby nodded. _"Believe it or not, that hatchling chose Angel."_ Velvet and Arya faced the Elder. _"Yeah. I wish I could still be freaking out with her instead of being here.'_

" _If this were any other situation,"_ Arya started, _"I would celebrate with you. But now…"_

" _Yeah…"_ Ruby sighed. _"Weiss is finishing up registering Angel. She'll be here when she can. If anything comes up that I can help with, let me know. Until then, I'll let the experts do their jobs._ She stared at the broken weapon once more then walked toward Cerise.

Just as she was about to climb onto her dragon, something hit her. Ruby faced the broken weapon again. She narrowed her eyes in confusion. _A Rider I humiliated is likely dead… why don't I feel bad?_

* * *

 **Anyone remember when I said I had this egg's Rider picked out... also that it's a facedesk... also for the pun... well, it's here. Again, I regret that someone else close to the main Riders is now a Rider, but I don't regret Angel is one. I've got some cute moment between them later... among other things.  
**


	90. Expansion

**Feeling sick... just trying to get this out... here you go.**

* * *

"Thank you, Ruby," Aaron sighed into his Scroll. "I couldn't find it here. I was worried."

" _Sorry, honey,"_ Ruby said. _"I didn't want you to worry, and I **really** didn't want to forget this."_

"Are you trying to tell me something?"

" _Sorry, no, I didn't mean it like that. Just… paranoia. I want this to be a good surprise."_

"I don't know how it can't be. She's been wanting this for quite some time. Heck, she's wanted both of these things for quite some time." Aaron looked out over Vale and to Patch. "Angel should be back from practice now. Nalia and I are going to pick her up."

" _Got it. See the four of you soon. Bye!"_ The line clicked. Aaron closed his Scroll and put it back in a pocket.

Nalia hummed and slid her head beside her Rider. _Angel is going to be so happy._

"And we're not?" Aaron climbed his dragon's side and settled in the saddle. "I haven't seen you that excited in years… well, before a hatchling chose Angel anyway."

 _It feels so good._ Nalia jumped off the landing pad and flew toward Patch. _I'm not even affected by it that much._

"If it's anything like last time, you will be."

Nalia hummed and her entire body shivered in the best way possible. _I guess you're right._

"Between today, then Angel's regular-season finale tomorrow night, she's going to have an exciting few days."

 _Is it called regular season in high school?_

"I don't know, but you get my point." Aaron couldn't help but laugh. "She's leading her team to Signal's first playoff appearance in a decade. Yeah. She deserves this."

 _I couldn't agree more._ A few minutes later, Nalia flew over Patch, then Taiyang's yard. Aaron looked off his dragon's side and stared down into the yard. Angel and her hatchling sat in front of the house, not doing anything. She must have been exhausted from practice. Nalia touched down and Aaron dismounted. Just as he was about to call to his daughter, he noticed how Angel's head hung, and how she drew in the dirt with a stick. Her hatchling lay by her side with wings sticking out like he was trying to make himself look big. Something was very wrong here.

"Angel," Aaron walked slowly over to his daughter, "what's wrong?"

Another mind touched Aaron's. It felt rigid yet musical at the same time. _Bad hurt,_ the hatchling growled. _No good._

"Hurt?" Aaron looked over his daughter. Angel didn't look injured but there could be pain besides the physical. She was just a little wet. Aaron knew Angel's kind of pain all too well. "Who hurt you?"

"Some jerks on the team." Angel ran an arm over her eyes then looked up at her dad. Her silver irises were surrounded by red. "They thought it was funny to put a water bucket on top of my locker room door. Landed on my head and soaked me through."

Aaron just stared at his daughter. That sounded like one of the most popular pranks out there. Ruby and Yang pulled it on him once… judging by the look in Angel's eyes and her clenched fists, she felt the same way about it as her father did, only worse in a different direction. "And you're not taking well."

Angel gave her dad a look. "No! Why would I?" She dipped her head again. "They're traitors… all of them." The hatchling growled his agreement.

That was more extreme than Aaron was expecting. "I get that they're jerks, but traitors?"

"They knew I didn't like those things. They knew I hated them, and they went ahead with it. They betrayed my trust with that. They attacked me. How can I trust them?"

Aaron couldn't believe what he was hearing. His daughter, who up until this point strove to see the best in everyone, had written off her entire team. "Angel, where is this coming from?"

Angel loosened up and she locked eyes with her dad again. Aaron saw the agony in his daughter's watery orbs. "I wa… was kidnapped by… someone I called uncle." Her words were broken up by what sounded like an overly clenched throat. "Trust is everything. If I can't trust them with one little thing… How can I trust them not to sell me out?"

Aaron fought himself not to stiffen up and unleash a string of choice words. _If I ever see Flax again, I'm going to string him up myself and cut off his head._ Instead of saying that, Aaron reached out and cupped Angel's left cheek. He brushed some of Angel's tears away with his thumb. "Angel, what they did was wrong. I would be upset too. But that one thing doesn't make them traitors."

"But they…"

"Angel, who can you trust?"

"You, mom, Auntie Yang, Auntie Weiss, your dragons…" she raised a shaky hand and rested it on one of her dragon's shoulders, "Thorn."

 _So her hatchling chose a name._ "Tell me, would I lie to you?" Angel's head sunk between her shoulders.

Nalia growled as she walked toward the girl. _Do you want me to set them ablaze?_

Angel looked up at Nalia in horror. "No! Not that! Don't do that! Please no!"

The dragon hummed sadly. _If your teammates were really traitors, that could be their fate. If not from me, from Thorn. We dragons are very protective of our Riders. You will figure out how much in time._

"I know you hurt, Angel." Aaron shifted his hand to Angel's shoulder. "I know you're not happy with them. As much as I don't like to say it, those kinds of things happen with people your age. People are jerks. If your coach is worth his salt, he will straighten out your team. If he doesn't, either your mom or I will straighten him out. It won't happen again. I can promise you that." Angel turned her head away. "You're a strong girl. You mope around like this, you let the jerks win."

Angel's shoulders dropped. "Where's mom?"

"Your mom's already in Mor'ranar Vera. We're going to take you and Thorn there now."

"Okay…" Angel stood up and so did Thorn. "Let's go." Aaron could tell his daughter wasn't completely satisfied with what her dad said, but she wasn't nearly as bad as she was when Aaron first arrived.

Nalia turned to the side and angled her back toward Angel. _I'll still carry you until Thorn is big enough… and after too if you want._

"Thanks, Nalia." Angel climbed up the large dragon's side with her hatchling watching on. Thorn growled with a little bit of a whimper. He jumped into the air and flew in front of Nalia's face. He 'roared' a challenge at the much larger dragon. Nalia growled and pinned her ears against her head like she would for any dragon close to her size. Thorn yelped and jerked backward in the air. Nalia growled in satisfaction then closed her lips.

Aaron climbed his dragon's side without taking his eyes off Thorn. "You'll learn. Be glad you tried that with Nalia and not one of the wild dragons. They wouldn't be so nice." He climbed onto Nalia's saddled behind his daughter and wrapped his arms around Angel. That was another thing she inherited from her mother. She absolutely loved being held. She leaned back onto her dad and relaxed a bit. Aaron kissed the top of Angel's head. "Angel, I'm with you till the end."

"Thanks, daddy." Angel brought her arms up and rested her hands on her father's arms.

 _If you're all set back there,_ Nalia raised her wings, _let's go._ She jumped out of the yard and curved toward the ocean. She flew much slower this time with Thorn flapping his wings as hard as he could to keep up. It was kind of cute actually… More and more of Ruby and Angel kept rubbing off on Aaron all the time.

Nalia landed on the beach and Aaron squeezed one of Angel's shoulders. "I know you've always paid attention to when your mom and I spoke in the Ancient Language. Pay attention now. You'll be using this spell quite a bit in the future." Aaron started chanting in the Ancient Language. He took his time to enunciate each syllable so his daughter could learn and listen better. Even with his entire attention focused on the spell, Aaron felt his daughter's eyes and ears on him. That she likely got from him, a willingness to learn.

As the last sounds left Aaron's lips, the water began to swirl. Thorn walked forward and sniffed the portal. He cocked his head and warbled confusedly. Nalia nudged the hatchling with her snout, and judging by both of their head movements, told Thorn what was going on. The hatchling climbed on top of one of Nalia's feet and settled down. The much larger dragon then jumped into the portal and flew over lake Isenstar. It sounded like Thorn yelped and Nalia just laughed. She landed on one of the beaches of the lakes and Aaron cast the between worlds spell again. One jump later, they flew over Mor'ranar Vera.

"Wow…," Angel breathed. "This is my first time here as a Rider. It feels… different."

"I can imagine." Aaron nodded. "You only visited here before. Now you belong here."

"Yeah. I can feel that." Angel looked off Nalia's side at the city below. "Could I live in one of those someday?"

"At your age, Nalia and I shared a cave with another bonded pair on Vroengard. As far as I'm concerned, you could move into one of them today. You'd probably want to talk to your mom about that though." While it was true, the words tasted terrible in Aaron's mouth. He didn't want Angel to be so far away so soon. It was hard enough having her live on Patch. Even though she lived with Taiyang, it didn't make things easier.

Nalia landed at the Keep and settled down. Everyone on her dismounted as Ruby and Cerise walked onto the landing pad. "Hi, family!" Ruby waved as she approached Nalia. "How's it going?"

"Okay," Angel sighed. "Just… okay."

Both Ruby and Cerise hitched in their steps before speeding up toward Angel. "Are you okay, sweetie?" Ruby crouched down and grabbed one of Angel's hands.

"Yeah, just… a bunch of jerks on the team."

Ruby flicked her eyes up toward Aaron. _There's more to it than that._

 _I already helped her out a little,_ Aaron thought back. _Wait for her to bring it up._

 _Got it._ Ruby focused back on her daughter and her smile returned. "Well, we've got a few things for you here that could make your day." She stood up and backed up a few steps. "Follow me. I've got to show you something." She turned around and walked into the keep. Everyone else on the pad followed with Thorn falling into step beside Angel.

Aaron looked up at Cerise. _I take it you have it in one of your saddlebags._

 _I do._ Cerise turned an eye toward Aaron, the pupil dilating to fill the whole space. _You don't know how happy I am._

 _I think I have a good idea, actually. I have experienced this before. A few times actually._ Cerise raised her ears. _I'm talking about Nalia too, not just Ruby._

 _Good._ Cerise faced forward again. _If you said another woman, I would gut you._

"So," Ruby spoke up, ending the mental conversation, "has your hatchling picked a name? Hatchlings usually start picking names around his age."

 _Thorn,_ the hatchling said.

"Thorn?" Ruby looked down at the dragon. "That's a different one. Is there a reason behind it?"

"I think so." Angel shrugged. "Someone on the defense yelled something like 'Feathers got some Leathers' and that sort of became his nickname. I think he knew that so he didn't take it. Yesterday while sparring, I kind of kicked Slate's butt, words and the actual fight. He said 'the Rose has thorns,' and apparently Thorn heard that."

Ruby's face leveled out, then contorted like she was holding back a laugh. "Wow. That's something I'd expect Yang to come up with."

"Yeah, I know." Angel's shoulders slumped. "But Thorn likes it. That's what matters."

"Oh yeah." Ruby smiled down at Thorn. "I guess he knew every Rose has their Thorns." The hatchling cocked his head and stayed silent.

Ruby led the group to the Hall of Colors and stopped in front of the closed doors. She turned around and faced her daughter, all happiness gone from her face. "Angel, Thorn, before I let the two of you into this room, you need to swear that you'll never reveal what is behind this door to any non-Rider. Well, Thorn, you will need to swear what Angel is about to when you get older."

"What's this about, mom?" Angel asked.

 _The dragon's greatest secret lies behind this door._ Cerise lowered her head to Angel's level. _Normally we would not show this to you until you and your dragon are much older… but since your mother was once the Head of the Dragon Riders and because of a certain question you've asked, we've been granted permission to bend the rules a little._

 _That is,_ Nalia started, _if you swear to never reveal what is behind this door to anyone who doesn't already know. That includes Slate, Sarah, Rusty, and all your other friends from school._

"I already don't tell them a lot of things," Angel said. "What's different?"

 _Because those are secrets the Riders keep. Even then, what you do know about the Rider's day to day operations often isn't that important or you knowing won't be dangerous for others._ Angel's shoulders drooped. _This will be the first true secret we tell you, and there is none greater that we ask any Riders to keep._

"You'll need to do this someday, Angel." Aaron rested a hand on his daughter's shoulder and squeezed. "Doing this now will also save time. Your training will advance far quicker than it would otherwise."

Cerise growled and clawed at the floor, sounding more nervous and frustrated more than anything. _We didn't come to this decision lightly. If word of this gets out, it could hurt us more than you can imagine._ She silenced and her eyes softened. _Actually, you may know more than most._

"What do you…" Angel trailed off and hung her head. "Oh." She shivered and hugged herself. Thorn growled and put himself in between his Rider and Cerise. He spread his wings out to make himself look bigger. Angel ran a hand down her dragon's back. "It's okay, Thorn. There're no threats here."

 _I didn't mean to scare you._ Cerise nuzzled Angel's face. _I just wanted you to know how important this is to the dragons._

"I take it you mean swearing in the Ancient Language?"

 _I do. The oath goes like this…_ Cerise took her time coaching Angel through the oath and she didn't let the girl start until she was sure Angel could get it right the first time without any mistakes. When Angel did take the oath for her and Thorn, she said every word at a snail's pace, not mispronouncing a syllable or having one out of place.

She finished and cocked her head. "Should I feel any different?"

 _Not unless you try to break the oath, intentionally or not._ Cerise stepped aside and nodded at her Rider.

"Okay, Angel." Ruby put a hand on the door behind her. "Welcome to the Rider's best-kept secret; the Hall of Colors." Ruby pushed open the door and motioned Angel and Thorn inside. Angel stepped inside and looked around with Thorn right beside her. Nalia and Cerise flanked them on either side.

Angel gasped and increased her pace. "Eggs? How many of them?"

"A few dozen. We have many more elsewhere." Aaron looked around the upper terraces filled with eggs around the circumference of the room. Most of the Eldunarí rested in alcoves around the eggs with a new island in the center holding all the Eldunarí that Arya considered her advisors. "The eggs are both wild and those whose parents wanted their young to experience the bond between dragon and Rider. But they're not the reason we're here." Angel looked back at her dad and Aaron pointed at the island in the middle.

Angel stared at the island of Eldunarí. "A… bunch of oversized gems?"

 _We are more than just gemstones, young ones,_ Umaroth's voice echoed.

Angel jumped and Thorn yelped. The girl reached for something on her hip but her hands came up empty. "Who said that?"

 _I am right in front of you. Use your mind like you would with Thorn or any of your family's dragons._

Angel focused on the white Eldunarí closest to her. She walked toward it with a few hesitant steps. Cerise and Nalia stayed right beside her. "What are you?'

Ruby walked up to Aaron's side and kissed his right cheek. "How you doing?"

"I'm fine." Aaron returned the kiss. "You?"

"Well, I'm not hating myself yet." Ruby's smile grew and she bounced on her heels. "I don't think I have to worry about it this time though. We are _not_ doing it that way again."

"No pain?"

"Only positive changes and fun stuff. None of that icky garbage." Ruby's smile disappeared. "But what's wrong with Angel? She's not nearly as bouncy as she normally is."

"She feels like she was betrayed by some people on her team. Her only experience with that kind of thing was, well… _him."_

Ruby's jaw dropped open then she clenched it shut along with her fists. She turned her head toward the prison off the coast. "It looks like I'm going to need to make a prison visit before heading home."

"I had the same thought. I'll hold him down if you want to rough him up."

"Don't tempt me." Ruby shook her head. "Something tells me if I was given the option, I'd knock his stupid face in, heal it, then knock it in again, and repeat however many times until I get tired." She faced her daughter again. "No one hurts my babies."

"Agreed." Aaron faced Angel as well. His daughter stood in front of Umaroth with her arms hanging limp by her side. Thorn had jumped up on the lowest tier and was smelling some of the Eldunarí. On the other side of the room, Cuaroc stood up and walked around the wall and picked up one of the larger Eldunarí. He carried the dragon around the island like someone would carry a box of glass cups.

Angel looked up at Cuaroc and cocked her head. "This one's really cool, mom. Why doesn't Uncle Halcyon have one like this?"

Ruby stepped forward. "For one, Halcyon doesn't want something like this. Another, Cuaroc had this body back in Alagaësia. I just adjusted his armor and weapons a little."

Angel turned her head toward her mother then back at Cuaroc. "I didn't know Alagaësia had androids."

"He's a special case and he's mostly magic. But he's not the one you should be focusing on right now." Ruby gestured at the Eldunarí. "This is Nore Steelwing. She can teach you something better than any other dragon."

Aaron approached Cuaroc as well. "Your Auntie Weiss told us you asked about being able to fight with your wings. Few dragons used their wings to fight as they are typically too delicate and necessary to a dragon's way of life for them to risk while fighting. Steelwings though had heavier and stronger wings. It meant they couldn't fly as well as others, but they had two more weapons in fights."

 _Your father and I actually knew Nore back when we lived on Vroengard,_ Nalia added. _She and her Rider lived in a cave about a mile away from ours. That may seem like a lot to you since you're used to Vale, but we might as well have been neighbors._

"She can be a bit bossy, but if you pay attention to her lessons, you'll get along just fine.

 _In other words,_ Cerise hummed, _you two should get along just fine._

 _I will make that decision myself,_ a deep female voice said. _If the Remmartian Riders I have met are any indication, you are either an extremely hard worker or one who hardly works. There is no in-between._

Angel blinked. "Well, I'm sure others have told you about those that deal in absolutes."

Nore sighed. _One of those…_

"She'll grow on you." Ruby pulled her left sleeve over her hand and took the Eldunarí from Cuaroc. "Cerise will hold onto Nore for now. You'll have to fly out from Patch so she can teach you in private. When Thorn gets big enough and you're at that point with magic, you'll carry her yourselves. Still, you're going to get Eldunarí help a lot sooner than any other Rider." Ruby carried Nore behind Cerise and added the Eldunarí to the spell that hid the others the dragon already carried.

"Wha…" Angel breathed as the Eldunarí disappeared. Thorn whimpered and walked up to Cerise. He sniffed in the direction that the pocket space rested.

Aaron rested a hand on his daughter's back. "You thought you'd seen all magic had to offer before. You've seen nothing yet." He turned his eyes toward his wife. _Now's the time?_

 _I think so!_ Ruby practically shouted those words in her head. She turned around and smiled at her daughter. "I have one more thing for you, but let's leave here. This place is a little bit too businessey for what I have for you." She and Cerise walked out of the Hall of Colors with the rest of the family following behind them.

Ruby led the way to the main veranda overlooking the city and the ocean beyond. Cerise settled by the railing and her Rider climbed up her back. Angel walked to the railing and leaned on it. Thorn jumped up onto the stone and looked out over the landscape. Aaron looked up at his wife. Ruby took out a wrapped box with a ribbon on top. She gave Aaron a giddy smile before sliding off Cerise' back. The parents approached their daughter from behind.

"Angel, we have something for you." Ruby handed the box over. "Sorry it took so long."

Angel took the box and cocked her head. "A… late birthday present? Something because I'm a Rider now?"

Aaron shook his head. "This is… just because."

Angel put on her best daddy's little girl face and twirled her left foot on the ground. "What did you two get me?" She ripped the wrapping paper off revealing a simple cardboard box. She opened the top and her smile disappeared. She pulled out a coffee mug and read the writing on it. "World's best big sister…" She set that on the railing and pulled a t-shirt out of the box. "Big sister on duty… But I'm not…" Her eyes lit up and she looked at her parents. "I'm going to be a big sister?"

Ruby giggled. "In nine months, yes. I promise you it will be worth the wait."

"Thank you!" Angel burst forward and hugged Ruby while still holding the t-shirt. "I can't wait!"

"Neither can we," Aaron joined in the group hug. "We've been waiting a long time for this."

"I guess the storks finally had one available."

Aaron blinked then turned his head to lock eyes with Ruby. She looked just as embarrassed as he felt. _What do we do?_

 _I'll… tell her at home._ Ruby turned her head away. _We've never told her and she didn't find out by herself. Angel is such a good girl._

A dragon's roar rolled over the Keep. In Mor'ranar Vera, that happened all the time, but there was something different about this one. Aaron pulled out of the group hug and tilted his head back. A yellow dragon soared over the Keep, roaring even more. She turned her head toward the Keep and turned around. She was a wild one, in fact, she was one of the first two wild dragons to hatch.

The dragon landed on the pad, her whole body shaking. She warbled and stomped around with her wings fluttering.

Nalia growled and stepped forward. The wild dragon stilled and looked up at Nalia. The two stayed like that for a minute before Nalia's wings drooped. Aaron didn't know what the wild dragon was showing his dragon but it wasn't good. A little after that, Nalia yelped and jumped back. She jerked her head to the west. _Amor!_ She jumped off without another word, sealing her mind. The wild dragon took off after her.

Aaron walked to another edge of the veranda to try to look for his dragon, but Nalia was far out of sight. "Cerise?"

 _I'm ready._ Cerise fell into a pouncing position. Aaron ran over to her and jumped onto one of her legs. The dragon jumped off the veranda with her second Rider hanging on one of her feet. Aaron climbed up to the saddle and looked straight at his dragon. Nalia was shrinking in the distance. Even though she'd grown substantially, she was still the fastest dragon alive and was only getting faster. Normally Aaron would have loved to see Nalia doing what she did best, but not when he was trying to catch her.

 _I don't suppose you can speed up?_ Aaron asked Cerise.

The dragon beneath him growled. _Sorry I'm not as fast as Nalia. Not all of us have insane speed. I have her scent. That's what the rest of us have to go off of._

 _I know. Just catch up to her._

 _I will when and if she lands._

Aaron grit his teeth. He had no choice except to watch his dragon disappear over the horizon. Cerise never slowed down or changed her course. She knew what she was doing. It took another hour before Aaron caught sight of his dragon again. The yellow dragon, apparently a Quickwing herself, stood by Nalia's side. A purple dragon lay on his side. Judging from Nalia's reaction earlier, that was Amor.

As Cerise got closer, Aaron saw the state Nalia's only wild son was in. It ripped his own heart out. Cerise landed and Aaron dismounted. The Rider walked around the dragons and he clenched his fists. Amor was missing the horns on the back of his head and quite a few of the spikes on his back. Several bare spots in his scales showed purple skin underneath. Large portions of both scale and skin were taken from his belly and wings. This wasn't like with Vert all those years ago. Amor wasn't breathing. His eyes were open with no light in them at all. Aaron didn't need to use his head to know that the dragon's life force faded long ago.

Nalia pointed her head straight up and roared her anguish at the sky. She faced her son again and her wings rested on the sand. She stepped toward her hatchling. The mother laid next to Amor and draped a wing over him. While her mind was blocked, Aaron still felt Nalia's severe depression.

Aaron clenched his fists. Someone hunted Amor. Someone was on Menagerie who could kill dragons, and they had no idea who or where they were. The Rider approached the dead dragon with Nalia never growling him away. He searched for the killing blow and found it in a series of perfectly round holes in between the dragon's eyes. The edges were a little singed. He knew the look from the laser rounds Ruby made. Of course, it couldn't be one of hers. Ruby would never give laser magazines to those she didn't trust.

Nalia growled low and loud, sounding primal and wild. Aaron looked up at his dragon's face. Nalia's pupils were slits, her eyes showing every bit of rage and sadness she felt. Every one of her teeth was bared. Her mind touched Aaron's and it took all of Aaron's willpower to not explode in rage himself. _Find. Them._ Nalia pulled back into her own mind as she rested her head on Amor's.

" _We will,"_ Aaron swore. He turned around and walked back toward Cerise while facing the wild dragon. _"Keep the Grimm off her. Keep her safe."_ The dragon growled and started circling the area like she was on patrol. Aaron climbed onto Cerise' back and settled in the saddle.

Cerise growled at Nalia and likely said something to her. She then jumped into the air and curved east. The dragon hesitated before flying at full speed. _Should we let Armitage know?_

"They should know multiple things," Aaron nodded. "We need as many eyes open as possible."

 _There's a river nearby._ Cerise banked hard to the right and sped up. A few minutes later, a small river came into view. She nosed down toward it and landed on the banks. _You go ahead._ She turned her head back. _I'm going to find my own wild children… and tell them I love them._

"I won't stop you." Aaron dismounted his wife's dragon. "Let Ruby and Arya know as well."

 _Of course._ Cerise took off again, flying off toward the western coast. Aaron knelt by the river and cast the between worlds spell. Unlike most other times he dropped into the portal, he didn't have a dragon beneath him, so he only dropped a few feet to the banks of Isenstar. He cast the spell once more and dropped into the courtyard of Ghira's manor. Considering he heard no one gasp, there weren't many guards around.

Aaron walked up to the front and used the giant knocker. He stepped back and waited for one of the doors to open. One of them opened inward and Kali poked her head out. More of her black hair was graying but she still gave off most of the same energy from before. "Oh. Aaron. This is a surprise."

"Kali, I need to speak with Ghira. It's urgent."

"Oh. Come in then." Kalia pulled the door open and gestured inside. "I didn't hear Nalia come in."

"She's not here, and I hope she doesn't come here anytime soon."

Kali gave Aaron a confused look. "I… don't get your meaning."

"She's not well." Aaron didn't say any more. Kali stared at him for a few more seconds then led the way through the manor toward the conference room.

"Ghira's already in a meeting with Sun," Kali explained right outside the conference room. "It might be a good idea to wait."

"It can't, and Sun needs to hear this too."

Kali narrowed her eyes at Aaron then sighed. "I suppose this is Rider business?"

"Yes, and they need to know before anyone else."

"Very well." For the first time that Aaron knew, Kali sounded tired. She pushed open the door to the conference room. Ghira and Sun sat on either side of a desk. "Aaron's here and says he needs to speak with the two of you right now."

Ghira looked up from his desk and Sun turned his head around. The head councilman smiled and nodded. "We were just finishing up here. Aaron, please, come in." Aaron stepped into the room and Kali closed the door behind him. "Now what can I do for you?"

"I hate to ruin what feels like a good mood, but Amor is dead."

Ghira straightened in his chair and Sun's jaw dropped. "Seriously?" the headmaster asked.

"I would not joke about something like this, Sun."

"He was here not even five hours ago." Sun ran his hands through his hair. "I take it this wasn't a dragon's territorial dispute?"

"Eight laser shots to the head. Ruby's protective of her lasers. It wasn't one of us."

Ghira took off his glasses. "I hope you are not insinuating that one of us could be behind this."

"Absolutely not. I'm just informing you so you aren't blindsided by accusations." Aaron winced. "I can think of a number of Riders and elves that would try to accuse you of doing something. The dragons will want to pin the crime on someone… even Nalia wants to kill something or someone. I don't know what she's going to do."

Ghira nodded. "I know the feeling all too well. I will not blame her."

"Thank you." Aaron paused. "I'm just the first messenger here. I'm sure our investigation division will be here early tomorrow morning."

Sun sighed. "I really miss the time when we didn't have anyone going after us."

"So before we met?"

Sun laughed without mirth. "Not what I meant, but yeah."

* * *

 **Yep. That happened. Amor... another character I never made it to...**


	91. In the Sights

**Bit of a brag here. The 'I Love You 3000' tour was in my area last week. I didn't get to meet one of the Russo brothers, but I got about as close as possible to Stormbreaker, Cap's broken shield, and Tony' last arc reactor/nanobot housing. THAT was cool.**

* * *

Ruby fought back tears as she stared at the photo of the most recent hunting victim. This one was a three-year-old wild female that her mother said was just hunting for a few snalgí that escaped their pen near the city. She had similar parts of her body cut off as the other two. Three dragons murdered in a month… and the bastard that was doing this was bragging about it on pretty much any and all social media platforms.

"Why the hell don't we have anything on this bastard yet?" Ruby turned toward Yaela and Violet.

"I've got a username," Yaela said while looking at her projection. "I've got three different locations, all of them are public libraries on different continents." She shook her head. "It's either the same person or multiple people using one account. I'm still waiting for the libraries to send us security footage."

"The murder scenes don't have anything either." Violet sighed. "We're still working on how forensics work with lasers. If the dragons are flying, and judging from some of the injuries they all were, it makes it hard to track where the shots came from. We don't even know if there's only one shooter out there or multiple. That, and we don't know if the gunmen are still on Menagerie or if they've left."

"And if these people are working for Salem like we think, searching for their minds will just be a waste of time." Ruby gripped the table in front of her. Her bionic hand broke off a piece of the plastic. The Rider looked at the broken piece then tossed it away. There were bigger things to worry about. "Nature picked a terrible time to let me get pregnant again. Get that off the main projector." Ruby turned away so she didn't have to look at the corpse anymore.

"There is something we know about these people," Yaela started. "If I've read your recipe for your laser magazines correctly, they need a lot of power to energize the particles, an amount that doesn't normally flow through buildings and must have a direct and stable connection to a larger grid. We can get data from power companies to check for any anomalies. If don't have anything, Atlas has a few satellites that can look for that kind of power."

"Finally, some good news. Still, it might be difficult to track. I built and fueled my own generators to make my first lasers. All in the name of firepower…" Ruby locked eyes with Violet. "I'll get you and your team a bunch of my laser rifles. I'll make them different qualities and different uses. Give you perspective for this and any future cases. These lasers are coming up more and more." She faced Yaela. "I've got a call with Ironwood later. I'll see if I can convince him to set one of his satellites to scan for unusual energy surges. It shouldn't be too hard to make him think that this will hurt Salem." Ruby's Scroll vibrated in a pocket. She pulled it out and checked the text. "Weiss just approved an increase on the reward. Let Coco know that we're offering one million Lien for information on whoever's doing this."

"It will be done, Shadeslayer." Yaela faced her projector again and got back to typing.

"I'm heading back out to that scene." Violet jerked her head toward where the room's main projector was. "See if the rest of my team is finding anything else."

Ruby nodded. "Team VDNT's back together now, right?"

Violet nodded. "Once Arya said a Rider's Academy team could become lesser members of the Riders, I jumped on it and they jumped right back. It's been a few years but we haven't lost any cohesion. Navila and Thunder are married now if you can believe it."

Ruby allowed herself her first real smile in days. "I've known a few opposites who've married, and you've got a good team."

"I know. I'll report back in when I get the report from the Riders on site." Violet turned around and walked out of the conference room.

Ruby followed her former student out and into the halls of the Keep. A few doors later and they were in a space large enough for dragons. Cerise rejoined her Rider and joined the two-legs in walking out of the keep. Out on one of the landing pads, Orchid and Argent cuddled together, with Orchid occasionally kissing the much smaller dragon. Ruby still couldn't wrap her head around dragon mating practices. It hurt to think about but apparently it worked for them. Noir stood far off to the side, his face red.

As Ruby climbed her dragon's side, she heard and felt a massive growl. The Rider froze on her dragon's side. She'd only heard a growl like that once in her life. If she was hearing it again… A massive mind pressed against hers. _**Shadeslayer, I must speak with you.**_

Ruby searched the sky for Shruikan. She found the massive black dragon hovering a few miles to the north. _**We'll be there.**_ She climbed onto her dragon's side and grabbed Máni Bláto from its spot on the saddle. The weapon probably wasn't needed, but it made Ruby feel better. _I'm sure you recognized that sound?_

Cerise growled though it was much less intimidating than Shruikan's. _I'm ready for a fight. I just wish Nalia was nearby._

 _It's just us. He shouldn't attack us… Keyword shouldn't._ Ruby gripped her weapon tighter. _Get us over there._

 _On it._ Cerise jumped away from the keep and flew north. Shruikan landed, likely causing a small earthquake. He glared at the two approaching with much of the same hatred as he did in the Citadel in Urû'baen. At the same time, Ruby didn't feel like it was directed at her. Something had gotten Shruikan seriously ticked off and Ruby had a feeling she knew what it was.

Cerise hovered in front of Shruikan's face and Ruby straightened as much as she could in the saddle. _"We're here, Shruikan. What do you have to say?"_

 _ **You need to find the one who is killing us,**_ Shruikan growled. _**I'm sure you know how hard it is to scare wild dragons. The grown ones aren't, but mothers and fathers alike are beginning to keep their hatchlings in their home caves. Most dragons are angry. They want to find and kill those that are hunting us.**_

" _And you need to tell them to let the Riders fi-"_

Shruikan growled again and bared his teeth. _**You are the one that needs to listen here! If we settled anywhere in Alagaësia, we would not be having this conversation. Remmartian weaponry is the only kind that can hurt us in this way. Both of our worlds know this. You making us settle here has made us vulnerable. Everyone on both our worlds knows where we are and how to get here. It is not that difficult for anyone, especially with how prevalent both air and water ships are. That is the only reason why we haven't found any sign of the coward.**_

It sounded like Shruikan was just venting so Ruby tried not to take it personally. _"I understand that you are all frustrated-"_

 _ **We are beyond frustrated.**_ Shruikan inched his head closer. Cerise growled at the much larger dragon but Shruikan ignored her. _**We are enraged. When the murderers are found, we don't care who holds them. We will fly wherever we need to in order to kill them ourselves. It won't matter if we have to fight our way through the entire Atlesian army.**_

Ruby clenched her fists. That was just a death sentence for the hunter and maybe whoever arrested them… if they were arrested at all. It was one thing to do that in combat. It was another to do it solely for revenge or when they were already in custody. _"That's not how we do things here."_

 _ **No. It's how dragons managed our problems in Alagaësia. It's how the Riders sought justice.**_ Shruikan adjusted his eyes. _**Cerise, I know you know what I mean. I know what you did to the Nevermores.**_ Cerise growled but said nothing. Ruby could feel the conflict in her dragon.

" _Shruikan, if you or any other dragon, wild or not, attack a kingdom prison or military, you declare war, one that would be very bloody on both sides."_

 _ **And if we find out that any of them assisted in the hunting of us, they have already declared war on us.**_ Shruikan raised his wings. _**If we find out someone in the Kingdom of Armitage knows, they will be the first to know our wrath.**_ The massive dragon plunged his wings down, unbalancing Cerise. Shruikan flew off to the west, likely to keep searching for the hunter.

Ruby sighed when Cerise leveled out. "That could have gone better."

 _He is not in his right mind,_ Cerise said. _He was not making much sense._

"Yeah…" Ruby looked at the back of her dragon's head. "But you thought he was making sense at one point in there.

Cerise' wings hitched for a second then her growl returned. _It's true. I want this bastard caught as much as anyone else. I would not mind killing them myself._ She turned her head back. _This is the same mindset that I had when I was killing as many Nevermores as I could. I wouldn't go as far as attacking a kingdom, but I would not put it past Shruikan and several wild dragons._ Cerise' growl changed tone. _Dragons are impulsive. When we get our minds set on something we act on it. You know this. There is no way we can stop the wild dragons if they chose to act._

"Well, there is, but we might as well be Galbatorix if we do it." Ruby shook her head then looked out to sea. She thought she saw a ship on the horizon. With a thought, she connected her bionic eye to Mor'ranar Vera's radar system. The only ship within range was the Riders' cargo ship. Right on schedule. "At least something's going right today."

 _I'll head to the docks._ Cerise turned around and flew toward the harbor. _I believe quite a few of the Riders you've requested arrived while you were in your meeting._

"I hope you mean Angel and at least two others."

Cerise snorted. _Are you sure you want Angel working on this? She and Thorn are still very young._

"Angel already knows more about computers than I ever will. She might not be able to wire anything, but she'll be able to tell it what to do. With Yaela heading up the investigation, we need someone else competent with programming to work with us.

 _Alright,_ Cerise grunted. _Are you sure it's not to just keep an eye on her?_

"That's… part of it." Ruby rested a hand on her still flat stomach. "We've suppressed all the bad stuff, not the good. I'd rather be overprotective of my baby girl rather than be apathetic."

 _That, I can believe._ Cerise glided down to the docks and trotted along the ground. A few dragons that Ruby wasn't familiar with surrounded a group of Riders and a young red dragon. Ruby dismounted and walked toward the group. It looked like one of the Riders was teaching Angel a bit of magic, the basic floating rock trick. Ruby stood back as she watched and listened to her daughter cast the spell. The rock shook in Angel's hand and for the first time that Ruby knew of, the rock left Angel's palm. The girl gasped and the rock fell back down.

Angel pumped a fist and spun around on a foot. She stopped facing her mom and smiled up at Ruby. "Did you see that?"

"I did." Ruby held back on freaking out over it. Angel said she wanted to be treated like all other Riders when around them… and Ruby wasn't about to embarrass her daughter in front of people she'd be working with for centuries. "That's an improvement from everything I've seen before. Good work, Angel." Ruby looked around herself. All Riders and dragons around her faced her expectantly. "If I'm counting right, not everyone is here yet. The ship is still about an hour out. We've still got time. Go back to what you were doing." The Riders and dragons instantly went back to speaking amongst themselves. It looked like treating Angel like everyone else didn't change the fact that she was Ruby's daughter. The nearly identical face probably had a large part of that.

Angel smiled but it faded right away. "Uh, Shadeslayer? Can I speak to you… alone?"

Ruby knew that tone. Something was up. "Of course." She gestured at the edge of the docks where no one stood. Angel walked over there with Thorn right beside her. Ruby followed and stood at the edge of the pier. Cerise walked behind them all and settled down, blocking the family from the others waiting for their assignments. Ruby put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "What's wrong, Angel?"

Her daughter slumped and hung her head. "I don't belong here."

Those four words sent a knife into Ruby's chest. She stepped in front of her daughter and knelt in front of Angel so she was looking up at her baby girl. "You want to tell me why you think like that?"

"Everyone here is so sure of themselves. They're all so great with magic. Everyone works so well together. They're looking down on me because I'm just a kid."

That last part likely wasn't true. Most Riders were likely smart enough to not pick on Angel because they knew that Ruby would beat them to a pulp if they hurt her daughter. "Angel. Everyone here was where you are now at one point or another. You haven't met those that are still in training yet. You will when Thorn gets bigger and can string a few more words together. As unbiased as I can possibly be, you're farther along than so many of them." Ruby paused. "Why don't you tell me what's really wrong with you being here."

Thorn growled by Angel's side. _Bad people._

Angel tilted her head down more. "Everyone here trusts each other." She lifted her eyes to look at her mom. "I can't." Those words came out as a strained whisper.

Ruby recognized the look in Angel's eyes. She'd seen it quite a bit since her daughter's brush with the Nevermores… her own eyes too after O'Donnell originally escaped prison. "Oh, sweetie." Ruby pulled Angel down and kissed her daughter on the forehead before pulling her into a hug. Angel was quick to return it. "I know it's hard. I know what you went through." She pulled back and locked eyes with her daughter. "Angel, everyone here is on the same side. All the people that I asked you to work with the next few days I handpicked and vetted myself. None of them will hurt you. All these people will protect you if this place was attacked. I'm sure you and Thorn would do your part to help them as well."

"Then why didn't you turn Flax away?

That hurt. Angel didn't blame Ruby for that, did she? "We should have listened to our dragons. I admit that. There are good people outside our family. You can't go around ignoring everyone you don't already know. You need to learn to trust again." Ruby gestured toward Cerise and the Riders beyond. "You were letting another Rider teach you. You trusted him enough for that."

"Thorn trusted him." Angel rested a hand on her dragon's head.

Ruby focused on the young dragon and touched her mind to his. There were a few scattered words in there but not nearly enough to judge from that alone. Thorn's emotions and instincts though told a story, even if he may not have been able to make the connections himself. Ruby nodded and faced her daughter again. "In a way, Thorn knew that Rider's dragon. Weiss ferried both their eggs around Remnant and Alagaësia for a year before the other dragon chose her Rider."

The mother reached down and raised Thorn's chin. The dragon grumbled but didn't resist. "But I heard something else in there. You trust your dragon's judgment. Ever since… what happened to you, I've noticed that I trust Cerise' opinion of people more than anyone else', even your father's. Dragons make great character judgments. If you can't trust anyone else, trust Thorn. He'll let you know who you can really trust."

Angel looked down at her dragon then back at her mom. "But can he stop people who want to hurt me?" Thorn growled and bit one of Angel's hands. Even though it looked very real, Ruby had learned in time it was a love bite more than anything else.

Cerise adjusted where she lay so she could look at Angel's face as well. _He will do everything in his power to keep you safe. When you're both older and better fighters, you'll learn to watch each other's backs when an entire planet separates you. Thorn may be small now, but don't underestimate how much fight he has in him. He would take on a Goliath if it threatened you. I'm thinking he would win._

Angel locked eyes with her dragon and Thorn released his Rider's hand. "You're just saying that."

Ruby shook her head. "No. When their Riders are threatened, you'd be surprised what dragons are capable of." Thorn growled in agreement. "That works in both directions too."

Angel stared into her dragon's eyes for a few more seconds then sighed. "What did I do to deserve you?" She picked up her dragon beneath the shoulders and pulled him into a hug. Thorn hummed and wrapped his wings and legs around his Rider.

Ruby stood up and rested a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Don't worry about not fitting in, Angel. It took me an entire semester to feel like I belonged at Beacon. You'll get along here just fine." She walked around her dragon and searched the sky. It looked like the last two pairs were on their way in… with Nalia in between them. Ruby straightened up. Nalia had been gone since Amor was killed. Not even Aaron heard from her or knew where she was.

Nalia glided down to the pier and collapsed when her legs touched concrete. Her normally pristine scales were covered in grime if they weren't missing completely. Many places where skin was exposed were coated with dried blood. Parts of her wing membrane were torn out. She had lost a lot of weight as well. Ruby ran to the dragon's side and slid to a stop beside Nalia's head. "Nalia, where have you been? We've been worried sick."

The once-proud dragon whimpered and turned her head away. _I failed. I've been all over this island. I found no trace of the one who killed my hatchling._

"Nalia, we _will_ find the bastard. It's only a matter of time."

One of Nalia's eyes fixed on Ruby. It slowly filled with tired rage. _How have you done on that so far?_

"Nalia. Believe me. We're doing everything we can."

Nalia's eye turned away and the rage faded. _I know. It just hurts… I want to see my Rider again._ She sniffed and her ears rose. _Angel is here?_

Ruby turned her head around. Angel stood by Cerise' side with a hand covering her mouth. The Elder faced Nalia again and nodded. "She's good with computers. We need that while installing the Eldunarí cases in our new Atlesian fighters."

 _Oh._ Nalia's head sunk further toward the ground. _I have been gone far too long._

"Yes, you have." Ruby rubbed some of the scales on Nalia's head. "I am giving you a direct order. You are going to fly to the hospital here. If they don't clean you up themselves, you will take care of that. You are going to our ranches and you are going to eat and you are going to eat until you have a full belly. After all that is done, I will take you home. Aaron misses you. A lot. I'd rather not explain how much."

 _If you say so._ Nalia slowly stood up, then jumped off toward the hospital. Her motions were a little jerky but gave no impression that she was going to fall out of the sky. Ruby grit her teeth. From what Umaroth had said, this kind of disappearance was normal for dragon mothers. That wasn't healthy, in multiple ways. The Riders had so many resources to help those who were hurting. Nalia knew that… It must have been from dragon DNA or culture. Ruby would need to ask Umaroth if there was anything she could do to help.

Ruby shook her head. It was time to get things underway. "Everyone, gather around!" She walked toward the center of the pier. All other dragons and Riders walked to follow. Angel, Thorn, and Cerise followed behind everyone else. The whole crowd circled around Ruby.

The Elder looked around all those gathered around her. "Listen up. The _Lorelli_ is coming into port with a host of Atlesian air tech that we've negotiated with General Ironwood for. Over the next few weeks, we'll be refitting them with interfaces that will allow Eldunarí to pilot them." That drew a few murmurs and happy hums from the crowd. "Yes, we're giving our predecessors a chance at flight again. Like with Halcyon, Roula, and Irolon, our new airpower is commanded by AI named after former dragons. That being said, I want no one going out there are telling people that we've just gotten an air force larger than three other Remmartian Kingdoms put together. Let the people that are above your paygrade figure out how to spin this for the general public."

"Wait, we're getting paid?" one of the Riders joked. That drew laughs from just about everyone.

Ruby smirked herself. "You know the rules. Only gifts. Never ask or search." She gestured at the storehouse near the end of the pier. "All materials and instructions are in there. Mechanics, team up with a programmer. Figure out a system and get familiar with the equipment." She looked around for one of the programmers she picked. "You'll be with me. We'll talk terms once I inspect the ship. Everyone else, get to work." Ruby turned around and walked toward her dragon. She spared her daughter a glance. Angel's shoulders were slumped and she had a betrayed look on her face. _You need to learn to make friends again. Class starts now._ Ruby mounted her dragon and Cerise jumped toward the ship still miles out to sea.

About a mile away from the ship, two armored dragons rose from the hull and flew toward the Elders. They circled around and took up escort positions on either side. Cerise glided onto the ship and landed on the landing pad behind the bridge superstructure. Ruby dismounted her dragon and walked into the ship. She climbed to the bridge and stepped inside.

All positions on the bridge were filled by unbonded elves because there still wasn't enough Riders to fully staff the ship, especially with its current cargo. The ship's captain turned around and bowed at Ruby. _"Shadeslayer. We hadn't expected you until we reached the docks."_

" _I want my technicians to start work as soon as possible. I thought I would inspect the cargo before you reached port."_ Ruby walked up to the captain. _"Do you have a manifest?"_

The elf nodded and grabbed a tablet from behind him. _"You will find everything brought aboard in Atlas on here."_

" _Thank you."_ Ruby took the tablet and opened the manifest file. _"I'm going to the hold to inspect these fighters myself."_ She turned around and left the bridge. It took a while to navigate around the superstructure to the hold but she managed.

Ruby whistled as she looked at all the fighters. It was one thing reading in the manifest that Atlas gave them just over fifty fighters and transports of various models but it was another actually seeing it. Ruby walked the rows of stacked Manta and Shark fighter transports and a couple Orca gunships. The Orcas were older and flew like drunk pelicans, but they had some pretty serious firepower. Ruby checked the ages of several other fighters in the manifest. It looked like Ironwood was able to get a few newer models of both fighters, but most were used. Some had seen combat against Grimm. Those would need to be looked over.

The Rider cleared the tablet's screen and chanted the communications spell. Right after it finished, Ruby saw mostly gray with a white line going down the center. Something beeped on the other side. About a minute later, the doors opened outward revealing General Ironwood. "Ruby. I take it your shipment has arrived."

"Not quite. We're still a few miles out to sea. Cerise and I flew over while my people on the shore prepared their gear." Ruby made a show of looking around herself. "I honestly wasn't expecting this much support."

"Officially, we just sent you a handful of old fighters. I believe all of us would prefer that the true extent of this shipment wasn't released."

"My men already know this." Ruby stopped walking as she found one of the Sharks that had seen combat. One of its maneuvering fins looked like it was hanging on by a thread. The Rider quirked her lips. "I can't give you an exact timetable of when we'll get these things over Manchu. Some of these need serious repairs. All I can give you right now as that we should have most of these in the air in thirty days."

"I expected as much. There should also be several crates of spa-" Ironwood fell silent.

Ruby returned her attention to the tablet. The screen had turned pitch black. Ruby blinked. "Uh, James?" No reply. "General Ironwood, can you hear me?" Again, no answer. Something wasn't right. The spell was still drawing energy. Ruby cut the energy and the tablet became transparent. She recast the spell but only the black screen returned. Magic didn't fail like technology. If her spell was blocked, she'd feel that and the screen wouldn't have anything on it. What could cause…

"Oh, crap…" Ruby ended the spell again then cast it with Winter in mind. The former specialist appeared on-screen behind a desk. "General Schnee!"

Winter didn't flinch as she turned her head toward whatever reflective surface was on her side. "Mrs. Rose," she said evenly. "May I ask what this interr-"

"Someone needs to check on General Ironwood. Now."

Winter narrowed her eyes. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I was speaking with him and he disappeared from my tablet. Magic doesn't just cut out like that. I have every reason to believe something has happened to him."

Winter leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "You interrupted my mission planning for this?"

"I don't joke about stuff like this. I'm about to tell Weiss about this too. You can either have someone meet her there or do nothing. Either way, we're moving forward."

The General stared at Ruby for a few more seconds before reaching down beside her. She rose and hooked her saber to her waist then held her right wrist in front of her mouth. "This is General Schnee. Send a squad to General Ironwood's office immediately." She walked out of sight.

Ruby ended that spell and started calling her own partner. _Boy, I hope I'm wrong…_

* * *

Weiss threw her Scroll to the side and ran out of the office in Schnee Rider base, formerly the Schnee Manor. She created speed glyphs in front of her and sped up to the main hangar. Saphira stepped out of her 'cave' and started running toward the hangar exit. Weiss caught up to her dragon and jumped on without slowing down. Saphira jumped out of the hangar and flew toward Atlas Academy at full speed. The Rider formed another speed glyph behind her dragon which sped them up even more.

 _What do we know?_ Saphira asked.

"That Ruby called Winter right before calling me," Weiss started, "and that her call with Ironwood got cut off for no reason. With how worried she sounded, that's enough to mean something terrible has happened."

 _Good enough for me._ Saphira flapped her wings even harder. _I hope she's just wasting all of our time._

"Same here." Weiss drew Hvítr Vætta and held it at the ready. She didn't know what she was going to be facing, but she needed to be ready for anything. Once she was within a few miles of Atlas Academy, she stretched her mind toward the central tower. She didn't feel Ironwood's mind, but she felt her sister with a squad of soldiers around her. That said they had the right destination, but since Weiss didn't feel Ironwood's mind, the bad feeling in her stomach grew.

Saphira flew around the central tower. General Ironwood lay sprawled on the floor in front of a recessed mirror. There was no blood but he wasn't moving. "I'm going in." Weiss stood up in Saphira's saddle and jumped off toward the window. She shoulder charged the glass and rolled on the floor as shards rained down around her. She ran toward the General and slid to a stop beside him.

Where Ironwood's ears should have been, there were only holes an inch in diameter. His skin was a little singed on both ends. Weiss could see all the way through. There was no healing that. "Damnit."

Something dinged in the room. Weiss sprung to her feet and put herself in between the General and the elevator. She stretched her mind toward the elevator and relaxed. It was only Winter and her squad. The elevator doors opened and those inside stormed out. Some of them pointed their weapons at Weiss before moving on. Winter ran to Weiss' side and looked down at the General. She only grimaced. "I take it there is nothing you can do?"

Weiss shook her head. "This is just like what happened with Blake. There's nothing left to save anymore." Weiss froze as her sister knelt by the general.

"Laser shot. Just like what's killing your dragons." Winter closed Ironwood's eyes with a gloved hand. "We have a mutual enemy here."

"Yeah…" Weiss looked around the windows. This tower was the tallest in the world. It needed to be in order for the CCT to reach over the mountains. No other buildings even came close. There weren't even any mountain peaks visible from the floor because of the office' construction. Airships though… The Rider spotted a hole in the glass. A transport with an open door was lining up with it again… Weiss was standing right where General Ironwood probably stood when he was killed. "Down!"

Wiess barely started to move when a red beam slammed into her shoulder. The shot completely drained her wards against the attack and did a number on her Aura. She winced as she pushed herself up. Soldiers pressed themselves against the wall and support pillars in the glass. Saphira roared, her rage boiling off her.

Winter brought a hand to her right ear as she pressed herself against the now closed elevator doors. "Valkyrie to Overmind. We are under attack at Palace by a sniper in a Manta. King is dead. Repeat. King is dead."

Saphira soared past the tower and toward the transport. Weiss stood up and locked eyes with her sister. They both nodded and raised their weapons. Winter pointed her saber at the floor and a vertical shield glyph appeared. Weiss stepped behind the barrier and created another glyph in front of she shield. _Saphira, watch your wings._

Ice spikes launched out of Weiss' glyph. Saphira rolled to the right and the ice shot right past her. Soldiers peeked out from behind cover and added their own fire to the mix. Another laser shot came out of the transport and collided with Winter's shield. The glyph held long enough for the shot to dissipate. The ice shards and Dust rounds hit the transport at roughly the same time. Engines started smoking and the transport started falling. Then Saphira collided with the transport and tore off both of its wings. The doomed Manta fell toward the ground… but there was no explosion or smoke. Saphira roared in frustration.

Weiss walked over to the edge of the newly shattered window. _Saphira, what happened?_

 _It fell into the river,_ Saphira growled, _and a portal._

 _What?_ _Who the hell would do that?_

 _I don't know._ Saphira turned back toward the tower. _But I do know this. The sniper was an elf._

* * *

 **Yeah, it's pretty much going to be action every chapter to the end now. Don't play 'Final Countdown' yet, but we're close.  
**

 **Also, college football is back this week! Not my team, but still, it's football on Saturdays. Can you say HYPE?**


	92. Suspicion

**So... Spiderman's out of the MCU... Disney, Sony, if you really care about your fans, you will find a way to get Spiderman back into the Avengers. You both just set up Peter Parker as being the next Tony Stark. Sony, you have much more to lose here. That's just a fact.  
**

* * *

Aaron didn't know what to think as he stared at the live VNN feed. It showed what looked like the view from a sniper scope with James in the dead center of the crosshairs. Beneath that, written in the Liduen Kvaedhí, lay the sentence 'Justice for Our Dragons.' Aaron inspected the minds of all disgruntled elves under his command. None of them were happy but none of them blamed Atlas and they were all disgusted with the assassination. It sounded like all other Response Force commanders had much the same reaction with their members. No elven Riders did this. Ruby told Aaron about the threat from Shruikan, but even he said that he wouldn't have acted so rashly without proper intelligence. The assassin wasn't a Rider or a dragon… that left an elf under Islanzadí's command.

The Rider faced the mirror that held the Queen of the Elves. "Do you have any idea who might have done this?"

Islanzadí scowled. "If I did, they would be dead. We have no information and we are only beginning to figure out how to search."

"You need to do better than that," Winter growled from another mirror. "The commander of the largest military on Remnant was assassinated by one of _your_ people. We need something or else we come after you."

Qrow stepped forward to stand beside Aaron. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He raised both of his hands. "Let's not get hasty here. Who thought I'd be the sensible one in this group?" Both women glared at Qrow but remained silent. "Before the two of you go threatening war, you should know that we _do_ have something. I wouldn't have asked for this meeting otherwise."

Winter straightened. "What do you have?"

"One of my contacts outside the Riders reported a Manta missing both its wings was sitting in a field outside a village south of Armen. There was blood, but no one in there. He doesn't think Grimm got to the occupants."

"With our tracking spells," Aaron continued, "we can trace whoever is behind this wherever they are. If they're still on Remnant and not back in Alagaësia, we'll have them in cuffs by the end of the day. If they're in Alagaësia, they're in the wind. We haven't been able to develop a spell that tracks between worlds yet."

"This is the best news that we've had all day." Winter nodded. "I can have some of my Specialists meet up with you."

"I can have spellcasters meet you at your destination," Islanzadí said. Winter stiffened yet said nothing.

Even through the mirrors, Aaron felt the distrust between them. "We all know the treaties. If there is a dispute between jurisdiction between Remnant and Alagaësia, the Riders will handle the investigation."

Qrow faced Islanzadí. "Some of the elves that you lent me years ago are either on station or heading there now." He turned his head toward Winter. "Some of them are in Atlas waiting to pick up some of your soldiers. If we can all hold off on killing each other for a little longer, we can get this assassin and maybe prevent Atlas' council from declaring war on Alagaësia."

"I will do my best to prevent that," Winter said.

"We would prefer not to attack our allies." Islanzadí narrowed her eyes. "But we _will_ defend ourselves if attacked."

Aaron shook his head. "Let's find this bastard so we can stop being at each other's throats." He cut the energy sustaining both communications spells.

Qrow grunted. "That could have gone better." He grabbed his flask from his belt and opened it.

"You think?" Aaron shook his head. "And I thought we were close to war when the elves took Fort Castle."

"We were much closer there than both sides let on," Qrow said. "If you knew what went on behind the scenes, you wouldn't be happy."

Aaron stared at Qrow. "What did you do?"

"You'll never know." Qrow took a swig from his flask. "Let's get going. The sooner this mission is done, the better."

"Agreed." Aaron turned around and walked out of the comms room. He led Qrow out of the building and to Nalia's side. He climbed his dragon and helped Qrow up as well. As he did that, he couldn't help but notice how stiff and slow Qrow seemed compared to how he used to be. Aaron waited for Nalia to jump away from the mountains before turning his head back. "You sure you're up for this mission?"

Aaron was sure if Qrow was in the same shape and state of mind that he was years ago he would have gotten an earful. Now, Qrow sighed. "With how much backup we have, yeah. If it was just the three of us, I'd be more worried." He shook his head. "I'm getting too old for this shit. I need to tell Arya I've picked my successor and that I'm retiring."

"Ruby will be happy to hear that too. Probably Angel as well."

Qrow grunted. "Yeah. I definitely wasn't around enough for your kid."

 _If you two are done,_ Nalia started, _we've reached the river._

Aaron faced forward to look at the river. He cast the between worlds spell as soon as Nalia touched down then again at Isenstar. After the second portal, Nalia flew above Armen. She banked south as Aaron pulled out his Scroll. The Rider opened the map that the intelligence chief sent him. His dragon used his eyes and corrected her course a few degrees.

They passed quite a few small villages until they reached a section of trees that looked like they'd been bowled over. Nalia flew over the unnatural clearing and stared down at the crashed Manta. Aaron bit his lower lip. Before, he knew something was off. Now, seeing the damage that Saphira caused to the Bullhead, that screamed at him. "How is this here and not Alagaësia?"

"Unless I'm wrong about how magic works, I'm wondering the same thing."

Nalia nosed down. _Either whoever killed James didn't want Alagaësia to get their hands on that kind of technology,_ a growl escaped her throat, _or they know how to cross Remnant without going to Alagaësia first._

"That's more than a little concerning." Aaron shook his head as Nalia landed. He and Qrow dismounted and walked toward the wreck. An elf that Aaron knew was already inside the downed Bullhead. The Rider waited until the elf was done with his spell before speaking. " _Wyrden, do you have a direction?"_

" _I do, Silverhand."_ Wyrden stood up and pointed southeast. _"One of the occupants fled in that direction."_

" _Good."_ Aaron turned his head to face Qrow but the old man was already passing him. Qrow ducked into the cockpit, likely to check for a black box. _"We will hold our position until our reinforcements from Atlas arrive."_

Wyrden stiffened. _"Atlas? Are you sure they mean us no harm?"_

" _General Schnee has been an ally of ours since before she became a General. I doubt she will compromise that now that she is in control of Atlas' entire military."_

" _Did you hear what she said about us?"_ Wyrden hissed. _"She is ready to send the air fleet to Fort Castle."_

" _Arya spoke with her afterward. She relayed to all response force commanders Winter's situation so none of our Riders would do anything rash. It may not appear that way right now, but she is on our side. Our reinforcements are professionals. They won't let their personal views affect their judgment."_ The sound of engines caught Aaron's ears. He stepped out of the Manta and faced north. A functional Manta descended through the trees toward the wreck. _"They shouldn't, anyway."_

The intact transport touched down and the side doors opened. Blödhgarm stepped out followed by two soldiers in Atlesian uniforms. One of the specialists didn't even try to hide his suspicious glare aimed at the furred elf.

The other Specialist walked up to Aaron. "Rider Benson, General Schnee has instructed us to follow your orders for this mission."

Aaron nodded. At least that part went through. "Wyrden knows what direction the assassin went. He, Blödhgarm, and Qrow will fly with you."

The Specialist nodded. "Of course. If your men are ready, we can get underway." He paused. "What kind of opposition can we expect?"

Aaron shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. All we know is there's at least one elf with a laser rifle that can punch through any normal set of Aura and wards with one shot. I'm expecting this elf to be at least somewhat competent with magic. Blödhgarm will give you and your partner some wards against magic."

Qrow stepped out of the downed Manta, a large orange box in hand. "I got what I need from here. If you've still got some of the gear that you used to, I should be able to get some more intel off this."

"Of course. I'll boot that up so you can get to work." The Specialist turned around and walked back toward his transport.

"Short and sweet." Qrow shrugged.

"Qrow, make sure no one kills each other on the way there." Aaron walked back to his dragon's side and climbed up. _There are times when that kind of formality is appreciated, but it feels like these guys live and breathe it._

Nalia grunted. _I'm so glad we aren't military._ She waited for those on the ground to load into the Manta before jumping away to the southeast. The Manta caught up fast then shot past her. With a thought, Aaron activated the new helmet Ruby made for him. He twitched when the thing covered his head. Nalia squirmed beneath him. _I barely tolerate the armor I have. I couldn't take one of those._

 _I'll get used to it._ Aaron looked ahead. He had used the tracking spell a few times, but compared to what other people said, he barely had a grasp on what it did. All he got was a vague sense of direction. Others could tell distance. Aaron couldn't put together a reason why. He clicked on the radio built into his helmet. "Wyrden, do you have a location or distance?"

" _Many miles straight ahead,"_ Wyrden said. _"Our destination is becoming clearer the closer we get."_

"What's the landscape look like directly ahead of us?"

A short pause later, _"Approximately fifty miles of forest,"_ another voice said, presumably the Specialist that gave Blödhgarm the stink eye. _"There are also three rivers at approximately thirteen, eighteen, and forty-seven miles. Caves are unknown. The terrain variation is five-hundred feet at the largest, not counting riverbeds."_

Without caves, there went the best hiding spots. Any of those rivers could be a problem. "Keep me updated. I want to know if any bird leaves its tree." Of course, Aaron could feel all the minds in front of him, Alagaësian Grimm aside. With how close together James' assassination and the hunting of wild dragons were, he couldn't rule out Salem's involvement. When she was involved, that meant whoever she used could have their mind shielded. He had no way to track that. There were a surprising amount of minds ahead of him, some of them elves, but none felt hostile, at least in the way Aaron was looking for. Another thing, Wyrden would have called out if they were close.

" _I believe I can feel our target's mind,"_ Wyrden announced. _"It's unfortunately a human mind. I feel no one else around him. I believe he is injured."_

Aaron sighed. There went their quarry. "Capture alive. This bastard should know about the elf that's involved in all this." He stretched his mind forward. There was a human male that was injured about eight miles away. He certainly was frustrated and angry about something… and there were Grimm approaching from all sides. "Target is about to fall under attack from the Grimm. Let's grab this sack of crap and get out of here."

" _Copy that,"_ one of the Specialists said. _"Opening up the throttle."_ The Manta sped up, leaving Nalia far behind. Later, the Manta stopped and started shooting at the ground. Two figures dropped out of the crew compartment. Aaron drew Redemption and his V4. He freed his legs and waited for Nalia to roll.

 _Hot drop incoming._ Nalia flapped one wing hard and twisted her body to fling her Rider at the ground. Aaron flipped in the air and rolled on the ground. He popped up and unloaded half a magazine into an Alpha Beowolf. The Rider looked at the lone bandit in the center of several Huntsmen. The man knelt on the ground, unarmed, wincing in pain from the obviously broken arm. Wyrden wasn't on the ground. Aaron looked up at the Manta. The missing elf hung off the side of the transport. "Wyrden! Get him out of here!" Aaron looked back down and stabbed an Ursa through the mouth. He, Blödhgarm, and the reasonable Specialist tore through Grimm as the monsters tried to get through. It felt like the attack was all the Grimm within a few miles, but compared to areas around the cities, there wasn't a lot of them.

" _Suspect is in custody,"_ Wyrden said over the radio. _"Let's get out of here."_

Aaron faced Blödhgarm. "I've got dragon evac. Get him out of here." The furred elf just nodded and cast a simple up spell. He and the Specialist shot off the ground, the latter keeping his LMG trained on the Grimm beneath him.

 _I'm coming in!_ Nalia called. Aaron sheathed Redemption as he waited for his dragon. Aaron gave the Grimm in front of him a mock salute. One of Nalia's paws slammed into him not a second later. His dragon carried him off the ground and to the side of the Manta. She snorted as she leveled with the Atlesian transport. _What was that about?_

 _I don't know, but I blame Yang._ Aaron climbed out of Nalia's fist and stood on a paw. He faced the open doorway on the Manta. _Give me a boost?_ Nalia snorted and thrust her paw forward. Aaron jumped off his dragon and into the transport. He got a few looks but no one said anything. "Get us out of here. Best speed."

"Better hold on," one of the Specialists said from the cockpit. The crew compartment doors closed and the transport banked hard to the right. Aaron grabbed one of the bars above him to stay on his feet. The transport leveled out and sped up. When the speed leveled off, Aaron let go of the bar.

The Rider looked down at the bandit, now in cuffs. "Here's what's going on. You are going to tell us all you know about the one who shot General Ironwood and you might not have your fingernails torn off."

"I'm an open book," the bandit said. "That bitch left me there to be killed by the Grimm."

Aaron blinked. That was easy. "No loyalty among thieves."

"She betrayed me first. There was no loyalty to begin with."

Aaron looked up at Blödhgarm. The elf nodded at the unspoken mental inspection order, then the Rider faced the prisoner again. "Who was the elf that killed General Ironwood."

The bandit grunted. "Elf, huh? That explains it. I don't know her name. All my boss called her was Phantom. Never saw her face. She always wore a hood and some weird Grimm mask. I'd only seen something like that off my tribe's leaders before."

"Who is your boss?"

"He didn't betray me. I won't betray him."

"I thought you were being an open book." Aaron paused, giving the bandit a chance to speak. No words came out of him. "I don't think you understand your situation. You were involved in the assassination of General Ironwood. The way he was killed is similar to how three dragons have been hunted. Everyone in this transport wants to know what you know." Aaron pointed outside the Manta. "One of Nalia's hatchlings was one of the dragons killed. You're not going to get any protection from us." The prisoner still stayed silent.

"Something you said insinuated that you knew Phantom was an elf," Blödhgarm stated. "How did you know?"

"The way she talked, the air of arrogance, and the fact that she threw a fireball at the initial pilot of the Manta and impaled the copilot with a tree's roots."

Aaron shot Blödhgarm a glance. The elf stood stiff. _Maiden?_

 _His memories say that is the case._ The elf made eye contact with the Rider. _A Maiden killed General James Ironwood._

Aaron grimaced. He had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Ruby rested her hands on the edge of the table, off the map. "And that's all I have right now. If we progress at our current pace, I should have more specific information within two months."

King Deynor nodded as he looked over the map once more. "This is not a lot of information to go on."

"It's what we have until we get a better map and when we have a better idea of enemy force strength."

"Operation Overstorm…" Deynor shook his head. "I will never understand the way Remmartians name their missions."

"It's for encryption in case word gets out about the mission. We don't want to call it Operation Team Up to Kill Salem."

"Indeed." Deynor nodded again. "I see no reason that we cannot participate in this. I will inform only my most trusted commanders with this information."

"Thank you. After I leave this city, Cerise and I will be traveling to Tronjheim to inform King Hrothgar. The only other ones to know about this are Arya and Queen Islanzadí."

"Will the Remmartian Councils know of this?"

"Only one or two members each. They will decide which military commanders to inform in their Kingdoms. Well, with Atlas, the councilwoman and the commander are one and the same."

Deynor narrowed his eyes. "Can we trust Winter? News has traveled here of what she said about Rider and elf presence on Remnant."

"And she assured me that she still had our backs. Besides, if she doesn't listen to me or Arya, she'd listen to Weiss. The Atlesian military is a strong ally, possibly even stronger than under Ironwood."

"I will trust your judgment." Deynor rolled up the map and took it off the table. "I will have this returned to Ilirea. For now, I must meet with the Lord of Feinster."

"Of course." Ruby gave Deynor a polite bow. "I won't keep you. I will take my leave." She turned around and walked out of Deynor's temporary accommodations. The Rider walked into the grand entrance of the keep then into the massive courtyard where her dragon waited. There was a mostly destroyed cow carcass sitting in front of Cerise. Judging from her emotions, Cerise was happy with her meal.

The dragon raised her head and hummed at her Rider. _Are you ready to fly out?_

Ruby sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Not yet. I need a break before I go meet Hrothgar. I'm hungry."

 _You know King Hrothgar would take care of that in Tronjheim._

The Rider gave her dragon a look. "Would you be comfortable with that?"

Cerise' good mood dropped and she looked away. _Well, at least he respects the reason why we don't trust that._

"Glad we're on the same page." Ruby ran a hand over her dragon's scales as she passed. "I'll be back after lunch." She walked toward the keep's gate. The large metal doors opened in front of her. Two soldiers took up flanking positions as she left the keep. Ruby sighed. That was Yang's doing after James' assassination. She insisted that if she couldn't be by her sister's side, she needed to have local guards, one of them being a magician, to be Ruby's bodyguards. Ruby hated it, but she knew why it was put in place. But considering another Rider and dragon were watching over her at nearly all times in the city, the guards were a little overkill.

The Rider did her best to ignore her guards as she walked through the city. Quite a few people in the city called her Argetlam or Shadeslayer as she passed. Compared to the not even veiled insults she'd gotten back on Remnant in recent weeks, this was a breath of fresh air, though the few elves in the city overdid the reverence a little.

Several minutes of navigating the city later, Ruby arrived at the Greased Pig, which had become her favorite place to eat in Alagaëisa. She stopped right outside the doors and looked back at her guards. "Wait out here. There's no need to worry those inside." Her guards nodded and took up positions on either side of the door. That wouldn't scare those inside but it might drive others away. She couldn't win there. She shook her head and entered the tavern.

Like most other times she'd been in the tavern, the place was packed. Word got out long ago that Arlan was the one who directed the Riders to the Varden, so people wanted to see it. It wasn't quite the tourist trap that it would be on Remnant, but it was probably the biggest in the Broddring Kingdom. It looked like Arlan finally hired someone to help behind the bar. He was getting far too old to run this place himself… actually, with the resemblance, it might have been his son, or grandson judging by the age.

Arlan finished up from his current customer and looked up at the newcomer. "Ruby Shadeslayer!" he cheered as loud as his aging vocal cords allowed. "Welcome back."

"I've been gone too long." Ruby sat at one of the few open spots at the bar. "I'll just have the usual."

"Of course." Arlan faced the other bartender. "You remember how to treat the Shadeslayer, don't you boy?" That solidified the relationship in Ruby's head.

"Aye." The other man stared at Ruby for a few more seconds before disappearing into the back.

"Don't mind him." Arlan waved a dismissive hand at where his grandson disappeared.

"Better than people shouting at me for doing my job."

"I can understand that." Arlan leaned on his arms in front of Ruby. "What brings you back to Feinster?"

"Rider business. All I can say is that I met with the King and had a beneficial conversation."

"Ah. One of those." Arlan paused and looked around the area, "I hope you don't mind me asking. How's yer lass?"

Ruby stayed silent as she studied Arlan. That question didn't sound like he was asking how good she was doing in football. She hadn't been to Feinster since before… _that_ happened. "You know?"

Arlan grunted. "I run a tavern in a major city where Remmartian goods come through. People talk when they can't hold their liquor."

"Right." Ruby sighed. "She's much better than she used to be. She's a Rider now too, so that helps."

"A Rider?" Arlan straightened then burst out laughing. "My, your family is full of them, isn't it?" He calmed back down and leaned back on the bar. "If I'm at all right about how dragons and Riders act around each other, that has to be good for her as well."

"Oh yeah." Ruby smiled. "Thorn's been a big help for her."

"I'm glad to hear it." Arlan paused. "What about you? I haven't heard as much about you as I used to."

Ruby winced. "With things I _can_ talk about… I'm worried that one of my actions drove another Rider to get her and her dragon killed."

Arlan's smile disappeared. "I beg your pardon?"

"You run a tavern in a major city. I'm sure you've heard something similar from military commanders around here, right?"

"Aye, but not just them. I've heard it from people from all places. In none of the cases I've heard have the people I've heard from are at fault."

"I know." Ruby held her head in her hands. "I've told myself that. Everyone's told me that. I can't help but feel like that's the case. The worst part is, I don't even feel bad about it. There are times when I feel like I _accomplished_ something. She was a bit full of herself but she didn't need to die for it..." She sighed. "I don't know what's going on with me."

Arlan slowly nodded. "It sounds like you need a drink. I've got something for that."

Ruby raised a hand to stop him. "No, thank you. I'm pregnant and I don't want to hurt my baby."

"Pregnant?" Arlan slumped and he looked dumbfounded. "What other surprises are you going to have for me today."

"As far as I know, that's the last one." Ruby shook her head. "I don't try for these things. Things just go that… way…" She trailed off as she thought she heard a sound not native to Alagaësia. The Rider faced the door. _Cerise, you hear that?_

 _I do,_ Cerise said. _It's coming from the ocean._

Ruby stood up and walked out of the tavern. Everyone in the street outside was either walking or running toward the nearest courtyard. Ruby ran with them as the sound grew louder. When she reached the courtyard, one side was packed with everyone looking at the sky over the ocean. Ruby used her Semblance to jump onto a nearby building and looked west as well.

An Atlesian Aerial Destroyer flew over the ocean not even five miles out to sea. Those destroyers were pretty much scaled-down frigates, but even with their small size, they were still larger and stronger than any ship in any Alagaësian navy. Add to the fact it was in the air, it could reach any city in the medieval-turning-steampunk world and wipe it off the map.

Ruby clenched her fists and teeth. _Cerise, come pick me up._

 _On my way,_ Cerise growled. A minute later, Cerise flew above her Rider. Ruby used her Semblance to jump up to her dragon and dropped into the saddle. The dragon turned west and flew toward the destroyer at her best speed.

Ruby grabbed her compacted helmet from a saddlebag and fit it onto the back of her neck. It immediately expanded and the Rider hailed the destroyer. There was no answer. "Cerise, make us known, will you?" The dragon roared loud and long. There was no way they didn't hear that. Ruby hailed them again, this time the line clicked. "Atlesian Vessel, this is Rider Ruby Shadeslayer. You are trespassing in Broddring Kingdom airspace and are in violation of the Interworld Diplomatic Treaty. Turn back now or prepare to be boarded."

" _Rider Ruby Shadeslayer, this is Atlesian Destroyer_ Covenant. _We are under orders from General Schnee to patrol this coastline for threats to Remnant. We will not be returning to Remnant."_

Ruby dropped her jaw. _What?!_ She shook her head and glared at the ship. "Your Kingdom has approved and ratified the Treaty and all of its amendments, as have all Kingdoms on both sides. I have the legal authority everywhere to commandeer your vessel and return you to your home port. I say again, return to Remnant of your own accord or prepare to be bo…" She trailed off as she heard the line click. Ruby growled in her helmet. "I'm too pregnant for this crap. Drop me off by the bridge. Notify the Rider on duty as well. This could get ugly."

 _Are you really going to take on the Atlesian military?_

"They've crossed the line this time. Technically I could seize it for the Riders or one of the Alagaësian Kingdoms, but that would backfire so hard." Ruby drew Máni Bláto's compacted form from her side. "Still, this could get ugly."

Cerise snorted. _I agree, but I don't like that you're going in alone in your condition._

"Yang's going to give me a stern talk when we get home but this needs to happen as soon as possible. Drop me by the bridge." Ruby stood up in the saddle. Cerise grumbled but said nothing else. She flew over the destroyer and rolled, sending her Rider onto the ship. Ruby landed and bent her knees, not wanting to roll with her second child inside her.

The Rider walked up to one of the hatches on the ship and knocked on the door. To her surprise, the door opened not ten seconds later. A woman in an engineer's uniform stood on the other side. "Either take me to the bridge or I will head there myself." The woman just stared at Ruby with an open mouth before gesturing inside. She led the Rider up through the ship until they reached a large door with two guards on the outside. The guards glanced at each other before one of them pressed a button to open the door.

Ruby stepped onto the bridge and looked around, collapsing her helmet at the same time. In only a few seconds, all sets of eyes but one turned to Ruby. The captain of the ship slowly turned to glare at the intruder. "How the hell did you get on my ship?"

"It appears your crewmen know the law better than you do." Ruby marched up to the captain. She looked down at the shorter man with narrowed eyes. "I know the law. I was there when the Kingdoms drafted it. My signature is on it. I will give you one more chance. Order your ship to return to Remnant or I will do so myself."

The Captain scowled and straightened. "You can't order me around, pixie. I am the Captain of this ship and I am following orders from my General."

"Then you are in violation of the Interworld Diplomatic Treaty and are wanted for arrest in all Kingdoms." Ruby faced the center of the bridge and walked past the captain. "Helm, set a course for Atlas. However you got here you can get us back."

Ruby heard a weapon drawn behind her. "Get the hell off my ship."

The Rider turned her head back toward the captain and looked down the barrel of a custom pistol. It wasn't a laser pistol, so she just gave the captain a look. "Seriously?" She shot her bionic arm up and ripped the pistol away. In her other hand, she expanded Máni Bláto to full scythe form but she didn't plan on using it. The action was for intimidation more than anything else. "What did you think was going to happen?" Ruby looked at the guards by the door. "Take him to the brig. I don't want any more surprises." Without hesitation, the soldiers came forward and grabbed their former captain. The man spewed obscenities as he was escorted away.

Ruby shook her head and collapsed her weapon. "Helm, status?"

"Charging interworld rift inducer." The woman began counting down numbers until she pulled a lever. The lighting on the bridge flickered as two red and black lines ran the length of the ship. They shot off and connected a few hundred feet in front of the bow. A large portal formed in front of the destroyer. Ruby clenched her fists. All travel between worlds before was through magicians. Now the Atlesian military could jump themselves. How the hell did they even get that tech? This was _not_ good.

Just as the _Covenant_ was about to pass through the portal, Cerise flew alongside the ship. She landed on top of the hull and disappeared along with the bow. The bridge passed through and the city of Atlas appeared. At least there was no funny business from the helm. "Dock wherever ATC wants you to. I need to have a talk with your General." Ruby spun around and left the bridge. She made her way through the halls and back out onto the top of the ship.

Cerise growled as her Rider approached. _Both Deynor and the Rider on duty know what the situation is. As expected, Deynor is furious._

"I bet." Ruby mounted her dragon and faced the largest military base in the world. Since Winter wasn't in charge of Atlas Academy, her office was moved there. "Get us to Winter."

 _Even we can't get into an Atlesian military base unannounced under these circumstances._

Ruby grit her teeth. "True. I'll get…" a notification appeared in her bionic eye. She opened the message and read it through. "Oh, Winter has given us clearance. It looks like she knows she messed up."

 _I'll take us in._ Cerise angled for the base and glided down to it. Ruby noticed a few guns on the base track in their direction then turn away. She didn't know if that was a good sign or not. The dragon landed in the center of the base. Ruby dismounted her dragon and walked toward the General's office. A few soldiers glanced at her but didn't approach.

The Rider made it to Winter's office and knocked on the door. "Enter," Winter called.

Ruby pushed the door open and stormed inside. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She glared at the General behind her desk.

Winter stayed silent and looked past Ruby. When the door closed behind the Rider, she stood up behind her desk and stared evenly at her guest. "I am doing what I can to improve our chances against Salem."

"By threatening Alagaësia? How does that help stop Salem?"

"By ensuring that we have a competent General in charge of the Atlesian military."

Ruby blinked. "Excuse me?"

"The council wants General Cordovin."

The Rider made a look of disgust. "What? Her?"

"The council wants someone malleable to do what they want. General Ironwood had two seats on the council. I just have one. They disliked bowing to the military on most matters, even when their ideas aligned. Now, they want a puppet council member to do what they want." Winter grimaced. "Unfortunately, to keep someone we trust in my position, I must bend to the whims of the council."

Ruby just stared at the General. None of the wards she had to detect lies tripped. "The _Covenant_ going to Remnant was the council's idea, not yours."

"Correct. If they let me choose the ship or crew, I would have reassigned Captain Bradford to a smaller ship. I'm sure he would have been much more courteous than Captain Cruise."

"Definitely." Ruby sighed. "I'm sorry I came in here guns blazing, but something tells me I need to leave that way as well."

"That would be for the best. Only the Captains of the _Vytal_ and the _Hammer of Atlas_ know the situation. Those ships, and those in their battle group, will be the ones we can count on when the time comes."

"Good to know." Ruby nodded. "Well, since I'm here, I have the beginings of a plan to invade Manchu and take down Salem."

Winter nodded. "I would like to hear it."

* * *

 **Once again, I continue to be terrible at politics...  
**


	93. One Step Forward

**Football's back! Saw one disappointing loss live, one crushing victory! Holy crap... these starting author's notes are just facebook status updates now...  
**

* * *

 _"Feathers, you got one on your six."_ Vale Seven called.

"I see it." Angel yanked the stick to the right and fired at the Nevermore chasing her Wyvern. She pulled the trigger, sending so many Dust rounds at the Grimm. She continued the flat spin and continued flying in the direction she started. "Splash one more." She looked at the sky in front of her. There were so many Grimm everywhere. "This never ends."

 _"Weapons spent,"_ Vale One called. _"I'm dry. I'm heading back to base. Seven cover me. I've got t-"_ One fell silent and one of the few green blips disappeared from Angel's radar. Angel looked to her right. One's Wyvern had turned into a ball of fire and fell toward the ground.

"I'll avenge you, Hope!" Angel turned her fighter toward the Grimm that most likely shot down her squadron leader. She launched her last missile at the Manticore and bathed the area around it in Dust rounds. The missile hit and exploded its target and at least three more around it. Angel turned her fighter toward the closest enemies.

Thorn mentally sighed. _Angel, you know this is a simulation right?_

 _You're supposed to be on the other side of Remnant!_ Angel shot back. _Don't ruin my immersion!_ Angel held down the trigger… but the torrent of Dust rounds let up before her finger did. Dead man's click. "Vale Eight is dry. Going for resupply." She turned back toward base but the entire area was surrounded. She bit her lips. How could she… She looked left and right at her Wyvern's wings. That could do it. If not, at least her mom had ideas for more improvements in the future. "Base, this is Vale Eight. I'll do my best to clear the skies for you."

Angel kicked on the afterburners and sped toward the base that she normally called home. Instead of flying clear of enemies like she was trained to, she started closing on them to either cut them in half with her wings or spear them with the nose of her fighter. She managed to cut a Nevermore in half and dismember a Griffon before alarms started blaring. She looked at her right wing. It had lost a good chunk of armor but she could still fly, especially if she switched the Wyvern to VTOL. She actually expected it to be worse.

The pilot smirked. Now _this_ kind of fighting she was used to. She fought herself to keep her Aura wings contained. Angel flew toward the next batch and started ramming through them. She ignored the calls from fellow wingmates as she killed Grimm her way. That is until she heard something grinding and one of her engines blow out. Her boards lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh, sweet babies…" She looked for a safe place to land, but the area was covered with Deathstalkers. The sky kept filling with more and more Grimm… well, this scenario was supposed to be a no-win scenario. Angel pointed her fighter at the largest Grimm in the area, the Dragon of Glen. She smirked once again. "Hello boys! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" Her fighter flew directly into the mouth of the Grimm and her canopy went black, then red and orange, then black again with red text saying KIA followed by her stats for the mission. Quite a few of them were personal bests. Then again, that was only the third time she was in a simulator.

She took off her helmet and popped the canopy. Angel hopped out of the simulator and looked around. Like the past two times, a couple elves and Riders were sulking after being shot down too early. Others were talking to each other about what happened or other random stuff. The last group gathered around the briefing table. This time though, her mom was among them. All of them were focused on a screen with Angel's nickname on it. This was either really good or really bad.

The flight instructor turned away from the screens and faced Angel. She had a look on her face somewhere between disappointment and anger. Angel froze in place. The woman was hired from Vale to train the first Rider pilots and wasn't a Rider herself. She was military. This could be bad. "What were you thinking after you ran out of ammunition?"

"Well…" Angel shrunk into herself. "I was out of ammo and I couldn't land at base. I fight with my Aura wings so I thought I'd do the same in there."

The instructor sighed and brought a hand to her face. "In all my years, I have never seen anything so-"

"Clever," Angel's mom interrupted. The girl rose a little at the sound. Her mom had started a few other videos. It looked like she was watching all of them at once. "I have never seen anything so _clever."_

"Excuse me." The instructor turned around to face Angel's mom. "With all due respect, fighter combat is my area of expertise. Ramming an enemy in a fighter, even if it is a Grimm, is a suicidal move."

"That's because no other fighters are designed like this." A hologram of a Wyvern appeared in front of Angel's mom. "I was just going for aerodynamics when I designed this. So much more efficient than any other fighter. But this… its wings are swords, it's nose, an arrow." She nodded and faced her daughter. "You might have just changed how we fight Grimm." Angel straightened up. She didn't even try to hide her huge smile.

The instructor scoffed. "You can't be serious. Ramming as a tactic?"

"I am. It's the reason I stopped here instead of taking Angel from the simulator right away."

Angel cocked her head. "What's going on?"

"We're about to launch our AI fighters on their first mission. I want you there. You'll work directly under Yaela for this."

Angel stiffened. "Me? I thought… I'm just a tech on that project."

"One that found a critical programing flaw that could have disconnected various sensors in combat. You deserve to be there." Her mom paused. "And if I'm being honest, a lot of those we have in mission control need my or Yaela's help to close tabs half the time. You're more competent than so many of them."

Angel looked between her mom and the instructor. Her mom was her boss, and the seasoned pilot's boss. There was only one option. "Of course, Shadeslayer." She started walking for the exit.

"Rose!" the instructor called. Angel froze up. That anger could only be directed at her. She turned her head to look over her shoulder at the pilot. "When you get back, we are going over why flying through Grimm was a bad idea in that situation."

Angel nodded. "Of course." She faced forward again and walked toward the exit. Her mom followed right behind her.

"Hey, Feathers!" another voice called. Angel turned her head to face her wingmate who was just getting out of his own simulator. "Next time I'm in Vale, we're going out for ice cream."

Angel raised her head and smiled. "Sure thing, Vats, if you're paying." Vats laughed and walked to meet another group. The girl walked out of the simulation room in a much better mood than a few seconds ago

A hand fell on Angel's shoulder. "I wasn't sugar-coating things, Angel," her mom sang, "that was some impressive flying."

That perked Angel up even more. She smiled up at her mom. "Really?"

Her mom nodded. "I never thought of using the fighter as a weapon other than an armor-piercing, high explosive missile. Your way could very well revolutionize fighter combat across Remnant, not just the Riders."

Angel sunk her head between her shoulders. She felt her cheeks burn. "You're just saying that."

 _She's not lying,_ Cerise sang. _She's fighting herself not to scoop you off the ground and hug the lights out of you._

"Cerise…" Angel's mom whined.

 _Angel,_ Thorn started, _learn to accept praise, or at least learn to deflect it without looking like a child._

Angel snorted. "And be like you, only showing emotion when there's music or when your snoot's booped?"

Thorn mentally growled. _You're annoying._

"And you're insufferable."

 _Grow up._

"When you cheer up." Angel walked out of the rudimentary flight control building in Mor'ranar Vera and into the nighttime light. She turned to face her dragon. Thorn was just big enough to ride now and Angel loved riding him more than she liked flying with her own wings, that is unless they flew side by side. Angel walked up to her dragon and wrapped her arms around his neck. Thorn growled in annoyance, yet he wrapped a wing around his Rider. In that hug, Angel felt the same love for her that she gave him. Hard on the outside, a complete sap on the inside.

"If you two are done," Angel's mom called, "we need to get to the ops center."

"Yeah." Angel nodded and pulled away from her dragon. She hopped up onto Thorn's back, not bothering this time to strap herself into the saddle. Thorn jumped off the ground and into the air. Angel took pleasure in the rush of air past her head. Unlike most other times, Thorn just circled his 'mother' as Angel's mom mounted her dragon. With her Rider secure, Cerise took off and banked toward the Keep. Thorn followed right behind her.

Angel's mom turned around to look at her daughter. _It looks like you've been making friends. Was that the guy that was teaching you magic a few months ago?_

 _Yeah. Cye's nice. He and a few others 'adopted an introvert.' He actually asked me to be my wingmate when I told him I wanted to be a pilot._ Angel looked at the night sky and the shattered moon. _He wants to see me walk on the moon too._

 _Someone's got to be the first. Why not my daughter?_

Angel puffed her chest out. _My thoughts exactly._

 _Not exactly,_ Thorn said. _You thought 'why not me?'"_

Angel smirked at the back of her dragon's head. _Because you likely wouldn't fit in those rockets…_ Her good mood dropped. _Well… maybe they'll have a bigger ship then._

 _Maybe._ Thorn turned his head back. _But if you must leave me behind to walk on the moon, then you must. I would not hold you back._

 _You're so sweet._ Angel rubbed her dragon's head, drawing out a deep purr.

 _Okay,_ Cerise started, _enough sweetness. We've got a mission at hand._ She nosed down and glided toward the Keep.

 _Right,_ Angel's mom said. _Let's get to work._ Both dragons touched down side by side on the main landing pad. Their Riders dismounted and walked into the building. Angel always thought this place looked cool. It was so big. It looked like one of the castles on the other side but it was just a little older than her. How did they even do that? She wasn't as artistically minded as Auntie Weiss by any means, but she could still appreciate what was done.

Not too far into the Keep, Angel and her mom had to leave their dragons behind… well, Cerise anyway, but Thorn wanted to stay with his 'mother' a little longer. Angel's mom led the way to a place labeled 'Operation Command.' She pushed it open and gestured Angel inside. The room was filled with elves, and if other positions in the city were any indication, not all of them were Riders. Desks were arrayed in stadium-style, for lack of a better term. The far wall was covered in various projectors with the main one showing what looked like a cockpit view on a ship. All others but one showed various readouts or other cockpit footage. The one in the top right corner had a VNN feed of Arya in front of one of the councils. Atlas'? Was she still talking to them?

Angel looked around the room and found Yaela sitting near the back. The elf waved her over. The girl walked over to her tech tutor and sat in the open chair. "What do you want me to do?"

Yaela turned on the projector in front of Angel. A list of serial numbers, status indicators, fuel gauges, and other stats appeared in front of her. "Make sure everything's in the green. If it's something programing related, I'm sure you can fix it. If not, let me know and I'll get someone on it who can. We're not sending up anything that can't fight or can't make the trip."

"Got it." Angel nodded. It looked like everything was good to go. "So… what is this mission? All I know about it is that there's a lot of fighters involved."

"We're scouting Manchu for…" Yaela faced Angel. "You know about Salem, right?"

"Just… vague terms." Angel shivered. Thorn growled in her head. It felt like he wanted to shield her mind with his, not that it would help in that situation. "That… man mentioned her a few times then I was… held. Mom and dad explained a bit."

Yaela slowly nodded. "Okay, then all you need to know right now is that she's a Shade, she's queen of the Grimm, she's extremely strong in magic, and she's somewhere on Manchu. We need to find her and take her down for good."

"Makes sense… but why aren't we sending drones or satellites?"

"Salem shielded the continent from space. As for unmanned reconnaissance…" Yaela hit a few things on her keyboard and a video appeared on Angel's screen. It showed three of Atlas' UAVs, with a fourth likely supplying the camera feed, flying toward a dark coastline. Nothing looked off until one by one, the drones exploded in sequence when they passed a certain point.

Angel dropped her jaw. "And we're sending Eldunarí into this?"

"Your parents, aunts, and Arya have spells that they think can breach whatever kind of shield that is. Don't ask me what. They wouldn't share."

"I just got the confirmation from Arya," Angel's mom announced to the room. "Operation Grand Trail is a go. Get that first bird in the air."

People in the room started talking and one of the bars on Angel's screen turned green. Not knowing what else to do, she focused solely on that line. A few seconds later, she noticed movement on the main projector. It looked like that was the bird that was going up first. Angel clicked on her bar and got quite a bit more information. This stuff she knew because of her short pilot training. A little fiddling later, she brought the footage from the main projector up on her screen. The Manta, as identified by the list in front of Angel, rose off the ship and flew over the ocean.

Several minutes of nothing but a few status reports followed. Then land appeared on the horizon. "Five minutes until wall," someone called out. A few more people said things to the room but the countdown commanded the most attention. "Passing wall in five, four, three, two, one…" Angel kept her eyes on the main projector. She expected the feed to cut off but it kept rolling as the Manta approached the coastline. She looked at the readouts in front of her. Everything looked up to date.

She looked up at her mom and saw her mom was already looking at her. "Uh, we're all green. Everything is live."

Her mom nodded and looked elsewhere in the room. "Launch Volunteer."

"Copy," yet another person said. "Volunteer, you are cleared for launch."

" _Copy that,"_ a male dragon's voice came over the speakers. Angel thought she recognized it but she couldn't place a name. _"Flying up to the Grimm continent."_ Another feed appeared on the main projector and another line turned green. Angel opened that one up and looked over its numbers. The Manta rose from the ship and flew in the same direction as the first. A dragon's hum filled the room. _"I have missed feeling the wind on my scales. It's not the same, but it is better than sitting on rocks not being able to do anything."_

"When you get back," Angel's mom began, "if there're any adjustments you need, let me know. As much as you're vital on this mission, I want to give you back as much of your old self as possible."

The hum returned. _"I thank you, Shadeslayer."_ He said something in the Ancient Language that Angel couldn't place yet. She thought she got the meaning though. Angel looked up at her mom and put on a small smile. She loved seeing her mom like that and she hoped she could be half as good as her mom when she grew up.

Angel looked at her screen and found a red light. She cocked her head and opened it up… that wasn't good. "Yaela, there's a…" The elf slid a fixed mic in front of the girl. Angel stared at the mic and swallowed. She had a good idea of what she should say from hearing things in the simulators but she wasn't completely sure. "Volunteer, it looks like you're losing input response speed. Attempting to correct from here." She diverted her whole attention to finding the cause. At first, she thought it was because of a lack of processing speed, like a wire was misplaced. As she was about to divert that from nonvital functions though, she found an ever so slight memory leak. It didn't look like the software was installed right. She corrected that and everything leveled out. Angel nodded and started to check other fighters for that same thing. It wouldn't be good if fighters were destroyed because of elevators that didn't adjust in time.

" _Thank you, base. I feel I can move faster now."_ The dragon paused. _"Approaching wall. Shadeslayer, I hope these wards are enough."_ The room silenced as the Manta approached. _"Breaching wall in five, four, three, two…"_ He fell silent as the video continued. It went for several more seconds with no sound. _"The elves flying with me and I felt something as we passed but it did not hinder us. We are through."_

Cheers rang out through the room and Angel released a breath that she didn't know she was holding. "All fighters," Angel's mom came over the speakers, "launch when ready. The operation is a go. Scout out your areas and return to the mothership. Good flying and happy hunting."

Angel continued checking the list of fighters for the same problem in Volunteer. Seeing that it was just a one-off, she looked up at her mom. "All other fighters are clear. No input delay."

Her mom nodded at her. "Good work, Angel." She faced all the projections at the front of the room again. "It's up to them now." She looked around the room. "Good work everyone. If anything goes terribly wrong, let me know." She faced Yaela and nodded. "The room is yours."

"Shadeslayer." Yaela stood up and walked up to Angel's mom's side. The Rider stepped down and motioned toward her daughter. Angel stood up and walked out of the room. Her mom followed right after.

"So…" Angel kicked a few pebbles as she walked. "How'd I do?"

"You were good." Angel's mom rubbed Angel's back. "Truth be told, you had about the least important job in there, just making sure everything was green and not any other color. That find and fix though was crucial though. That should never have made it that far."

"That's good." Angel yawned and stretched. "I'm running on Vale time but it being night here is making me tired."

"Try world-hopping to three different sides of Remnant in one day. That's really what messes you up." A Scroll rand and Angel's mom took hers out of a pocket. She answered it and held it to her left ear. "Rider Ruby Rose… Bad? What, Atlas' sanctions aren't as comprehensive as we thought… Then what's really..." She hitched in her steps. "That bad, Coco?" She stopped altogether. "Excuse me? Where'd you hear that? Ugh! Just… stall until I get there. I've got to go to Alagaësia first then drop Angel off... Of course! This can't be put off. I'll be there as soon as I can." She fast-walked back toward where the dragons rested.

Angel had to jog to keep up. "Something wrong, mom?"

"Yes!" her mom snapped. "People are stupid! I've explained this thousands of times, and now, they think it means that we want to conquer the world! I'm too pregnant for this crap!"

Angel fell back behind her mom. That was… different… and scary. She saw videos of her mom yelling at people like that but it was never directed at her, only bad guys. She dragged her feet as her mom gained more ground. By the time she made it back to Thorn, Cerise was already gone.

Thorn faced his Rider with a cocked head. _Your mother is not well._

"You think?" Angel mounted her dragon and leaned forward. "Let's catch up to Cerise." Thorn ran out of the Keep, spreading his wings before leaving the building. He left the Keep and jumped into the air. The young dragon banked toward the ocean. Cerise was just landing on the beach. They weren't too far behind them. Angel's mom stayed on her dragon's back.

Thorn landed on the sand beside his mother and trotted up next to her. Cerise faced Angel with her ears pointing down. _You know your mother didn't mean to snap. She's just under a lot of stress right now._

Angel clamped her teeth together. _She's never yelled at me like that before._

 _Believe me, she doesn't want to. I have a feeling she will try to make it up to you tonight._

The water swirled in front of the four. "Let's go." Angel's mom yelled. Cerise jumped into the portal and Thorn followed right on her tail. They landed on the bank of Isenstar and repeated the process from before. The dragons jumped through again and appeared over Vale. While Cerise circled down toward the city, Thorn turned east and flew toward the mountains.

Angel looked down at her mom's dragon and her mom. Cerise made it sound like there was something really wrong with her Rider… Angel had an idea but she needed another set of hands. She faced the house in the mountains again and stretched her mind out. She felt her tongue automatically stick out with her concentration. She kept stretching her mind out until she felt who she was looking for. _Uncle Halcyon, I need your help._

* * *

"In short, the Riders will never attack another Kingdom," Ruby stated. "All our new fighters are for defense against Grimm and possibly to help the Kingdoms push back against them. As is written in our commission, we only wish for the preservation of life. We will never take it on a mass scale. Thank you." The reporters in the room all jumped to their feet and shouted questions at the Rider. Ruby ignored them as she turned and walked for the exit, passing Coco on the way. _They're all yours._ Coco nodded and walked up to the podium Ruby just vacated.

The Elder left the room and walked out of sight of anyone in the press room. As soon as the door closed, the leaned against the closest wall and groaned. Yang walked out of the security room and leaned next to her sister. "You did good out there."

"I wish I didn't need to be there at all." Ruby ran her hands down her face, her fingers pulling the skin under her eyes, "How many times have I said the exact same things?"

Yang scoffed. "At this point, the only way to please some of those people is to join their Kingdom and only theirs. That, or confirm their conspiracy theories."

"Not gonna happen." Ruby sighed and held her head in her hands. "I'm too pregnant for this crap…" As she said that, she remembered her last words to her baby girl. She groaned again and sagged against the wall. "I messed up."

"Out there?" Yang stuck a thumb toward the press room. "You did the best you could."

"Not that, with Angel. I've never raised my voice against her like that. She's less than a year from being kidnapped. I don't know what that's doing in her head."

Yang sighed and pat her sister's shoulder. "Come on. Let's pick something up for her."

Ruby stood up from the wall. "Can you ask Halcyon how she's doing?"

Yang stared off into the distance. "He says she's… processing."

"She's not scared of me, is she."

"I can tell you that right now, not a chance." Yang pushed Ruby toward the back door. "You can never hate her, and she can never hate you."

"I know. I just…" Ruby couldn't put how she felt in words.

"Come on." Yang grabbed one of Ruby's arms and pulled her toward the exit. "If you're so worried about it, go apologize. You'll hug it out just like you always do."

"Yeah. I'll make Angel's favorite dinner tonight. We'll do something else in the meantime." Ruby walked toward the exit and pushed herself out. Cerise rested in the parking lot turned grassy area right outside. The Rider climbed her dragon's side and looked down at her sister. Yang was giving her a weird look. "What?"

"You do realize she's not actually a baby right."

Ruby stared right back, her teeth trembling. "You know how bad she gets when she's scared." Yang's look disappeared and she turned her head away. Ruby pat her dragon's neck. "Let's go, Cerise." The dragon kicked off the ground and banked east.

 _If it makes you feel better,_ Cerise stared, _I told her you didn't mean it._

"Thank you," Ruby sighed. "It helps a little." She faced her house several miles away. She was prepared to cuddle, eat way too much chocolate, and spend the rest of the day playing video games with her baby girl. If she was the cause of one of Angel's lows… "A little faster, please?" Cerise sped up without saying a thing.

The dragon landed on the main pad. Ruby dismounted Cerise and took a breath. She and her soulmate walked toward the main door, making the whole thing open up. The mother searched for her daughter and found her in the kitchen. "Angel, I'm ho…" She stopped in place as she smelled something… _really_ good. It would have smelt good if Ruby wasn't pregnant but she didn't know she was craving it until she smelt it.

Angel faced her mom and put on one of her beautiful smiles. "Hi, mom." She walked out of the kitchen wearing Ruby's 'Best Cookies in Vale' apron. The girl walked up to her mom and hugged her. "Welcome home."

Ruby blinked and hugged her daughter back. "Uh… hi?" She heard something in the kitchen and faced that direction. She didn't see him before, but Halcyon was standing there… with a cookie sheet filled with what looked like garlic bread. Ruby looked back down at her daughter. "What are you and Halcyon doing in the kitchen?"

Angel pulled away and looked up at her mom with a now nervous smile. "Well, uh, Cerise said you weren't feeling the best, so I wanted to make you feel better… food always does it for me. So… uh… yeah… s'ketti… with cheesy bread… And I heard you talking this morning about watching the Atlas council meeting while eating popcorn so… that should be popping soon and the meeting is still going… but that was ten minutes ago..."

The mother looked down at her daughter with an open mouth. She expected the worst. She expected Angel to be curled up in a ball with her stuffed dragon and Thorn around her. But this… "You're doing all this, cooking unsupervised… for me?"

Angel deflated. "Halcyon's watching… he said he had all the ingredients and the recipe recorded in his head…"

Ruby relaxed her whole body and an uncontrollable smile took over her face. "Sweetie, you are the best." She picked Angel up and started kissing her daughter's face all over. She wanted to make sure her baby girl knew just how much she loved her.

Angel squirmed around in Ruby's arms. "Okay, mom. I get it."

Ruby blinked as she felt a couple spells take effect. She set her daughter back on the floor. "Sorry. I got a little carried away." She took a step back and rubbed the back of her neck. "Carry on. I won't stop you. It smells _really_ good."

"You got it." Angel turned around and walked back toward the kitchen.

 _Well,_ Cerise stepped up to Ruby's side, _that was unexpected._

 _Yeah._ Ruby felt her cheeks burn. _I expected those mood swings to all be directed at you and Aaron, not Angel… though I guess that happened with Yang and Viki the first time._

Cerise snorted. _There's that._ She faced the kitchen and flicked her tongue out. _Angel, where's your dragon?_

"Thorn's picking up auntie Nora," Angel called. "I told her mom was stressed and she said she'll be right over."

Ruby slumped in happiness and half-lidded her eyes. She knew what Nora's stress relief treatment was. "I have the best daughter." She looked at where the large projector laid dormant. "Now let's see Arya rip Atlas several new ones."

* * *

Salem snarled at what she saw through several Seers. Dozens of Rider fighters flew over _her_ land. That shouldn't have been possible. She did exactly what the Relic of Knowledge told her through Hazel. Nothing the Riders sent at her should have made it over the beaches. If she fully trusted Iali, she would have her relay the information from the Relic. She would need to extract Hazel from his current operation in Vacuo to get the information.

The Shade sent her Seers away and stared out the windows of her throne room. If she had to guess, the Riders would be at her fortress in less than a week. Her Grimm had only been able to take down two Shark fighters. There just weren't enough on the outskirts of the island. She could easily overwhelm them but with all the scouts so spread out, she couldn't kill them all at once. She needed to stall them. Her plan wasn't ready yet.

Besides calling in most of the Grimm from Alagaësia to help, Salem only saw one option to redirect the Riders' searches. At the same time, it could jeopardize her plan. Knowing _how_ to accomplish her task didn't mean that she was _able_ to. She hadn't been able to recreate what she did with Noir and Argent. There were so many variables. If even the slightest hair was out of place, her parasite would be discovered and the wards would surely come into place with their Relic of Creation. She needed _something…_ The doors opened at the other end of her Throne room… That would do it.

Salem turned around to face her special guest. Barry Price was being escorted by a pack of Alpha Beowolves. Despite that fact, he gave no indication that he was nervous, not even his scent. "Barry Price. It's good to finally meet you in person."

The former Specialist looked Salem up and down. "You're the one that's sent me dragon hunting."

"You and one other." Salem approached the assassin. "I called you here with one target in mind, but in light of recent developments, I believe your target has changed."

Price looked at one of the Beowolves then back at Salem. "I wouldn't say called, more like taken. I would have killed more of these things if I didn't see the letters so many of them carried in their mouths." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Your scorpion back there didn't help matters."

"Semantics aside, I have need of your special skills. I can call on numerous snipers across Remnant to kill the Riders and dragons if I so wished. But the way you once killed Vacuo's council caught my attention."

The assassin smirked. His pride was getting the best of him. "I try. I take it you have something special to be delivered from a Dust round?"

"A laser shot, but yes."

"Laser?" Price' smirk disappeared. "I'm not even sure that's possible."

"If it is, you will find a way. If you don't, I will have to decide what to do with you." Salem paused. "I have a special parasite I want to be implanted in a dragon. All other ways could reveal other plans. This way, they know it's me, and they think they know what to look for."

"Parasite?" Price scoffed. "You want to give a dragon worms?"

Salem smirked. "Trust me, I want to give them something much worse than worms."

* * *

 **Fighting back, one scout fighter at a time.**


	94. Infectious

**Really running out of things to say... might drop the begining author's note... I don't know... onto this.**

* * *

Aaron sighed in relief as the first of the police cruisers started to drive away. That whole situation could have gone terribly. He turned his head to look at the back of the ambulance. A high-school-age girl sat on the bumper with a shock blanket draped around her shoulders and a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. The girl never looked up and had only spoken to Violet. The Rider in question stood in another group of officers discussing things Aaron didn't want to know about. Orchid would have been there too but the road was too narrow for the dragon to land.

 _Nalia,_ _I'm coming back._ Aaron turned around and started walking toward the avenue that his dragon assisted blocking. _Violet can take things from here._

 _Any sign of her father?_ Nalia asked.

 _Not yet, but he has to come from one of the outlying villages. That's a bit of a drive._

Nalia hummed sadly. _She's in good hands. Violet won't let anything happen to her._

 _That, and there's dozens of police still around._ Aaron crossed the remaining distance to his dragon and climbed on. He faced Orchid. The younger dragon stared through the buildings toward where the girl sat. Her ears and wings drooped with her tail twitching every few seconds. _You'll get to her, Orchid._

 _Not soon enough._ Orchid bared her back teeth for a second before covering them again. _She's in so much pain._

 _You'll get your chance to help._ Nalia raised her neck and wings. She jumped as hard as she could and bounded over the buildings surrounding her. Her wings snapped open as soon as they could. She banked east and flew to the house in the mountains.

Aaron dismounted his dragon as she landed. They walked into the house side by side. The three women of the house and two other dragons stood watching the projector which showed VNN coverage of the former hostage situation. "What are they saying?" Aaron asked as he got close.

Yang looked at him and nodded. "That you did good. No one's hurt and a terrible mother in custody. Textbook operation."

"Why are you home, anyway?" Ruby asked as she turned.

"Lose track of time?" Aaron stopped behind the couch. "My shift ended halfway into that whole thing. I can write up my report from here."

Something blue flickered in Ruby's bionic eye. "Oh. That explains it."

"Why don't you just use your minds to diffuse the situation?" Viki asked… That's when Aaron noticed what his sister was wearing. It was a red dress with a few wood brown accents. She was wearing a lot of makeup too.

"A rookie Rider tried that once," Ruby interrupted Aaron's thoughts. "We don't need or want that kind of fallout again." She smiled at her husband. "I'm glad everything went okay."

"Same here." Aaron faced his sister. "You going somewhere, Viki?"

She smiled at her brother. "I have a date tonight. I was actually about to head out."

"A date?" Aaron blinked. "So soon?"

 _Aaron,_ Ruby thought to her husband, _don't push her._ Aaron caught his wife's gaze. She was almost imperceptibly shaking her head.

"Yes. I… have a really good feeling about this guy."

Aaron sighed. "Viki, I'm happy for you," he put a hand on his sister's shoulder, "but if you feel threatened…"

"Ruby has first dibs." Viki shrugged. "Or I take him out myself. I'm pretty comfortable with a pistol now. He's not a Huntsman, so I could take him… but it won't come to that."

"No, it won't." Aaron pulled his hand back. "Have a good time."

"I will." Viki walked past Aaron and to the garage. She disappeared behind the door without another word said.

Aaron faced his wife again. "You had some words with her before I came home?"

"Girl talk." Ruby crossed her arms. "Translated and paraphrased, she wants a family. She wants kids of her own. She feels like she's failed because she hasn't gotten that yet. She doesn't like our insisting that she doesn't need to go for that so soon after the bastard. She wants to think for herself." Ruby sighed. "On one hand, that's beautiful to hear. She wants to be her own person outside of our huge family. On the other… I don't know. Medieval culture faded for a reason. She shouldn't feel like she's forced into something like that."

"If it's her idea," Yang continued, "who are we to say no?" Aaron nodded and opened his mouth to say something. The glare from Ruby stopped any words from coming out. He just held his hands up and shook his head. Yang's Scroll chimed and she looked at her right side. "Hold on. I got a text." She stepped away and drew her Scroll.

Ruby faced Aaron. "Well, before we switched to that," she gestured her head toward the projector, "we were watching most of Atlas' council on trial in Mistral." Ruby smirked. "It feels _soooo_ good to finally be able to take down crooked politicians."

"Winter get caught up in all this?" Aaron asked.

"No, but she's going to be closely monitored... Cordovin took most of the heat as she tried to defend the council while Winter denounced them."

Nalia growled. _Good. I never liked her._

"No one did." Ruby paused. "Aaron, can you tell me what happened down there or is it something that would stress me out?"

"The news will cover all you need to know," Aaron said. "It wasn't-"

"Oh my gosh!" Yang yelled. She brought a hand to the side of her head and turned around to face her family. "Viki's going on a date with Scott!"

Cerise made a hum of surprise and Ruby straightened up. "Seriously?"

Aaron looked between the sisters. "Am I missing something here?"

"Scott Green," Yang breathed. "The guy I pulled off the wrong side of a bridge railing a while back."

 _Really?_ Nalia cocked her head. _Do we have a problem with him?_

"Absolutely not." Yang shook her head. "There are times I wonder if he'd hurt a mosquito."

 _I've met him a few times,_ Cerise said. _He will not hurt Viki._ She growled with a bit of a whimper in there as well. _He would rather hurt himself than anyone else._

Yang winced. "Yeah, that's true." She paused. "The last time I saw him I was thinking that it would be good for him to find a nice girl. I can't think of anyone nicer than Viki."

"But will he be good to her?" Aaron asked. "I will not tolerate a repeat of last time."

"The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that he is _really_ into Armen sports and can't stand Vale's."

 _Unlike with Flax,_ Cerise continued, _the reservations I have don't include Viki. The last time I saw Scott, he needed help, which he has gotten._

Ruby gave Aaron a sideways glance. "Viki told me that if we see something, we tell her. Otherwise, we have no say."

Aaron sighed. "I know. It's just… I don't want a repeat of that time."

Ruby relaxed. "None of us do."

The newest oversized door in the Hall opened up. Angel and Thorn walked out of their expanded room with Thorn holding a wing over and behind his Rider. Angel walked with her right side using her dragon's body for support. Thorn had his lips peeled with his head tilted toward his Rider.

Halfway across the Hall, he stopped and snapped his head fully toward Angel and snarled into her face, one that would have sent Grimm running. Aaron instinctively grabbed Redemption's hilt. _Don't,_ Cerise ordered as she stood up. _It's not directed at Angel._

 _Then who?_ Aaron demanded. He would protect his daughter from any threat, even if that threat was her own dragon.

As he watched, Angel raised her head. She grabbed both sides of her dragon's snout and guided Thorn to her forehead. That… was unexpected. What was going on here? They then continued their slow walk toward the sitting area. When they reached the couches, Angel looked up at her parents. "Mom, dad… I've been wondering for a while… can I have-"

 _Petal,_ Thorn interrupted with a growl, _ask them what you really want to._

Angel sighed. "When I was… taken…" Aaron stiffened up and finally released his sword. He and Ruby each grabbed one of Angel's arms and guided her to a couch. They sat on either side of their daughter while their dragons formed a cave with their bodies. Cerise' and Nalia's heads ended up side by side in front of the family. Thorn rested his legs on the back of the couch with his wings spread around all the humans. Yang didn't get involved in the moment.

"You were saying, Sweetie?" Ruby asked.

Angel gripped Aaron's hand harder. "That… monster said some things. Like…" she looked up at her mother. "He called you a Maiden?"

Ruby sighed and a small smile graced her face. She kissed Angel's forehead. "Is that all?"

"I just…" Angel shifted where she sat. "I don't want to think about anything from that day." Thorn peeled his lips back for a second but stayed silent.

"It's okay, Angel." Aaron ran a hand across the back of his daughter's head. Angel didn't protest. "No one should have to think about anything like that." Ruby stood up and took a couple of steps away from the couch. Angel took a look at her dad's lap, then adjusted herself to sit on it. Aaron wrapped his hands around his daughter and kissed the back of her head.

"Do you remember the Story of the Seasons, Sweetie?" Ruby asked. Angel just nodded. "I'm… pretty sure you remember seeing this." Ruby's eyes glowed and her smile tried to match it. She held out her left hand and an ice spear formed in it.

Thorn hummed in confusion while Angel stared on. "You did that when you…"

Ruby's smile disappeared. "Yes, I did." The ice spear faded back into her hand. "Remember back when you were little you were never too hot or cold for long?"

'Yeeeaaahhh…"

"Well…" Ruby pointed her palms at those on the couch. A cold wave washed over Aaron making him shiver.

Angel just cocked her head. "Isn't that just magic?"

"A special kind." Ruby's eyes faded and the temperature warmed a little. I'm the Winter Maiden, the latest from that story. Auntie Pyrrha is Fall. Only four women on Remnant can have the Maiden powers at one time... and we're going to have to ask you to keep this secret too."

Angel sagged. "Another one?"

"I know, and it's not fair."

"We don't like keeping these," Aaron added, "but it's for our safety and other people's."

 _Knowing these things are a burden,_ Nalia continued, _one we hoped to spare you._

 _We hope one day we won't have to keep these things secret,_ Cerise hummed sadly, _but that day is not today, and we don't know when that will be._

Ruby walked forward and grabbed both of Angel's hands. "Sweetie, I am so sorry you had to learn from that monster instead of me. I never wanted you to learn anything that way. Can you forgive me?"

Angel stared at her mom for a second before nodding. "I forgive you, mommy."

Ruby's smile returned. "Thank you, Sweetie." She kissed both of Angel's hands.

Thorn eyed Aaron and Ruby, then his growl returned. _Angel, I know you wanted to know that, but that's not what you're scared about._

Angel whimpered and lowered her head. She raised it a few seconds later with water running down her cheeks. "Why do I still see him? Why am I still so scared?"

"Oh." Aaron locked eyes with Ruby. _Do you need me here, or do you want to take this yourself?_

 _I know exactly what she's going through. You don't._ Ruby pulled Angel into a tight hug. "I'm here, Sweetie. I'm here. I'm listening."

Aaron kissed the side of Angel's head then left the wing tent. Nalia also stood up and walked away from Cerise. The Rider walked over to the kitchen where Yang was washing dishes. Yang looked up at Aaron as he approached. "Head talk?"

"Yeah." Aaron leaned on the countertop by Yang. "Ruby's got a doctorate in that sort of thing and she's lived through what Angel did. I've got none of that."

"Yeah." Yang sighed. "But I guess it's a good thing we don't know how best to help her. The less people that know that kind of pain, the better."

Another mind touched Aaron's, this one feeling blank from his Scroll's mental circuit. _Aaron, it's Yaela, Kuo Kuana is under attack!_

Aaron stiffened. "Yang. Mental circuit. Now." He shifted his attention back to his Scroll. _What's the situation?_

 _Sun says a wild dragon is attacking the city._

 _What?_ Aaron turned and ran toward the main dragon door. Nalia caught up right away and the Rider grabbed onto one of her legs. He pulled himself into the saddle right as Nalia cleared the house. As the dragon took off, Aaron felt an arm wrap around his midsection. He turned his head back. Yang had climbed onto Nalia behind him.

 _I don't know and the Rider stationed there isn't responding,_ Yaela continued. _Right now we only have the information we're getting from Sun. I imagine it's not going to be long before news stations get a hold of this._

 _Get Shruikan there, now. Yang, Nalia, and I are on our way._ Aaron stared at the nearest body of water as he felt the blank mind leave his head.

"What's the plan, Aaron?" Yang asked.

"For Nalia to overpower whoever it is and to subdue them on the ground."

 _Easier said than done,_ Nalia growled. _The dragon assigned to Kuo Kuana was a fighter. Wild dragons are historically more ferocious fighters than bonded dragons._ She dove for the nearest river. _Yang, cast the spell._

Yang started chanting the between worlds spell as Nalia landed. As soon as the water swirled, the dragon jumped in. They flew over Lake Isenstar and dove for the beach. Arya and Fírnen were already on the beach with Arya likely casting the between worlds spell herself. Nalia landed by her son and growled at him. Fírnen returned the gesture. It felt like they were having a conversation that the Riders weren't a part of.

The water swirled and Arya faced the older dragon. _"Nalia, we'll follow you in. If nothing else, drive the dragon away from the city."_

 _ **Will do.**_ Nalia jumped into the portal and leveled out. Aaron grimaced as he looked out over the city. Fire and smoke rolled over a good portion of the city. Sirens blared and gunshots came from all over. It only made sense that Grimm were attacking as well in all this. The Rider scanned the sky for the rogue dragon.

A baby blue dragon flew out of a cloud of smoke and dove at a stretch of city that was not yet on fire. She let loose a torrent of blue fire on the wooden houses below which soon became the normal red, yellow, and orange flames. "Nalia?"

 _I see her._ Nalia banked toward the dragon and roared a challenge at her. The rogue dragon faced Nalia and returned the favor. _Aaron, Yang, this might not be the best place for you._

"Do what you can." Aaron grabbed Redemption and his V4 along with a couple of magazines. He jumped off Nalia's right side while Yang dropped off the left. They landed on opposite sides of the same roof. Aaron looked back up just in time to see Nalia collide with the rogue dragon. As expected, she forced the much smaller dragon back, but not nearly as much as she should have. Arya dropped between the grounded Riders and Fírnen joined his mother in the attack.

" _What's the plan?"_ Aaron asked Arya.

" _Keep the Grimm off those three."_ Arya drew her bow and knocked three arrows at the same time. _"When those two take her down, secure the area until Shruikan, Velvet, and Vert arrive."_ She pulled her string back and let loose three arrows. They soared through the air and buried themselves in three different Grimm. All of them exploded a second later.

" _My AA sucks and I didn't have time to grab my sword."_ Yang punched her fists out to her sides and her gauntlets extended from her bracelets. _"I'll keep you two covered."_

Aaron extended his V4 to rifle form and pointed it at the sky. He shot the wing off a Ptero before focusing back on the dragons. Baby blue was fast, surprisingly fast. Nalia was too focused on her fight to let her Rider in her head. Nalia charged again while Fírnen came behind her. Baby blue rolled out of the way but Nalia was still able to rake her claws across the rogue dragon's back. Fírnen came in next and wrapped his jaws around blue's neck. They fell for a few dozen feet before blue clawed Fírnen off. She then bit at Fírnen's right wing but missed by what had to be less than five feet...

There was something wrong there. After shooting down two more Nevermores, Aaron sighted up the rogue dragon. He whispered a spell to allow him to see details from farther away. A black, circular hole lay near the edge of her neck. Black lines on and under her scales stretched out from that, mainly up her neck to her head. Her irises were blood red and the normal whites were black, just like a Grimm. Aaron lowered his weapon and stretched his mind toward the rogue dragon. Her Aura and life force were both low, but they were there. Aaron pushed a little farther. While this dragon couldn't speak Vytalian or in the Ancient Language, Aaron got one word from that; help.

" _The dragon's sick."_ Aaron shot down a Lethrblaka that flew too close to Fírnen. _"She's not doing this. I think she's got a…. Grimm infection?"_

" _Like a movie?"_ Yang asked after she shot her left gauntlet off the edge of the roof. _"Salem can do that now?"_

" _I guess so."_ Aaron focused back on blue. _"Can we save her?"_

" _If anyone can,"_ Arya started, _"Velvet and Orchid can. We just need to give them time. Goldmane, call it in, along with more reinforcements."_

Aaron shot down a Dauthblaka closing on Nalia then focused back on the fighting dragons. Blue was bleeding in several locations while the two greens looked untouched. Fírnen grappled with the infected dragon while Nalia rose above them both. Blue tried to get out of Fírnen's group by clawing, scratching, and biting, but the smaller dragon wouldn't let go.

Nalia dove at blue and body-slammed her. She kept the infected dragon beneath her as they plummeted. They fell beneath the roofs of other buildings and a cloud of dust erupted over the tops. Fírnen dove as well and passed out of sight. _**We have the dragon pinned,**_ Nalia called. _**She is not well.**_

" _We're on our way."_ Arya jumped off the edge of the roof. Aaron and Yang followed as fast as they could, fighting their way through a few Grimm until they reached the trio of dragons. Nalia had all of Blue's limbs pinned under her own and held the infected dragon's neck in her jaws. She looked at her Rider, her eyes wide. She whimpered as Blue twitched beneath her. Fírnen walked over and pressed a paw against blue's head, pinning that in place as well.

Aaron walked up to the infected dragon's head. Her eyes were hazy but they were gaining their focus back. Up close, the lines looked even worse. It looked like it was causing scales to fall off. Her lips peeled back and came back into place several times. The Rider rested a hand on the dragon's head. One of her eyes flicked toward him. Burning rage and hatred shot out of it, but there was the slightest amount of fear as well. _"I know you're in there,"_ Aaron swore. _"I hope you can hear me. We will help you. We'll get this Grimm out of you."_

The Rider repositioned to kneel by the hole in the dragon's neck. _"Yang, I need gloves."_ A few seconds later, Yang handed Aaron the gloves from Nalia's saddle. Aaron rested a hand by what looked like the initial wound. It felt rough and crusty like other laser injuries, but that isn't what Aaron was doing.

He started whispering in the Ancient Language to see if there was anything he could do. It felt like the roots of whatever this was ran deep. They stretched from the initial point of entry to just a little bit on all limbs. Most of it either coiled around Blue's brain, heart, and Eldunarí. The biggest concentration though came from deep within the wound, likely whatever Grimm parasite originated this. Aaron wanted to stab Redemption right into that hole and kill whatever it was, but he didn't know if whatever this thing was could kill the dragon.

Aaron stood up and shook his head. _"It's too complex for me. Only Velvet and Orchid can do this."_

Arya cut down a Creep then turned to Aaron, then looked past him. _"We may have other problems."_

Aaron faced the direction Arya indicated. A group of Faunus soldiers and Huntsmen led by Sun stormed down one of the side streets. In a word, Sun looked pissed. He pointed his staff at the downed dragon. "This the creature that did all this?"

Yang put herself in between the mob and the dragons. "Sun, we've got this taken care of."

"Great. Now we'll finish it." Sun cracked his staff over a knee and it split into his nunchucks. "Get out of my way, Yang. I don't want to put an order for your arrest." He glared past Yang and froze up. His eyes flicked to Yang then Aaron. The Headmaster turned his head back to the mob behind him. "Commander, get back on patrol. I'll take care of this thing myself."

"But… sir?" one of the best armored women behind him stuttered.

"I am giving you a direct order, Commander. Take your men and get back on patrol." The Commander stared at Sun for a few more seconds, then motioned to the crowd behind her. They all dispersed, every single one of them glaring at the blue dragon as they passed. When they all disappeared, Sun clicked his nunchucks back together and approached Aaron's and the infected dragon's side. He knelt by Blue's head and the black marks. "What the hell is this?" He reached a hand toward it but Aaron grabbed it before he could touch it.

"We don't know what this is," Aaron said. "We don't know what it could do if we touch it without protection." Blue growled and tried to move her head but Fírnen kept her in place.

"That is not okay." Sun looked into the dragon's eye. "It's like she's a Grimm."

"More like there's a Grimm controlling her." Aaron looked into the laser wound once again. "The source of all this is in sword range. If I knew what killing the thing did, I'd have stuck Redemption in there by now."

"Since when can Salem do this?"

"This is a first for all of us." Yang walked to Aaron's side with her arms crossed. "This is more than a little scary."

"I fear this will not be a one-time event," Arya said. "This is too potent a weapon for Salem not to use again."

"Agreed." Aaron nodded then froze. He turned his eyes toward Arya to find her staring right back. They were on the same page. "Can there be others right now?"

"When this battle is over, I will give an order that everyone that has been injured in combat in the past year to report to Mor'ranar Vera for testing."

"Shit." Sun stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Can we do anything for her?"

"Not without an expert." Aaron paused. "What was it like here?"

Sun gave Aaron a look. "Have you seen or read some of the things about evil dragons since coming here?"

Aaron winced. "I've seen some of them. That bad?"

Sun shook his head. "Much, much worse." He looked back at the dragon's head. "That's one hell of a weapon of terror."

"It might even draw more Grimm," Arya said. "That is if she doesn't control all her Grimm at once."

A friendly roar came from overhead. Aaron looked up in time to see Vert fly overhead. Velvet fell from the sky and landed beside the downed dragon. She hesitated for less than a second before launching herself at the dragon's head. She began chanting in the Ancient Language at lightspeed. Despite that, it was still several minutes before she spoke to those around her. "I need more equipment. We need to get her to Mor'ranar Vera."

 _She won't stay stunned for much longer,_ Nalia growled. _She's regaining her strength._

"I can fix that, or I least I should be able to." Velvet held her hands over the dragon's mouth. She started casting another spell. Aaron caught a few words… she was making the dragon have trouble breathing. He didn't know how that would help, but he wasn't about to question the expert. When Velvet finished, the dragon's breathing grew labored. Blue's infected eyes grew wide then distant before closing completely. Her whole body went limp right after. "There. We can transport her and work on her now." She stood up and took a few steps back. Nalia and Fírnen got off the dragon as well.

"Sun," Yang started, "you were here to finish the job, right? Maybe a gunshot would be good."

"Will do." Sun broke his staff into nunchucks and pointed one of them at the ground. He fired one shot into the ground. "You're not going to get any help getting her out of here. Everyone hates that dragon. They won't like it if they find out I let you take her alive."

Arya nodded at the Faunus. "Thank you. Sun. This will not be forgotten." She faced Aaron. _"You and Nalia will return with Velvet and Vert to Mor'ranar Vera. Keep your portal there open for reinforcements. Stay there to take control of our defenders in the event of Grimm attack there."_

 _ **I will escort you to the ocean,**_ Fírnen said. _**No Grimm shall touch you.**_ He stretched a leg toward Aaron. The Rider took the hint and grabbed on. Fírnen took off and flew toward the ocean. Aaron shifted his V4 to submachinegun form and shot any Grimm that came close. This attack was much worse than when Blake was assassinated… come to think of it, there were so many attacks on Kuo Kuana since the Riders got involved in things, Grimm or otherwise. Mor'ranar Vera had to be lucky that no Grimm attacked there.

When they flew over the beach, Aaron dropped off Fírnen's leg. He rolled in the sand and started casting the first between worlds spell. Halfway through, he heard Nalia tell him that she and Vert had taken off. A little after that, the corpse of a Ptero slammed into the ground next to him. Aaron ignored it and kept the spell going.

When the water swirled, Aaron stood up and faced the sky. Nalia and Vert carried the limp, infected dragon beneath them. A few Grimm followed but Fírnen and another dragon kept them clear. Aaron quickly checked the sky. It looked like pairs from all Kingdoms' response forces started to arrive. Good, the more reinforcements, the better.

Nalia and Vert slowly lowered the infected dragon into the portal before dropping in themselves. Aaron jumped onto his dragon's back right before she passed through the portal. On the other side, the Rider looked down at the ground below. Almost a dozen pairs stood on the beach of Isenstar. Nalia roared, gaining all of their attention. One by one, the Riders mounted their dragons and the fliers took off toward the portal in the sky.

Aaron dropped off his dragon's side and used magic to slow his fall closer to the ground. He landed and immediately started on another between worlds spell. The two green dragons hovered with their cargo above the water. When the portal spun to life, they dropped through that. Aaron once again jumped to Nalia's back and stayed there as the dragons descended toward the hospital.

Aaron keyed his Scroll into the Rider's local network. "Mor'ranar Vera Response Force, this is Rider Aaron Benson. There is currently a Level Ten Grimm attack on the Kingdom of Armitage. By order of Arya, Nalia and I are taking command. Any reports of Grimm or other unusual activity go through us. We must be ready for an attack ourselves. All other Riders listening in, be ready to fight. Listen to members of the Response Force for directions. If you need to deliver anything in person, I will be at the hospital." A chorus of acknowledgments followed.

Nalia and Vert set the infected dragon on what was essentially an oversized and mechanized gurney. Velvet dismounted Vert and walked to a panel on the outside wall. A few button presses later, the infected dragon was carried into the huge dragon treatment wing of the hospital. Velvet walked alongside Blue and a few elves already inside swarmed the downed dragon. The outside dragon door closed behind them.

Aaron slid off Nalia and entered the hospital himself. His dragon flew off, likely to coordinate the defense until her Rider was ready. He held his Scroll horizontally and called up a security map of the city. It looked like the Response Force was already getting into position and the automated defenses were on. Considering everything was already underway, he put his Scroll away and walked toward the surgery wing.

The Rider walked into the observation room and looked through the window at the surgery floor. At least a dozen doctors roamed around the dragon in white scrubs, all of them with equipment that Arron couldn't hope to know what it did. Velvet pinned her ears underneath a sanitary hat and looked up at Aaron. _I take it you want updates?_

 _If it doesn't distract you too much, yes._ Aaron looked at the unconscious dragon's head. _I don't distract you otherwise._

 _If that's the case,_ Velvet faced the infected dragon, _we'll start by disconnecting the strands that go to her legs._ She walked over to one of the legs and other elves followed. Aaron only watched as the doctors sang scales and flesh apart to reveal the things underneath. Aaron was a little too far away to see the minute details, but he took notice when the activity stopped. _Severing tendril now._

Aaron could only watch as what looked like nothing happened. Elves looked at tablets and machines beeped Velvet stood in place and slowly inspected the operating area. Reports came in from both Mor'ranar Vera and Kuo Kuana. Things were clear in the former and a little bit better in the latter. After literally an hour and a half, Velvet looked up and gave Aaron a thumbs up. _No negative reaction to the limb. We are proceeding with the surgery._

 _Do it._ Aaron relaxed his shoulders. He was going to stick around for the rest of the surgery just in case anything went wrong. Unlike the battle which would undoubtedly be covered on all news networks and YouVod, he needed to see thigs in person.

* * *

 **Ah, the destructive side of dragons... there's something beautiful about it... and absolutely terrifying.  
**


	95. New Beginings

**So... Baseball... My Twins are in the contention for the AL Central... and the home run record... I'm hoping... and wondering why I'm still rambling.**

* * *

"How long until Thorn gets his Semblance?" Sarah asked Angel.

Rusty sighed and shook his head. "We've been over this. You've read Aunt Velvet's research. His parents didn't have their Aura unlocked, so Thorn likely won't have a Semblance.

Angel scoffed as she closed up another box. "I still say Nalia has a speed Semblance." She picked up the box and brought it over to where her nearly year-old dragon lay. "She is _way_ to fast for a dragon her size. I know she's a Quickwing but come on. She can race Bullheads now without her jets. Don't tell me that's not a Semblance."

"It could just be Aura," Sarah offered. "I know I got a major speed boost when I had mine unlocked."

"So did Thorn." Angel set the box down then rubbed the top of her dragon's head. Thorn raised his head into it and hummed. "But look at Cerise. She's stayed the same speed for a while, and I'd say she's slowing down. Just don't tell her I said that." She looked at the headset over her dragons ears. The left cup had slipped off. Angel pulled it back, letting out some of his favorite classical music, and fit it back over the ear. "That better, buddy?"

 _Much._ Thorn raised his head and nuzzled his snout against Angel's face. _Thank you, Petal._

"You're welcome, Buddy." Angel scratched behind Thorn's left ear drawing out a long purr.

Sarah laughed and shook her head. "Is this the same dragon that growls at every passing bird?"

Thorn stiffened up and narrowed his eyes at Sarah. _Angel is annoying, reckless, and a general pain in my tail, but if anyone or anything even thinks about hurting my Petal, I will tear whatever it is to shreds. If it wants to hurt my Angel, I will end it._

"Awww." Angel rubbed the side of Thorn's head. "You're a bully."

Thorn snorted in his Rider's face. _And you're pathetic._ He laid his head back on the floor and closed his eyes.

Angel laughed and shook her head. She looked around her room and her good mood tanked. Most things that she considered vital were all packed up. She did something like this before when she moved to live with Grandpa Tai for her first year at Signal. Though this would be temporary too, she didn't know _how_ temporary. "So… this is it." Thorn opened his eyes and looked up at his Rider.

Sarah sighed. "Do you have to leave?"

"I don't have a choice." Angel hugged herself. "Mom and dad say I'm moving with mom to Mor'ranar Vera, so I'm moving to Mor'ranar Vera." She held her right hand palm up. "Brisingr." A small flame glowed to life in her hand. She winced at how much of her energy it drained. Her mom and the few Eldunarí she talked with said that the level was unusual. Angel let the fire die out. "That takes so much energy to hold. How can I make the spell that can get me between worlds?"

 _With help._ Thorn stood up and nuzzled his Rider. _You know I will help if you want to come back here._

Angel pushed Thorn's head away. "I know. I know you'll help. I know mom and dad will help. But why can't I do anything on my own? I always need someone else."

Thorn narrowed his eyes and growled. _You know what Cerise and Nalia have said about this lone wolf mentality._

"All of our parents, really," Sarah said.

"Well, for you all, anyway." Rusty shrugged as he pulled out his Scroll. "I'm not going to be a Huntsman so all that advice is for you."

Sarah gave her brother a look before facing Angel again. "You know what happens when Huntresses go out alone. That's why we have teams."

"For everything?" Angel shook her head. "It's like everything I do, I need someone's help for… except maybe being a quarterback. But that doesn't matter either since I'm going to miss this season because I'm going to be on another continent." She looked down and sat on one of Thorn's legs. "I don't want people to think I'm useless."

Thorn growled again but he sounded more hurt than anything. _Angel, no one thinks you're useless._

"You're my dragon. You need to say that."

The dragon pawed off his headphones and curled his head around to face his Rider. Thorn's growl shook the floor and Angel. His ears pinned against his head and every one of his teeth showed. Both Rusty and Sarah stepped back. Everyone did that. Angel even saw her dad grab her sword a few times. Why did everyone think Thorn was threatening her? He would never hurt her.

 _Is this about what happened at the mountains? If it's_ _ **him**_ _again, I will fly out to that mountain and burn whatever remains of him to the ground. If its something else, point me in the right direction and I'll tear it to shreds. Where is it? Who is it? Give me a target and it will be destroyed before we leave for Mor'ranar Vera._

Angel pat her dragon on the head. "Please don't do that." She sighed. "I guess I'm really the problem."

Thorn silenced and his eyes took a confused look. _You… how…_

"You know what Nalia and Cerise have said. Not all problems can be solved by breaking it."

"Maybe this one can," Rusty said while looking at his Scroll. "Or maybe not. Not would probably be better."

"What's going on?" Angel asked.

"Take a look." Rusty underhanded his Scroll to Angel.

The Rider grabbed it and looked at what was on the screen. Her heart sunk. It was an ANN story titled. _'Vytal_ Patrols Coast of Mor'ranar Vera as Concern Over Rider Overreach Intensifies.' "What?" Sarah looked over Angel's shoulder and her jaw dropped.

"You're going to be moving with Atlas breathing over your shoulder?"

"There or somewhere in Du Weldenvarden." Angel crossed her teeth. "I wanted to live among the Riders. I can't really do that in an elven city. With this… I don't know what's going on."

 _Either way,_ Thorn uncoiled himself from around Angel and nudged one of the boxes with a paw. _If the plan is to still move today, we should get these out to Nalia and Cerise._

"Or we can ask what we're going to do with the _Vytal_ hanging over Mor'ranar Vera. That might change their minds."

"That would rock and suck." Sarah crossed her arms. "We helped you pack all your junk. I don't want to unpack it all right now."

"At least we didn't pack my book collection." Angel stuck a thumb toward a full bookcase full of sci-fi and technical computer books. "All those weigh a few hundred pounds put together." She started walking to the door to her room halfway through her last sentence.

Angel left her room and looked for the two larger dragons of the house. Cerise and Nalia laid on either side of the human-sized door to the master bedroom. Both had nervous looks on their faces as they looked at each other and the door. Cerise looked past Nalia at Angel. _Are you ready to leave, Angel?_

"I take it that's still the plan?" Angel asked.

Nalia made a sound halfway between a growl and a whimper. _That is what your parents are discussing now. Aaron doesn't like that the Vytal is there._

Angel dipped her head. "Worried about an attack from Atlas?"

 _Oh no._ Cerise shook her head. _Your parents know the captain of the_ Vytal. _They would never attack each other._

"Then why's the ship there?"

Nalia turned her head to face Angel. _In a word, politics. There is more to it than that, but I don't have the time to explain it. I doubt your parents would want you to know anyway._

"We don't know that!" Angel's mom's voice filtered through the door. The girl took a step back as her parents' muffled voices came through the door. Both dragons faced the human-sized entrance as well. They looked at each other and hummed sadly.

"What's going on?" Angel whispered.

 _Your parents are… passionate about what they do,_ Nalia said. _In this case, they're split on whether it's safer for us to stay here or go to Mor'ranar Vera._

"I thought you said the Vytal isn't a threat?"

 _It isn't,_ Cerise insisted. _But we might not be safe here. We don't know what Vale is going to do… and your mom doesn't want to take you out of school._

Nalia growled. _Neither does Aaron, but if Angel gets caught up in this, he's worried about what will happen._

Cerise narrowed her eyes. _I thought we agreed to stay out of our Riders' arguments._ Nalia silenced and lowered her head. If she said something else to Cerise, she didn't let Angel in on it.

Angel shook her head. "But what about what I want? No one's asked me since this whole thing started."

Both dragons faced Angel and all of their ears drooped. _They just want what's best for you,_ Cerise insisted.

Angel narrowed her eyes. "They do that without asking me?"

 _Gel,_ Nalia took a step toward Angel, _if you knew what was really going on, you wouldn't like it. They know these things so you don't have to._

"Secrets!" Angel groaned. "I get that they need to keep secrets," Angel crossed her arms, "but does _everything_ need to be one?"

Cerise bared her teeth for a second. _Your parents are high ranking members of the strongest Huntsman Organization on Remnant which does both military and surveillance operations. They need to keep secrets._ She looked at the door to the master bedroom then faced Angel again. _Trust me, they don't like keeping things from people, especially you. That's caused so many problems between them and their team in the past._

"Then why do they keep doing it? It's like every day there's something different."

Nalia snorted. _I will let them explain this to you. They know what they want better than I ever will._

 _Something's going on._ Cerise stared straight at the door with her head cocked. Angel faced the door as well. She didn't hear any shouting. Her mom and dad probably just stopped fighting. Nothing more to it than that. Cerise' ears started to rise before they shot straight up. She jumped back and yipped at the ceiling. Her pupils filled her entire eyes. Happiness poured off her like a flood. _I'm getting Invidia!_ She turned around and skipped toward the outside dragon door. That was always a sight to see.

 _Invidia?_ Nalia cocked her head. _Why would she…_ Her eyes bulged, her neck arched, and her wings and tail rose. _Oh. That will do it._

Angel stared after Cerise for a few more seconds before facing Nalia. "What's going on?"

Nalia faced Angel with a twinkle in her eye. _You're about to be a big sister._ She blinked and faced the exit. _Cerise! You should be with your Rider! I'll get Invidia!_ She pounded toward the landing pad herself.

Angel's jaw dropped and she faced the door to her parents' room. "Big sister?" She felt her lips tug upward. "I'm going to meet my little brother!" She sprouted her wings and flew back toward her room. The girl swooped under the opening bedroom door and hovered in the air in front of her friends and dragon. Sarah and Rusty stared up at her with confused looks while Thorn's body reacted much like Nalia's did. "Guys! I'm about to be a big sister!"

Sarah's jaw dropped. "Really?"

"Yeah! Come on!" Angel turned around and flew back out of the room. Cerise had returned and was walking toward the master bedroom. Angel banked to follow but Cerise blocked her path. "Cerise! I want to meet my brother!"

 _So do I, but this is a complicated process._ Cerise nudged Angel away with her snout. _Stay out here and leave it to the professionals._

Angel slumped her body except for her wings. "Okay…" She slowly lowered herself to the floor and she let her wings disappear.

 _You'll meet her when it's safe to do so._ Cerise walked into the master bedroom and the door closed behind her.

The door to Auntie Yang's room opened and she and Halcyon ran out. "We heard! We're here!" Auntie Yang slid to a stop in front of the door. She crossed her arms as she looked down at Angel. "You ready to meet your baby brother?"

"Yes…" She looked around both sides of her aunt. "How long will it take?"

"When Nalia gets back here with Invidia, I wouldn't guess too long. She can make the whole thing a lot easier."

Sarah and Rusty ran up beside Angel with Thorn positioning himself behind his Rider. "Anything yet?" Rusty asked.

"No." Angel shook her head. "We have to wait…" She leaned back against Thorn's side. "All good things to those who wait, I guess."

"Oh, that's easily the case." Auntie Yang smirked. "We had to wait so long for you."

 _That doesn't make it any easier._ Halcyon stood between his Rider and the door, his tail twitching every few seconds. _Waiting hurts but is more often than not worth it._

Rusty made a squealing sound and bounced on his feet. "I can't wait to meet your brother."

Both Angel and Sarah stared at the guy. "Dude, eat a Giggles," Sarah said. "I want to meet him too, but not that much."

"But you're a girl!" Rusty gestured at his sister and Angel. "You're both girls! He needs a guy's touch."

Angel cocked her head and gave him a look. "So you can teach him fart jokes and how to scratch himself all day? He's _my_ brother. I'm going to teach him right. Besides…" Angel rested a hand on Thorn's head. "He already has a male role model, a big, scaly brother."

Thorn raised his head out of Angel's reach and looked down on Rusty. _I will make sure he stays on the right path._

Rusty slumped his shoulders before he threw his hands up in surrender. "I can't compete with a dragon."

"Good to know you know your place." Angel rubbed the back of Thorn's head. "Family first."

Auntie Yang shielded her mouth with a hand on one side. "Psst, Rusty, I can sneak you in if you want."

"Auntie Yaaaang!" The banter continued like that for a long time. Angel kept looking past her aunt and the android dragon to the door beyond. What was taking so long? Did something go wrong in there? Probably not. Auntie Yang was still making jokes. She wouldn't do that if something was wrong, right?

After what her Scroll told her was an hour and a half of waiting, the door opened. Invidia stepped out the human-sized door and everyone standing outside pounced toward her. The elf didn't even flinch. "Can I see my brother now?" Angel asked.

Invidia smiled and nodded. "You may. I believe he is eager to meet you." Angel smiled herself and squeezed past Invidia.

"Big sisters first," Auntie Yang said. Angel looked back over her shoulder. Auntie Yang and Uncle Halcyon blocked the door so no one else could come in. That made Angel feel good. She got her baby brother all to herself.

Angel faced her parents' bed on the other side of the room. Nalia and Cerise stood on either side of the bed, their necks intertwined as they looked down at the bed. Angel's parents sat side by side with her mom partially under the covers. They both smiled at a bundle of towels in between them. Angel felt her heart beat a little faster.

Cerise looked up at Angel. She hummed high and her back arched even more. _Angel. Come meet your brother._

"What do you think I'm doing?" Angel jogged across the floor until she reached the foot of the bed.

Her parents finally looked up when Angel climbed onto the bed. "He's beautiful, Angel," her mom said.

"He has your mom's nose." Angel's dad laughed. "Really, is that the best I can come up with?"

"Can I see him?" Angel settled down between what felt and looked like her parents' legs.

Her mom nodded. "Of course." She looked down at the bundle again and her smile grew. "Crey, do you want to meet your sister?" A cute gurgle came from the bundle. Angel's mom giggled. "Okay!" She gently grabbed both sides of the bundle and turned the opposite side toward Angel.

Angel gasped as she saw her baby brother for the first time. Like her dad said, Crey's nose looked like his mom's. His eyes were the same shade of green as his dad. The same could be said for the little bit of hair on his head. His cheeks were so darn pudgy and cute. Angel liked babies, probably not as much as Auntie Weiss, but a lot just the same. This one was hers for forever… at least until he grew up.

The new big sister leaned forward and took her baby brother from her mom's arms. Crey grumbled a little but otherwise stayed silent. Angel cradled her baby brother in her arms and rocked him from side to side. She giggled herself as she looked down at her baby brother. "Hi, Crey. I'm your big sister. You can call me Angel." The baby gurgled a little more. "Good job!" She hugged Crey and kissed his forehead. "I love you so much." She turned from side to side while hugging her new favorite baby.

"Careful with him," their dad warned. "He's fragile and there's only one of him."

"I would never hurt him." Angel shook her head. "I will hug him, and kiss him, and love him, and protect him, and feed him, and… what are those looks?"

Her parents started laughing at the same time. "It sounds like you want to do our jobs for us," her mom said. "Can we hold you to doing all that?"

"I'm his big sister. That's my job."

Angel's dad faced Angel's mom. "Did Yang do all that for you?"

"She was two at the time." Angel's mom shot her husband a look. "Do you think a two-year-old can do all that? Angel is so much smarter and mature than any two-year-old. She can do her job."

Angel puffed her chest out and her smile grew even more. "Thanks, mom!" She looked down at her baby brother. "Hear that? I can take care of you. I'll make sure you're always happy." She squeezed her baby brother again.

"Just so you know," Angel's mom started, "his full name is Crey Aaronson."

Angel blinked and cocked her head. "Aaronson?" She faced her dad. He looked different… prouder maybe? "Why?"

"It's how we name our children in Alagaësia," her dad said. "In case you were wondering, my birth father's name was Ben."

"Oh. So you're _that_ old fashioned." Crey gurgled again in his sister's arms, drawing Angel's attention. "You're such a cutie!" She rubbed her nose against her baby brother's.

A few minutes of babbling to the cutest little boy on the planet later, Thorn walked up to Angel's side. He stuck his snout over and flicked out his tongue. _I will protect this one from all harm._ He positioned himself at the foot of the bed and wrapped around it. He used his wings as a shield to cover the humans. _Nothing will happen to him._

Nalia hummed and faced Cerise. _You raised this one right._

 _I know._ Cerise raised her head while still keeping an eye on Crey. _It's all because of me._

"You're not bonded to him." Angel smirked up at her big softie of a dragon. "I'd like to think I had something to do with that too." Thorn narrowed his eyes but stayed silent.

A little later, Auntie Yang and Uncle Halcyon ducked under Thorn's wings. Auntie Yang took Crey from Angel and used a lot of baby talk herself. Angel kept her smile on her face but couldn't keep her legs from bouncing. She loved her baby brother and wanted to be close to him. She couldn't get closer than hugging little Crey.

Just as Rusty and Sarah crawled under Thorn's wings, Angel's dad flinched and drew his Scroll. All the adults in the wing tent stared at it and stiffened at the same time. They all looked at each other then Angel's dad sighed. Angel knew the look and sound "I've got to go."

"Trouble?" Angel asked.

"Big trouble." Her dad kicked his legs off the side of the bed. "Either your mother or I need to go, so Nalia and I are leaving."

"But… Crey…"

"But mission." Her dad looked right at Angel. "Believe me, I want to stay, but they knew what was going on. They wouldn't call us if it wasn't important." He stood up and Nalia backed away. "I'll be back when I can." He and Nalia disappeared behind Thorn's wing tent.

Angel's shoulders slumped as she faced her baby brother in her Auntie's arms. Crey would learn too soon that his parents weren't always around. They were awesome, but they couldn't do everything. It stunk, but that's the way things went… but Angel would never leave. She'd always be there for her little brother, no matter what.

* * *

Aaron heard all the commotion in the Mor'ranar Vera command center before seeing the door. He pushed his way inside and yelled, "What the hell is going on?" He stared at the front of the room and the wall of projectors. It looked like cockpit views from the various fighters from the scouting mission and from the carrier itself. Half the views were taken up by black and white masses. As he watched, two projections went black.

Yaela looked up from her station. "The _Lorelli_ has fallen under attack. This swarm came out of nowhere right as all fighters were recalled for refueling and rearmament. One of the Orcas was caught on the deck." She pointed to a flaming wreck on her projector. "The other is still in the air but is taking damage. Overall, we've lost half the fighters she shipped with and the _Lorelli_ is taking on water."

Aaron took another second to look over the screens before nodded. "Order the retreat."

"The order's been given, but all Riders that have been to where the ship is are already there. They were getting the location when the Grimm attacked."

"Damnit." Aaron gripped the table in front of him. "Are we making a dent in the Grimm?"

"No. They just keep coming."

Aaron grit his teeth. "Are there any Riders or elves here that have been in that part of the ocean at all?"

"I have elves looking for anyone now."

A scream filled the air in the command center from the speakers. On the main wall, a fighter spun out of control until it crash-landed in the water. Aaron stared at all the projectors and listened to the comms chatter. Nothing was good. No one was calling out downed Grimm like they used to. It didn't matter. There were too many of them.

A thought came to Aaron's head. He ran it by Nalia quick and she agreed it was worth a try. "Yaela, I need to see a world map and see exactly where the _Lorelli_ is." The elf nodded and pulled up a map on her secondary projector. Aaron stared at it and felt his dragon using his eyes to do the same. After he and Nalia thought they had a good grasp on the location, Aaron nodded and straightened. He pulled out his Scroll and prepared to call the Mor'ranar Vera Response Force."

" _I see an opening!"_ someone yelled over the speakers. Aaron faced the projector wall again. He saw a bit of empty space on one of the projectors right before it went black. Then the opening came into view from the deck of the _Lorelli._ It was almost completely circular around a Grimm in the center…

No… that wasn't a Grimm… it was a dragon… with someone on her back.

Whoever the Rider was stood up in the saddle. They swung a sword and a black arc shot out of it. The arc expanded as it sped toward the _Lorelli._ It connected and tore straight through the ship and everything on it, including several fighters and a wounded dragon on the deck. The dragon didn't get a chance to scream as her head was cut off.

The only sound in the command center came from the calls on the radio. So many of the Eldunarí and elves in the field were starting to panic. Aaron just stared at the main projector as water started pouring through the part of the ship that was bisected. That ship had so many wards on it. The physical enhancements added to it over the years made it nearly impossible for the largest Krakens ever recorded to sink it. There was only one thing that Aaron could think of that could actually do that; the Relic of Destruction.

 _Aaron,_ Nalia called. _Arya and Fírnen just arrived._

 _Fill them in._ Aaron turned toward the exit and sprinted out of the room. He didn't stop running until he jumped onto Nalia's back. His dragon leaped off the landing pad and flew toward the ocean. Arya and Fírnen already stood on the beach. A few other dragons from the Mor'ranar Vera Response Force were flying that way as well.

Nalia landed by her first hatched and Aaron dismounted. Arya marched up to the other Rider. _"You know where they are?"_

Aaron nodded. _"With Nalia's help, yes. I can get us there."_

Arya reached up onto Fírnen's saddle and pulled out the compacted Relic of Creation. _"Create a portal directly to there."_

Aaron nodded and took the Relic. This was the first time he used either of the Relics under their control. Ruby made it sound as easy as thinking 'create the thing.' Aaron pointed the Relic at the air over the ocean. _Create a portal to the_ Lorelli. The air swirled in front of him. Instead of the normal purple and black from the water, this one glowed white and blue. A single Shark fighter flew through and crashed onto the beach, throwing up a plume of sand and smoke. One pair of the local Response Force flew over to help.

Arya drew her Scroll and held it to her head. _"All scout fighters, evacuate through the portal immediately. I repeat. Evacuate immediately."_

Aaron looked across the beach. Mor'ranar Vera didn't have much in the way of shore defenses… he held the way to change that. He pointed the Relic of Creation south and imagined gun emplacements of all kinds rising from the beach. With a shake in the ground, what he saw in his head came to fruition. A dozen automated turrets that Ruby designed years ago lined the beach with sand falling off them.

He was about to do the same for the north when a Grimm roar assaulted his ears. Aaron faced the portal. A half dozen Dauthblaka hung in the air in front of him. Before he could do anything about it, the guns he just created shot them out of the sky. Behind them, a relatively intact Shark fighter flew through the portal. Not a single Dust round hit the damaged fighter.

The Rider nodded and created a new line of turrets to the north. Those rose from the sand and immediately started firing at Grimm that flew through the portal. Aaron faced the area again. That's when he noticed the tiny drain on his energy. He had a feeling it came from keeping the portal in existence. He wanted to fight, but he needed a gun. Just as he thought that, he felt the Relic change in his hands. He looked down at in and stared at the perfect replica of his V4. This Relic was good.

Aaron raised his new weapon as he fired at a Lethrblaka that made it past the flack. _"Arya, can you feel anyone on the other side?"_

" _There are still several survivors."_ Arya fired an arrow into the air and an eye of a Nevermore. _"I believe they're the crew of the_ Lorelli."

" _Then let's get them out."_ Aaron pointed the Relic straight up. Three Orca gunships in Rider colors formed above him. All gun batteries on the gunships started firing as they flew into the portal. With that taken care of, Aaron started firing at all Grimm that somehow managed to make it through the barrage. Some of the fighters that made it through even contributed to the killzone.

More fighters joined the Riders', these ones fresh and unscathed. On a closer look, they had Atlesian markings. Aaron looked beyond the portal. The _Vytal_ was flying right toward them. None of its guns were firing, but it looked like its limited fighter compliment was on the way. Even though the defenders were slaughtering all Grimm that made it through, Aaron knew they needed the help. There were too many Grimm on the other side to reject them.

After ten minutes of no friendlies coming through, two of the Orcas Aaron created flew through, one of them smoking heavily. _"I feel no more,"_ Arya said. _"Close it!"_ Aaron lowered the Relic and felt the slow drain end. The portal collapsed in on itself, cutting through several fliers as it ceased to exist. The gunfire continued for a few more seconds before the world fell silent.

When the adrenaline started to fade, Aaron took the time to look around. About a half dozen fighters lay crashed in the sand. The Orca remaining from the original mission still flew but it looked like it could fall at any time. No dragons looked injured, but that was likely because most dragons didn't fight or they didn't make it back through the portal. Still, the amount of Eldunarí and elves they lost to this…

" _Aaron,"_ Arya started, _"I will take the Relic back now."_

Aaron let the Relic of Creation shift back into a staff and handed it over. _"As bad as it was here, there were so many more on the other side. All that, combined with the Relic of Destruction..."_ He sighed. _"It feels like Salem's making her last moves. We're in the endgame now."_

* * *

 **Yes, I am purposefully trying to make Angel as cute as possible How's it working? Also, yes, there will be a lot of Avengers references in the future. Gosh dangit, I love the MCU.  
**


	96. The Big One

**People actually showed up to Area 51... I'm not surprised, I'm just disappointed. You find Antonio Brown's dignity in there? Half-Life 3? Great writing skills? I could use that last one.  
**

* * *

Angel looked around the stone house with her jaw hanging. The walls were completely bare except for a few flameless lanterns. The power outlets were few and far in between but that was because the space was so huge. Only the bathroom and the kitchen were secluded in their own areas. A king bed lay right next to a pad that a dragon several times the size of Nalia could sprawl out on and not hang over the edges.

Thorn snorted beside her. _This will do._

"This will more than just do." Angel turned around and faced her mom and Cerise. "This is all for us?"

Her mom nodded. "Yep. I know it's big but its like this to accommodate a dragon's growth for two centuries or more. With how big Thorn is now, I'm guessing this place might be a little too small before two hundred."

"Oh, that's more than okay." Angel turned back around and started picturing what she could do with what she had… but something hung on her good mood. "How long will we have to live here?"

Cerise sighed. _We don't know. We wish that we didn't have to resort to this in the first place._

"We love Vale too," Angel's mom continued, "but with how things are right now, it's much better to live here than there."

"We didn't do anything." Angel turned to face her mom. "Don't people know that dragon had a Grimm parasite? She couldn't control herself."

Her mom shook her head. "Don't confuse people with facts. People believe what they choose to and dismiss everything else."

 _If it was up to me,_ Cerise started, _those people would be silenced._ She snorted. _Then again, that brings its own set of problems._

Thorn growled. _We're dragons and Riders. We can fight whatever they send at us._

"Not the court of public opinion. We'll have all of Remnant after us before we solved anything like that." Angel's mom turned her head to the side and sighed. "We've got to meet people on the _Vytal._ When we get back, we'll take you home and we can start moving things in here."

 _In the meantime,_ Cerise said, _I would like you two to fly west and work on your Grimm combat. Angel, you should focus on your wings._

"Will do." Angel sighed and turned around. She took one last look around _her_ house before walking to her dragon's side. A single thought brought her smile back. "When I'm done with this place, it's going to look amazing."

 _I'm sure it will._ Thorn crouched, allowing his Rider to climb on easier. He turned his head toward his bed. _I believe I will fall asleep right away on that thing._

"You could probably join me on mine for the next month or two." Angel pat her dragon's neck as Thorn walked out of the house. He jumped off the road and banked west. Angel looked behind herself. Cerise flew toward the Atlesian cruiser in the distance with a green dragon that wasn't Nalia a little ahead of her. Fírnen, maybe?

The girl shook her head and reached into one of Thorn's saddlebags. Her fingers brushed against the one Eldunarí she carried. She got used to the instant feeling of another mind in hers long ago. _Nore, Cerise wants us to work on my wings for a bit._

The Eldunarí scoffed. _I was enjoying my break. Very well. We will improve your skills even more._ Angel rolled her eyes. Unlike her banter with Thorn, Nore sounded and felt annoyed or disapproving most of the time. They didn't really like each other, but they got work done.

Thorn flew past the outer perimeter patrols and into Grimm occupied territory. Angel grabbed Eljun from Thorn's saddle and clipped it to her belt. She likely wouldn't need it but it was there if necessary.

 _Show me what you remember,_ Nore drawled, sounding disinterested. _Get on the ground and kill some Grimm._

Angel stood in the saddle and willed her wings to life. She held them parallel to Thorn's before flapping once and leaving her dragon beneath her. The Rider nosed down and pinned her wings to her sides. She plunged through the air and only opened her wings about a couple dozen feet above the ground. She flew only a few feet over the dirt, her wings slicing through a couple grounded Grimm as she went. After about a mile of this, she kicked her legs beneath her and touched down.

The Rider stretched out her mind around herself. There were plenty of Grimm around her, though not nearly as much as there had been in the past. She held her wings against her sides this time as shields. A Beowolf howled in the distance. Seconds later, a pack ran over a nearby hill and toward the girl. Angel looked up at her dragon. Considering Nore wasn't deep in Angel's mind, she was using Thorn's eyes. Good. Having another mind inspect her like that distracted her and threw her off.

Angel focused on the oncoming Grimm and ran toward them. She brought her wings behind her but didn't draw her sword. About a dozen feet away from the Beowolves, she jumped and spun like a top, holding her wings out as far as she could hold them. She felt her wings slice through at least three Grimm in the initial attack. She landed on her feet, holding her Aura wings as shields once again. The Alpha of the pack charged and received a right wing to the neck for its trouble.

With the biggest threat taken care of, Angel jumped back and flexed her wings. Beowolves ran at her from either side. She cranked her wings in opposite directions so she stabbed the Grimm on her left with her right wing and vice versa. The rest of the pack charged and Angel slashed and stabbed her wings in every direction. The drain on her Aura had dropped off since she first started fighting with her wings. Before, killing an unarmored Patch Beowolf drained her. Now, she took on and entire pack of Beowolves without breaking a sweat.

When there was one Beowolf left, Angel stabbed both her her wings into its chest. She pulled back and searched the area. There were no other Grimm on the ground, but there was a single Nevermore… Dauthblaka actually, flying to the east. She kicked off the ground and flew toward the flying Grimm. If it noticed her, it would be a problem. If she stayed in it's blind spot, she could keep up.

Angel rose above the Grimm and stared down at it. She matched its speed before flying directly over the Dauthblaka's back. Just as she was about to dive, the Grimm's head spun a hundred and eight degrees and roared at the Rider. Angel yelped and flew off course. The Dauthblaka swiped a wing up and slapped Angel.

The girl felt her Aura wings disappear. She flailed around as she tried to right herself. The second she did, she willed her wings back into existence. Her fall stopped and she started flying forward. She turned her head back. The black bird was flying right behind her with it's beak wide open. Angel flapped harder but the creature gained ground. She needed something or else… wait a second…

"Oh, this is a terrible idea." Angel spun around in the air and brought her wings in front of her. She clenched her eyes as the open maw approached. She felt the air turn humid and some squishy bits touch her arms. Less than a second later, she felt the wind that she had come to love. She opened her eyes and looked back at where she just flew. A circular hole bored straight through the Grimm. Angel couldn't help but laugh. "That was unexpected."

She righted herself in the air and looked around. A small pack on the ground and a single bird in the air, an unusually small first wave on Menagerie. When more came, they'd come hard. Any second now. Any… Angel blinked as she scanned her surroundings. She could see plenty of Grimm all over, both in the air and on the ground. But they were all moving _away_ from her. "That's… different."

 _Nalia said she had a similar effect on Grimm after she killed the one that broke out of Mountain Glen._ Thorn flew up alongside his Rider. _Maybe you have inherited that._

Angel gave her dragon a look. "Yeah, no. Nalia's so strong and fast and one of the best fighters I know. I can barely fight an Ursa and I was almost taken down by a Dauthblaka. I don't scare that many Grimm."

 _Normally I would say to not doubt yourself, but I have to agree with you._ Thorn peeled his lips back and flexed his limbs. _I don't like this._

 _If you used your ears, hatchlings,_ Nore groaned, _you would know the sound is coming from a large dragon._

Angel slacked her shoulders. She looked around again trying to find anything like that. Shruikan flew out from behind a mountain in the distance. Even though her mom said Shruikan wasn't a threat, he still scared Angel, and quite a few other people. He was only really nice to hatchlings less than a few months old. That kindness didn't extend to Angel. But he kept the Grimm away, so Angel didn't mind too much… Still, the Grimm weren't running away from the massive dragon. It was more like a forty-five degree angle from him, heading straight west.

She shrugged. She'd ask her mom later. Her or someone else that had lived in the city. _Should we chase them or not?_ Angel asked Nore.

 _No. Even the slowest among them is too fast for you._ Nore paused. _However, all the Grimm retreating is concerning. I have spoken with Eldunarí that help with other Riders' training. Never have they mentioned the Grimm acting like this._

 _Should we tell someone about this?_

 _Aye. If nothing else, it would be more information for those that patrol the city in the future._

 _Okay then._ Angel flew over her dragon and dropped onto Thorn's back. _The Eldunarí council or whoever is in charge of the Response force?_

 _I believe the commander is visiting the Kingdom of Armitage. I am sure Umaroth and the others would like to know this as well._

Thorn snorted. _I will fly to the Hall of Colors._ He turned around in the air and flew back toward Mor'ranar Vera.

Angel looked over her shoulder and the running Grimm. Why would _all_ of them be running away? _Thorn, I've got a bad feeling about this._

 _I do too._ Thorn flew a little faster. _I don't think the weather's changing._

Angel faced forward and looked past the Rider city to the ocean beyond. _Tsunami? There could have been an underwater earthquake._

 _I'd think the city would be safe from that. I doubt Aithlin and your parents would overlook something that dangerous._

 _Yeah. Hopefully._ Angel shook her head. _We'll let the Eldunarí worry about it._ She paused and felt around her head. Only Thorn was in there with Nore nowhere to be found. _Without the boss listening in, how do you think I did down there, seriously._

Thorn mentally growled. _Even though that was a small pack, I can tell that you are improving. You were fast and you didn't let any of them touch you._ He turned his head back. There was a glint in his eye and his teeth bared. _I would almost say you fight like a dragon. You just need to fight with your claws as well._

 _My claws, huh?_ Angel lifted her right hand in front of her face. She wiggled her fingers as she examined her nails. _They are getting a little long. Maybe someday soon. Maybe I can paint them nice too._ She laughed to herself. _I'm sure a Huntsman somewhere used their nails as their weapons._

 _I'm sure._ Thorn faced forward again. _One of your classmates uses a toothbrush._

 _Yeah… He's weird._ Angel faced the Keep on the outskirts of Mor'ranar Vera. _Talking to the bosses is never fun._

 _Not everyone with power can be your parents._ Thorn glided to one of the landing pads on the Keep and touched down. Angel dismounted her dragon and they walked into the Keep together.

About halfway to the Hall of Colors, Angel heard another dragon walking toward them. It walked around a corner and the bonded pair stopped in place. It was the one that was forced to attack Kuo Kuana. The female limped as she walked and hung her head low. When she caught sight of the pair, she peeled her lips back and growled. It wasn't exactly hostile, more like a 'leave me alone' sound. Angel and Thorn pressed themselves against the wall and let the wild dragon pass. Both parties watched each other, not making any moves or saying anything.

As the wild dragon's tail disappeared from view, Angel sighed. _Nore, is there anything we can do for her?_

 _Nay._ For once, Nore sounded remorseful. _I have seen this in both bonded and wild dragons. She has already made up her mind. She must help herself, not taking any from others. I am surprised she sought the council of the Eldunarí._

 _Maybe she's not that far gone._ Angel shook her head then continued walking toward the Hall of Colors. She and Thorn made it there without meeting anyone else. Angel took a deep breath as she stepped into the Hall. No matter how many times she went in there, she felt out of place. There were so many dragons that had so many years of experience. These were the people that her parents, Arya, and their dragons went to. She always felt welcome, yet never worthy to be in their presence.

Angel walked up to the white Eldunarí that was Umaroth. "Um, uh, hi?" She cleared her throat. "Uh, master? We saw something out while I was training."

 _Speak your mind, child,_ Umaroth said.

"After I took down a Dauthblaka, we noticed that many Grimm were moving away from the city. We think it's most of the Grimm in the area, if not all of them. I've never seen something like that before and none of us have heard of it."

 _I see. May I inspect your memories?_

Angel nodded even though the Eldunarí couldn't see it. "Okay. Just be gentle." Only her mom and Thorn had gone through her memories. It wasn't always painless, even though they never tried to hurt her. She didn't think that an ancient dragon could do better than her own family.

Another mind entered hers making Angel wince. It still hurt but not as much as she expected. She partially saw the Grimm retreating again as Umaroth searched her mind. Nothing stood out to her that she didn't see the first time. As quick as the inspection started, it stopped. Angel sighed and relaxed as her headache faded. She rubbed the back of her head where she thought she felt the pain.

Umaroth mentally growled. _This behavior is new. I cannot make a judgement on this at the moment. I will need to confer with those who are more familiar with Grimm behaviors. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Angel Rose._

"Glad I could help." Angel nodded and hesitated before deciding she didn't need to bow. She turned around and took half a step toward the exit. Another pair stood in the door to the Hall of Colors, a pair that Angel only knew from history. "Oh, Noir."

The other Rider shifted on his feet. "Are we interrupting something?"

Angel shook her head. "We were just leaving." She looked up at Argent. As far as she knew, the silver dragon never spoke a word. "We'll let you two have the room."

"Thank you." Noir took a step forward and froze in place. Argent did the same. Both sets of eyes widened and their jaws dropped.

Thorn sniffed the air. He growled and pinned his ears back. _Something is wrong._

Angel looked at her dragon, then the other pair. "Uh, guys?" As she watched, Noir's legs buckled underneath him and Argent collapsed to his side. Angel gasped and ran over to Noir's side. She bent down and flipped the guy onto his back. "Noir! What's goi-" Noir started convulsing and twitching on the ground. Argent was in a similar situation. Thorn used one of his wings to pull his Rider away from the danger of the flailing dragon.

 _This is not natural,_ Umaroth growled. _What is the meaning of this?_ Cuaroc jogged over from the other side of the room. He pointed both his sword and large gun at the pair on the ground.

Angel faced Umaroth again. "Is there anything we can do?"

 _Call Velvet here immediately!_

Angel stuck her tongue out and stretched her mind over the city toward the hospital. This was the one magic thing that she didn't struggle with. She found her aunt with no trouble. _Auntie Velvet, we need you in the Hall of Colors now._

She felt her aunt's surprise. _Angel, what's going on?_

 _I don't know. Noir and Argent collapsed, then they started having seizures… black lines are starting to appear on their faces…_ Noir and Argent opened their eyes. They were completely red, just like a… Grimm's… _Oh sweet babies…_

 _Angel! Get out of there! Now! Vert and I are on our way._

Noir's head shifted at an unnatural angle that should have broken his neck. "Waíse neiat." Angel blinked. 'Be not?' What did that do?

Umaroth mentally roared. _**The eggs! Protect the eggs!**_ As he spoke, Cuaroc swung his oversized sword and cut Noir's head clean off. Argent didn't react at all. The android dragon raised his LMG and sent dozens of Dust rounds into the infected dragon. Argent glared at Cuaroc until five bullets went straight into his brain.

Angel just stared at the scene. Did… did she really just see that? Did Cuaroc just kill a dragon and a Rider right in front of her? She stared at the corpses of those she barely knew… and their bodies were glowing. Why were they glowing? It wasn't Aura. It couldn't be.

 _ **Don't just stand there!**_ Umaroth ordered. _**PROTECT THE EGGS!**_

Angel felt a lot of energy pour into her as well as a single memory that wasn't hers. Her heart sunk and Thorn yelped. She looked at the closest wall and the line of eggs on it. Her Aura wings burst out of her back as she jumped toward the eggs. She gathered up as many eggs in her wings and arms as possible. Thorn was doing the same with his claws. Angel looked over her shoulder. Cuaroc laid on top of several eggs on the other side of the room with his weapons laying by the corpses. The bodies themselves glowed even brighter than before. Something or someone in her head told her she didn't have enough time to act. Angel stared at the six eggs in front of her, then to her dragon. Thorn stared back, fear in his eyes for the first time in his life. _**I love you, Thorn.**_

 _ **I love you too, Angel.**_ As one, Rider and dragon threw themselves on top of the eggs in front of them. Angel clenched her eyes and tightened her wings. Even more energy poured into her. A bright light entered her eyes through her clenched lids. An explosion played in her ears for less than a second. A volcano splattered its contents on her back. The force of the explosion sent her flying at and what felt like _through_ a wall. She felt weightless for a few seconds before slamming into something else. Something heavy dropped onto her back and the back of her head. Everything went black.

* * *

"One of your own betrayed you?" Captain Bradford asked.

"That's what it looks like." Ruby leaned on the table in front of her as she stared at the footage from the _Lorelli._ "How could we miss this?"

"We fell into the same trap the Old Order did." Arya crossed her arms and shook her head. "We only saw problems from the outside, not within."

"That's the way Kingdoms are toppled. " Ruby squinted her eyes. The longer she stared at the dragon in the center, the more confused she got. She _knew_ she knew the dragon. She'd seen it before. She had a major problem with the dragon's Rider, even though it was only a one time thing. Why couldn't she remember a name? She looked over her shoulder at the Head of the Riders. "Arya, do you remember Iali's dragon's name?"

"No." Arya shook her head. "I have no memory of it, even though I know I should."

"Iali," Ruby stated. "An elf who had a problem with authority. She had a problem with me and I put my foot down." She grimaced. "I guess I was a little too harsh."

"I doubt that one time was enough to send her down this path." Arya crossed her arms. "I still don't understand why I cannot remember the dragon's name.

 _None of us can,_ Cerise added. _This is strange._

"Is this a common thing for you?" Bradford asked.

"I can only think of one other time something like this happened, the…" Ruby blinked as she looked at Arya. "The Banishing of the Names."

Arya inclined her head. "I was unaware that magic carried on past the Forsworn."

 _Neither did we,_ Fírnen said. _We didn't think this was possible._

"Well it is." Ruby returned her gaze to Bradford who looked a little confused. "Sorry. Magic. Long story short, it confirms that a dragon and its Rider has betrayed us, not that the video didn't do that."

"What do we know about her?" Bradford rested his hands on the table and leaned onto them. "What's her game?"

"I already have sent word to our contacts in Du Weldenvarden," Arya stated. "They will begin investigating her history before joining the Riders."

"She served directly under Aaron. I can get him on the line and he can explain every…" Ruby looked at the clock on the wall. She did the math for timezones in her head and sighed. "Actually, he just started his meeting with Vale's military. That'll last for another hour."

"Speaking of him…" Bradford pushed a few buttons on his side of the table. The projection in the center changed to show Aaron, Arya, and their dragons on the beach of Mor'ranar Vera. Aaron waved his right arm… and several anti-air emplacements with guns Ruby designed appeared from the sand, changing color as they grew. "How the hell did he do this? That doesn't look like they just rose out of the beach."

Ruby faced Arya. _Do we fill him in?_

Arya glanced at Ruby but stayed silent. She brought her eyes back to Bradford. "I will inform General Schnee that I have read you in. We are not just fighting the Grimm. We are fighting a war against a being named Salem…"

As Arya filled Bradford in on the real war, Cerise sent some surprise to her Rider. _The Grimm around here are acting strangely._

 _How so?_

 _Let me show you._ Cerise sent more of her mind into her Rider's. An outside view overlaid over Ruby's vision. All the Grimm her dragon could see were flying west. The view shifted to the north. Even more Grimm were migrating that way. Cerise swung her head south to reveal the same thing.

Ruby grit her teeth. That was new and new with Grimm was rarely good. _There something going on in the city? Orchid lay an egg and her happiness repelling all of them?_

 _She would have told me if she was carrying. She would have told **everyone** she was carrying._ Cerise growled. _Unless someone created a new ward over the city, this should not be happening._

Ruby's sight faded back to the conference room. She faced Arya. The Head of the Riders held the compacted Relic of Knowledge in her left hand while Bradford stared on in disbelief. _The Relic's right there… Cerise, get the Response Force ready for action. I don't like the look of this._

 _Got it._ Cerise jumped off the top of the _Vytal,_ shaking the whole ship.

"I have to ask," Bradford spoke up, "is there any way you can use that thing to protect or improve this ship?" He pointed at the Relic.

Arya nodded. "If you are with us, I will."

Bradford pressed a button on the table. "Engineer Shen to the conference room. Engineer Shen to the-"

Another mind shot into Ruby's. _Fly the_ Vytal _away from the city now!_ Umaroth ordered. _The Keep is going to explode!_ Before Ruby could say anything else, a memory entered her mind.

Ruby gasped and looked between Bradford and Arya. They both had similar expressions of shock on their face. Bradford whipped around and stormed out of the room. "Helm! Full speed away from the city!"

The Riders followed Bradford onto the bridge. Ruby walked to the right side windows where the city rested. Several dragons, including Cerise and Vert, dove for the ocean. Ruby didn't know if that would help or not. She stared at the Keep as the _Vytal_ started moving. Even with all the wards around it, there was no way it would hold.

Every door and window on the keep lit up before exploding outward. A blinding light took its place. Ruby closed her natural eye, letting her bionic adjust. Even that took a while to focus. When it did, nothing remained of the keep. All buildings near it were leveled. Debris from the flattened buildings flew everywhere. The _Vytal_ shook like it was going to fall into the ocean and alarms blared everywhere. Cerise was in pain, but it wasn't unbearable for her. A huge mushroom cloud rose from where the Keep stood only moments before.

Ruby opened her natural eye and her jaw dropped. The mushroom cloud wasn't a trick of her bionic eye. She could only stare, not being able to process any of it. "I… wha… tha… huh…"

Captain Bradford walked up to his command console. "General quarters! General quarters! All hands to battle stations!"

Arya raised her Scroll and a blank mind entered Ruby's. _Rider Prime to all Riders on Remnant. Mor'ranar Vera is under attack. Mor'ranar Vera… is lost. Response Forces, return to assist in evacuation and to defend against Grimm. We are not fighting to defend our land. We are fighting to get the survivors out._ The mind disappeared and Arya lowered her Scroll.

Ruby slowly nodded. "We have no choice." She froze and stared out the window. Her baby girl was on the island. "Angel?" She stretched her mind out as far as she could go. The perimeter was far out. Both of them should know not to go too far past that… but where were they? Where was her daughter?

She felt something much closer, something that came from the necklace she and Aaron gave their daughter. _Mom… help…_

"Angel!" Ruby ran off the bridge and to the nearest exterior hatch. She opened the door as fast as she could before jumping outside. The Rider used her Semblance to soar through the air. Cerise rose out of the ocean and up to her Rider. Ruby cut her Semblance and dropped onto her dragon's back. The dragon banked toward where Ruby felt her daughter.

Ruby stood up in Cerise' saddle and stared at where she felt the life she called her baby girl. It was east of where the Keep used to stand. What were she and Thorn doing down there… Thorn was still with her, right? Ruby stretched her mind to cover the area her daughter was in… she didn't feel Thorn. _Oh no…_

Cerise landed beside the pile of rubble. Ruby leaped off her dragon and to where she felt her daughter's mind. "I'm here, Angel!" She began pulling off pieces of rubble. "I'm coming!"

Something hit her left side and flung her off the pile. Ruby flipped around in the air and drew both her weapons, ready to murder whatever hit her. She barely held herself back when she recognized that Cerise had done that and she was clearing much more debris than she could do with her hands. Ruby collapsed her weapons and stood buy while her dragon did all the work.

After a particularly large piece of rubble, Cerise snorted and stepped back. Ruby climbed up the remainder of the pile and looked into the hole. Angel was face down in the fetal position. Her entire body shook. Her Aura wings were almost transparent, but they were there. It looked like she was bleeding from the ears.

Ruby dropped into the pit. Her daughter squeaked and jumped while she tightened her grip on something. _Angel,_ Ruby ran a hand down the back of her daughter's head, _Sweetie, it's me._

"Mom?" Angel turned her head toward Ruby. Her pupils had expanded to fill her whole irises. "I can't see. I can't hear."

 _I can help. Just stay calm._ Ruby began speaking as fast as she could in the Ancient Language. Angel's eyes returned to their normal state and the blood leading from hear ears dried up.

Angel blinked a few times then locked eyes with her mom. "I'm sorry. I tried to get as many out as I could… but I only got these." Her Aura wings disappeared… revealing several dragon eggs.

Ruby gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Cerise yelped and dipped her head into the hole as well. "Angel, your fine. It's amazing you got these…" Something to her right caught Ruby's eye… It was a part of a green eggshell. She picked it up then returned her attention to her daughter. "Please tell me you're hugging a dragon too."

Angel rolled onto her back. A green hatchling was squished between five other eggs. Ruby gasped and gently picked the hatchling up. He was alive and breathing but the Rider felt his energy fading. Ruby sent some of her own into the hatchling while she tried to find out what was killing the baby dragon. Could being broken out of his egg do that?

As she worked, she realized one of her seldom used wards was draining her energy. It was only active in one part of Mistral and Vroengard. She quickly placed the wards against radiation on the hatchling, then her daughter. So many people here didn't have that kind of protection. She needed to get to the Relic of Creation, for more than one reason.

 _My stars…_ Cerise mentally whispered. She adjusted her head and stared at the hatchling in her Rider's arms. Her visible eye was wide. She pushed her snout forward and nuzzled the hatchling. _He's mine,_

Ruby dropped her jaw and stared back at the hatchling. He _was_ Vert green. "Your first clutch?"

 _Yes._ Cerise began licking the hatchling, not saying anything else.

"Where's Thorn?" Angel asked. She shakily stood up and looked out over the hole. "Thorn?" she called. Ruby was about to say something but stopped herself. Angel would know if her dragon was dead. That meant he was still out there. Angel snapped her head to the west. She carefully set her eggs on the ground before jumping out of the hole and running out of sight.

Ruby stood up with the hatchling still in her arms. "Take your hatchling and these eggs, find someone going to Vale, and go there yourself. Get them to Viki or one of the elves downstairs. If people are still coming, come back and help with evac."

 _Will do._ Cerise repositioned herself so her back was right over the hole she dug. Ruby used magic to lift all eggs and herself out of the debris. She set the hatchling in the emptiest saddlebag and locked the premature dragon in with his head sticking out. She fit all the others into more bags before jumping off. Her feet didn't touch the ground before Cerise jumped away.

Ruby walked off the pile of debris and jogged toward where she felt her daughter's mind. She looked to the sky for a second. Several fighters from the _Vytal_ joined the few dragons that were still able to fly. There were so many more Grimm than that. They needed reinforcements soon or so many more would die. There was only so much Maiden Magic could do. She couldn't be everywhere at once.

The Elder rounded another pile of debris and found her daughter and her dragon. Thorn's ears were pinned to the back of his head. He bled from various places across his body, including some severe tears on both his wings. His teeth were bared though he was missing a few. He lay on top of Angel, and several more eggs. Angel hugged her dragon's neck from the awkward position. Thorn shifted his gaze to Ruby and gave her his scare a Grimm away growl for only a second. _We need to get these eggs out of here._

"Agreed, just let me-"

Thorn growled again. _No! These eggs are my main concern. Take them! I can wait._

"You and Angel are injured," Ruby snapped. Thorn's throat silenced. "I will escort you and the eggs to the beach so you can be evacuated. That's final. You can help Angel and I carry the eggs out of here. Understand?"

Thorn growled but it came out more like a whimper. _I do._

"Then get your scales moving." Ruby walked up to Thorn and grabbed one of the eggs that lay just outside of Thorn's front right leg. She carried it only in her right arm and extended Máni Bláto with her left. "I'll keep us covered."

Thorn slowly stood up, revealing another ten eggs beneath him. Ruby wanted to be happy about that, but those, along with the ones Angel saved, were likely the only ones remaining in Mor'ranar Vera. Ruby shook her head and clenched her weapon tighter. That did it.

As soon as Angel loaded all eggs into Thorn's remaining saddlebags, Ruby marched off toward the beach. Every time a Grimm approached her, her daughter, or her daughter's dragon, she shot them once through the head. No need to overdo it. There was a mass migration to the beach, mostly on the ground. Very few dragons flew anymore. All point defense guns on the _Vytal_ and a few on the beach spat fire into the sky. Still, the Grimm kept on coming. Like Arya thought before the fighting even started, Mor'ranar Vera was lost.

 _That's it._ Ruby thought to herself. _You want to do things like this, you'll pay for it._ She cast a spell to keep the egg moving with her as she reached into a pocket for the Relic of Choice. She held the hammer by her side as she stretched her mind out as far as she could go. She didn't know if she was getting good at keeping non Grimm out of this type of event or if the Relic was helping her choose only the hostiles. _All Grimm, you now serve the Riders. Stop your attack._ Ruby raised her eyes to the sky. All the Grimm she could see stopped in place. Their eyes turned blue. Atlesian fighters and the few dragons that were in the air kept killing them. Good. No more were dying today. She shoved the Relic away again.

She reached the crowded beach. It looked like Arya was using the Relic of Creation to keep a portal open just off the sand. Considering so many were just walking through, it had to be close to the ground… Cuaroc was also present, carrying even more eggs but without his weapons. Still, that was nowhere near all the amount of eggs that were in the keep… not to mention all the Eldunarí. How many did they lose?

Ruby approached Arya while Angel and Thorn kept walking toward the portal. _**I need your Relic.**_

The Head of the Riders faced the Elder. The Relic of Creation extended to a full staff in her hands. _**May I assume you have a plan besides turning the Grimm to our side?**_

 _ **Oh yeah, I do… and I know the wards I need to place over everyone here so they don't get any worse radiation poisoning.**_ Ruby grabbed the back end of the Relic and looked skyward. With a thought and a small drain on her energy, she gave all defenders the radiation defeating wards. Once that was done, dozens of circles appeared over the battlefield. Out of those shot one aircraft each, from Ruby's designs to Atlesian. Every one of them flew past the Guardian Grimm to the area beyond.

Arya nodded. _**It is good to see that you are wanting to do what is necessary to win.**_

 _ **I hate it.**_ Ruby faced Arya. _**Salem took our home. We won't reclaim it today, but we will be back. Salem is going to wish she didn't do this. We're going to end this war.**_ Ruby let go of the Relic and grabbed the egg that was still floating beside her. She stroked the surface of the shell. _**We destroy ourselves now so they won't have to.**_ Ruby walked toward the portal, ignoring the stares from the others on the beach. She was past secrecy. What good was a weapon if she couldn't use it? Ruby was going to use everything she could to end this war. "Whatever it takes…" She ignored the ever so slight drain on her energy. Probably some residual effect of using the Relics.

* * *

Salem smiled at her view through the Seer. It showed dozens of dragons and Riders arriving through a portal outside of Vale, all of them injured in some way. This could only mean one thing, her plan worked. Mor'ranar Vera was destroyed. The Riders had no base of operations. The wild dragons had no home. They would all come for her, just like she wanted.

The Shade raised from her throne and walked toward the nearest window. She stared out over the landscape below. For once, none of her Grimm walked the area. Only a few Nevermores flew in patrol, easy pickings for even a novice Rider. It was perfect. Whatever armies that were still allied with the Riders would come and Salem would destroy them all. Without a doubt, the Riders would bring their Relics. Their wielders will fall just like the rest of them.

"Tyrian," Salem turned around and faced her most loyal follower. "Take the most recent Parasite to Vale. Find a body of water that the dragons drink from and drop it in."

Tyrian gave a deep bow. "Of course, my Queen. It will be done." He turned around and left the throne room.

Salem waited for the throne room doors to close before she laughed. After so long, after countless centuries, Remnant would be hers. Alagaësia would follow soon after. When she broke into Tenga's tower, who knew what power she would have?

She had already won. Her enemies just didn't know it.

* * *

 **Yeah, it's never said explicitly in IC, but I'm pretty darn sure the explosion on Vroengard and Galbatorix' suicide were nuclear detonations. Everything's there.  
**


	97. Reeling

**Let's see... Twins win the Central Division and they get the team record for the most bombas per team. That's a good week... WHAT DO YOU MEAN SPIDERMAN'S BACK IN THE MCU? 'bout dang time! Last week was one of the best in quite a while! Let's keep it rolling!  
**

* * *

Ruby stared at the piece of paper in front of her. "This is it?" she asked. "This is everyone that survived?"

Pewter nodded. "All that we could find in the rubble. Thorn and Angel were flung away, so there's the possibility that more are scattered across the landscape."

"Angel said she was getting support from the Eldunarí," Arya explained. "For her and Thorn to survive the blast as well as they did, most Eldunarí likely gave up their own protection to save the eggs. We are fortunate to have found any at all."

Ruby gripped the table in front of her. Out of a hundred Eldunarí in the Hall of Colors, two survived. Out of fifty eggs, twenty-six were still intact, twenty-five not counting the egg that broke in Angel's arms. Those were just the ones in the Hall of Colors. It sounded like several wild dragons lost their eggs as well. Umaroth was gone. So many Eldunarí were gone. Dozens of bonded pairs were dead or injured. The wild dragons that were still alive were milling around the mountains east of Vale if they weren't waiting for treatment themselves. Ruby wasn't sure if she was going to break down crying or pull a Goliath's head off with her bare hands.

"Are we sending out any more recovery parties?" Ruby asked.

Arya shook her head. "With all the radiation and Grimm in the area, we are going to let the Grimm you converted and the fighters you created clear the area."

Ruby turned her head to Velvet. "You're our medical expert. How the hell did this happen?"

Velvet shook her head. "I hadn't gotten to them. They were on the schedule for next week."

The Elder grit her teeth. "I used to keep a special eye on those two. They spent most of their time on Rowan's ranches. They only left Mor'ranar Vera to visit Noir's aunt and uncle, they were never in combat, they never fought a Grimm, I never saw fit to forge so much as a knife for him to use. There is only one time after he became a Rider that they could have been exposed to any of that."

The Rider's chief healer turned her ears away, a rare sign of annoyance. "It was a tapeworm. I checked with the doctors of those other patients they were held with. They _all_ had tapeworms, likely in whatever food they were fed. They were all removed with no problem. There wasn't anything on any of our scans. As you know very well, we can't detect Alagaësian Grimm with magic. We had no indication that there was anything wrong with him."

"There's _always_ some indication!"

"We don't know how long Salem was planning something like this." Velvet clenched her fists. "We had only scratched the surface on analyzing the corpse of the Grimm that infected the wild dragon. Our initial theories guess that it grafted itself to the dragon's spine and grew from there. We found trace evidence of dragon DNA inside the tendrils."

"Why weren't you looking for something like this?"

"Why would I?" Velvet narrowed her eyes. "Up until the attack on Kuo Kuana, we thought that Grimm possession was just something in horror movies! There has been no indication throughout history that this was possible! Why would we waste time-"

"Calm yourselves!" Arya raised her voice. "We are accomplishing nothing by arguing like this."

"Why aren't _you_ furious?" Ruby accused. "You lost your entire team in that blast!" She regretted her words the second they left her mouth.

Rage flashed in Arya's eyes for a fraction of a second. "I know your daughter was at the epicenter of the blast." Her words were barely above a whisper. "That is no reason to act this way."

Ruby winced. _"I apologize. I shouldn't have said that. I don't know what came over me."_ She spared Pewter a glance. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

Without saying anything else, Arya faced Velvet. "Do you think you can detect the Grimm with what you know now?"

Velvet glared at Ruby for another second before shaking her head. "Maybe. The only thing I can think of right now is using magic to find out if some things that are naturally in our bodies are out of place. Otherwise, we have to rely on hospitals to scan our bodies." She sighed. "All our machines were destroyed in the blast. We have no way of scientifically checking dragons." Her Scroll buzzed on her side. "I'm needed in the hospital. I've got to go." She walked past Ruby and left the room.

Arya focused back on Ruby. "You are the mastermind behind Operation Overstorm. Are we ready to act?"

"As ready as we'll ever be." Ruby shrugged. "With the loss of the _Lorelli_ and all her fighters, we're not going to get any more intel. We have what we have. We should gather all the commanders we need. I'll explain the plan, everyone will offer input, the plan will be altered… and we go. I'd say we're within a month of taking down Salem."

Pewter made a confused expression and Arya nodded. "That is good to hear."

"I should probably go iron out some of the problems." Ruby straightened up. "Cerise and I will be in the forest. It's the only place we'll have enough quiet to think."

"Go. I will start reading in the Riders who need to know."

"Something tells me that number just increased." Ruby turned around and left the conference room. More elves than ever before roamed the halls, some of them armed. Islanzadí was furious with the destruction of Mor'ranar Vera and sent even more elves to help staff and defend the Riders' new base of operations. No one was taking any chances anymore.

Ruby rode the elevators upstairs and stepped out into the Hall. The whole space was filled with injured dragons and their Riders. Most of them just had major cuts but some had lost limbs and other body parts. Riders were treated right next to their dragons, when both survived anyway. Orchid roamed around doing her best, but there was only so much even she could do. There was one dragon in the group that had a thousand-yard stare, not acknowledging the elves treating her. She lost her Rider in the initial explosion. If she was let out now, she would likely take her own life. In other words, Ruby wouldn't let that dragon leave the house.

As much as she really, _really_ wanted to be with her newborn, she was so glad JNPR offered to babysit. This was no place to take care of a baby.

The dragon door opened on the far side but not to its full extent. Ruby looked that way and froze. Angel and Thorn walked in side by side. Thorn wore dragon armor that Ruby did not build but was clearly her design. The Elder stretched her mind to the two and found they were who they were meant to be. That still didn't explain how Thorn had the best armor on Remnant or Alagaësia in his size, or why the two of them were out of bed.

Ruby walked past the injured dragons and Riders toward her daughter. Angel noticed that and walked up to her mother with her dragon right beside her. "What were you two doing out there?" Ruby asked in a calm voice. She didn't need to scare those who were being helped. "You both took some pretty hard hits out there. Both of you should be resting.

"We wanted to help, mom," Angel said. "We can fight. Maybe not as well as people older than us, but we can keep the area clear."

"And what kind of Grimm did you face out there? Every Grimmcast I've seen has an alert level of red for the whole day. I don't know how many times I've gotten notifications that our defenses have fired today."

"Mainly Beowolves and Ursai…" Angel looked down. "And Myrkgarm, Bjarn-dýr, and a Dauthwildo with red stripes."

"A Dauthwil…" Ruby turned away and took a deep breath. She wanted to yell some sense into her daughter but it wasn't the time with the current surroundings. "Angel, you know how proud I am of your fighting skills. I know you were ranked among second-year students at the end of your first year at Signal. You are good for your age, but you can't fight in the Emerald Forest yet. There are too many Grimm around and they're much stronger than the ones on Patch."

Thorn growled and pinned his ears to his head. _Angel alone may not have the skill you are used to but together we are strong._

"For maybe a first-year student at Beacon. I'd still want one of them out there over you two right now." Ruby looked Thorn up and down. "Where did you get that armor anyway? That is my armor design and I have never built a set your size."

The young dragon widened his stance. _I don't understand the magic, but Arya created it for me with the wave of a staff. She sent us out on patrol._

"Arya…" Ruby sighed and brought a hand to her forehead. "We have more than enough fighters from the VRF and what's left of the Mor'ranar Vera Response Force. They all have years of experience. What we need right now is people behind computer screens. Yaela is still out cold from her surgery and I don't know if or when she'll wake up. If she does, she might not be able to do what she did. I asked you to help program the Eldunarí fighters for a reason. Right now, that's your strength."

"We need people in the field!" Angel gestured toward the dragon door. "What do we possibly need that needs so many people downstairs?"

"The Black Queen Virus." Ruby paused as her daughter straightened up. There was a gleam in Angel's eyes. "I see you know what that is. We have the source code and a dormant version that we need to get active. Salem likely has a version that is just waiting to be used against us. I want you to get downstairs and help the techs unlock it for us, then infect as much of our and our allies' tech as you can. My guess is if our computers are already infected any opposing ones won't be able to gain control."

Angel cocked her head. "Generally that's not how things work… but I think I can make it like that." She faced Thorn. "I'll get you out of your armor then I'll head downstairs."

Thorn snorted then focused on Ruby. _You should know, I suggested that we come back. We only survived the Dauthwildo because another bonded pair came to our rescue._ He growled. _Those Grimm are unnaturally strong._

Ruby nodded. "That they are." She walked past the pair and out of the house. Cerise stood on the landing pad but not in her armor. She lent hers to a female of similar size that lost all her eggs in the explosion. That dragon needed vengeance. Cerise had a hatchling of her own to take care of. Yang stood on the other side of the pad in her exoskeleton that she hadn't used in years. She kept it in shape and upgraded it over the years for something like this. Halcyon's Wyvern hovered overhead, facing the Emerald Forest.

The Rider walked over to her sister. "How are things going, Yang?"

"Not a Grimm in sight." Yang looked over her shoulder. "We're clear for now."

"Good to hear." Ruby looked up at the fighter. "Halcyon, you listening in?"

 _Radar is clear,_ Halcyon said. _No hostile fliers within the patrol area. We should be good for at least five minutes if any Grimm make it through._

Ruby nodded. "Thanks, but that's not what I was asking." She sighed. "We all know we're going to be going up against Salem sooner rather than later. We all need to be on top of our game with the best equipment possible."

 _If you're talking about upgrading my fighter with more guns, faster engines, and stronger armor, I say yes._

"That's not it." Ruby shook her head. "I'm offering to use the Relic of Creation to give you your body back."

The Wyvern dipped in the air and Yang gasped. "Ruby," Yang whispered, "are you serious?"

Ruby faced her sister. Yang's eyes were wide and pleading. "I don't doubt it's possible. I regrew my own arm with the Relic when I first tested it out. I changed it right back to this when I got scared of the power. I can give Halcyon his body back. I won't change him back. He can be himself again." Ruby looked up at the fighter. The Wyvern pointed right at Ruby. "What do you say, big brother?"

 _I…_ the fighter turned back toward the forest. _I want to say yes. I really do… but I'm not sure if I should._

"I didn't expect an answer right away. You have some time."

Yang took a step forward and hugged Ruby. "Thank you. I know his Aura is there, but… he's only half there."

"I get what you mean." Ruby hugged her sister and pat her back. "Sorry I didn't offer this earlier."

"You're good. I never even thought to ask about it." Yang pulled away and wiped an armored arm under her eyes. "You going somewhere?"

"I need somewhere quiet to work. Cerise and I are going to fly out."

 _I'll keep you two covered,_ Halcyon offered. _One of us needs to fill the bodyguard role._

"I'd expect no less." Ruby turned away from her sister and walked to her dragon's side. The Rider peeked over one of Cerise' paws at the hatchling the mother dragon circled. The green cutie looked up at Ruby with raised ears and big eyes, but his ears fell right after. He whimpered and curled into a ball himself. "How's he doing?" Ruby asked.

Cerise whimpered. _His egg broke when he hadn't chosen a Rider._ She turned her head toward Ruby. _The Eldunarí I carry say this has never happened before… not that any of them are that experienced. He is scared. He wants his Rider but he doesn't know who it is._ She nuzzled her hatchling with her snout. _I don't know what this is going to do to him._

Ruby nodded. The oldest and the wisest Eldunarí were all killed in the blast. Their knowledge died with them. "Hear anything from Shruikan?"

 _Last I heard, he was fighting in the North Sanus mountains, leveling them and killing Grimm._ Cerise grunted. _At least he's drawing Grimm to him and not here._

"If Salem is allowing her Grimm to work on the same rules as before." Ruby pat her dragon's side. "I know both you and your hatchling are hungry and thirsty. You haven't left here in a day. Let's get you taken care of."

Cerise snorted then focused on her little one. The hatchling looked up at his mother, then crawled onto one of her feet. Ruby pulled herself onto Cerise' saddle. The grown dragon stood up and raised her paw to her back. The hatchling walked off and onto the saddle in front of Ruby. The Rider pet the dragon's back. The first time she did so she was hesitant. Something could have happened. But considering his egg was broken in Angel's arms and he didn't attach himself to her, it was safe for at least Riders to touch him.

 _Hold on, young one._ Cerise jumped off the landing pad gentler than she had in a long time. She banked toward the nearest river and coasted toward it. A few minutes later she touched down on the beach. Ruby helped the hatchling off his mother's back and set him down by Cerise' head. The Rider then walked over to a shady area and drew her Scroll. She could have done the work back in her workshop, but even that would be too noisy. Out here was nice and quiet with the soothing sound of the river… and the sound of Halcyon's engines. That was quiet enough.

Ruby pulled up the plans for Operation Overstorm on her Scroll and the scouting data on her bionic eye. At least they found out where Salem wasn't. There was nothing but Grimm in Manchu's 'tail' or 'leg.' The 'head' of the continent was also clear. The 'body' and the 'wings' were mostly unknowns. At least it was something.

 _Gem,_ Cerise started, _what happened back there?_

Ruby sighed and set her Scroll down. "I don't know. I guess I needed someone to blame for everything. Even we're not impervious to that."

Cerise hummed sadly and dipped her head toward the water. _That is something that transcends the races. There are members among all of them that can control it better than others._

"And I thought I was one of them." Ruby shook her head. "It's just… how could Velvet miss this? She's so good. I'd think something would come up. I don't care if Noir and Argent were never in for a normal checkup. I'd think Velvet would know to look for anything that was… different…" She stared into the distance as she trailed off. _Know… know… no…_

 _What is it?_ Cerise turned her head toward her Rider.

"Salem has the Relic of Knowledge. She had it for quite a bit before Noir and Argent were captured. She had to have used that when creating the parasite. She'd know what any of us would look for and what wards to put around it." Cerise' ears fell. Ruby looked down at her Scroll. "She could know exactly what we're going to do." She looked up and locked eyes with her dragon. "Any one of us could be infected and we wouldn't know it until it's too late."

Cerise shivered. _When we get back, I'm asking Arya to use the Relic to give me those wards._

"I'm not waiting for that." Ruby picked up her Scroll and sent a text to Arya detailing what she and Cerise just came up with. All those at base would be safe and Ruby and Cerise would get that protection when they returned. No one would be used like a puppet on her watch. She could worry about how the Grimm were controlled later.

With that scare taken care of, Ruby set back to battle planning again. While Salem may know what the Riders planned on doing, that didn't mean she couldn't be beaten. Always in motion was the future, after all. The Rider compared the battleplan with the map. They needed to cover a _lot_ of area. They'd only have the entire unknown area in scanning range if the entire Atlesian Air Fleet was strung up in a line, and that was terrible for covering fire. Of course, she could use the Relic of Creation to form ships under Rider control, but as seen with the fighters she created back in Mor'ranar Vera, the AI created like that had a tendency to fly into mountains. That wouldn't be good when flying over largely unknown terrain. The plan needed to be scalable in so many ways, including how much area it covered. Small group tactics, Ruby excelled at. Grand strategy… not so much.

After a bit of working, Ruby looked up from her Scroll. Cerise stood over a dead deer with her hatchling looking up at her. It looked like she was teaching him something to do with hunting. If anything, he looked confused. Cerise started eating the deer and the hatchling followed suit. It couldn't have been all bad.

Ruby set back to work, occasionally looking up at the two dragons. As hesitant as the hatchling was starting out, he soon jumped all over the carcass, trying different body parts. That was cute to see and more than a little comforting. So many hatchlings did the same thing. At least that was going right.

When the deer was sufficiently eaten, Cerise buried what was left of the corpse then walked over to the river. She hummed and warbled at her hatchling and stuck her snout into the water. The hatchling did the same a few seconds later. Water flowed back up the river toward Cerise from the amount she took up. The hatchling didn't drink nearly that much.

Something black was pulled upstream and into Cerise' mouth. She yelped and jumped backward. She coughed three times before shaking her head. Ruby chuckled. "Wrong pipe?"

 _That wasn't a fish._ Cerise kept coughing but it didn't sound like it was from something going down her windpipe. Ruby's good mood disappeared. _It tasted like-_ she yelped and Ruby felt a lance go down her chest.

Ruby gasped and doubled over but it wasn't her pain. She looked up at her soulmate. Cerise jerked all over the place before collapsing on the ground. Her limbs flailed are more lances tore through her body. Her hatchling ran away from her and toward Ruby, cowering behind her.

 _Ruby!_ Halcyon called. _What's going on?_

 _She's…_ Ruby could only stare. _She's got that Grimm parasite._

Cerise jerked her head toward Ruby. Her eyes grew more and more red by the second, their panic turning into rage. _Gem, run. Take my hatchling and run!_

"No." Ruby stood up. "I'm not leaving you."

 _ **Go! You need to leave before…**_ Cerise clenched her eyes and roared as something inside her dug deeper into her head.

Ruby withstood the pain that she felt through their connection. She stuck out her hand toward her dragon. "Hitta." Her weapons and the Relic of Choice flew out of the saddle. She hated to admit it, but she might need them.

Cerise fell silent and still. Her mind withdrew from her Rider's but the pain stayed. Her eyes snapped open and focused on her Rider. Only hate and rage stared out. A deep, feral growl left her throat. Ruby held both her hands toward her dragon. _"You know me,"_ Ruby said. _"You are Cerise Longtail. I know you're in there Cerise. You can fi-"_

Cerise reached out and smacked her Rider with an open paw. Ruby flew away from her dragon and through a few trees. She rolled to a stop and stared at where she just was but Cerise wasn't there. Ruby looked up in time to see a wall of red coming toward her. At the last second Cerise moved with her tail smacking her Rider in the head. Ruby fell to the ground hard headfirst. The strike knocked the wind out of her and gave her one hell of a headache. As she gasped on the ground, she caught sight of her dragon flying west, right toward Vale. _Oh no…_

* * *

Aaron marched into the living building that used to be a simple barracks turned medical ward for all non-bonded elves that served the Riders. He walked over to the patient Velvet called him in about. "Brom, why don't you explain the situation to me."

Brom shifted his glare away from Velvet to focus on his old friend. "I am fully capable of assisting in the healing process. Keeping me here is preventing me from helping others."

"You are in no shape to leave this building," Velvet said, her irritation sinking into her voice. "You have a concussion and I was barely able to save your legs. You need to rest."

"I'd suggest listening to her," another voice said behind Aaron. He turned around and faced Angela. The witch carried some sort of potion that Aaron didn't know what it did. "She is more insistent than I am when it comes to things like this."

"Bah." Brom returned his glare to Velvet. "You Remmartians are soft."

Velvet's ears stiffened and she glared back at Brom. _"No. We understand injuries better. Arya has given me the authority to give orders to everyone under the care of the healers, including you. I am ordering you to stay in the barracks until I or another of my staff clear you to leave. Do I make myself clear?"_ Aaron winced in sympathy. He had received a similar lecture when he was being looked over after Ilia stabbed him.

Brom just stared back at Velvet, his glare never losing its intensity. "Aye." He leaned back in his bed. "I still say you are wasting my skills."

Velvet shook her head before turning her back on Brom. She glanced at Aaron as she passed. _Were all of the old Riders like this?_

 _No. Most were worse._ Aaron walked away from Brom and Angela followed. "Thank you for volunteering. We need the help."

"What? No accusation?" Angela set her bowl down and grabbed a cup that was already sitting there. She dipped that into the potion and brought the full cup to the mouth of an unconscious Rider. "I'd actually prefer one of those considering the circumstances."

"As would I." Aaron sighed. "I know it's a longshot, but I know you're working with Qrow. Has anything stood out to you that wouldn't to Qrow?"

"He is still the expert on Remmartians. If any of Salem's grunts were Alagaësian, besides your Rider, I would have something for you."

Aaron stiffened. "Where did you hear that?"

"I work for Qrow. He's good at keeping secrets, but not _that_ good."

Aaron was about to comment on that when his Scroll blared to life. _"All Riders! All Riders!"_ Halcyon yelled. _"Wolf's Bane has the Grimm infection! Repeat! Cerise Longtail has the Grimm infection! All who are capable respond!"_

Aaron waited less than a second before sprinting out of the barracks. He jumped onto Nalia's back and brought his helmet over his head. The comms system clicked to life along with the rest of the HUD. It sounded like Arya was already giving orders. Aaron didn't pay attention to that. He listened for his wife's voice or anything that indicated she was alright.

A roar thundered over the trees, one that only sounded half-familiar. Cerise rose from that direction and flew toward the city. Nalia returned the roar and chased the red dragon. _"VRF1 has eyes on target,"_ Nalia's voice came over the helmet's speakers. _"We are in pursuit."_

Aaron threw his mind toward where Cerise left the trees. He found Ruby there awake and alive, but in pain. _Ruby! Are you okay?_

 _I'll live,_ Ruby said, _but Cerise is in trouble. Her hatchling is here too. Yang said she's on her way to pick him up. I can't leave until then._

 _Got it. We'll help Cerise._ Aaron drew Redemption and blocked the edges of the blade. As much as he didn't like it, he might need to use it to subdue his wife's dragon. He faced where Cerise flew. It looked like she was flying south of Beacon, toward the residential district. Nalia still wasn't anywhere close and even her speed wouldn't be enough. If this was anything like Kuo Kuana, there would be a lot of fire.

Cerise dove for the suburbs and opened her mouth. Red flames billowed out of her maw and onto the houses. It looked like two blocks were set ablaze before she rose again. Instead of turning back for another run, she flew toward downtown. She let loose a blood-curdling roar that should not have come from a dragon.

As Nalia closed the distance, two other dragons from the Vale Response Force flew out from between the skyscrapers. They roared at Cerise and flew to intercept. All three dragons collided but Cerise forced the other two back. She whipped her head behind one of the dragons and pulled her neck back. A Rider fell from her jaws though they looked to be in one piece. That dragon yelled and dived for her Rider. The remaining confronter pushed off and tried to get around the infected dragon. He only managed to get his right wing caught in her jaws. Cerise tugged her neck away and pulled half of the wing with it.

Nalia roared, distracting Cerise from the doomed dragon. She thrust her paws in front of her with claws out. The red dragon faced the green and opened her mouth right as Nalia made contact. The infected dragon was forced toward the ground, away from the tallest buildings. Nalia tried to get her teeth around Cerise' neck but whatever controlled her managed to keep her neck out of the clean dragon's jaws.

They hit the ground hard with all of Nalia's weight bearing down on Cerise. _Sorry, Cerise._ She crawled off the downed dragon. _It needed to be d-_ Cerise swiped up and clawed Nalia in the face. The green dragon stumbled back while the red jumped off again toward downtown.

"You okay?" Aaron asked as he pat his dragon's neck.

 _I'm fine._ Nalia growled as she jumped after Cerise. _Those two legs won't be._ Cerise flew right at one of the tallest buildings in the city. She flared her wings as she crashed into it. She aimed her head forward and unleashed a torrent of fire into the skyscraper.

Aaron grimaced as he drew his V4. He didn't bother to put additional spells on his weapon. Take out Cerise' wings, ground her for good, at least until the Relic of Creation could give her new ones. They couldn't replace lives. "This is VRF1, aim for her wings. Ground her." Ruby would make him pay for that later.

The Rider rose his weapon and fired at where Cerise' right wing connected to her body. As expected, everything bounced off her wards and Aura. Cerise turned around and glared at her attackers. Aaron switched to full auto and held down the trigger. Cerise roared again and jumped off the building into the line of fire. Nalia rolled to avoid contact and pulled up just in time to miss the building Cerise set ablaze.

Aaron loaded a grenade into his launcher and fired that at Cerise' head. It impacted right where it was supposed to and exploded on contact. To a dragon, that would draw all the hate toward him. If that's what was in charge, Cerise would follow Nalia out of the city. The green dragon turned away from the buildings and started to fly away. Cerise followed for a few blocks but turned back before reaching the wooden houses. At least that answered who was in control.

As Nalia turned around, Aaron caught sight of at least a dozen other dragons flying in from the east. Support was coming in fast. Whoever didn't assist in subduing Cerise could help with rescue. Fírnen was among them and that likely meant Arya with the Relic of Creation. She could think of something to take down a dragon without killing it.

"Let's do this." Aaron faced forward again and pat Nalia's neck. As the largest dragon that wasn't Shruikan, Nalia had the best chance to overpower Cerise. She stayed in the lead as the thunder flew into the city. Cerise came into view around an office building and Nalia and all dragons behind her roared a challenge.

Cerise flew toward Nalia at full speed, both with their front paws outstretched. At the last moment, Cerise rose and one of her paws slammed into Aaron. She ripped the Rider from Nalia's back. Aaron struggled as his weapons were pinned to his sides. Cerise tightened her grip and dug her claws into his back. His helmet cracked under the pressure and the HUD disappeared. Still, it was better than being caught in her teeth. He would already have been bitten in half if he was in Cerise' mouth.

Over the sound of all the roaring and growling, Aaron heard the hum of jet engines, followed by a familiar brrrrt sound from a Borbatusk fighter. Cerise roared then dropped Aaron. The Rider spread his arms and legs to slow his fall. At the right point he used magic to reduce his speed further. He rolled on the ground and ripped off his helmet. Aaron could only watch as Nalia and Cerise sparred in the air.

The Rider checked his V4. It looked still intact but the only ammo he had for it was in the weapon. He was about to fire when something hard and hot slammed into his left shoulder. It spun him around and onto the ground. He smelt burning fabric and flesh. The Rider faced where he was hit and grimaced. He knew a laser shot when he saw one. He was lucky his Aura and wards held just enough. He didn't have much left. Aaron stretched his mind up to the Riders and dragons above him. _There's a sniper with a laser rifle in the city. Watch out for it._ Aaron looked at where he thought the gunman was but that was a skyscraper. He could barely pick out individual windows, not to mention what was behind them.

Aaron looked skyward again and raised his rifle. He fired even more shots into Cerise' wings as she fought with Nalia. Still, even with the run from a friendly fighter, the dragon's protection still held. It looked like a Vale Police Bullhead had joined the fight, only they looked like they were shooting at anything that they could hit, not subduing shots. Cerise needed to be taken down before she was killed.

The infected dragon pushed Nalia off and stared down at Aaron. Cerise dove right at him. Aaron searched the area for civilians to check if any were in danger. They were all running away from him. The Rider stared back at Cerise and raised Redemption. He also used his Semblance to create an Aura barrier between him and the dragon. It wouldn't hold and he knew it but it would lessen the impact. He ran toward a building but he realized at the last second he was too slow to move.

Cerise hit the shield and barreled right through it. She slammed a shoulder into the grounded Rider, pinning him to the concrete sidewalk. The blow knocked Aaron's breath from his lungs. He felt his Aura and several bones break. Cerise backed off him like she didn't just freefall from a few hundred feet. She lunged a claw at and into Aaron's chest. The Rider didn't have time to react before Cerise flung him down the street and into a park. He skipped across the ground several times before crashing into a rock that didn't break.

Now he felt the pain. Aaron gasped as he tried to get air back in his lungs. He looked down at his chest and the huge hole that now took up the center. Somewhere, Nalia screamed audibly and mentally. _AARON!_

Cerise roared and pounced toward Aaron. The Rider no longer had his weapons, not that he could do anything with them anyway. The infected dragon charged him with mouth open. As she reached the edge of the park, Cerise yelped and stuck her paws into the dirt in front of her. Her momentum carried her right to the downed Rider. Aaron finally got a good look at her face. Dozens of black lines ran out from her eyes and jaws with red dragon blood coating her teeth and lips. Her eyes took the coloring of a Grimm's. Instead of the normal rage and hate though, her eyes were filled with fear and regret. _No…_ _ **Aaron, I didn't-**_

 _ **Get away from him, worm!**_ Nalia soared down from the side and body slammed Cerise away. _**Stay away from my Rider!**_

Aaron tilted his head toward where Cerise now stood. The dragon's ears were down and her wings laid on the ground. Her head twitched to the side and she growled. _**I'm so sorry…**_ She stared back again with hate radiating off her. She raised her wings and pointed her ears back. She jumped off without saying anything else.

Nalia roared a call for help at the sky. She repositioned herself and stared down at her Rider. _Help is coming. Ruby is on her way. She'll freeze you. Orchid will kiss you or Arya or Velvet will do something. You are going to be fine._

Aaron looked down at himself again. He'd seen that kind of injury on so many enemies before, not to mention the kind of impact the rock had on him. He looked back up at Nalia. His pain was fading and everything was going dark. He tried to speak but he didn't have any air. _Nalia, don't hate Cerise._

Nalia's eyes widened and her ears drooped. She lowered her head as she sent oceans of love and sadness over their link. _I won't._

 _Swear…_ Aaron couldn't concentrate enough past that.

 _ **I won't hate Cerise.**_ Nalia whimpered and nuzzled her snout against Aaron's head. _**I love you, Aaron.**_

 _ **I love you too, Nalia.**_ Aaron could only see Nalia's face. Sounds faded toward nothing.

"Aaron!" someone screamed, or at least that's what Aaron thought she said. Nalia's face was replaced by Ruby's. His wife… the mother of his children…

"I love you," Aaron mouthed. His eyelids felt heavy as everything darkened… but the centers of Ruby's eyes grew brighter and brighter every second. Aaron's pain faded even more as the light grew. There was something in the lights… Platinum gates?

* * *

 **Back to the bunker. Think I'll be there for most of the rest of the fic.**


	98. Full Retreat

**Well, I survived the bunker... and the first two games of the ALDS... Pitching, Twins! Pitching in the off-season! I have the game up on the TV next to me while editing and... oh gosh, the political ads are getting worse... and it's hard to edit while screaming GET A GRAND BOMBA ALREADY! DANGNABBIT! YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE!**

 **Also, I'm FINALLY writing the last chapter and a half. I'll be finished before the... _fourth_ anniversary of me uploading on this site. Gosh, it's been that long already... Well, it's something.  
**

* * *

"Aaron!" Ruby clamped her hands onto the sides of her husband's head. "Stay with me! Stay with me!" After he mouthed those three words, his eyes never stopped growing distant. Ruby stood back and called on her Maiden Magic. She needed to put Aaron in cryofreeze yesterday. She stuck her hands forward to do the deed. Wind kicked up around her and the area lit up even more with light from her eyes.

Nalia shrieked and the Maiden's blood ran cold. The Rider faced her husband's dragon. Nalia keened and wailed at Aaron. Sounds came out of her throat that Ruby didn't know a dragon could make. It didn't feel like she was trying to, but Nalia sent her emotions all around her. She nudged her Rider's head with her snout but received no reaction. She would never get another reaction from her Rider ever again.

Aaron was dead…

Ruby let her arms drop as she stared at her husband's body. It looked like he had a laser burn but the claw wound to his chest did most of the damage. All that could only come from one place. A thin trail of blood ran out of his mouth... Is that really what mattered? Her husband was just murdered and she was working the investigation?

She fell to her knees and her throat constricted to painful levels. "Aaron…" she forced out. Ruby raised a hand and cupped Aaron's right cheek. "I… I love you too." She leaned forward and kissed her husband on the forehead for the last time. She pulled back and ran a hand over her husband's eyes, closing them forever. Water ran down her cheeks with nothing holding it back. Ruby opened her mouth to say more but she had to force it even harder than before. "I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough."

Nalia finally fell silent. The only sound came from the battle raging in the city. Ruby slowly turned to face the dragon. Nalia's face slowly churned away from depression to rage. Her ears pinned themselves to the back of her head. Every single one of her teeth bared itself. A low, primal growl crawled from her throat. She turned around and her growl increased in volume. When she faced the city, the growl turned to a full-fledged feral roar. Her wings snapped out and she jumped toward the city. Ruby could guess what she was going to do…

"Ruby!" a voice called from the right. Ruby ran an arm under her eyes as she stood up. Arya jogged up to the Elder, mechanical bow in hand with an arrow knocked. She slowed down and let her weapon sag as she approached. _"Oh. Cerise did this."_

Ruby jerked her head side to side. _"Cerise would never. The Grimm controlling her did._ _Arya, I need your Relic."_

Arya took a ring off her left hand. It expanded behind the gemstone to form the staff of the Relic of Creation. _"I trust you have a plan?"_

" _Subdue Cerise before Nalia kills her."_ Ruby took Arya's Relic while she drew her own. She pointed Creation at Choice and thought of the weapon she wanted. The Relic of Choice morphed shape and color in her hand. The crystal shifted into red and black metal. Ruby extended her newest scythe that she imagined needing no ammo. She pointed it at a nearby rock and pulled the trigger. A laser beam shot out of the barrel and destroyed the rock. She pulled the trigger again only this time a shotgun blast left the barrel. The Rider nodded then faced Arya. _"Take care of my husband."_ She held Creation out toward the elf.

" _I will."_ Arya took the staff. _"Do what you have to do. "_

Ruby looked at her husband one last time. She fought back tears as she turned back toward the city. She activated her Semblance and ran toward the sound of fighting. She jumped off buildings to turn corners and get higher in the air. The Maiden also charged her Aura in case she needed to use that to take down the Grimm inside her soulmate.

She jumped off an apartment building's roof and over the aerial battleground. Cerise and Nalia were grappling each other, both now with bloody legs and wings. This needed to stop. Ruby used her Semblance to dash onto her dragon's back. Cerise pushed off Nalia and tried to fling off her Rider by rolling and clawing. Ruby held on and hooked her Relic weapon underneath Cerise' neck. She pulled like she was trying to choke her dragon out.

 _Cerise, sleep._ Ruby felt the energy drain but Cerise didn't respond besides her mind losing definition in her Rider's. In fact, the Relic kept draining her energy. _That_ wasn't supposed to happen. _Cerise, sleep! I know you're in there! Sleep! Stop fighting!_ Cerise flew at a building and turned sideways. She thrust her back into the building, dragging Ruby through glass, concrete, and steel. Ruby refused to let go. _**Cerise! Sleep! I know this isn't you! Sleep!**_ The dragon's motions became a little more sluggish but not enough. Maybe… _**Grimm! Sleep and STOP HURTING MY DRAGON!**_

A massive amount of energy burst from the Relic before the dragon went limp beneath Ruby. Cerise' wings went slack and she tilted to the side while falling. The Maiden thrust her fists forward and created upward wind gusts to slow her dragon down. Still, Cerise crashed into the ground, this time throwing her Rider off. Ruby rolled twice before jumping off the ground and sprinting to her dragon's side. She peeled open one of Cerise' eyes. It was still red like a Grimm's but it had no focus. Considering how much energy it took the Relic of Choice to force the dragon to sleep, Ruby didn't know how long her dragon would stay asleep.

Ruby looked up. Quite a few police and military transports filled the air. The sounds of police sirens raced between the buildings. They likely wanted Cerise dead… Ruby couldn't really blame them. She stretched her mind out to the friendly dragons and Riders in the area minus Nalia. _We need to move Cerise. Take her to Du Weldenvarden now. I don't care what city._

Another challenging roar filled the air and the ground shook. A wild one that had the same tones as one of Nalia's _._ Ruby faced her husband's dragon. Nalia's pupils were toothpicks as she glared at Cerise. She stalked toward the defenseless dragon, her claws tearing up asphalt as she went. The Rider put herself between the two dragons. "Nalia, stand down."

Nalia didn't say anything. She just prowled forward and sent emotions and images at Ruby... Nalia thought this was justice.

"Cerise didn't do it. You know _she_ didn't do it.'

This time it was an image of Cerise stabbing Aaron through the chest. Nalia shifted her glare to Ruby then sent an image of a sword breaking.

"Nalia, she didn't have a choice. You know Cerise. You know she loved Aaron. She would never do this!"

Again it was an image of Cerise running Aaron through, this time with a focus on the rage in Cerise' eyes. Nalia dropped into a pouncing position. She growled low and long. There wouldn't be another warning.

Ruby glanced at where the Relic weapon lay on the ground and stuck a hand out toward it. "Hitta." The scythe shot off the ground and into Ruby's outstretched hand.

Nalia's growl shifted tones to disbelieving.

"I don't want to fight you and I'm pretty sure you don't want to fight me." Ruby gripped her weapon with both hands. "I'm sure you can feel what this is. This won't come down to a fight."

Nalia hissed and took a step back. Her pupils thinned even more. Her tail flicked from side to side.

"Nalia!" A soft voice called. Ruby blinked and looked skyward. Thorn was flying in with Angel on his back. He dove toward the ground and landed in between Ruby and Nalia. He growled up at the much larger dragon. Nalia growled back, but for the first time, Thorn didn't cower away. Angel dismounted her dragon away from her mother.

"Angel, get out of here," Ruby said. "It's not safe."

Angel turned around and looked over Thorn's neck. Her entire face was drenched with her own tears. "If I'm not safe here, I'm not safe anywhere."

A lump formed in Ruby's throat. "You know?"

"Security cameras." Angel nodded. "I saw everything."

 _Then you know why I need to do this,_ Nalia said, her first words since Aaron was killed. She took a step forward.

Thorn growled louder and turned even more toward Nalia. _You will not harm my mother!_

Angel laid a hand on Thorn's snout and her dragon silenced. She then looked right up at Nalia. "You know Cerise didn't mean to do any of this." She started walking toward Nalia.

 _So what if she didn't mean to? She did! She killed so many people here, including your father!_

Angel's steps hesitated before she continued. "That wasn't her. She was used. I saw the same thing in the Hall of Colors."

Ruby looked over her shoulder at her dragon. So many other dragons flew to her. It looked like some of their Riders were working on basic restraints too. They would get her out of there. The Elder faced her family again. _Angel, I hope you have a plan._ She gripped the Relic harder. She already lost her husband that day. She wasn't going to lose her daughter too.

 _You don't know what it's like!_ Nalia roared. Ruby felt and heard so much pain in there. _You barely know your own dragon. You can't understand how I feel._

"No, but I know better than most." Angel kept walking toward the enraged dragon. "You lost your Rider, I lost my dad. You know how much I loved him. I also love Cerise. Dad did too. Do you?"

 _She is the dragon of my Rider's mate. I love her. I can't hate her._

"Then why are you trying to kill her?"

Nalia stiffened. Her ears and wings drooped. _She was the weapon used in my Rider's murder. I'm sure you understand why she needs to be destroyed._

"Cerise isn't a gun, a sword, or a bow. I've seen you two at night. You're cuddle buddies. Everyone's seen you protect each other over the years. We all know you care for each other." Angel stopped right in front of Nalia's snout. "Why are you blaming Cerise for something she didn't do?"

Nalia whimpered and her pupils expanded to fill her whole eyes. She focused right on Angel and it looked like their conversation turned to mental only, between those two only. Ruby looked back over her shoulder. A few of the larger dragons, including Vert and Fírnen, were pulling Cerise off the ground, their wings causing wind to blow through the buildings. They lifted the unconscious dragon off the ground and started carrying her away. Nalia started growling again and Ruby fell into a defensive stance. The dragon glared at Cerise but it was nowhere near as strong as before. She roared hard and long. Only Riders and dragons would hear the sheer anguish she was in. Nalia closed her mouth and wrapped her neck around Angel. She rolled to her side and wrapped her whole body around her Rider's daughter. Ruby sighed. That was one problem taken care of.

She felt something hot hit the back of her head. Her wards and Aura automatically drew from the Relic in her hand. Ruby stiffened and threw her mind back toward where the laser shot came from. She only felt one mind, which had to be from the help of the Relic of Choice. "Slytha." Her would-be assassin fell asleep. She focused on the world in front of her again. Nalia's pupils once again wouldn't let a toothpick through as she snarled at the tower. Thorn pounced to stand in front of the larger dragon, protecting his Rider. "Nalia," the dragon's gaze redirected toward Ruby, "you and I both know that Aaron would still be alive if it wasn't for that sniper."

The enraged dragon's growl grew louder and her eyes narrowed. Nalia sent an image of her ripping a pig apart.

"Let's get the bastard." Ruby ran toward Nalia while the dragon righted herself. She jumped up and onto the dragon's saddle. Nalia didn't wait before jumping out from between buildings. She angled right toward the tower the sniper was holed up in. Ruby's mind was still locked on the son of a bitch, a mind she had felt before.

Nalia bucked her back and flung Ruby into the tower. The Rider burst through the window and into an observation lounge. A few other bodies lay on the ground with holes in their chests, probably people who tried to be heroes that had no experience with fighting. All security cameras that Ruby could see were destroyed.

Her target lay next to a window that had two circular holes in it. Barry Price lay on the floor snoring. If only Ruby could wake him up without magic. "Vakna." Price groaned on the floor and his eyes fluttered open. Ruby raised her right foot and brought it down on the bastard's crotch. His Aura broke on contact. He didn't have time to scream before she punched his face and head into the floor beneath him. "Wake up, bitch."

Price groaned as he covered his face with a hand. "That shot should have killed you."

"Too bad for you it didn't." Ruby grabbed the assassin's neck with her left hand and hauled him up. Price grabbed Ruby's arm and flailed his legs to try to touch the floor. He kicked out but all his blows bounced off Ruby's Aura and wards. Ruby stepped forward and pressed Price up against the glass. Nalia flew up and hovered on the other side. "Give me one reason I shouldn't shove you through this and into her mouth."

"I don't think she likes poison." Price flicked out a tooth with his tongue. Before he could clamp down on it, Ruby shoved her bionic arm into his mouth and pulled out the pill and his tongue. Price' eyes bulged as he gurgled up blood. That was the first time Ruby was happy someone was terrified of her.

"You tried to kill me. You _did_ kill my sister and my husband. You are beyond the point of mercy." Ruby threw the stolen tongue away and shifted her bionic arm to gun form. She jammed her gun arm into Price' stomach. "This is for them." She fired her gun arm repeatedly. The glass behind him shattered and Nalia readjusted herself so the bullets and blood spray wouldn't hit her. When her arm ran out, Ruby threw the dying man out of the building. Nalia shot her neck forward and picked Price out of the air. She threw her neck back and Price up above her. The bloodied man fell right into her mouth and she clamped her jaws shut. She swallowed then roared into the air.

Ruby sighed and leaned against the concrete pillar right next to her. She stared down at the ground, then to the park where… Aaron died. Arya had to get him out of there, right? The Elder searched the sky. It was filled with dragons, police, and military. This undoubtedly attracted a pretty substantial Grimm attack… but Ruby didn't have the energy or concentration to fight it. She rubbed an arm under her eyes and faced Nalia. While the dragon still flew, her entire body hung limp. Never had she looked so defeated.

Nalia looked up at Ruby. The pain in her eyes shot into Ruby and almost made the Rider curl up right then and there. If dragons had tear ducts, the salt lines on Nalia's face would put Angel's to shame. _Let's go._

"We need to pick up Crey first. I'm not leaving him here." Ruby blinked away some of the tears in her eyes. Crey wouldn't know his father… and there was no chance of Aaron being in his son's head.

Nalia whimpered and her eyes grew. _I almost forgot about your hatchling._ She flew closer to the building with her head almost coming inside. The Rider climbed over the dragon's head and settled in the saddle. It felt so wrong sitting in his saddle knowing _he_ would never be there again. Judging from the noise Nalia made, she felt the same way. She flew away from the buildings and toward the part of the residential district that wasn't burning.

About halfway to JNPR's, Ruby stared at the back of the dragon's head. She felt her throat tighten and her jaw tremble. "Nalia… I'm so sorry." She leaned forward and gave the dragon the best hug she could manage. "I should have been there faster. I shouldn't have tried to break through to her without the Relic. I should have-"

 _You are not to blame, Ruby._ Nalia glanced back at her second Rider. _I was fighting her I let her escape my grasp. If it's either of our faults that Aar…_ she faced forward again, hanging her head even more. _If it's either of our faults, it's mine._ Ruby stared at the dragon as Nalia faced forward again. The way that was said… yet another dragon needed to go on suicide watch. Ruby knew she didn't have anything to say to Nalia. She didn't have the words for herself.

Nalia dove for the residential district and landed in front of JNPR's duplex. No one else roamed the streets. Ruby dismounted the dragon and looked up at her. "They've got a full-length mirror here. Go find someone else that's going to the other side."

 _I'll… pick up Viki first._ Nalia hung her head. _She needs to know._ She jumped over the houses and curved toward the ocean. Ruby watched her go and hoped she would actually go there and not the fight. The wounded dragon was in no condition to face Grimm.

Ruby shook her head and walked up to Jaune and Pyrrha's side of the duplex. The door opened before she reached it with Jaune on the other side. "Ruby, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be with Cerise."

"I want to be," Ruby shook her head, "but I need to take Crey with me."

Jaune nodded and held the door open wide enough for Ruby to come in. "I take it you're our escort out of here?"

Ruby just stared at him as the door closed. "Cerise busted my Scroll when the Grimm first took over. I've been out of the loop."

Jaune shrugged. "Arya ordered everyone not capable of fighting the Grimm to evacuate to Kirtan. About a minute ago, she ordered _everyone to_ leave. Apparently the military doesn't care if they shoot down dragons. Some are taking that as permission to do so."

The Rider gasped them looked toward downtown. "I guess I can't blame them too much."

"Where's Aaron? I didn't see him with Nalia." A squeak escaped Ruby's throat and she hung her head. She looked back up at her friend with water in front of her eyes. Jaune's jaw dropped. "Oh… I… Sorry. I didn't know."

"Let's just go." Ruby looked farther into the house. "Where's everyone else?"

"They're in the basement, waiting for someone to get us out of here."

Ruby nodded and walked down the stairs. She heard a commotion to her right but ignored it. She walked in the opposite direction to the room she knew Pyrrha kept to stay in contact with the Riders with magic. She started the between worlds spell as everyone filed into the room behind her. The mirror darkened and swirled as the portal formed. She turned around to face both families. Pyrrha cradled Crey in her arms. "Just walk on in. It's at ground level in Kirtan."

"You can do this with mirrors?" Nora asked.

Ruby shrugged. "Any reflective surface. It's just that we use bodies of water so we can take the dragons." She stepped forward and took Crey from Pyrrha's arms. Her baby boy cooed up at her right away and shook his limbs.

"Come on, kids." Ren stuck his arms down and ushered all kids toward the portal. He faced Ruby as he passed. "I am so sorry." All kids walked through the portal and he followed them through.

Nora took a step toward Ruby and put a hand on her shoulder. "Jaune told us. I'm so sorry."

Ruby nodded while fighting back tears. "Price did most of the damage. The Grimm controlling Cerise did the rest."

"Someone's with Cerise now, right?" Pyrrha asked.

"I…" Ruby blinked and shook her head. "I don't know." She looked down at her baby boy and touched his mind. Crey was happy, inexplicably so in the way only babies could be. The feeling had started to gain definition, like he was happy to be in his mom's arms. Ruby's lips trembled. "Your daddy loved you very much." She kissed her baby boy's forehead as she walked toward the portal. "He loved you with his whole heart." Another kiss to the forehead as she stepped through and into the grassland outside Du Weldenvarden. "He loved you and he wanted you to be happy and safe. I hope you'll understand that when you grow up."

Ruby looked up and at the chaos at the edge of the forest. Most of the dragons injured in Mor'ranar Vera laid on the ground with a few of them limping into the trees. Capable fighters flew around and killed the few Grimm that followed others through their portals. Unbonded elves ran about, some with their own versions of firearms, others tending to the dragons that couldn't walk. One of them stopped Ren and the kids but the Huntsman pulled out his badge. The elf gave a polite bow then backed away. There was no sign of Cerise or Nalia so they likely were in the city proper.

The Rider held her baby boy close to her chest and walked into the forest. As much as she wanted to break down in either rage or depression, she couldn't while she was holding her baby. The fact that most people around her were staring at her didn't mean much. She didn't care much about what people thought anymore. It's likely that most people in Vale wanted to throw her in jail or kill her. Neither of those were acceptable. The Riders or the elves would defend her with everything they had. That hopefully extended to Cerise.

Ruby walked past all the chaos right into the city. She stretched her mind out to find Cerise and Nalia. Her own dragon's mind was as weak as ever. Nalia was on a completely different side of the city. Only Irolon was near her. Someone must have gotten the fighters in.

She walked through the now crowded city toward where she felt her dragon. Crey gurgled in her arms and his mother bounced him around. Ruby shushed her son as she approached the largest warehouse in the city. Vert was pressed up against the side of the building with his hatchling right beside him. He kept having to hold his son back from running in to his mother. Fírnen stood watch on the other side of the door. He snorted at the Rider as she approached.

Ruby stepped into the building and another lump formed in her throat. She wasn't sure if it was from seeing her soulmate still with the black lines on her or the chains and weights holding all her limbs down. Velvet knelt by the wounded dragon's head chanting in the Ancient Language. Arya and Yang stood back and watched with crossed arms.

Yang turned back and locked eyes with Ruby. Her orbs turned glassy. "Hey, sis." Arya turned around as well.

"Yang." Ruby nodded at her sister then glared at Arya _. "Would you mind telling me why my dragon is chained like we would one of the Forsworn's dragons?"_

Arya straightened. _"We are not taking any chances. If she wakes up with the Grimm in control, it is much safer for everyone for Cerise to be restrained. You know what happened with the wild dragon after we removed that Grimm."_

" _Unlike that dragon, Cerise is generally gentle, especially around people she trusts. In other words, we get that Grimm out, we aren't in any danger."_ Ruby faced her dragon. _"Why isn't the Grimm out anyway?"_

Velvet stopped chanting for a second before facing Ruby. _"It took time before. Now there are so many more wards protecting it."_

Ruby grimaced. That thing took a lot of energy from the Relic of Choice to put it to sleep. Maybe that was the only thing that could do it. _"Yang, could you take Crey?"_ She held her son out toward her sister.

Yang wrapped her hands around Crey and brought him close to her chest. _"You have a plan?"_

" _Maybe."_ Ruby grabbed the Relic but didn't expand it into a scythe. She held it out toward her dragon and the Grimm inside. _"Grimm, you are now under my control."_ She walked forward as she felt the drain the Relic had on her. _"You are under my control."_ She pressed the Relic against her dragon's forehead. The Relic finally stopped draining her energy. She hoped that meant the Grimm inside her dragon was hers.

" _You are done controlling my dragon. You will leave my dragon without causing her any more harm. You will stitch up every injury you caused her. You will not kill her or cause any life-threatening injuries whether poison, tendrils, blades, anything. You will NOT hurt my dragon anymore."_ The energy drain from the Relic increased exponentially as she went. The Relic glowed in her hands as did her Aura. So much energy passed from her and the Relic to the Grimm inside the dragon.

Then it all stopped. Ruby took the Relic off her dragon and stepped back. She looked down at the Faunus. _"Velvet, what's going on inside her?"_

Velvet blinked then started chanting in the Ancient Language again. She crossed her lips. _"The Grimm is moving. I can't tell if it's not hostile yet."_

" _Let me know the second you know one way or the other."_ Ruby relaxed her shoulders then rubbed one of Cerise' ears. _"Cerise, we'll get that thing out of you. You're safe."_ Ruby blinked away tears and lowered her head. _"I know it wasn't your fault. Most of us do. We don't blame you."_ Ruby shook her head. _"It was Salem. It was all Salem."_

With that said, Ruby stepped back and let Velvet work. She took her baby boy back from Yang and held him. Unlike most other times she held her son, she didn't babytalk him. She was too preoccupied with everything else. A few times in the wait, Crey got hungry, so Ruby walked over to a secluded corner and fed her son each time. Velvet never said anything to the Riders watching her work. No news was good news.

After three literal hours, Cerise' jaw moved. All eyes in the building glued themselves to the dragon. Black tentacles stuck out of her lips and kept crawling out. They kept on getting longer and longer. Velvet stepped back and used magic to turn Cerise' head to the side and open her jaw. A black mass slithered out of Cerise' mouth. Yang and Arya drew their weapons but Ruby turned so she shielded her baby boy from the Grimm. More of the Grimm slithered out and each additional foot got bloodier and bloodier.

Eventually the tips of the tentacles flopped out of Cerise' mouth and the whole thing crawled away. Most of the Grimm was a black mass that had to be the 'brain' of the thing. All the tendrils and tentacles took the rough shape of Cerise' body. The 'head' looked at Ruby and bowed to her.

The Maiden stared back and let her Aura flow. She shifted Crey to her right hand and stuck her left at the Grimm. Pure cold surrounded the Grimm and shot into it as Ruby put the monster into cryofreeze. When Ruby was sure the creature was on ice, she cut the flow of magic. _"Velvet, find out how the hell that thing is resistant to the Relic of Choice. When you find out anything or if Cerise shows signs of waking up, let me know."_ Ruby turned toward the door. _"I have someone else I need to check on."_

" _Ruby,"_ Yang laid a hand on her sister's shoulder. _"You're not going to bring Crey there, are you?"_

Ruby glared at her sister. _"Nalia is sane. She would never hurt one of…"_ Her words were temporarily stopped by the lump in her throat. _"One of Aaron's hatchlings."_ She walked out of the warehouse without another word. The actual hatchling pounced past Ruby and toward his mother, much to Vert's annoyance. Cerise was safe, among friends and family… Nalia had so little left.

As she crossed the city, she wondered where her daughter was. Ruby stretched her mind out to find Angel's. Her daughter and Thorn were toward the perimeter of the forest… Angel was so depressed she didn't even notice her mother's mind. Thorn was too preoccupied with helping his Rider to say anything.

Ruby pulled out of her daughter's mind and focused on Nalia's. She walked through the city to where she felt her husband's dragon. A few elves and Riders she passed murmured their condolences but didn't stop her. Ruby just nodded at each of them and rubbed her head even more against her baby boy's.

The Rider walked out of the city then a little more until she heard a dragon's whimpers. Ruby pressed her teeth together and took a deep breath. She continued the remaining distance until she found a clearing. Nalia pressed her side up against the purple Wyvern, her head under the fighter's nose. It made sense that Nalia sought the comfort of her mate who also lost his Rider.

"Nalia?" Ruby called. "There's someone here to see you."

The dragon peeled her lips back and growled. _I don't want to see anyone!_ She glared at Ruby and Crey started crying. Nalia silenced, covered her teeth, and lowered her ears. _I take it back. I take it all back. I will always have time for him._ She opened a wing and moved her head away from the fighter toward her belly. Ruby walked into Nalia's offered sitting spot and leaned against the dragon's belly. _I'm sorry I scared you, little one._ Nalia positioned one of her eyes right in front of Crey's face. _I won't do that anymore. I will protect you. You are my hatchling now. Nothing will hurt you._ She closed her eyes and pressed it against Crey's head. She hummed and Crey stopped crying.

Ruby just stared at the dragon. Her jaw trembled. Something told her Nalia was going to treat Crey exactly like that… She knew Aaron better than anyone. She'd do exactly what Aaron would… but she'd never be Crey's dad, she'd never be Aaron. _Nalia…_

The dragon opened her own pain-filled eye. _I know…_ Nalia pressed her head against Ruby's. Both would have cried or whimpered right there but they held their baby boy between them. There was no reason to scare him or make him even sadder.

* * *

 **Yeah, Salem's got a whole lot of hate aimed her way. She's going to wish she didn't.**


	99. Back to the Shadows

**Whelp... Fun season, Twins. Looking forward to next year. But for now, go Astros.  
**

 **Also, wow. Typically OCs get a lot of hate (for decent reasons sometimes... Iali and all the Nevermores... not just for being bad guys) but people really liked Aaron. I'm not complaining, I'm just surprised quite a few people were attached so much to him.**

* * *

Cerise heard some two-legs moving around her. Why wouldn't they let her sleep? The big-bang-Grimm-bomb hurt her even beneath the boom-proof-water. But she didn't think it hurt this much. Pain-fire ran through her limbs and head. She felt like she had an ouch-hole in her chest. Did something hit her? She didn't think any shouldn't-be-flying-stone met her in the ear-hurt-air. The two-legs started yelling, none of them sounded like her-partner-of-her-heart-and-mind Ruby or any of her nest.

She tried to raise her head but something held her snout and neck down. Was Nalia hold-cuddling her again? She repositioned her body, or she tried to anyway. Whatever held her snout and neck held _all_ of her. That was not Nalia being tired-friendly.

Cerise opened her battle-tired eyes. She couldn't see anything through the early-morning-blur. Her sight grew more and more clear… but it couldn't be. There was a cold-metal-chain around her snout. She turned her head to the left… a heavy-weight-boulder kept that wing to the ground. Cerise narrowed her eyes. What happened? Did evil-Grimm-Shade-Salem do this to her? How did she do it… how did she get past cold-Maiden-Ruby and fierce-defender-Aaron?

A love-familiar mind touched hers, one that normally helped her relax but only caused more not-true-confusion. Cerise looked forward. Her loving-Rider-Ruby stood in a doorway with one of her favorite-weapon-scythes in hand. She held the weapon like she was ready for a death-fight. Cerise growled. _Free me and we can fight together._

"To…gether?" Ruby relaxed her arms. Her careful-curious-mind roamed Cerise, taking care to not hurt the dragon. Cerise didn't know what her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind was looking for. Ruby fled from the depths of Cerise' mind and gripped her cut-monster-weapon. _"Get everything off her now!"_ She ran forward and sliced the cold-metal chain from Cerise snout and likely did the same with her neck. Ruby then dropped her don't-hurt-scythe and hugged Cerise face right by her right eye. _"I'm so sorry, Cerise. I'm so sorry."_

Cerise stared at Ruby. What could she possibly be sorry about… She felt her ears droop. _Is my hatchling okay?_

Ruby nodded. "I'm surprised he hasn't run past Vert. He's healthy but he's still looking for his Rider at every sound."

 _Then why are you sorry?_ More heavy-metal-weights were removed from her body. Cerise looked at her limbs on her right side… two-leg-pointy-ears, ones that she trusted, held the cold-metal-chains. The dragon faced her Rider again. _What is going on?_

"You…" Ruby slumped. "You don't remember?"

 _Remember wha…_ Cerise widened her eyes and let her ears fall toward the fall-down-ground. She whimpered and suddenly felt small. Her nightmare… It couldn't be real. _No… please tell me that's not what happened. Tell me I didn't hurt anyone._

" _ **You**_ _didn't hurt anyone."_ Ruby rubbed Cerise scales. _**"You**_ _would never do that."_

 _No…_ Cerise looked away from her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind. She knew _exactly_ what her Rider meant. _No… why… I didn't…_ She backed away from the one she loved the most like a scared four-legged-barker. _**I would never do any of that.**_

" _I know."_ Ruby walked up to Cerise and laid on the side of her dragon's face. _"I know you wouldn't. Most people here no you didn't."_

 _ **That means there are those that do.**_ Cerise looked away from her Rider. _**Who does? Vale military, Oscar, famil…**_ She felt her heart sink even more. One thing stuck out in her all-bad-memory more than any other. She looked right at her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind. _**Please tell me Aaron survived.**_

A bad sound escaped Ruby's mouth. Her mind went deep-sad. She looked away then back at Cerise. Her eyes glistened but not in the way Cerise loved to see. _**"He's in a better place."**_

Cerise shrieked and she tried to move away from her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind. Ruby just clung on harder. But why? Cerise killed her mate! She attacked Vale! She couldn't fight whatever it was that controlled her! She was a useless excuse for a dragon…

" _No! Cerise, you're not!"_ Ruby found Cerise' nearest eye and forced her face right in front of it. Tears ran down her face. _"Cerise, you are the strongest dragon I know. You didn't do any of that. The Grimm that controlled you resisted the Relic of Choice. No one could have resisted that thing."_

 _ **It used me to kill your husband,**_ Cerise whimpered. _**You should hate me. You all should.**_

"Cerise?" another voice called. Cerise stiffened and faced the entrance to the big-wood-room. Angel… Ruby and Aaron's love-all-hatchling… Her Aura-shield-wings sprouted from her back and she flew toward Cerise and hugged the dragon's face. Her white wings folded to wrap around Cerise' snout. "I was so worried."

Cerise blinked before bringing her front paws up and over the two-leg-hatchling. _**I love you, Angel. I loved your father.**_ Those were the only words in the Ancient Language she knew that her Rider's hatchling would understand.

" _I love you, too."_ Angel rubbed her thin-tear-skin on Cerise' scales like she didn't care about getting it torn. "I know he did, too."

Cerise hummed and returned her gaze to her partner-of-her-heart-and-mind. She knew Ruby would never hate her but she didn't know about anyone else. _Thank you, Angel. You don't know how much I needed to hear that._

Angel crawled off Cerise face and stood by her mother's side. Her face was redder and had more salt-tear-lines on her face than Ruby. "I know you would never hurt people like that. Anyone who thinks otherwise is crazy. I don't care what I have to do, I'll protect you. I'll-"

A young roar reached Cerise' ears. Hard-love-Thorn glided into the room with his teeth bared and growl rumbling. _Nalia is coming._ He pounced to stand in front of Cerise. The injured dragon just stared at the open-wood-door. Nalia, Aaron's Rider… what did she want to do to her?

Nalia landed outside the tree-room and growled. She stalked inside showing all her teeth, yet she didn't sound nearly as death-rage-furious as she should have. _Cerise…_

Thorn roared at the green dragon. _Stay away from my mother!_

 _ **I am not here to fight, hatchling,**_ Nalia's growl grew louder and her ears snapped to the back of her head. _**I am not here to kill. I am here to talk.**_ Thorn silenced but he still glared at the much larger dragon.

Pure-nice-Angel made a confused sound with her throat. "Uh, should I have understood that?"

"Just step away, Angel." Ruby drew her first hatchling away. "This is between those two." The two-legs left Cerise' side and Thorn followed, aiming one more growl at Nalia.

 _You._ Nalia's growl returned as she stalked toward Cerise.

 _ **I'm so sorry,**_ Cerise whimpered. _**I couldn't control myself.**_

 _ **Then how did you 'control yourself' after you stabbed Aaron's chest.**_

Cerise looked away. _**Whatever controlled me let me do it. I never stopped fighting it. It just… let me see and act… as I would without its control.**_ She faced Nalia again. _**You know I would never hurt him. I loved him. He was my second Rider.**_

 _ **He was my first!**_ Nalia roared. The two-legs around the dragons covered their round and pointy ears with their five-toed-hands. _**You don't know my pain! You don't know what he meant to me! You don't know…**_ She closed her jaw and locked eyes with Cerise. Gone was her death-rage, deep-sad took its place. _**You don't know how much it hurt having you be the one to do it. He knew you would never hurt him. He loved you almost as much as he loved Ruby. He made me swear that I would never hate you. He would want us to stick together.**_

 _ **I would not blame you if you hated me.**_ Cerise turned her head away. _**I deserve it. I let that thing take over me. I am a terrible excuse for a dragon.**_

 _ **No.**_ Nalia's growl returned. _**You are one of the few remaining Elders. I won't have you depressing yourself, nor the dragons that look up to you.**_ Cerise turned her head back and looked up at Nalia. _**If you want to avenge Aaron, which I believe you do, you will do whatever it takes to kill Salem.**_

 _ **I'm not sure I can fight.**_ Cerise groaned as she tried to move her limbs. _**It feels like Velvet and Orchid still have a lot of work to do.**_ She paused. _**Nalia, I believe the command center back in Vale still has that suppression collar. If you want, I'll-**_

 _ **No!**_ Nalia launched a paw forward and pressed Cerise' face against the ground. She wasn't rage-mad, but she was sure-scared. _**No. I would not wish this pain on anyone, much less you and Ruby.**_ She whimpered. _**She is my second Rider. I don't want her to suffer.**_

… _ **Neither do I.**_ Cerise lowered her eyes and Nalia took her paw off Cerise' snout. _**Nalia… thank you.**_

Nalia snorted. _**Don't thank me yet. I don't know how long I'll…**_ She dipped her head and looked away. She walked toward the open-wood-hole without another word.

Before she could leave, young-leader-Saphira landed outside and Second-to-Arya-Weiss dismounted. The Rider ran inside and looked at Cerise. "Oh. You're awake."

 _For now,_ Cerise grunted. _You ran in here in a hurry._

Weiss nodded then faced Ruby. "We have a _major_ problem. The _Vytal_ just showed up."

"What?" Ruby yelled. "How?" She groaned as she walked toward the wood-hole. "They transferred the tech. Damnit, Winter. Nalia get me up there." She paused and turned around to face Cerise. "I will be back as soon as I can be. But now, I need to do work."

Cerise whimpered. _Hurry back._

 _"I will."_ Ruby climbed bondless-Nalia's side and settled in poor-Aaron's saddle. Nalia walked out of the wood room and jumped away.

Cerise returned her attention to pure-heart-Angel and her not-her-hatchling-hatchling-Thorn. _Will you two stay?_

"Of course." Angel walked forward and wrapped her too-short-top-arms around Cerise' snout. Thorn settled down beside Cerise' belly. Two more that would never hate her… Despite everything Nalia said, Cerise didn't know if the other dragon would watch her wings in battle. She hoped so. She still loved her.

* * *

Ruby glared at the white speck in the distance. She couldn't believe it was here. Unlike last time, she likely couldn't take over the ship by invoking the law. Cerise, whether she wanted to or not, or whether it was her or not, broke just about every law out there. The Maiden charged her Aura in preparation to disable the ship or to give the small squadron a small boost to avoid a laser shot.

The Rider was about to use her helmet to hail the _Vytal_ when her HUD lit up with the cruiser's information. She answered the hail with a blink. _"Dragon Riders, this is the_ Vytal," Captain Bradford's voice came over the link, _"you are cleared for landing on the dorsal hull. I will meet you outside the command tower myself."_

Ruby looked over her shoulder at Arya and Fírnen, then the other way at Weiss and Saphira. The feelings of their minds said they had no idea what was going on either. The Elder glared at the airship again. "Why are you here, Bradford?"

" _I will explain when you come aboard. In the meantime, I believe you would like to see what's on our starboard hull."_ The line went dead with that. Ruby messed up her face as she stared on. The _Vytal_ turned so its starboard side faced the oncoming Riders. Ruby's helmet's visor zoomed in on the cruiser… The Rider's logo was etched over the Atlesian seal.

"What?" Ruby let her jaw stay down. "Anyone else seeing that thing?" She felt Nalia using her eyes. The dragon made a confused warbling sound.

" _I'm still working on believing,"_ Weiss said. _"I'm trying to figure out what kind of advantage they'd have by showing our colors."_

Ruby ran a different program on her helmet's HUD. "Their IFF labels it as one of ours, not Atlas. Did they mutiny?"

" _I doubt it. That ship used to be the flagship of the Atlesian military. I'd imagine most of those soldiers served then that was the case. They all live and breathe Atlas. Something's up."_

" _Be ready for anything,"_ Arya ordered. _"I know the rest of you have had positive interactions with the ship and crew in the past. Don't let that cloud your judgment."_

Ruby grabbed Máni Bláto and expanded it to sword form. "Trust me, if my judgment's clouded, it's not because of that." The three dragons cautiously approached the ship. Ruby kept a careful eye on the point defense turrets along the side of the ship. Every single one of them was pointed at the ground, away from the incoming dragons. The ships main weapons were fixed facing forward so those weren't a problem. The hangar on the ship was closed so none of the fighters would come out to intercept. If there was a trap, it would be inside.

The three dragons landed on top of the ship. Its engines groaned as they fought to keep up with the extra weight. All Riders dismounted their dragons and approached the bridge superstructure. Arya and Weiss had their hands on their weapons but kept their blades by their sides. Ruby held her sword by her side as she stretched her mind into the ship. Bradford was indeed just inside the structure with no other minds near his. That meant nothing for androids. If there was any threat to any Riders or dragons, Ruby would end it before it had the chance to do anything.

The door opened just as Arya reached it. Bradford stood alone on the other side. Again, the symbol of the Riders took up the space where the sigil of Atlas should have been. The Captain snapped to attention and saluted Arya. "Pleasure to have you aboard, commander."

Ruby blinked and looked at Weiss. Her partner was also wearing her helmet, but judging from her jerky body language, she was just as surprised. The Elder returned her attention to the two in front of her.

"Commander?" Arya asked. "I do not understand."

Bradford dropped the salute and relaxed a little. "The _Vytal_ is temporarily under your command, Rider. General Schnee believes that you could use more direct assistance in your fight against Salem. Because of our previous experiences together, this ship and crew were chosen."

Arya looked over her shoulder at Ruby. The Elder took the hint and scanned Bradford's mind more closely, including recent memories. Bradford winced a little but otherwise gave no reaction. After a quick look, Ruby nodded and collapsed her weapon. "The ship is ours." She collapsed her weapon and hooked it to her belt. "Glad to have you on our side, Captain."

Bradford nodded at Ruby then faced Arya. "If you'll follow me, I'll explain our situation." He turned on a heel and walked further into the ship. The Riders followed, each of them taking their helmets off once they got inside. The Captain walked into a familiar conference room and turned on a projector… _Qrow_ stood as a hologram in the center of the table.

" _Surprise."_ Qrow shrugged. _"Never thought I'd be working this close with Atlas, but here we are."_

Ruby stared at Qrow then Bradford. "You have tech that can communicate through dimensions?"

Bradford nodded. "All the cross-dimensional tech on the _Covenant_ was transferred and adapted to the _Vytal_ after Mor'ranar Vera fell, per General Schnee's orders."

"Really?" Weiss asked. "Breaking treaties doesn't sound like her."

" _She did it with the_ Covenant _before."_ Qrow grunted. _"Then again, it was that or we'd be dealing with Cordovin now."_

"In this case," Arya stepped forward and placed her hands on the table, "I am glad we have the extra firepower. Bradford, I would like an explanation of how and why you are on our side."

"I'm sure it's fair to say that the Kingdom of Vale is not happy with the Riders right now," Bradford started. "Since all Riders and dragons have retreated here, Vale is scrambling to find ways to get here and either arrest or kill Cerise." He looked straight at Ruby. "You are on their list too."

" _I've got Angela and two other elves working in Vale high command now,"_ Qrow added. _"It sounds like they already have the tech that allows them to cross worlds. We haven't discovered the specifics of how they got it yet, but we're looking. Vale just needs to install it on whatever they want and they'll be on your doorstep in seconds."_

" _I just got word from one of the spies,"_ Yaela called from somewhere. Qrow turned to his right. _"The Vale Home Fleet is being sent to siege Fort Castle. They have orders to make sure the fort is under Valan control by nightfall by any means necessary."_

Arya's face darkened. "My mother will not allow the land to be lost. Unless Vale's android armies are anything like Atlas', Vale doesn't stand a chance. They will be slaughtered."

"We're trying to avoid that, Arya." Ruby ran her hands through her hair. "Qrow, how many people are with you and Yaela?"

" _It's just the two of us, and about a battalion of soldiers trying to break into this room. They haven't managed to find all your hidden cameras."_ Qrow stared elsewhere. _"It looks like they've got some pretty serious firepower. They've put I don't know how many explosives on the door to this place and they haven't even dented it. Haven't heard anything in here either."_

"The automated defenses still active?"

" _Some, yes. They're disabling any they find, even though they haven't been targeted once, only Grimm that come close."_

"I am almost certain of the answer," Arya started, "but what is the public opinion of us right now."

" _The SDC under Jaques-ass was more liked than us. That's all over Remnant, not just Vale. Coco's about ready to get CfVY to move. There's nothing she can do. She's lucky the police haven't stormed her office and arrested her and all the elves working for her."_

Ruby hung her head and shook it. "Even if we kill Salem, the Riders might be done for on Remnant."

Qrow sighed. _"That's what it looks like."_

"Then what do we do?" Weiss asked. "We can't operate in the light on Remnant anymore, we're stuck at the Dust supplies we have now, and all Kingdoms except maybe Atlas will shoot us on sight."

" _If it makes you feel any better,"_ Qrow started, _"there are quite a few people that have seen the footage and believe that Cerise was infected by the Grimm. Hell, quite a few cameras caught Ruby choking out Cerise. Anyone who knows anything knows Ruby would never do that. You'd have their support. Unfortunately, those people typically aren't very high in the command structure."_

"Of course…" Ruby paused. Something Qrow said triggered something in her head. "You said they're _typically_ not very high in the command structure. There're exceptions?"

" _We've got all headmasters, most of Armitage, the ship you're on, and a few scattered officers in militaries all around Remnant. All spies not working on finding Salem and her minions are trying to find allies."_

"How many?"

All eyes turned toward Ruby. "You have a plan?" Arya asked.

Ruby nodded. "Operation Overstorm. I doubt we'll get the forces I would like but it's better than nothing. Salem has figured out how to delay the Relic of Choice, maybe even counter it completely. We need an army or we're not getting anywhere near her."

Arya narrowed her eyes. "I don't believe there are any silencing wards around this room."

Ruby returned the glare. "I couldn't care less about secrecy right now. We need as many people on our side as possible as fast as possible or Salem will overrun the Kingdoms."

" _I think there are a few ship captains in there,"_ Qrow said. _"I'll see if I can get a list together."_

Bradford straightened. "General Schnee as already stated that Atlas will offer whatever support is needed."

"Ideally I'd want the entire Air Fleet, but I doubt that's going to happen. I'm guessing that Salem will attack the Kingdoms while a good chunk of our firepower is focused on her. Something needs to be left to protect the Kingdoms."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Weiss started, "but we still have no idea where Salem is. All our scouts are gone. We barely have half of Manchu scanned."

Ruby dipped her head. "I'm still working on that. I won't be able to say anything for sure until I know what kind of forces we're working with. I'll do what I can until then." She paused as she realized something. "I thought Yaela was in a coma. What's she doing up and moving?"

Qrow shrugged. _"Your guess is as good as mine. She walked in here wobbling worse than me after drinking a keg dry. I think you know the night I'm talking about."_

Ruby glared at her uncle. "My wedding night. Hard to forget that."

" _Yeah… still sorry about that."_ Qrow looked to yet another side. _"Looks like some of my people are reporting in. I'll send what I can to the_ Vytal."

"Thank you, Qrow," Arya said. "May the stars watch over you and Yaela." Qrow nodded, reached forward, and the projection disappeared. Arya faced Bradford. "I believe I'd said that I'd add to your ship's defenses before Mor'ranar Vera was attacked. I will still honor that."

"Thank you for that." Bradford gestured toward the door. "I will escort you down to engineering. I'm sure Engineer Shen is eager to work with you."

"Before you go, Arya," Ruby blurted out, "can I have a word?"

Arya looked Ruby up and down. "Of course." The two walked to an empty corner of the room. "What's this about?"

"I…" a familiar lump returned to Ruby's throat. "There was so much going on before in Vale and I couldn't find you here. Is there any way you could… bring him back?" She looked at Arya with water in front of her eyes.

Arya sighed. _"If it worked, I am sure Nalia would have let you know."_ Ruby let her jaw fall. _"After you left the park, I healed the damage with the Relic of Creation. I restored his memories, restarted his heart, charged his brain. Physically nothing was wrong but he wasn't breathing and didn't wake up. Even if he did, he had no soul. He would have been more akin to one of Atlas' androids instead of your husband. I'm sorry."_

Ruby sighed and her upper body slumped. _"Thanks anyway."_ Arya pat her back then walked off. The door open and closed meaning at least Arya and Bradford had left.

A minute passed alone in the corner before a hand rested on her left shoulder. "Ruby, this probably isn't the place to do this."

"I know." Ruby ran a hand over her eyes. "I haven't been alone. I haven't had time to process… I haven't slept. I've been so busy trying to help everyone else."

Weiss sighed then pulled Ruby into a hug. She didn't say anything. Then again, Ruby didn't need her to. She was too drained to return the favor. She just rested her head on Weiss' shoulder and allowed tears to roll down her face. She hadn't had time to cry it out either. "Can you just… take me back to Cerise? We can get Yang involved too."

"Of course." Weiss pulled away and put her hands on Ruby's shoulders. "If nothing important is going on and you need a shoulder to cry on, or a pick me up, or a laugh, don't hesitate to ask."

Ruby nodded. "Thanks, sis." She faced the door and dried her face with a hand. She took a few more seconds to compose herself. The soldiers didn't need to see her broken. That would be bad for morale. Bad morale meant the troops wouldn't fight as well. That would let Salem get an upper hand. That couldn't be allowed… Ruby didn't know where those thoughts were coming from, but she wasn't complaining. It would end this war faster.

* * *

Angel traced one of the white lines on Cerise' scales by her eyes. "Does this hurt?"

 _A little,_ Cerise said. _I've definitely felt worse._

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do?"

Cerise hummed and turned an eye toward Angel. _You are already doing it._ She nuzzled the girl. _It's nice to know people don't hate me._

"The people that hate you are jerks. I love you and they should too."

 _If only the world thought like you. There wouldn't be any hate and everyone would love each other._

Thorn growled out of nowhere then silenced again. _Sorry, Viki._

"It's okay, Thorn," Viki said. Angel pulled her head off Cerise' scales and turned around to face her aunt. Viki always acted so happy, even when things weren't the best. Now, she was slumped over and she had a pistol on her hip. That probably wasn't needed in Kirtan… but with everything that's happened, better safe than sorry.

Auntie Viki held out a canvas bad toward Angel. "I did my best to make lunches. The elves were… a little busy with everyone else."

"I take it Crey's with Auntie Yang?" Angel walked up to her aunt and opened the bag. It held a few sandwiches that somehow had cheese. Probably some vegan thing the elves learned from Remnant. At the bottom there was something that looked like it had a lot of sugar, unfortunately it was something that Angel had only seen dragons eat before. Angel took one of the sandwiches and started nibbling on it.

"And Klein." Auntie Viki nodded. "Crey really likes his goofy personality." A small smile formed on her face. "Everyone likes that side of him really." She faced Cerise and walked toward her. "I've heard about the rules about dragons eating meat in the cities. I figured you could use something to eat. It's not much, but it's better than nothing."

Cerise sniffed and flicked her tongue out. _I don't think that's the most healthy option._

Viki shrugged. "When has that stopped anyone in the family before?" She reached into the bag, fiddled around a bit, and pulled out the snack fit for a dragon.

Cerise snorted. _I suppose._ She flicked her tongue out and took the snack from Viki's hands. _Thank you._ She looked between Angel and Auntie Viki. _You two… you are too pure for either of our worlds. I wish you two could stay this way forever._

"That's already been broken for me, Cerise." Viki rubbed Cerise' snout. "All it took was one jackass boyfriend."

 _Language, t_ he dragon growled. _And..._ _I'm glad that monster never made it out of the prison._

Thorn cocked his head. _You had a boyfriend before Scott?_

Viki clenched her free fist. "Unfortunately. He betrayed all of our trust and…" she looked at Angel. "You never told him?"

Angel shook her head. "He would have flown to the prison and torn him apart. I'm pretty sure that would have been a war crime or something like that." She rubbed her right arm with her left hand. "Besides… that part wasn't important."

Thorn turned his head toward his Rider. His pupils shrank to slits. _What are you speaking of?_

"The guy that kidnapped me years ago… was dating Auntie Viki."

 _What?!_ Thorn roared and jumped back. He whirled around and growled at Auntie Viki. _You dare!_ Viki jumped back and walked backward toward Cerise.

Cerise growled and Angel held a hand in front of her dragon's neck. "No, Thorn. It's not like that."

 _That poor excuse for a human lied to all of us, Viki included._ Cerise partially covered Auntie Viki with a wing. _We still don't understand how. It wasn't his Semblance. We would have known. Trust me, that meatbag would have died long ago if we could have gotten away with it._

Thorn silenced and relaxed. _I apologize, Viki. I'm just… on edge with all the action lately._ Auntie Viki slowly nodded but didn't say anything. She just tiptoed closer to Cerise.

Angel faced her dragon. _Do your thing._

Thorn shot his Rider a look. _That's only for you and Crey._

 _Do it for Auntie Viki too. You know she loves you._

 _It's not the same._ Thorn narrowed his eyes.

 _If I put your headphones on, you'll be a completely different dragon._

Thorn pinned his ears back. _And you're a completely different person at night if you don't have the blanket you've had since you were a hatchling._

Angel grit her teeth. _That's low._

 _You went that low yourself._ Thorn faced Auntie Viki and walked toward her. Auntie Viki just stood still, watching him come. The dragon then hummed and nuzzled the woman's face. Auntie Viki sighed and wrapped her arms around the dragon's snout.

Angel felt the happiness roll of her dragon that was suppressed on the outside. _You big softie._

 _You big meanie._

Angel couldn't help but laugh at that. _That's all you could come up with?_ She sighed and smiled at her dragon. _Thanks, Thorn. I needed that… and I'm going to need it a lot._ She turned her head down and to the side. _I just had to think like_ _ **that,**_ _didn't I?_

 _Angel…_ Thorn left Viki's side and walked back toward his Rider. His usual protective growl burst from his throat. _You need to-_

 _It won't work this time, Thorn._ Angel shot her dragon a weak glare. _My dad's gone. No amount of growled pep talk will be enough._

Thorn's growl hiccupped before starting again with a different meaning. _I'm not Cerise, I'm not Orchid. I'm not good at that kind of help._

 _You don't need to do anything special._ Angel pulled her dragon's head close and hugged it. She rested her head right between Thorn's eyes. _Just… be here, hug me, and let me hug you. It's not that hard._

Thorn brought his wings around his Rider. _I will do what I can._ Angel nodded against her dragon's snout…Something about those words struck a chord with Angel but she couldn't put her own words to it.

The ground shook beneath Angel's feet. She took her head off Thorn's and faced the entrance. Nalia stood in the entryway. Angel stiffened and glanced at Cerise. She still didn't know if Nalia was going to hurt Cerise. It didn't look like it earlier but things could have changed.

Nalia walked into the building and toward the other large dragon. Cerise whimpered and turned her head away. The green dragon laid down next to the red and draped her neck across Cerise'. The latter jumped then stayed still for a few seconds. Cerise then closed her eyes and rubbed her head against Nalia's. Both dragons draped wings over each other. Angel sighed in relief. With how Nalia acted yesterday, she couldn't hope for this kind of response.

Angel faced the entryway again and froze herself. Her mom stood there slumped over and being supported by Aunties Weiss and Yang. She looked like she aged several years from that morning. Her face was soaked from the water leaving her eyes. The Aunts weren't in much better shape. Angel's mom turned her head toward Angel and locked eyes with her… Angel had never seen her mom so… done.

Her mom faced her dragon and walked toward her. The Riders on either side of her followed. Angel's mom sat down and rested her back against Cerise' belly. Aunties Yang and Weiss sat down beside her. Angel's mom faced her daughter again and just stared at her, though Angel read the silent plea.

Angel walked away from her dragon and toward her mom. She sat down in her mom's lap even though she hadn't for years. Her mom hugged her and held her close. Thorn approached as well and laid at all the Riders' feet. They all sat quietly together, the only sounds coming from breathing and occasional sniffles.

After a while of this, Angel finally had a response to what Thorn said earlier. She faced her dragon. _You're right. We'll do what we can._

* * *

 **Not much action here, one of the last chapters that has that.**


	100. Ignoring Orders

**Wow. 100 chapters. But now I can announce the end is in sight. If all goes well, I'm going to finish the final chapter this week. About time, if you ask me. Not even College Gameday at the little brother to the south can stop it... mainly because I can't go...  
**

* * *

Yang stood in her armor at the prow of the _Vytal,_ staring off into the grasslands beyond Du Weldenvarden. The latest intel from Qrow and Angela suggested Vale was coming, and they weren't coming for coffee. They wanted Ruby and Cerise, dead or alive. Cerise definitely had a death sentence, Ruby just had several life sentences ahead of her. Still, neither the Riders, the elves, or the _Vytal_ would let Vale take them away. At least Qrow said one of the aerial corvettes on the way was on their side, or at least would be against Salem. Who knew what would happen if ships started shelling each other?

Her comms buzzed in her helmet. She answered with a blink. "Goldmane responding."

" _Goldmane,_ Vytal _actual,"_ Bradford's voice came through her helmet's speakers. _"We are reading energy anomalies approximately five miles out. We're expecting contact within sixty seconds."_

"Copy that. The plan's still to have me be the one speaking with them, right?"

" _Correct. Try not to start a war, will ya?"_

"If it comes to that, I'll try not to let them scratch the paint on this thing." Yang ended the call and sighed. "I really hoped Qrow was wrong about this."

Halcyon growled, vibrating Yang's armor. An image of him appeared in her HUD. _We both knew that wasn't likely. Let's just get this done without ticking Vale off even more._

"Agreed." Yang scanned the horizon again for anything that stood out. Besides a few dragons and Atlesian fighters on patrol elsewhere over the forest, the sky was clear. As she watched, Shruikan laid down near the edge of the forest. Even laying down, he towered over the trees surrounding him. Then Yang picked out what looked like a heat distortion in the air like she would normally see coming off asphalt on a warm day. In the middle of the sky when the temperature couldn't be above fifty at that altitude, it couldn't be that.

The distortion expanded until three large portals appeared. Yang stiffened up as she glared at the entrances. A single ship flew out of each. Two Valan Aerial Corvettes flanked a ship that looked like a giant, grey gun. Yang heard rumors about this ship, mainly from Ruby and Yaela. What'd they call this one, a Maris class? Sure as heck looked like something out of a video game.

The portals disappeared behind the ships and they just hung in the sky. Dragons stopped on their patrols and faced the intruders. Shruikan stood up on the ground and growled. The Valan ships didn't move, they didn't open fire, they didn't raise shields if they had them. If Yang had to take a guess what was going on, they were surveying the area and trying to figure out why the _Vytal_ was pointed right at them.

Yang's comms buzzed again. She took a deep breath before answering. "Rider Yang Xiao Long to Vale military. You are trespassing in Alagaësian airspace."

" _Rider, you are harboring a terrorist responsible for the death of hundreds in the Kingdom of Vale. You will hand the dragon over, now."_

"The Grimm that was in control of Cerise has been evicted and dissected. She is not hostile toward you or anyone."

" _I say again, you are harboring a terrorist. Hand over Cerise Longtail or we will use force."_

Yang stretched her mind out toward the central ship. She searched around for who felt like the captain. It felt like the woman would have ordered an engagement if the _Vytal_ wasn't there. If this were any other situation, Yang would have smirked. "No, you won't. We will not hand Cerise over to you and you won't take her. Here's what's going to happen, if you move, it's to turn around and leave. If you activate your weapons, it will be treated as a declaration of war on Alagaësia.

" _I know you're from Patch, Rider. You will be committing treason against the Kingdom of Vale."_

"Far from it. By the end of the week, the head councilman will be pinning a medal on my armor and Cerise' scales. Hinder our progress and you've doomed both worlds. I suggest returning to Vale sooner rather than later. Rider out." Yang cut the comms and glared at the ships.

Halcyon mentally snorted. _You're worse at diplomacy than Ruby thinks she is._

"Yeah, but it got the point across." Yang turned around and walked toward the back of the ship where Nalia waited for her. She walked around the bridge superstructure and faced the dragon.

Nalia laid sprawled on the ship's hull. She let grime build up on her scales and wings. The parts that weren't covered with dirt didn't shine like they used to. Very little light remained in her eyes. Yang had spent the past five nights with the dragon. She wasn't sure if Nalia slept for a minute without having a nightmare. Yang knew _exactly_ how the dragon felt. She was surprised Nalia let her so close in the first place.

"We're ready to head back to the city." Yang rubbed some of the scales by Nalia's right eye. "Got to report to Ruby."

Nalia rolled her eye up to look at Yang. There was barely any recognition in there. She didn't say anything as she put her legs beneath her and stood up. _Let's go…_

Yang climbed up the dragon's side and settled in the new saddle that Nalia insisted on. She reached forward and pat the scales on Nalia's neck. "Hey, if you ever want to talk…"

Nalia growled as she looked back at Yang. _Did you talk with anyone when you didn't have Halcyon?_

"Not really, but you know how hard I held onto everyone, you included." Yang retracted her helmet into her armor and locked eyes with Nalia. _"I'm not Aaron. No one will be. Just don't push us away. I made that mistake myself._

The dragon stopped her growl but didn't say anything. She faced forward and dropped off the _Vytal_. Nalia opened her wings to glide down. Yang felt the unusual strain in the wings from the action. Nalia wasn't eating either. Few dragons got as much as they needed since coming to Du Weldenvarden but this was Nalia refusing to eat anything, not her being unable to find anything.

Nalia dropped into the trees outside the city of Kirtan where the Riders had temporarily set up base. Yang faced the large tree that had been sung into their command center. Unlike every day since she woke up, Cerise wasn't standing by the living building, or anywhere in the area. That meant Ruby wasn't in there. Yang stretched her mind out to find her sister. She had to go a long way out to find her and Cerise.

 _Why are they out there?_ Nalia sounded more tired than anything.

"I don't know… I can't read Ruby's mind and Cerise doesn't know either." Yang faced the back of Nalia's head. "Can we go find out?"

 _Fine…_ Nalia jumped away again and flew toward where Yang felt the other two. The Rider stood up in the saddle… there was quite a big clearing ahead, one that Yang didn't think was that big the day before. Nalia flew over the clearing and Yang's jaw dropped. The area was full of different kinds of fighters from all four Kingdoms that produced them and ones Ruby designed. They were all the same shade of gray, not like anything else Ruby made. Said Rider and her dragon stood in the middle of them all.

Nalia flew over the makeshift airfield and touched down by Cerise. Yang dismounted the Riderless dragon and approached her sister. Ruby stood by a Borbatusk fighter that was just forming. She lowered her arm and turned around. Her eyes were completely red and had bags beneath them. Ruby nodded at Yang. "Just the one I wanted to see."

"Ruby, what's going on here?" Yang looked around the clearing. "Do the elves know you're doing this?"

"I'm going to restore the trees when you get back from your mission." Ruby walked over to Yang with her limbs twitching with each step. Her eyes twitched as she stopped in front of her sister. "You are taking all of these on the last scouting mission to Manchu."

"I'm what?" Yang could only stare at Ruby. Her tone of voice, her word choice, and her physical appearance all screamed something was terribly wrong.

"I can't plan the largest battle in history and expect it to go our way on bad intel." Ruby reached toward her belt and pulled off the compacted staff of the Relic of Creation. "Scout the continent, find Salem's location, get the hell out. That's your mission." She held the Relic out toward Yang. "Once you have the location, use this to get out of there and get back here."

"Ruby, what-"

" _That's an order, Yang."_ Ruby shoved it into Yang's hand. Yang barely caught it before it fell to the ground. _"Get it done so we can kill the witch."_ She stormed past Yang and climbed onto her dragon.

Cerise turned her head toward Yang. Her ears drooped to their lowest. _I'm sorry, Yang. You know she's hurting… I just don't know how to help._ Cerise faced skyward and jumped away.

Yang watched her fly away then shook her head. "She's been acting this way for a lot longer than Aaron's death." She raised the Relic in front of her face and sighed. "I guess I've got no choice." She turned her head toward Nalia. Somehow the dragon's ears and wings sagged even more than before. "I'm gonna check in with the rest of the family before heading out.

Nalia whimpered and hung her head. _Ru is not well…_

"We'll figure that out when I get back." Yang climbed back onto Nalia. As the dragon stood up, the Rider looked around the clearing. Her eyes settled on one of the Orcas. She rested a hand over her heart where Halcyon's Core was hooked up to her armor. "You want one of those or one of the tried and true Bullhead or Wyvern?"

 _I'd prefer the Bullhead that I'm used to,_ Halcyon said. _The Wyvern's faster but there's more room in the Bullhead to monitor what's going on with the fleet._

"I'll see if I can recruit someone." Yang braced herself as Nalia took off. The Rider stared down at the airfield and tried to count the number of fighters and gunships. She didn't get an exact number but she thought there were over fifty of them. This would be a fighter battle. Maybe if all their wings were sharpened like swords, they could kill Grimm while they scouted.

As Nalia flew over the forest, Yang caught a flash of red in the trees below. She faced it and squinted her eyes. "Thorn."

Nalia stopped in the air and faced where Yang did. _What is he doing near the armory?_

"We can't be that desperate for fighters, can we?" Yang stopped herself from stretching her mind down there. She wanted to hear from the source, maybe sources.

Nalia dove for the ground right below her, behind where Thorn was. Yang dismounted and walked toward the armory. When she reached the thick tree, she didn't see Thorn anywhere outside. Considering it was sung so Nalia could have gone in, he was likely in there. Yang walked into the armory and looked around. She heard some commotion around where the armor was held. What was he doing around the armor? That pretty much confirmed that Angel was with him. Thorn couldn't get any of that stuff on his own.

Yang walked into that room and let her shoulders hang. Angel was already in the armor her mother made her, decorative mini wings and all. She pulled a piece of armor off a rack in Thorn's colors and turned around. She locked eyes with Yang and froze in place. Thorn cocked his head then faced where his Rider did. His ears shot up and he made a strange-sounding hum. "Uhh… Auntie Yang… w… what are you doing here?" Angel stuttered.

"I should ask the two of you the same thing." Yang crossed her arms. "I don't recall assigning the two of you for patrol. In fact, I remember your mom asking the two of you to look after your brother."

Angel winced. "Auntie Viki and Klein are watching him. He's not alone and he's in good hands."

"That's not what your mom said." Yang narrowed her eyes. "What are you two doing here?"

"Uh… we were…" Angel shifted on her feet and looked anywhere but her aunt. "Thorn… I thought we should…"

Thorn took a step forward. _We were going to train in our armor. We haven't done enough of that._ Angel silenced, pointed at her dragon, and nodded.

As far as Yang could tell that was the truth. Angel's actions said otherwise. Yang shifted her gaze to the dragon. "Where?"

Thorn stared back. _Remnant._

"Where?"

 _Grimm territory._

Yang clenched her fists. "If you or Angel don't answer my questions, I will tear that armor off you myself and drag you back to where we're staying by your ears. Where. Are. You. Going?"

Thorn backed up to the wall behind him and his ears drooped. Angel sighed. "Manchu. We were going to scout Manchu."

Yang sighed and brought a hand to her head. "Manchu. Of all places, you're going to Manchu." She brought her hand back down. "I'm sure you know what happened there, what happened to dozens of fighters and our carrier. They're all at the bottom of the ocean or scattered across the continent. What could possibly make you want to go there?"

Angel lowered her head then brought it back up. There was a spark in her eyes, one that Yang knew well from another source. "Salem's there. She killed my dad. Everyone else is doing their part to find him. We lost pretty much all of our fighters there and in Mor'ranar Vera. We don't have any of the tech I could use to help either. Everyone else is working on finding where Salem is without actually looking for her. We figured us going in alone wouldn't attract too much attention and we could go farther than the others." She dipped her head. "We want to stop the one who killed dad."

The older Rider stared down at the younger. Once again, no lies. "Why you? Why not so many other experienced Riders? Why not any other faster dragons?"

 _Aaron was my Petal's father._ Thorn growled and pinned his ears to the back of his head. _We are the ones most affected by his murder. No one else knows our pain. We must be the ones._

"You aren't even a year old," Yang shot back. She looked at Angel again. "You've been fighting on Patch and the Grimm stupid enough to approach Mor'ranar Vera. Those monsters aren't exactly the strongest around. What makes you think you can go into Grimmlands on your own, without any hope of backup?" Angel hung her head and thorn turned his head to growl at the floor. "This whole idea is impulsive, short-sighted, poorly planned, and bordering on suicidal." Yang paused and let her lips curve upward. "Actually sounds like one of your parent's plans back when we went to Beacon."

Angel and Thorn flinched and looked up at Yang in unison. "What?" Angel whispered.

"Don't get me wrong, this is a stupid idea. Going that deep into Manchu by yourself is probably on the bottom of the 'smart plans' list. At the same time, your mom and dad thought of, planned, and put into action several missions that more experienced Huntsmen and the military would have balked at. Heck, your dad practically planned the entire war in Alagaësia up until your mom took over and started working with the Varden, dwarves, and elves. They also put the success of their mission over their own wants. That probably won us the war."

"So… you're letting us go?" Angel sounded like she didn't know how to feel about her aunt's rant.

"Yes and no, and when we get back your mom's going to tear my head off." Yang paused. "We _do_ have some fighters that survived. A bunch of them actually. We're going in with them. Halcyon's going to fly the command Bullhead, I'm going to man the guns, _you_ are going to keep an eye on the rest of our fleet."

"I'm… what?"

"Angel," Yang dropped her good mood, "the only reason I'm not escorting you and Thorn back to the house right now is because I need someone to keep an eye on the AI fighters. If we're doing this, we're doing it my way. You do everything I say, you stay on task, you report anything that you even think is off. If something goes wrong here, not only are we dead, but Salem will be better prepared for when the actual attack comes. You do this my way or you go back to the house and dote on your baby brother. Do I make myself clear?"

Angel stood up straight as she wiped the water out of her eyes. "Of course."

"Good." Yang faced Thorn. "Let's get you armored and jetted up. You're our closest defense." She walked over to the wall where Thorn's armor was stored. She grabbed the faceplate and fit it over Thorn's head. "If any Grimm gets in the Bullhead's blind spots, tear it apart."

Thorn growled and nodded. _I can do that._

The two Riders proceeded to armor up the young dragon. As soon as Thorn was all kitted out, they left the building. Nalia was nowhere to be found. Yang grimaced and started walking toward where they stored the aircraft that were built with non-magic created materials. If it was any farther away, she would have called the dragon back. Ruby didn't give her a timeframe but this still needed to be done sooner rather than later.

When they reached the temporary hangar, Yang headed straight for the tried and true Bullhead. Sure it was one of the originals that fought in the war against Galbatorix, but with the upkeep and upgrades Ruby made to it over the years, it still packed a pretty nasty punch.

Yang stepped into the transport and removed Halcyon's Core from her armor. She slipped him into the interface. "Get this thing prepped for launch. We're taking off as soon as Angel has everything she needs."

 _Copy that._ Halcyon's hologram appeared in the center console. _I might need more power for this._

"I'll see what I can do."

"What else do I need?" Angel asked as she sat in the copilot's seat.

"Simple, though it's another thing that you can't tell anyone about." Yang pressed the button to close the crew compartment doors. She grabbed the Relic of Creation from where she hung it and handed it to Angel. "Use this to create whatever gear you need. Preferably, think about those things having super long-range and self-contained power sources."

Angel gave her aunt a look. "What?"

"Don't question, just do it. You know that tech better than I do so I can't." Yang started helping with the preflight checks while Angel retreated to the crew compartment. About a minute later, the girl gasped and it felt like she fell against the side of the Bullhead. Considering she didn't cry out and Thorn wasn't clawing at the side of the transport, she was okay.

After a few minutes of silence, Yang grew concerned. She turned around and looked into the crew compartment… Angel was surrounded on all sides by projections showing so many different things, including what looked like the menu screen of Captain Vale. "You got enough stuff back there Feathers?"

"I think so." Angel nodded. "I'm picking up fifty-four fighters ready to fly, not counting the ones on patrol. All of them are waiting for orders, and it looks like all of these are actually AI, not the Eldunarí like before. From what I can tell, these AI are pretty darn good, but I've never seen them in combat."

"They're not going to fight, they're going to scout along with us." Yang turned back around and strapped herself in. "Feathers, give me that stick back then buckle up. You're going on your first real mission." She reached a hand back and the Relic met her palm. She put it in the pilot's weapon rack as the transport lifted off the ground. "Get all those fighters to follow us. Have two Wyverns permanently guarding us and Thorn."

"Copy that," Angel called. The transport banked right and flew toward the airfield. As soon as the Bullhead flew overhead, the fleet rose from the ground. Yang glanced down at the radar. Most of the space behind the green dot in the center was a constantly shifting green mass.

Yang smirked as she pointed the Relic in front of her. With very little drain on her energy, a huge portal formed in front of them in the sky. Yang activated the controls for the guns on the gunship. "It's Unification Day, boys! Let's start some fires!" The Bullhead shook as it sped up. Fighters of all kinds sped up and flew into the portal. The transport entered and flew over the ocean on the south side of Manchu. Yang was ready to light up some Grimm but none were in front of them. In fact, there were none on radar.

Ahead of them lay the ruins of the Lost Kingdom. No one knew what it was called as no one could translate their language… actually, Tenga probably knew that, or at least knew where in his library that information was. Still, Salem likely wasn't in one of the few remaining buildings on the shore. Too vulnerable from shore bombardment. Instead, the fighters flew on.

"Feathers," Yang looked over her shoulder, "send the rest out to scout. These fighters were made the same way your command center was so they're expendable. They need to scout and only fight when the Grimm block their path."

"Got it. I'll pass it on."

"Thank you." Yang paused. "And Angel? Sorry I keep yelling at you. I'm just scared about what could happen if we fail or… something unexpected happens."

Angel took her eyes off her projectors and looked at Yang. "You're not like this on your other missions?"

"Nah. The soldier's life isn't for me." Yang stared out the windshield again as she looked for targets. "When we're done with this whole thing, I'd like to go back to being your cool aunt."

"I didn't know you ever stopped." Yang could hear the smile on her niece' face.

"Right answer." Yang smirked. "Well, let's do this, Feathers. Call out anything that you think is even a hair off."

"You got it, boss," Angel laughed.

Yang sighed as she settled into her seat. She hadn't had a carefree conversation like this since before Mor'ranar Vera exploded. She looked out to the right where Thorn flew. _Keeping up alright, Leathers?_

 _I'll manage._ Thorn tilted from side to side in flight. _This armor takes some getting used to._

 _No time like the present. Let us know if you feel anything wrong with you or your armor._ Yang checked the radar again before staring out over the black hills and mountains in front of her. She moved the top turret around a little more to gauge sensitivity. _Now we wait._

Over the next few hours, the sun rose above the continent. Yang thought that would make the land look a little more inviting. Instead, the extra light only added to the red and purple haze. It didn't interfere with visibility or the radar so the only effect the haze had was making the whole place feel like a trap.

The Bullhead hadn't run into a single Grimm so far in their flight. That had Yang and Halcyon on edge. Angel was too busy calling out encounters of their other fighters to notice. That, or she and Thorn were too naïve to know that no Grimm in this area was not a good sign. Yang found her trigger finger twitching but always stopped herself from actually firing several times. She settled for biting her lips instead. She knew the kind of resistance the previous scouts ran into. Where the heck were the Grimm?

Halcyon flew the Bullhead around one of the tallest mountains they'd seen yet and pointed directly at one across the canyon. Yang would have jumped out of her seat if she wasn't strapped down. There was a _castle_ on the other mountain. It was all black and purple, twisting in a perversion of the Mistral renaissance like seen in Windpath. From what Yang could tell, there were lights inside.

"Feathers!" Yang jerked her head back. "Get me _everything_ you can on this area! Coordinates, topography, Grimm counts, everything! If there's a pile of Grimm crap out there I want to know about it." If Angel responded, Yang didn't hear it. She was too focused on the radar and the weapon controls in front of her to care about anything else.

"Goldmane," Halcyon's voice came over the speakers, "maybe you should take some pictures of this place."

Yang grit her teeth then switched over to camera control. "If you or Leathers see anything looking at us, let me know and we can fry it." The display in front of her switched to the bottom view camera. Yang took pictures of the surrounding valley then the castle itself. She looked for any fixed defenses or troop movements but again saw nothing. There were a few places that there could have been turrets but they rested empty. That would likely change. Again, there were no Grimm _anywhere._

The Rider shifted the camera toward what looked like the grand hall of the castle. The large windows looked like glass, nothing special about that. A large, elevated throne stood on the other side. Yang took a picture of that then panned toward a balcony at the end of it… someone stood by the edge of it Yang zoomed in on it and clenched her teeth. Bone white skin, red and black markings, black robes, it was a Shade. It was Salem.

The Shade raised her head and looked to her right… directly into the Bullhead's camera. Yang's blood ran cold as she reached for the Relic of Creation. She had to take her eyes off the camera. When she looked back, she froze in place. Salem was _smirking_ at the intruders.

Yang shoved the Relic in front of her and made it create a portal back to Kirtan. The portal exploded to life in front of the transport. Halcyon and Thorn flew through. Yang couldn't care less about the fighters. Instead of the doom and gloom of Manchu, they flew back over the serene beauty of Du Weldenvarden. Yang had never been happier to see the forest.

"We've got a problem!" Angel called. "I've lost all contact with all my fighters. Trying to get it back."

"Don't bother," Yang sighed as she leaned back into her chair. "We're back in Alagaësia. I doubt you made your equipment work across dimensions."

"Really?" Angel stepped into the cockpit. "Did we get what we came for?"

Yang nodded. "One bit of extremely good news, one bit of incredibly scary news." She paused. "Transmit everything that we just got to the _Vytal._ I've got to report to your mom and Arya." She locked eyes with the girl. "Good job, Feathers."

Angel straightened up and smiled. "Thanks, Auntie Yang. Good thing we didn't run into any Grimm, huh?" She walked back into the crew compartment. Yang saw her niece pump a fist.

"Yeah…" Yang shook her head and looked out the windshield again. "The best. Nothing suspicious about that." She opened Halcyon's hatch and just rested a hand on his Core, letting his mind wash over hers.

Halcyon's hologram appeared over the center console and growled. _This has trap written all over it._

Yang nodded. _In big, bold letters. I guess we'll have to spring it and hope we can bust out of it._

 _I'd drink to that if I still could do that._ The hologram snorted. _I'll fly us to the command center. I'm guessing Ruby will be there._

 _Probably._ Yang shook her head as the transport nosed down. _Here's hoping she's in a better mood than when we left._

 _That won't be difficult._ Halcyon's hologram disappeared. A minute later, the Bullhead touched down by the command center. Cerise lay right beside the building. Yang pulled out Halcyon's Core then stepped into the crew compartment. Angel was humming to herself while working on one of the computers. She pulled out a hard drive or something like that from one of them and turned to face her aunt.

"Ready to go face your mom?" Yang asked.

Angel silenced and winced. "I'd rather not."

"You disobeyed a direct order from your superior and got results. You are going to report to your mom if I have to drag you by your ears. I'd rather not have to do that."

Angel sighed. "Okay…"

"Glad we understand each other." Yang opened the side door that wasn't occupied by technology and stepped outside.

Cerise raised her head to face Yang. _Welcome back. How was your-_ Her head and ears shot up, then she narrowed her eyes, pinned her ears back, and bared her teeth. _You brought Angel with you?_

 _Don't kill me until we give what we found to your Rider. She'll kill me then._ Yang walked into the command center, only looking back to check if Angel was still behind her. The girl was looking back at her dragon, likely asking for support. She'd need it.

Yang led the way through the building toward the office Ruby used. She knocked on the door twice before pushing the door open. Ruby sat behind her desk with all kinds of papers and projections on the desk in front of her. She ran her hands through her hair and sighed. "I told you, I didn't want to be disturbed." She raised her head and glared at Yang. The glare disappeared when the sisters locked eyes. "Back already?"

"Yep, and I come with good news and bad news."

Ruby shot out of her chair, a manic look in her eyes. "You found her?"

Yang nodded. "The problem was we didn't run into _any_ Grimm on our flight." She stepped out of the doorway, revealing Angel hunched over. "Feathers has everything we recorded on the mission."

Angel stepped into the room like a robot and slowly raised her head. "Hi, mom…"

Ruby stared at her daughter. "You went on this mission?"

"I asked her to." Yang took a step in front of Angel. "I needed someone who knew tech. With Yaela still on Remnant, Angel was the best I knew about."

Ruby faced Yang again. With the rage in those silver eyes, Yang thought Ruby could have killed her… then that all disappeared and Ruby nodded. "That's a safe bet." She faced Angel and held out her left hand. "I'll take what you have."

Yang let her jaw drop as the daughter gave her mother the hard drive. Angel scurried out of the room right after. _Cerise, what the hell was that?_

 _I don't know,_ Cerise growled, half in rage, half in concern. _She was ready to tear your head off. Now… I don't know._

Ruby sat back down at her desk. "Thanks for the intel, Yang. Take a break. You've earned it."

"Not quite yet." Yang closed the door to the office. "What the hell was that?"

Ruby just stared at Yang. "What are you talking about?"

"I take your daughter to the most dangerous place on Remnant, possibly both worlds, and you just let that slide? Why aren't you wanting to tear my head off?"

There was another flash of rage but again, that didn't last more than a second. "If you've found Salem, and why would you lie to me about that, you and Angel have done us a great service. If you're asking for a medal-"

"I'm asking you to tear me apart! I just took your 'baby girl' into a warzone with no guarantee of coming back right after your dragon was taken over and your husband murdered. Why aren't you-"

Ruby stood up and slammed her fists on the table. For a second Yang thought she'd broken through to her… but the rage was more controlled, not even her normal poker face rage was this collected. "Yang, you know I appreciate your input, but this is taking things too far. If anyone else talked to me like this at any time, I'd throw them behind bars. I'm going to ask you one more time to leave before I force you to."

"Don't you even care that I took Angel there? What if she had died out there?"

Yang saw the worst rage and sadness yet in her sister's eyes, but like all the others, it didn't last. "If we got the same information, we'd fight in her honor. People die in war. I'd prefer Angel to not be one of them. If it happens, it happens. Nothing I can do about it."

"What?" Yang whispered as she shook her head. What was making Ruby think like that… Yang's eyes settled on the diamond hammer that rested on Ruby's belt. That was as good of an explanation as anything else. There were probably so many wards around it Yang wouldn't be able to grab it by normal means. Good thing she had something that defied most magic.

She whipped the Relic of Creation off her belt with a spell in mind that would take the Relic of Choice off Ruby's side and into Yang's free hand. With a little drain, that exact thing happened. Ruby tried to snatch it out of the air but for once she was too slow. Ruby glared at her sister with fists clenched. "What. The hell. Are you. Doing?"

"Hopefully talking some sense into you." Yang slammed the hammer into the wooden floor then used the Relic of Creation to make an iron cage around it. She faced her sister again and returned the glare. "Are you hearing yourself? How is sending a child into that kind of place at all okay? Do you even care that Angel was almost killed?"

"How _dare_ you!" Ruby exploded. "Angel, Crey, and Cerise are _everything_ to me!" She marched around the desk and stopped with her face less than a hands width away from her sister's. "I love them with everything I have! If you brought her back with so much as a scratch I would tear your head off!"

Yang just stood back and took the verbal pounding. She watched as Ruby's face grew redder and redder, including her eyes. Tears drained out of her eyes insanely fast. Her words came hard and fast, some not making sense, some legitimately hurtful, especially the jab about Yang having no one to care about herself. She stayed silent and let her little sister vent. It hurt seeing her in so much pain, but it was better than the alternative.

When Ruby finally fell silent, she huffed repeatedly with a glare that could have bored holes in the hull of the _Vytal_ aimed directly at her sister's face. Yang waited a few seconds for Ruby to cool off before speaking. "Then why'd you just say that Angel was expendable?"

Ruby opened her mouth and took another deep breath but no more words came out. Her jaw moved a few times like she was going to say something but no sound was made. Her eyelids drifted apart and the tension in her arms and legs slowly left. The rage pouring off her lessened and was replaced by fear. "I… no… I wouldn't…" She turned around and brought her hands to her head. "But… I did… and I meant it…" She turned around to face Yang. "What's wrong with me?"

"I'm guessing it's that thing." Yang pointed at the Relic on the floor. "Ever since you started using that, you've changed. You were acting literally bipolar. There's the side of you that I love that's so happy and caring and all of that. Since you've started using that thing, that side is almost never seen outside of the family. Everywhere else, you had more in common with Winter than anyone else. Her or Ironwood would say something like that. You never would, or at least I thought you never would. I'm guessing that thing dictated what you were."

Ruby stared at the caged Relic and took a step back. "I was… mind controlling… myself?"

"That's the only thing I'm thinking of. It took me way too long to figure that out."

"Oh, that's so wrong." Ruby shook her head. "That's why you… said those things, wasn't it?"

"I know you. You'd sacrifice yourself to prevent one of your kids from being scratched." Yang reached down and pulled the cage off the Relic of Choice, something only she could do. She picked the hammer up and held it out toward her sister. "Think you can control it this time instead of the other way around?"

Ruby stared at the Relic then sighed. "Well, at least I know what's going on now." She took it from Yang's hand and stared at it. _"I will no longer let you control me."_ Ruby shivered then sighed. "Thanks, sis."

"Anytime. I just wanted to make sure that you knew what you were doing. If you were still calm after I took the Relic away, I'd know that it was you in control the whole time."

"Well, good guess." Ruby sighed. "I guess I better look at what you and Angel brought me." She took a few steps to round her desk but her left leg gave out beneath her. Yang moved to catch her but Ruby managed to grab onto the edge of her desk. "On second thought… I think I'm pretty useless right now." She looked up at Yang with half-lidded eyes. "Something here gave me the energy to keep going. That's gone now."

"Easy, Ruby." Yang helped her sister back to her feet. "When was the last time you slept?"

"Our first night here…"

Yang sighed. "That was five days ago. When you get focused on something… I'll get the intel to Arya. You head home and rest up."

"Probably for the best." Ruby slowly nodded. "Best for multiple reasons. If I have the energy, Cerise and I will check on Nalia."

Yang diverted her gaze from Ruby. "Let's just say it's a good thing she's on suicide watch."

"I figured as much." Ruby walked out of her office with her feet dragging behind her.

Yang picked up the hard drive from the desk and stared at it. "Okay, Yang. Get your game face on."

* * *

"I know it sounds wrong," Angel rubbed the back of her head, "but I can't help but think that it was a bad thing that mom didn't yell at me."

Thorn cocked his head. _Why would that ever be a bad thing?_

"I don't know." Angel shook her head. "We knew when we were going to go out on our own that mom wouldn't like it. Why wasn't she mad?"

The dragon growled, sounding uneasy. _Maybe she realized how necessary it was to fight the war._

"Maybe… but didn't you see that Auntie Yang wasn't okay with that either?"

Thorn silenced. _You are looking too far into it._

"Maybe." Angel looked down at her baby brother, asleep in her arms. For not the first time that week, her eyes welled up and her jaw trembled. Crey would never meet his dad. He would never know how awesome their dad was. That never stopped hurting to think about.

A door in the house opened and Angel looked up. Her mom stood hunched over in the doorway. Her head creaked to face Angel. "When I wake up, you and I are going to have a conversation you won't enjoy." Angel shrunk where she sat while her mom stalked over to the couch. Her mom flopped over one of the armrests and it looked like she fell asleep right away.

Angel whimpered and she hugged Crey a little closer. Thorn cocked his head at his Rider. _Feel better now?_

 _Yes… and no. My mom's scary when she's mad._

* * *

 **We're almost at the final battle. Only a few more pieces need to fall into place.  
**


	101. Burned Out

**Well, it's official. I am done writing _Reconstruction._ Four years, over 1.25 million words, and its finally over. I actually impressed a room full of published authors with that stat. That was a little something.  
**

* * *

Ruby fought back tears as she approached her husband's casket. In her right hand, she held her daughter's left tight. She wasn't sure if it was for her comfort or Angel's. Nalia walked behind them with Cerise and the rest of the family on her tail. So many things were happening today. Before anything else though, the Riders needed to say goodbye to Aaron and so many other dragons and Riders. Ruby hated wearing all black, Angel did too, but it was almost necessary for this.

The widow looked over the side of the casket and a large lump formed in her throat. As cliché as it sounded, Aaron looked so peaceful. His skin carried its same natural tan tone from when Ruby first met him. His hands were folded across his stomach, just like he slept when he wasn't holding Ruby or a dragon close. If his injuries still existed, they were covered up with green-tinted Alagaësian formal wear… This was the last time Ruby would see her husband. If Arya hadn't said that she already tried and failed to bring him back, Ruby would have tracked down the Relic of Creation and tried to do so herself.

Nalia whimpered and she dipped her snout down until her snout touched her Rider's forehead. Ruby had a feeling the dragon was sending her thoughts into the body. The occasional growls and whimpers confirmed that. Ruby somewhat knew how Nalia felt. The experience with the collar years ago was terrible… and a version of that collar now rested in the command center.

Angel sniffed by her mom's side. She reached out toward her dad but didn't touch him. She shook her head and buried her face in her mom's dress. Ruby held the back of her daughter's head but couldn't bring herself to take her eyes off her husband. Thorn walked up to his Rider's side. Unlike so many other times, he didn't act tough. He nudged Angel's back and gave some reassuring hums. Yang and Viki, with Crey in Yang's arms, also made their way into Ruby's line of sight. It looked like Viki's face was in much the same state as Ruby's. She lost her brother, one of two bright lights that gave her support through her enslavement. She hadn't dipped back down there and Ruby hoped it stayed that way.

Nalia lifted her head and looked to the side. She whimpered and faced her Rider again. _**Goodbye Aaron Benson, my Rider. May you fly amongst the stars forever… I hope to join you on the other side of the platinum gates.**_ That got Ruby to blink and tear her eyes off her husband. She never heard the dragon say anything like that before.

Ruby faced where Nalia looked before. Weiss and Saphira stood off to the side… It was time. Ruby sniffed and faced her husband one last time. She took her hand off Angel's head and rubbed her husband's hair. Even that felt like it did for years. "I love you, Aaron. I miss you already. Save me a spot up there." She took her hand away from her husband and backed away. Yang and Viki said their own goodbyes and left the casket as well.

Weiss approached the wooden vessel and said a few things over it before closing it, sealing Aaron in. Ruby felt a squeak leave her throat and another tear roll down her face. Weiss draped the Riders' flag over the casket then backed away. She turned around and approached Ruby. Neither her face nor eyes were red but she did have a few salt lines on her cheeks. Nalia lowered her head to her second Rider's level as the second in command of the Riders stopped in front of them. "Both of you know I have so much more to say about Aaron than what I'm able to," Weiss said. "Really, it's just going to be a glorified obituary. There's just… too many to say much."

Ruby nodded. "I understand."

 _If we're allowed back on Patch,_ Nalia started, _I'm sure you'll get the chance._

"Or wherever we settle here." Weiss sighed. "I need to take him now. The rest of you should find your seats." Weiss turned around and returned to the casket. With a few words, the vessel rose from the ground. Weiss walked off toward where all the other caskets rested with Aaron's floating along behind her. Saphira fell into step behind the floating casket.

"Well…" Ruby choked out, "front row." Her legs started carrying her in that direction. She was vaguely aware that the others were with her.

"Why?" Angel whispered. "Why did this happen?"

Ruby knew she explained it multiple times. She knew Angel knew how her dad was murdered. But that wasn't the question. "I don't know. Your dad's now with the only one who really knows. All I know is that there's evil in the world. We fight that evil. Evil wins battles… but we _will_ win the war." As much as Ruby wanted to believe that, she couldn't help but feel skeptical. Salem hurt them so bad. How could they do the same to her?

Ruby looked up at Nalia. _Did I hear right? Aaron and the platinum gates?_

Nalia whimpered. _Those were his last words. He saw platinum gates… then nothing… It hurts so much._

 _I can't imagine._ Ruby rested a hand on Nalia's leg. _You'll be with him again someday._

 _I don't know whether I should hope its soon or not._ Nalia hung her head.

 _You knew him better than anyone else. You're the best way Crey can know his father._

Nalia clenched her eyes then reopened them. _I will do my best._

 _Thank you._ Ruby faced forward again. She didn't even notice they'd reached the rows of seats. Due to how many Riders and dragons were killed in the past few weeks, very few funeral traditions were followed. People filed in as they pleased. The dragons of Ruby's family filed off to the side while those on two legs took their seats in the front row. Ruby took her son from her sister. She wanted to hold him for as long as possible. That wouldn't be possible for much longer.

Ruby looked over the columns of dragons that had assembled in the area. She didn't know all of them but she could tell the ones who lost their Riders. They all either had a thousand-yard stare or barely controlled rage in their eyes. As far as the Elder knew, all those dragons were on suicide watch… wait, Thorn and Vert stood by Nalia, where was Cerise? Ruby looked around for her dragon. Cerise laid on the exact opposite side of the gathering and as far away from other dragons as possible. _Cerise, no one here blames you._

 _I don't either._ Cerise turned her head away from her Rider. _That doesn't mean I don't feel guilty for what I did._

Ruby dipped her head. She didn't like it, but she could understand it. As she was about to face forward again, she saw a familiar face in the crowd walking her way. She locked eyes with her dad and he picked up his pace. Ruby stood up, still cradling her baby boy, and met her dad halfway. "When'd you get here?" She hugged her dad with one arm.

"An elf picked me and a bunch of other Huntsmen up while you were resting," her dad said. "Not as many as I'd like but enough. I'm here to fight… but I'm also here for this." Her dad pulled away. "I'm so sorry, Ruby. I hoped you never had to learn how this felt."

"You and me both." Ruby nodded and sat back down. Her dad talked to Yang and Viki for a bit as well but Ruby tuned that out. She didn't want to think. Yet anyway. Later today, she was going to need to put her foot down.

Weiss and Saphira walked toward the stage. Dozens of floating caskets followed behind them. At the silent order, everyone else took their seats. Ruby couldn't take her eyes off the line of fallen Riders. These were just the bodies they recovered. Avrart and Aithlin were among those that Ruby knew weren't present today. Nenva was still unconscious and the only things left of Touriog were his bones.

Weiss took her position behind the stage's podium and looked out over the crowd. "One week ago, the Riders experienced the worst tragedy since the slaughter at Mor'ranar Vera. We were attacked in our homes on what was a beautiful day. Today, we remember the fallen."

She began reading off the long list of names. Every so often, a dragon whimpered. Whenever that didn't happen, Ruby knew that the dragon was gone too. Then the dragons started getting named. The Riders were a little quieter than the dragons but they still made sounds. The human and Faunus ones anyway. Even when separated from their dragons, the elves were stoic as ever. Weiss then went on to command staff that were killed. Ruby knew what was coming. Aaron was the highest-ranked person to lose his life.

"Last and most recent," Weiss continued, "Aaron Benson, Rider of Nalia Quickwing, husband of Ruby Rose, father of Angel Rose and Crey Aaronson." Nalia whimpered at the mention of her Rider's name. Ruby felt another tear run down her cheek. "Aaron had a rough beginning to his life. His birth parents were killed in a fire with him being the only survivor. He lived on the streets of Teirm for years until he was taken in by a master thief as an apprentice. He stayed in the thief's care until he burgled the couple that became his parents They took him in and from that day forward he stayed away from that life forever.

"Shortly after his tenth birthday, as required by Alagaësian practice, Aaron was brought before dragon eggs set to choose their Riders. Within two weeks, Nalia Quickwing hatched for him. They were taken to Vroengard where the two of them were admitted troublemakers with their friends Brom and Saphira. Even though his training kept him mostly on Vroengard, Aaron managed to convince Nalia to take him home to Teirm, or to see a family friend in Feinster."

Weiss sighed. "Then the Fall came. Without knowledge of what was to come, members of the old order sent Aaron and Nalia away with three eggs in their care with the goal of finding their Riders. Together they hid for three years far to the north of Du Weldenvarden before they found the original between worlds spell that brought them to Remnant. They initially lost one of the eggs when they made it to Remnant, but it was fortunate that it happened. Otherwise, Cerise Longtail may never have hatched for Ruby Rose and very few of us, if any of us, would know our dragons.

"In the end, Aaron and Nalia accomplished their goal of finding new Riders, with the three they started with hatching in their first few months on Remnant. Over the next five years, Aaron helped accomplish several great feats, destroying the Nevermores, killing Kíalandi and his nameless dragon, and saving several villages from certain destruction from Grimm.

"When he returned to Alagaësia it was as a liberator. He led the mission until Ruby Rose took over for the raid on Urû'baen. Once Gabatorix was killed, the Rider flew to Dras Leona to kill the remaining Forsworn. In that city, he found the sister, Viki Sarahsdaughter, he thought was murdered when Galbatorix seized power. Arguably one of his greatest achievements came soon after when he helped rediscover hundreds of dragon eggs.

"As second in command of the Dragon Riders and head of training, he helped many new Riders learn their new abilities and help them reach their full potential. I am among that number. During this time, he married the non-dragon love of his life, Ruby Rose. Years later, they had a daughter, Angel Rose. He continued to serve his duty to the Riders, even if it meant stepping down from his position to command the Vale Response Force. Before his end came, he had the joy of welcoming a son into the world, Crey Aaronson."

Weiss paused. "Those are just minuscule pictures of all these Riders' and dragons' lives. Even as we prepare for war. We must remember them for who they were. We lost many stars in this tragedy. The light from us must shine on." She stepped back at the podium and nodded at a group of elves nearby. They dispersed among the caskets and began folding the flags resting on top. Weiss took one of them herself and approached Ruby with it in hand. For the first time since her speech began, tears ran down Weiss' face. "I'm so sorry, Ruby." She held the flag out to the Elder.

"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby handed her baby boy to her sister then took the flag. "Glorified obituary, huh."

"I couldn't stop, and I believe that as someone who survived the Fall and as your former second in command, he deserved a little more than the rest." Weiss faced the line of the dead. All flags had been handed off to family or close friends. "I suppose I need to go give the order."

Ruby nodded. "It always hurts."

"Yes, it does." Weiss walked off to stand by her dragon. She raised her left arm straight up. Saphira raised her head. Weiss brought her arm down. Saphira shot her head forward and unleashed an inferno of blue flame. The blaze jumped from casket to casket, including the one that held Aaron. Ruby couldn't blink. She couldn't turn away. She couldn't hear anything besides the crackling flames on her husband's casket. In a few minutes, the only things left of Aaron Benson would be ashes and memories. _Goodbye, honey. Until we meet again._

A notification appeared in her bionic eye. The command staff for Operation Overstorm was assembled. It was time to go. Ruby looked at Yang and her sister nodded. Yang walked over to her dad and held Crey out toward him. "Look after him, will you?"

Tai nodded. "I haven't had much time with him." He took his grandson from his oldest daughter. "It'll be nice to get to know him."

"Thanks, dad." Ruby gave her dad a hug then turned her attention to Crey. "Be a good boy for your Grandpa Tai, okay? He's nice and he can make you laugh." She kissed her baby boy's head. Crey gurgled and shook his limbs around. "I love you and I'll be back when I can." She backed away from her son and turned around. She took several deep breaths and made the mental change to her command mode. As she did, she realized just how long it was taking her. The Relic changed her more than she thought.

After she passed the edge of the mourners, Ruby closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She snapped then open and started walking straighter. "Yang, I need that staff back."

"I've got it stashed somewhere," Yang said, also in her business voice. "I hope you don't mind, but Halcyon and I made a decision on your offer and acted on it."

Ruby hitched in her step. She looked at Yang and stretched her mind toward her sister. Just like the square on her right hip said, she was carrying Halcyon's Core. "Acted on it? How?"

"You'll see. We'll make a slight detour." Yang took the lead and angled away from the command center. Ruby had no idea what was in that direction. Their path took them to a cave that looked recently dug out. Yang walked down into that with Ruby right on her heels. The Elder felt several spells scanning her as she walked though she didn't know what they were. The cave leveled out a few hundred feet underground with a bright light farther down. Ruby couldn't tell what was in there.

The cave widened when they reached the light and Ruby gasped. It was Halcyon, as big as he would have been if he was never killed. At first, Ruby thought it was a real, biological body, then she noticed the hatch on the body's chest. "You made him a life-sized body."

"Yeah." Yang walked over to the android and pulled Halcyon's Core from under her dress. She fit it into the large body and closed the hatch. The android twitched and Halcyon's eyes opened. "I took a few liberties with this. Sorry Ruby, but he's far more advanced than anything you've made."

 _As in this feels natural._ Halcyon stood up. Ruby had to admit, the sight made her feel good in a way she didn't think was possible. _Something always felt wrong about the small one. This…_ Halcyon raised his wings. _This is how I should feel._

Ruby felt a smile tugging at her lips. Even though she didn't make it herself, this was the full realization of her tech. "I know what you mean. This thing's never felt completely right." She raised her bionic arm. "Any other liberties?"

Halcyon smirked, looking a little more like a human than he possibly should have. "A little variation on the translation band." Halcyon's lips moved like they should have if he was human as the sound came out of his mouth. "If anything, this is for intimidation… and talking to kids if Arya ever lets my condition become common knowledge."

"Huh." Ruby cocked her head. "Not as extreme as I was ex-" Several hatches popped open on his legs and his torso below his wings. Gun barrels stuck out of his legs and a rack of missiles rolled out of his sides. Ruby straightened and shut her mouth. _"That's_ more like what I expected." She paused. "Why this and not your body?"

Halcyon's smirk disappeared. _Trust me,_ his words were mental once again, _I want nothing more than that. But for this battle, it would not be wise. I believe I'm far more deadly like this than if I was flesh, bone, and scales. I'm guessing the Relics will go right back to their vaults and be locked away forever after we win. I would have something I doubt would be offered to any other Eldunarí. I will not do that._

"Another something I understand well." Something Halcyon said triggered something the back of her mind. "Mind if I make one more modification?"

Halcyon shrugged. _If it hasn't already been done._

"Converting your Core into an Eldunarí." Halcyon's ears shot straight up. "That's already the official word among the Riders. Might as well make that a reality." Ruby paused. "Arya said the Relic of Creation couldn't bring Aaron's Aura back, but it could heal Aaron's injuries... and make his heart beat again. Without an Aura, it didn't matter. At the same time, she used the Relic to strengthen the Aura of all us Maidens. I can almost guarantee you I can give you a fully intact Eldunarí without hurting you."

"Almost?" Yang crossed her arms. "Another reason we didn't try to give him his body back is the 'almosts' and 'maybes' associated with the whole thing."

"With the Relic, I can preserve Halcyon's Aura. If something goes wrong with the change, I can convert him back to his current state." Ruby looked at Halcyon. The android turned his head away. His eyes darted all over the place. "I won't do anything without your okay."

Halcyon stayed quiet for another minute before nodding. _I'm actually laying on the Relic. Do what you can._ Halcyon stood up and stepped away from where he laid. Sure enough, the staff of the Relic of Creation rested in the dead center of the imprint on the ground.

Ruby walked toward it and picked it up. "You have until I make the change to say otherwise." She stepped toward the hatch in Halcyon's chest but Yang blocked her path.

"I beefed up his Core quite a bit in both structural integrity and wards. Are you going to do the same to his new Eldunarí?"

"Once it's intact, yes. One thing at a time. I'll give him his Eldunarí back, then we can worry about protecting him."

Yang nodded and backed away. "Thanks… Sorry, I'm just…"

"I know. I would be too." Ruby returned her attention to Halcyon and opened the hatch in his chest. She pulled out the Core and set him on the ground. "Here goes nothing." She pointed the Relic at Halcyon's Core and imagined it forming into an Eldunarí. With more drain on her energy than expected, the Core glowed. It started to change shape. Yang shifted on her feet. The golden box of Halcyons Core grew and the corners rounded. The gold coloring also changed, becoming more and more translucent as time went on.

Yang gasped and fell toward her knees. Ruby spared her sister a glance… Yang's mouth was about as wide as it could have been. Her right hand pressed against the side of her head. Her eyes were about as wide as they could have been. Ruby was about to reverse the process when the joy caught up with Yang's eyes. The Elder returned her attention to her work and tried to speed it up.

The Relic stopped draining Ruby's energy and the extra glow stopped. Instead of a metallic box, a gleaming, golden, Eldunarí lay in front of her. The almost smoky interior glowed with a life of its own. The golden clouds inside shifted, speeding up and glowing even more. _I feel… alive._

"Halcyon!" Yang dove forward and wrapped the Eldunarí in her arms. She babbled sweet nothings to her dragon. Ruby smiled at the sight but it didn't last. She couldn't help but feel jealous. Yang just got her whole dragon back… Ruby would never feel Aaron's warm embrace again. That wasn't fair thinking at all, but that's how Ruby felt. Instead of saying anything, she turned her attention to the new android. She used the Relic to change the circuitry in the shell to accommodate and Eldunarí instead of the Core and walked out. Those two needed as much time to themselves as possible.

Ruby left the recent cave and found Cerise waiting for her there. _You weren't so far down to where I couldn't use your eyes,_ the dragon said. _How are you feeling, Gem?_

 _Tired. Just… tired._ Ruby straightened up and tried to clear her face. _I'm so happy for those two, but…_ She shook her head. _I can't think like this right now._ She looked up at her dragon's side. _I need the Relic._

Cerise growled. _No. I won't let you hurt yourself again._

 _It's not for me. I need it for the meeting. You know my line of thinking. I need that to succeed._

 _Like that's any better. Since when do you think like that?_

 _Since I'm tired of all this loss. I_ _ **need**_ _the Relic._ Ruby climbed her dragon's side even though Cerise tried to prevent it. She ripped the Relic of Choice from a saddlebag. She dropped to the ground and carried the hammer just like she did the staff. She didn't care about being stealthy anymore. If they were successful in their mission, Ruby or whoever succeeded her could bury the Relics so deep, they couldn't be found if the Doom Star blew up Remnant. Cerise whimpered and said nothing.

Neither dragon nor Rider said anything else on the way to the command center. Ruby walked into the building and left Cerise outside. Inside, Ruby passed soldiers from all the Kingdoms of both Remnant and Alagaësia. The ones from Vale, Vacuo, and Mistral glared at Ruby as she walked past while all others either nodded or saluted at her. That settled who was on what side to start out.

Ruby heard the main conference room before she saw the entry door. People were shouting at each other and it sounded like they were at it for a while. The Elder took a deep breath before pushing the door open. She stepped inside and the room silenced. Ruby looked around the room. All headmasters with the addition of Oscar and Pyrrha, kings and queen of Alagaësia, Qrow, Arya, and military command staff of all Kingdoms were present in the room. The military representatives from the hostile Kingdoms glared at her while the Academy Headmasters just nodded. The Alagaësian military commanders gave her their own salutes. "Don't stop arguing on account of me." Ruby walked up to the table separating everyone and gripped the Relic of Choice. _No one in this room will hurt each other. Everyone will accept and comply with the plan._ Arya and Pyrrha shifted on their feet and glanced at Ruby. Probably something Yang did when Ruby was out cold.

"I should have you arrested for treason," a Valan General that Ruby wasn't familiar with said.

The Elder barely glanced at the man. "I stopped one of the most dangerous Grimm in history from killing even more people."

"Your beast killed thousands in Vale!" a commander from Mistral said.

"I am very well aware." Ruby glared at the woman. "My husband was one of them."

"Where were you when this happened?" the lone Vacuan naval captain said. "I've seen the footage. You came-"

Ruby slammed her bionic fist and the Relic of Choice into the table, splitting the wood and punching all the way through. Again, no one moved in the room. "I'm not here to defend myself. I'm here to defend Remnant and Alagaësia."

"Well, bravo." The Mistrili general slow clapped. "You've done a fantastic job of that."

"If you knew the entirety of what the Riders have done," Winter started, "you would not be so dismissive."

"And how would you know?"

"My sister is second in command of the Dragon Riders. We have shared intelligence and resources for years to the benefit of both organizations."

"Of course." The Valan General threw his arms up. "They control us all."

"You are all here for a reason," King Deynor proclaimed. "If you would stop bickering, we can get to it."

"Thank you, King Deynor." Ruby looked around the room once again. "Since formalities are out of the way I'll tell it to you straight. The Grimm have a Queen and her name is Salem." She began explaining Salem, Ozpin, the Relics, the Maidens, pretty everything Ozpin and his group hid from the world. During the explanation of the Relics, she tossed Creation back to Arya. She mentioned nothing about the Eldunarí. She didn't need to give away everything. Almost all Remmartian military personnel stared at Ruby like she'd grown a second head. They looked around at those inside the Riders' inner circle. Those who knew just nodded. When the Valan General needed more convincing, Pyrrha formed a lance of fire in her left hand. Most of the skepticism disappeared at that.

With her initial description finished, Ruby felt the eyes of the Remmartian commanders bore into her. "You've known about this all this time…" the Vacuan Captain started, his voice cold as ice, "and you never said anything?"

"Precisely," Arya spoke up for the first time. All glares turned to her. "No one Kingdom has the strength to fight her on their own. All together, with the Riders and Alagaësian Kingdoms, we might have a chance on taking her down for good.

"And why should we go along with this?" The Valan General leaned forward and gripped the table. "One of _you_ nearly destroyed the city of Vale and called one of the largest Grimm attacks in the city's history."

"Because quite a few of your forces are already on our side," Qrow said. "These are people who have worked with the Riders before or are connected in some way. They know what really happened is that a Grimm controlled Cerise into doing all that. They aren't going to attack a victim." Qrow cocked his head. "I believe some of your investigators are now saying that Cerise isn't guilty of it. They're just not getting the attention they need because the news needs to pin this on someone."

"Then they're traitors."

"Maybe, or they're your best hope for survival."

The Valan General growled then turned his head away. All other hostiles did the same. They all had various thinking expressions on their faces. Ruby knew what they'd all say since she forced the decision on them… _The things I'll do for success…_

The commanders all looked at each other and it looked like they all came to the same conclusion. "Fine," the Mistrili General said. "We'll play it your way. What's the plan to kill this bitch?"

Arya faced Ruby. "I'm sure you've come to the same conclusion I have."

Ruby nodded. "The big picture, Arya, Pyrrha, and I need to fight Salem alone. Everyone else needs to keep the Grimm off us."

Most people in the room gave Ruby a look. _"That's_ your plan?" Sun protested.

"It makes sense," Pyrrha said. "Salem has a Maiden on her side, not to mention herself who is likely stronger than anyone we've faced before. The Relic of Destruction can knock the largest airships out of the air in the blink of an eye.. None of them could get close. Even if they could, we can't risk not destroying her heart first. We need skilled people who can take a few hits from a Maiden. That's the three of us. Anyone else will be killed within seconds."

"She's right," Oscar said. "I might be the only other one who stands a chance against her."

"We have a location and a rough map of the area." Ruby looked around the rest of the room. "I didn't know what kind of forces that's we'd be looking at to fight the rest of the Grimm. You all know your forces better than anyone else. I'd be overstepping my bounds if I made a plan for your forces. I'll leave that to you." A hologram of Salem's castle and the area around it appeared over the table.

The other commanders looked around the room. By some unspoken consensus, they started deliberating different attack plans, including setting up a ring around the castle that ideally wouldn't let any Grimm through. For the most part, Ruby stayed silent while Arya took the part of speaking for the Riders' duties and how she could use the Relic of Creation to give Alagaësian soldiers more powerful weapons and armor. From what Ruby heard, it all sounded like it was going well.

After several hours of this, the ideas and battle planning grew less and less. Arya finally coughed to grab everyone's attention. "I believe we have a solid strategy here but it means nothing if we don't share it with our forces. I suggest we prepare our troops for the coming battle."

The three suspicious commanders just stared at Arya before filing out of the room. "Damn pixie," one of them said. "Can't even end a meeting right."

"Ruby," Arya called, "you and I need to talk."

Ruby faced the elf and nodded. "Of course." She backed up and allowed everyone else to file out of the room… but Pyrrha stayed back as well. "Maiden talk?" Ruby closed the door behind the last person.

"I know you used the Relic of Choice." Arya crossed her arms. "Judging from the fact that both Pyrrha and I felt it, you used it on everyone in the room. The question is, what did you use it for?"

Ruby straightened. She was right. "I made everyone not attack each other and decide to go with the plan. Simple as that."

"Why?" Pyrrha asked. "Why did _you_ do that. I know how you feel about that kind of thing."

"Because I'm tired, Pyrrha." Ruby slumped against the wall behind her and hung her head. "I'm tired of everything. Fighting, death, planning… losing people." She raised her head and locked eyes with Arya. "You know we need as many people as we can get to keep the Grimm off us. We need _all_ Kingdoms. You know-"

"Ruby," Arya interrupted, "you're shaking."

The Elder blinked and looked down at herself. Sure enough, her arms and legs shook like buildings in an earthquake. Ruby sighed. "Like I said, I'm tired. I broke one of my most important rules. I've forced more people I trust into doing something than people I'm trying to fight. I hate using the Relic on _Grimm,_ much less people." Ruby looked away. "Arya, when this battle's over, I'm hanging up my scythes. I don't know for how long. I'm just… done fighting. I've lost my taste for combat after this past year. I just… I just want to be with my family and help the Riders out with non-combat related things."

Arya stared at Ruby for a little bit before nodding. "If all goes well, the Riders should go back to the way we were under your command."

"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to spend as much time with my baby as I can before going to war." Ruby turned around and left the room. _The sooner this whole thing was over, the better._

* * *

 **"The Final Countdown" isn't quite playing yet, but it's next on the playlist.  
**

 **Also... sorry, I have to say it. Horns up! Jackrabbits down! The Bison upset their hosts, and the host site for college gameday! Woo!**


	102. Final Prep

**RWBY Vol 7 premier was on Saturday. I'm not a first member so I haven't seen it... but I have seen a spoiler... I mean, everyone knew it was coming, but still... On the bright side, it reminded me to add something to the final battle. It's not much, but it's something. A bigger part wouldn't really make sense.  
**

 **As for my future on this site, I've been asked by a fan to be a beta reader for the fic** ** _RWBY - Warriors of Remnant_ and I've said yes. That's one fic I'm doing this for, there may be more. I need to get a beta profile set up... probably something I should have looked into since I've been doing most of this with my eyes only.  
**

 **Enough of that. Alexa, play "The Final Countdown." (Not timed, just a joke)**

* * *

Ruby laid her ammo belt across the table in front of her. She had so much more stuff on there than she normally did. More ammo, two backup Scrolls, a geolocator, a targeting beacon for the _Vytal_ or other ships… and quite a bit more. She secured everything a little more before wrapping it around the new armor around her waist. The armor itself was based on the set Valan soldiers used with several strength and weapon augments. It was mostly red with a few black streaks on her arms and legs. She planned on using the same helmet she always had for the coming battle.

She hooked her three scythes, including the retransformed Relic of Choice, to the belt then stared at the last weapon on the table. Aaron's V4… One thing her weapons couldn't do was fire fast. The assault rifle would take care of that… Plus, Aaron would be with her in this final battle. She hooked the compacted weapon onto her left gauntlet. With a thought, the gun extended into its full rifle form. It didn't feel too awkward like that. Ruby nodded and the weapon collapsed back into its travel form. It wouldn't be too intrusive in a battle like that either. Ruby rested her left hand over the weapon. She still preferred the real person over this, but it was better than nothing.

The Rider reached into another pouch and grabbed something she used to hate, the suppression collar. She, Arya, and Pyrrha all had one, all with an immeasurable number of wards around them. They wouldn't break from normal combat, but against the Relic of Destruction… who knew what kind of Wards were needed for that? Could anything besides a Relic stop another Relic? The only thing Ruby knew about the collars was that they would isolate Iali from her dragon and take away her Aura and magic. Salem… maybe. That couldn't be known unless it got wrapped around her neck.

The Elder stared at the wall of her temporary home in Kirtan. Today was the day. Either Salem was going down, or everyone else was. Ruby had never been this nervous before a battle, not even when planning to fight Galbatorix. She knew then that she and those with her had weapons that could touch and kill him. They had weapons to do that to Salem but she had the same ones to do that to the rest of the world.

Today… was the scariest day of Ruby's life. She knew if Aaron was still alive she wouldn't be feeling nearly as bad. If _Blake_ was still around too, Ruby would have felt nearly invincible. Her team would have been going in full strength, something few Academy teams so far out of school could say. Not only was her team down two members, including her husband, but Ruby had two kids staying back… _maybe_ two anyway. Still, if something happened to her out there… what would happen to Crey?

Ruby sighed and turned around. Yang was arming and armoring up herself on the other side of the room. The older sister turned her head back and nodded. "Ready for this, sis?"

"As I'll ever be." Ruby walked over to her sister and looked her up and down. It looked like Yang had all her extra gear on as well. "You?"

"I'm ready to knock some Grimm heads together." Yang punched her fists into each other. "I'm with you until you reach Salem."

"Thanks, sis." Ruby walked out of the extra room and into the living room. Viki and Klein were speaking to each other in hushed tones on the other side of the room. Angel stood in her own armor right outside the bedroom that the sisters shared. Crey's crib was also in there.

Angel looked up and locked eyes with Ruby. "Mom, I want to fight."

Ruby sighed. She knew this was coming a mile away. She knew of a thousand reasons why taking Angel along was a terrible idea… but they needed every fighter they could get… and if they failed today, it's not like anyone on either side of the portal was likely to live through the year… She also knew the look in her daughter's eyes. Angel would be going on this mission whether she was wanted or not. "Angel, this isn't something to be taken lightly. You'd be going to war. Odds are pretty good people will die around you. Are you ready for that?"

Angel dipped her head. "That's already happened, mom. I've already seen the worst the world has to offer… I can fight. I can fly. I want to help."

Ruby sighed. She figured as much. "I'm not going to fight you on this, Angel. I'm giving you orders." Her daughter straightened up. "We have a few fighters that have been rigged for remote control with their simulated cockpits on the _Vytal._ While we still had the simulators in Mor'ranar Vera, you were one of the best pilots there. You will follow the squadron leader's orders to the letter. They've experienced actual combat. Follow their lead." Ruby faced the exit of the house. "Thorn, I know you're listening in. You are just going to protect the larger ships from Grimm trying to board. It's safer for a dragon to do that than to have a fighter try to blast them off." Ruby faced her daughter again. "Am I understood?"

Angel nodded, her face staying even. "Crystal clear."

"Good." Ruby looked past her daughter, then toward her sister in law. She walked up to the former slave. "Viki, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Viki took her eyes off Klein and nodded at Ruby. "Of course." The two women walked to an unoccupied corner of the room. "I… really don't want to ask this but…" Ruby crossed her arms. "Things could go really bad today. I might not make it back."

"You _will."_ Viki rested a hand on Ruby's closest shoulder. "You always do."

 _Aaron did too…_ _until he didn't._ "But just in case I don't, I want to know something's taken care of." Ruby locked eyes with Viki. "If something happens to me, can you take care of Crey?" Viki's jaw dropped. "I know you eventually want kids… and I don't want Crey or Angel growing up without parents. Angel already loves and trusts you. Crey…" Ruby ran an armored arm under her eyes. "Can you do it?"

Viki pulled her jaw up and nodded, her own eyes turning watery. "I will care for him as if he were my own."

"Thank you." Ruby paused. "Speaking of your own, if you want, I can give you that ability back."

Viki's eyes widened and she stood straighter. "Scott and I aren't ready for that yet."

"You don't need to be ready now, but you'll be able to when you are."

"I…" Viki lowered her head then brought it back up. "Can you? Please?"

"Of course." Ruby took a step back and pointed her hands at Viki's stomach. "Just stand as still as you can." She first cast a spell to figure out exactly what was wrong. Once that was settled, Ruby began doing the actual work. Somewhere in there, Yang left the house with Angel in tow. She connected, and regrew in some cases, parts that were damaged or removed by the people who thought owned Viki. Considering the intricacies and delicacy of that system, Ruby took her time. About an hour after she started, Ruby lowered her hands. "There. That's fixed."

Viki looked down at herself. "I guess if I felt something it would be bad."

"Yeah." Ruby nodded then pulled up the time on her bionic eye. She still had a little bit of time before she absolutely had to be at the marshalling grounds so she had time to get her affairs in order here. She rested her hands on Viki's shoulders and squeezed. "Viki, I don't say this enough and I don't know if or when I'm going to be able to say it again. I am so proud of you. You have come so far in such a short time. You've grown into an amazing woman. If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe that you had such a hard early life. You are so kind, caring, smart, you are so much more than anyone would have thought you'd be. You're amazing, and I'm honored that I got to know you and to call you my sister."

Viki turned her head away and her cheeks turned red. "Thank you, Ruby. Is it selfish if I say I want to hear it again?"

"Of course not. If and when you get married, I'm going to make sure whoever you're marrying knows some variation of that."

"Thank you, sister."

"You're very welcome." Ruby brought Viki into a hug which was returned right away. They stayed like that for a while just swaying on their feet. Ruby pulled back and kissed her sister on the forehead. "I love you, Viki. Stay safe here."

"I will, Ruby. I will keep Crey safe as well."

Ruby nodded then faced room Crey shared with Angel. She walked over to it and pushed the door open. Crey was asleep in his crib, not making a sound. As much as Ruby wanted to let him sleep, she wanted to hold her son one last time. "Creeeyyyy," she sang as she stood over the crib. "It's meeee." She picked her baby boy up and cradled him as best as she could while wearing armor. She fought to keep a smile while holding back tears at the same time. Crey looked up at Ruby and _smiled,_ a first for him. That only made this harder. "I'm going to go out for a bit, Crey-Crey. Auntie Viki's going to look after you. I'm sure Klein will be around too." She kissed her baby boy's forehead making Crey giggle. "I love you, Crey. Be a good boy while I'm gone. When I get back, I'll help you laugh. When you're older, I'm going to give you so many cookies." She kissed Crey again and rocked him as she left the room. She walked up to her sister and held her baby out to Viki. "He's all yours."

Viki took the baby from Ruby's arms and smiled down at Crey. "We're going to have such a fun time together." She gave Ruby one last sad look before carrying Crey to another part of the room.

Ruby fought through the new stab to her chest and turned around. She stepped out of the temporary house for hopefully not the last time. The Rider stretched her mind out to find her dragon. Finding her, Ruby started the trek across the city to the medical field where all the injured dragons rested. As she walked, she couldn't help but notice all the soldiers of all species and kingdoms walking around. Some were on patrol, some were likely running things for their commanders. It was a little weird seeing Remmartian weapons being carried by those in Alagaësian armor. It was necessary and added a lot more firepower to their side. Arya said she had a way to get rid of all the extra tech after the battle was over so that would limit the technological infection as well.

The Elder walked into the large clearing that had been taken over by the Riders' healers. There were less injured dragons around than there were in Vale but there were still quite a bit… but why was Cerise there? At least she was in full armor. Ruby walked up to her dragon and she got her answer when she was a dozen feet away. The unbonded hatchling stuck his head over his mother's front right paw. Ruby nodded and looked up at her dragon. "Making sure your little one is taken care of?"

Cerise nodded. _Velvet asked me here to calm him down. He's getting desperate to find his Rider. He runs off toward every sound that's not a dragon. Velvet had to track him down an hour ago after he ran to the city and started looking._ She whimpered and nuzzled her hatchling. _He hurts so much and there's nothing any of us can do for him._

"I know." Ruby reached down and rubbed the hatchling's head. He leaned into it but otherwise kept looking around. "He's in good hands here. He will find his Rider, someday. I'm sure Weiss and whoever else is left that searches for new dragons will make sure he's on every run."

 _But how long will it take? Will he choose wrong just to find a Rider and fill the hole in his heart?_

"I have it on good authority that no dragon has ever regretted their choice in Rider. You need to trust your hatchling to do the same."

 _Easier said than done._ Cerise focused her attention back on her son and the hatchling looked up at her. The mother warbled, hummed, and whimpered at the tiny dragon on one of her toes. Her son whimpered and jumped in between his mother's front legs. Cerise stood up and nudged her son toward one of the elves nearby. The elf in question looked at Cerise then the hatchling. Her jaw dropped then she nodded while pulling gloves out of a pouch on her right side. She walked over to the hatchling and picked him up. The baby dragon's ears shot up then fell right after. Cerise whimpered as her hatchling was carried away.

Ruby pat her dragon's snout. "I've already said goodbye to Crey. It wasn't easy for me either."

 _I know._ Cerise returned her attention to her Rider. _Let's get this done and get back to our families._

"I thought the same thing not too long ago." Ruby climbed up her dragon's side and settled in the saddle. Cerise jumped out of the medical clearing and banked toward the marshalling grounds just outside the Forest. As much as the cooperation was forced, Ruby couldn't help but feel a touch of pride at the sight of so many Kingdoms all in one place thanks to her. A good chunk of both Atlas' and Vale's air fleets hovered a few hundred feet off the ground. Fighters and dragons patrolled side by side. Valan and Mistrili tanks rolled alongside Atlesian mechs and Alagaësian cavalry. Most forces were Remmartian with the human Alagaësian kingdoms and the elves only able to muster a battalion each. There were only a few platoons from the dwarves because Hrothgar claimed that there was a religious clan war brewing. He wouldn't elaborate further.

Cerise nosed down and glided toward the Rider's section of the camp. She landed near the basic training grounds and Ruby dismounted. She stood back and observed the Riders getting in their last low-intensity reps and stretches before battle. Angel and Yang were sparring on the other side of the field. Neither of them were going all out… Still, the sight made Ruby wonder if it was the right decision to allow Angel to come. She was way too young. Her melee combat was sloppy at best. Then again, she was a better remote control pilot than any AI could be. If she stayed with that, she would be safe.

But that's not why she was there. A Valan chaplain put out an open invitation for anyone from all military forces to attend a service. Even if she _didn't_ want to go, she still would. Her presence there would show everyone else that she was at their level, not above them. It was on the other side of the camp but Ruby wanted to walk through as much as she could on the way there.

Of course, the Riders and those affiliated with the Riders nodded or saluted at her as she passed. Even though most of them looked tired, they had determination written on their faces. That was nice to see. The Riders would fight with everything they have.

The other Alagaësians… the elves looked about as ready to fight as the rest of the Riders. Then again, their relationship with the Riders has been historically stronger since the first Riders. The Surdans and the Broddrings had a little determination on their faces while a lot of them had the demeanor of that this would just be a simple mop-up mission. They had no idea what they were up against. None of the dwarves looked like they wanted to be there. Of course, they had their problems back home. It was a wonder any of them were ready for war at all.

Moving into the Remmartian side of the camp, it was a tossup whether the soldiers glared at Ruby or saluted her. It was no secret around the base that this was a Rider led operation. Most people knew Operation Overstorm was Ruby's idea. That didn't mean they were okay with the idea. So many of them still thought she was okay with Cerise burning down a good chunk of Vale or was even behind it. As long as they did their jobs, Ruby didn't care about their conspiracy theories.

At the end of her walk, Ruby walked into the largest temporary building at the base. Quite a few people from all Remmartian Kingdoms were there, including a few Riders. There were a couple dragons laying outside the building. Whether they were just there because of their Riders or they'd be using their Riders' senses, Ruby didn't know. Of course, there were only humans in the room. Ruby would have been surprised if any dwarves or elves were in attendance. At least none of the people in there glared at her, none that she noticed anyway… It did look like there were a few people in Alagaësian armor though. That was unexpected.

A few minutes later, the Chaplain walked out onto the stage and called the service to attention. Yang and Angel appeared by Ruby's side soon after. The Riders stayed at the back of the room. Ruby wanted to be visible but she didn't want to call attention to herself. As she expected, the chaplain spoke about the terrible things that happened in Mor'ranar Vera and in Vale. He then went onto explain the expected intensity of the coming battle and how they would be led through it. Ruby respected the whole thing. It wasn't as moving as some of the messages at St. Patch's, but it was enough.

After the service was over, Ruby stayed behind for a few minutes to speak with a few of the soldiers. She waited for people to approach her. Most of the soldiers offered some form of condolence. Others wanted to know specific battleplans. Ruby sent each of them away with what she could. She thought she helped a few people with what she said, but it wasn't enough.

Ruby eventually joined the slow flow of people out of the building. She was half surprised to see Nalia up against the side of the building. The dragon hadn't spoken much after the funeral. The Rider walked over to the broken dragon before joining Cerise. "How you feeling?" She rested a hand on Nalia's snout.

The dragon turned her eyes down toward the Rider. _Have I told you his last words?_

Ruby nodded. "You did."

Nalia turned her head away. _He saw platinum gates, the same thing Halcyon did._ She peeled her lips back. _Unlike Halcyon, Aaron will never come back._

"But you'll see him again." Ruby rubbed Nalia's scales. "We all will."

Nalia's eyes pointed at Ruby then away again. _Aye…_ The way she said that didn't leave room for further conversation.

Ruby sighed then walked toward her dragon. She climbed Cerise' side and they took off toward the infiltration team's meeting area. Ruby once again prepared her mind to make the switch into business mode. It likely wasn't needed right away as Arya was still meeting with the other commanders. That could give her a few more minutes of possible levity before the battle to end all battles.

Cerise flew out of the base toward the agreed meeting area. There were plenty of people already there that were part of the Maidens' escort. The dragon landed and her Rider dismounted. The entirety of team JNPR, the remainder of CfVY, Yang and Halcyon, and half of SSSN were gathered in a rough circle. Sage and Scarlet were missing. "Sun, where's the rest of your team?" Ruby asked.

Sun shrugged. "They're their village's only two Huntsmen and the people there aren't exactly friendly to outsiders. They had to stay or risk letting Grimm inside."

"I'm probably going to lose my job being here," Neptune started, "but something tells me if we lose here, there wouldn't be a job at all."

Ruby nodded. "Our crime scene unit took a pounding in the last few weeks. I'm sure we could use the help when we get back to our normal operating status." She looked around everyone assembled. "I'm actually surprised so many of you showed up. A lot of you have kids."

All parents shifted on their feet with some of them looking away. "Kali and Ghira are looking after my boy," Sun said. "They don't mind spending time with their grandson."

"All of ours are safe in Kirtan," Jaune said, speaking for his team. "They're with one of the elves that worked at the Embassy in Vale. She and her husband are nice and love kids. They'll be fine there."

"Ours are with my parents." Velvet crossed her arms and Yatsu put a hand on her shoulder. "They live in downtown Windpath, almost in the center of the city where laws actually mean something. It's not the best but its who we're comfortable with."

"You're one to talk about kids' safety." Coco looked over her sunglasses. "I saw Angel and Thorn armored up a few minutes ago."

Ruby sighed. "Angel will be on the _Vytal_ piloting a fighter from a modified simulator. She'll be fine." She shifted on her feet. "That's what I'm telling myself anyway. It's a calculated risk, just like how Ozpin treated my team back at Beacon… Like Mountain Glen. If I didn't let her come under supervision, she'd find a way to come on her own. She's much safer like this."

Yang sighed. "She's just like you, sis. Her rebellious streak is to help people when the higher-ups don't want her to."

"It could be worse," Sun offered. "She could be doing drugs."

 _She wouldn't dare._ Cerise snorted. _My sense of smell isn't as keen as other dragons, but I can still smell several different kinds of those things. She would not like to face me if I knew she was using any of those._

"And she's not even Angel's mother." Ruby allowed herself a small smile. "Aaron would have gone along with this but he wouldn't be happy about it." Ruby turned her head back toward the base. Two green dragons were flying toward the group on the ground. "Looks like the boss is on the way."

Fírnen and Nalia landed side by side. Arya and Oscar dismounted Fírnen, which was expected. _Brom_ dismounted Nalia, which was something that wasn't discussed. Nalia caught Ruby's glance but didn't say anything.

The new group approached the old with Arya looking over everyone. "I am sure I don't need to tell you all the level of danger we are all going to be walking into, so I'll stick with the actual plan. Oscar will be the only one joining the Maidens in our fight against Salem. Everyone else will be keeping the Grimm and anything else under the Shade's control off us."

"Not that I have a problem with it," Ruby started, "but why is Brom here? I wasn't planning for this."

Brom and Nalia glanced at each other then Brom sighed. "I lost Saphira on Vroengard. Nalia lost Aaron in Vale. Even though we did not speak much in recent years, he was my closest friend, before and after the Fall."

 _I can say much the same about Saphira,_ Nalia said, _apart from Irolon, of course._

"I asked if I could fly a dragon into battle once more. She agreed."

 _We are far more deadly as a pair. That is true for all dragons and Riders… no matter if we fight with our own soulmates or another._ Ruby couldn't help but stare at Nalia. That word choice and tone… she hadn't heard either of those for years.

"In any case," Arya continued, "it is unlikely the dragons will be able to follow us far in." She looked up at Halcyon. "Is this your smaller form grown large?"

 _No._ Halcyon snorted. _This is an entirely different body. I can't scale this one._

"There's only so much tech I could fit into this shell." Yang hammered a fist onto Halcyon's front right leg. "Even with the Relics, the laws of physics and magic still apply."

"Very well. I am sure you two fight better together as a pair than separate. Yang, when the dragons aren't able to follow us, you will stay with them."

"Will do." Yang nodded.

"Now," Arya looked over all those gathered, "I believe it would be prudent to explain the final plan for outside the castle and how it pertains to us…" She went onto explain exactly how a Valan aerial corvette and several fighters from several kingdoms would escort them to their entry point and the perimeter that their entrance would help create. She elaborated several plans on how to take out certain problematic types of Grimm that could come their way. If they fought Salem in what looked like the grand hall of the castle, they were going to have support from snipers from the outside.

After explaining various split off points and a plan to cordon off Salem, Arya sighed. "There is one last thing." Arya reached into a pouch on her side and pulled out what looked like detonators. "If we feel like none of us are able to kill Salem, one of us needs to press the button. It will send a signal to all ships and bombers to destroy the castle. If a ship with a laser is still active, they will fire first. If not, there is a firing priority. Maybe if all of her is destroyed at once, she will be dead for good."

"I don't think that's how that works," Yang said. "I read up on Shades both times I was trapped in Tenga's tower. If the heart isn't destroyed first, they _will_ come back."

"I know, but if we fail and Salem is _not_ killed, she will have all four Relics. Even if she will come back, her absence will allow the Kingdoms time to rebuild and train the new Maidens. If we fall, we need to make sure it is possible for the survivors to recover."

"Mutually assured destruction…" Ruby looked up at Cerise. Her dragon stared back, eyes wide. It looked like she came to the same conclusion. "We'll be at the center of the destruction." Ruby faced Arya again. "We'll die but there's a chance our dragons will survive."

 _We are aware,_ Fírnen growled. _This is not something we propose lightly. None of us wish for that to happen._

 _Then why aren't you fighting it?_ Nalia hissed. _You know how much this crippled me. Why are you allowing your Rider to even propose it?_

"Because if we press that button, we're already dead," Ruby said. "No need to fight for what no longer exists." Nalia's growl changed tone and she looked away. Ruby stepped forward and took one of the detonators from Arya while Pyrrha took the other. "Even then, there's no guarantee that the attack will do what it needs to. If we press the button, that means Salem has all four Relics. It's a long shot but it's the last one we have."

 _That doesn't mean we have to like it,_ Cerise growled. _You will protect that before we go to battle._

"It's already been done," Arya announced.

Ruby whispered a few spells in the Ancient Language. "Yeah, there's a ton in there." She opened one of the few not full pouches on her belt and put the remote inside. "We won't have to worry about accidental signaling."

"Agreed." Arya paused. "I suggest you all report to your stations. Our force will be departing in less than fifteen minutes. May the stars watch over you all."

Ruby nodded then mounted Cerise again. She pat her dragon's neck. _**Don't worry, Cerise. None of us will-**_

 _Don't say it,_ Cerise took off and flew toward the base. _If you need to press it, you need to be able to._

 _ **I wasn't going to swear that. I was going to swear that none of us will die so we won't need to press the button.**_

Cerise turned her head back. _**How can you be so sure?**_

 _ **Because we have to win. Failure isn't an option. We win or everyone loses. I've got the best people ever fighting alongside me… I'm only missing the swordsman I trust the most.**_

 _We'll get the bitch that did that,_ Cerise growled. _Don't make me crash into the Hall. You know I will._

 _I know._ Ruby raised her head to face her team's gathering spot. Saphira and Weiss stood there with a couple military-grade Bullheads resting nearby, including the one the Riders had used since the beginning… but were Weiss and Saphira really taking point with the Maidens? Maybe. Ruby and Alagaësians in general had a lead from the front mentality. If… _when_ they won the battle, she would gain a lot of respect from them.

Cerise landed in the grass with Halcyon following soon after. The sisters dismounted their dragons and approached their teammate. "Ready to fly into battle Weiss?"

"If you'll have me, I'll join your escort to the castle." Weiss held her hands behind her back. "After that, I must stay outside and command the Riders in the greater battle."

"We'll take you as far in as we can, Weiss," Yang walked up and put a hand on her teammate's shoulder. "There's no one alive that I would rather have help me out, well, apart from those that already are."

Weiss gave Yang a light smirk then punched her side. "Well, that's a veiled insult."

"Yeah…" Ruby hung her head. "Two weeks ago I'd say it was."

Weiss winced. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"I know you didn't mean it." Ruby paused. "We've all lost people to Salem. We're doing this for them."

Yang and Weiss nodded. "Yeah." Yang sighed then stuck a hand into the center of the three. "For Blake."

Ruby stared at the hand. At first, she thought Yang was being funny. But really… She rested a hand on top of Yang's. "For Aaron."

Weiss looked between the two then rested one of hers on both of theirs. "For everyone that has lost their lives fighting Salem and her cronies."

"We fight for them," Ruby continued. "We fight for everyone that's going to battle alongside us. We fight for those back in the Kingdoms who stayed behind to protect them. We fight for those who can't hope to fight for themselves."

Yang smirked at her little sister. "Maybe you should have saved that for an address for the entire force."

"Maybe I still can." Ruby tried to smirk as she looked into her sister's eyes. Something about that… she didn't know how to put words to it. She looked at Weiss and that same feeling came over her. Weiss slumped her shoulders and faced Yang. Ruby faced her sister again in time to see Yang turn toward Weiss. It looked like they all had the same idea in their heads.

As one, the three sisters took their hands back then flung their arms around their sisters. Their foreheads met in the center of the circle as they held each other tight. "I love you both so much," Ruby said. "I'm so happy I got to know you both."

"When we're done here and if the Kingdoms officially aren't calling for our heads anymore," Weiss started, "I'm taking both of you to Easton Steakhouse in Atlas, and that's just for starters. Theatrical productions, movie premiers, whatever you want."

"Really, Weiss?" Yang chuckled. "Trying to buy our love?"

"Oh, shut up you huggable brute."

Three dragons hummed and the area around the Riders darkened. Ruby pulled her head away from her sisters' and tilted her head up. Cerise, Saphira, and Halcyon were in a similar position to their Riders likely sharing a similar conversation. Ruby dipped her head back into the circle. "We win today and put out whatever fires are left then we're going on vacation. No fighting, no Riders, no interruptions. Just us and our families."

"If those are your orders." Weiss shook her head as best as she could. "Arya might call on me for something in which case I'd have to go. Otherwise, it's just us."

"Ruby, I'm your bodyguard," Yang said. "Wherever you go, I go. You say jump, I ask how high."

The sisters pulled away and stepped back from each other and toward their dragons. Ruby looked between her sisters and their dragons. "I'll see you all on the other side. It's showtime."

"Copy that, Shadeslayer." Yang turned around and climbed Halcyon's side.

"We'll fall in with your escort when we can." Weiss pulled herself up onto Saphira's saddle.

Ruby jumped up onto Cerise' back and extended her helmet over her head with a thought. Her bionic eye started recording for proof if nothing else. Cerise took off and flew toward what would be the front of the formation. The original mastermind of Overstorm turned her head back to look over the assembled force. The dozen ships from the Atlesian and Valan air fleets were forming up around the biggest ships, the _Vytal_ and the _Hammer of Atlas._ A few transport ships were still on the ground loading Alagaësian forces onto them. Ruby still didn't know how they would react to flying in something, or even if they knew they were flying in the first place. Military transports didn't have windows for a reason. So many people… so many lives based on her idea… Part of her was glad she wasn't in charge of the attack, another part wanted to be so the fault didn't fall on anyone else' shoulders.

Almost exactly fifteen minutes after the Maiden group broke up, the transports lifted off the ground and flew into formation with the rest of the aerial fleet. Dragons and the few Vacuan fighters that couldn't find space on the _Hammer_ rose from the trees or makeshift runways just outside the forest. Two squadrons of Atlesian Sharks and Rider Wyverns flew off from the top of the carrier. Shruikan stood up in the forest and unfurled his wings. He didn't flap them yet, the wings would make everything else in the air unstable.

One of the Wyverns with red stripes painted on the wings flew up alongside Cerise. Ruby's comms chirped. _"Vats and I have been ordered to fly you in,"_ Angel's voice came out of Ruby's helmet's speakers. _"We'll join the rest of the battle after that."_

"Good to have you, Feathers." Ruby stretched her mind into the fighter. As she hoped, there was no one inside. "I better hear a glowing report about you when this is over."

" _Don't worry. You will."_ The fighter fell back and a second Wyvern with teal stripes took Angel's wing.

All dragons fighting in this battle flew to the front of the formation with VTOL fighters stationed in between them. Fírnen and Saphira flew side by side in front of Cerise with Halcyon taking his sister's wing. Nalia took the rear of the pentagon. Acknowledgments of readiness flooded in from everywhere. It sounded like the fleet was ready to move out.

Arya turned back and faced Yang. _"Goldmane, take us in."_

Ruby grabbed the transformed Relic of Choice from her belt in her left hand and Máni Bláto in her right. _Ready for this, Cerise?_

 _As much as anyone will ever be,_ Cerise growled.

Yang drew the Relic of Creation from Halcyon's saddle and pointed it forward. _"Here goes nothing."_

Ruby stared at the air in front of her. A purple speck appeared and it grew to enormous size in a second. She had to crane her neck to see the ends of it. It looked like the portal was large enough to let the entire force in if they all flew straight. Just what they needed.

" _All forces, fly through,"_ Arya ordered. Yang tossed the Relic of Creation back to the elf before the fleet moved. The dragons flew forward and staggered their line while the fighters, gunships, and airships stayed in roughly the same formation. Cerise flew through and Ruby surveyed her surroundings. Everything was in some shade of black, red, or purple, including the sky. A dark castle rose from the ground, just like the pictures Yang brought back. Unlike those pictures, the ground moved with a mass of Grimm. Hundreds of winged monsters filled the air.

Ruby grimaced. _Even though I march through the canyon of the darkness of death, evil will not find me… I guess this is more of a valley, but still._ She turned her head back. Dozens of dragons, fighters, then airships flew out of the portal. Ruby couldn't help but smirk. _Defenders, converge._ The portal closed once everyone was through. Ruby's comms lit up with so many people calling out targets.

The Elder faced forward again to see Arya staring at her. _If you want to say something, now's the time,_ the elf thought.

Ruby glared at the castle in front of her. She had something in mind for a while. The Rider thrust her left arm and the corresponding scythe up in the air. "For Alagaësia! And for Remnant!" She whipped both scythes forward and pulled both triggers. The Battle had begun.

* * *

 **Ah, the _Endgame_ references... and there's still more. Also, the 'Defenders, converge' would be a little too far on the nose... so I went with Narnia instead.  
**

 **One last thing, my reactions to the newest episodes of RWBY will be down here after I see it. This starts next week. If anyone doesn't know, you can sign up for a free RT account and see the episodes for free one week later.**


	103. Grimmlands

**Disney+ comes out tomorrow! All the shows from my childhood will be there, not to mention the likes of "The Mandalorian." So hyped for all of it!**

 **Don't have anything else to say now so I'll get you right into the battle.  
**

* * *

Angel pulled her trigger as soon as she saw her mom shoot. Her volley of Dust rounds joined dozens of other streams as they shot toward the Grimm. She didn't know which Grimm her rounds killed but apparently the remote cockpit tracked all those kills. Most fighters and dragons in the formation flew out toward other targets. Angel was tempted to join them and to add to her beginning kill count, but she stayed on Cerise' wing. She was part of her family's escort. She planned on following her orders to the letter.

She checked her radar for the corvette that was giving them escort. The _KVS_ _Glen_ broke formation with the other airships and pointed toward the ground team's entry point. "Glen _to Party Crasher,"_ someone from the ship called, _"we'll clear a path for you."_

" _Copy that,_ Glen." Angel's mom said. _"We'll keep the Grimm off you in the meantime."_

An alarm rang in Angel's cockpit. With a quick look at the radar, she spun her nose to the right and spat more Dust at a Manticore that flew too close. She looked at the screen with her ammo counter. She _really_ needed to keep track of that. She was undoubtedly going to need to rearm at some point in the battle. The less that was needed, the better.

The _Glen_ flew underneath the ground team and Party Crasher flew to follow. Compared with how fast the Wyverns could fly, it felt like a crawl. Because of this, Angel could match her speed with the warship and essentially act as a detached turret. She took what looked like a blind spot at the aft of the ship and only fired at Grimm that were flying at them. If the brief times that she didn't have any targets, she looked at the radar. There was a _lot_ of red there. If this was a simulation, Angel would have laughed at the no-win scenario… Now they all had to make it work.

" _Feathers, Vats,"_ Angel's mom called, _"our landing zone's contested and we don't have missiles up here. Care to do the honors?"_

" _With pleasure, Shadeslayer,"_ Vats said over the radio. Angel put some power to the engines and flew to the front of the _Glen._ Sure enough, a landing pad had a lot of Grimm on it, most notably several red striped Dauthwildo. Those altered Grimm split their tails and started firing spikes at the incoming fliers. Angel avoided as many as she could while arming one of her missiles. A few of the spikes glanced off her fighter's armor but didn't even shake the fighter.

"Ready when you are, Vats," Angel called. She got a notification that one of her missiles was ready.

" _Call it, Feathers."_

"Then light 'em up!" Angel pulled a different trigger and a missile sailed down toward the deck like thing on the castle. It met a second one from Vats' fighter on the stone and both exploded in a gorgeous fireball. When the smoke cleared, nothing was left.

" _Thanks for the assist,"_ Angel's mom said. Party Crasher flew past Angel's fighter and landed on what was left of the landing pad. _"Join the rest of the fight you two. We'll take it from here."_

"Copy that, Shadeslayer. Take care in there." Angel turned the nose of her fighter away but kept her eyes on Party Crasher. Her mom and a couple of her aunts were going in there. Angel had an idea of what they were going up against… but her mom stopped Galbatorix. She could stop Salem too.

" _Feathers, you still with me?"_ Vats called. _"We've got to regroup with the squadron."_

Angel shook her head. "I'm fine." She checked her radar again to find the other four members of their squadron. "Just making sure nothing unexpected happened."

" _As long as your head's clear."_ Vats took the lead as they flew toward the _Vytal,_ their target to protect unless otherwise ordered. A Dauthblaka flew in front of Angel's Wyvern but Angel flew right through it. Thanks to some of her mom's modifications, she cut right through without slowing down. That was so nice.

When she was close enough to the _Vytal,_ Angel switched comms channels. "Flash Six to Flash One, Five and I are back from our escort mission."

" _Copy that, Six. You and Five will take up position behind the Vytal. Stay sharp. Things have been too easy so far."_

Angel flew her remote-controlled Wyvern to fly behind the _Vytal._ She almost waved at Thorn who stood on the cruiser's hull but didn't when she remembered Thorn wouldn't have been able to see her. Acting as a point defense turret was difficult. Seeing her dragon made her feel better… but how was this battle easy? She heard the estimated counts over the radio when the battle started. This was the largest amount of Grimm ever recorded in one place. They'd only pushed back because they had so much firepower on their side. Still, everything was going well. It looked like some of the ground forces had landed beside the castle. Everything was going to…

The land grew dark, well darker than it already was. Angel faced where the sun was… a mass of new Grimm was approaching over the mountains and valleys. The _Vytal_ called out the new contacts to the east… as well as to the north… south… and west... Angel looked all around her in her fighter. As far as she could tell, more Grimm came from all directions with no weak sides. "Oh, sweet _babies!"_ Angel whipped her fighter around and span up her guns. There were still hundreds of Grimm from when the force first arrived. This was a problem.

" _All forces, this is General Schnee,"_ a voice came over the radio. _"Push through to the castle and set up a defensive perimeter. We can't afford to be caught out here with no protection at our backs."_

The _Vytal_ started flying forward and Angel backed up to stay in the same place relative to the ship. She grit her teeth before subconsciously pushing her tongue between them. There were a _lot_ of Grimm. With all their fire facing out, they could still-

Angel's cockpit shook and Angel hit her head on the side of it. She yelped and rubbed her head. That wasn't her remote cockpit reacting. She turned her fighter toward the _Vytal…_ The ship was smoking from the bottom. A massive gun had appeared in the ground and pointed up at the ship. "Feathers to _Vytal_ actual, there's a giant…" as she spoke, a row of guns burst from the ground and pointed at the ships above them. "Check that, there're _several_ giant guns beneath us."

" _Flash squadron, take them out,"_ a voice Angel didn't recognize ordered. _"You've got the closest explosives. Use 'em."_

" _You heard the man,"_ Flash One said. Considering the Atlesian was the only one in the squadron with significant combat experience, Angel planned on following her just about everywhere. She took formation behind the squadron leader. If One was upset that the entire formation was sloppy, she didn't voice her complaints. A target appeared on Angel's HUD. _"You have your targets, Flashes. Blow them to hell."_

Angel fought the urge to say 'language' and peeled off toward her target. She locked on with another missile and sent that toward its target. It exploded but when the smoke cleared, the cannon didn't even look singed. "Uh, we've got a problem here." As she flew over the cannons, she saw another missile hit her target. She could have sworn that the missile exploded on nothing. "They're not reaching their targets."

" _I'm guessing magic,"_ Vats said. _"We would have seen something if it was a shield."_

" _Acknowledged,"_ someone from the _Vytal_ said. _"We'll prep the Black Queen. Don't waste your ammo on those. We need you on Grimm control."_

" _We all knew Salem had something else planned for us,"_ General Schnee said over the comms. _"Let's show her we were prepared for everything she has."_

Angel formed back up with her squadron and flew at the horde of Grimm that approached from behind the fleet. This was going to be a fight.

* * *

"Fire in the hole!" Yang jumped to the front of the formation and stuck Ember Halcyon out in front of her. She pulled back on the trigger and an inferno launched out of the flamethrower. Grimm screamed as they burned. Some tried to force their way through the blaze but were met by more gunfire before they reached the Rider. When all she could hear was fire, Yang let up on the trigger. She lowered her arm as the flames stopped coming. Grimm evaporation accompanied the smoke.

"Clear the room!" Arya ordered behind Yang. The flamethrower pressed her back against the wall as Ruby and Coco ran past her. She raised her flamethrower gauntlet and checked the fuel indicator on the side. She grimaced. Quarter of a tank. She was going to need to return to Halcyon.

Yang looked up and entered the room herself. Prison cells lined both sides of a narrow corridor. Various torture devices stood in the cells or hung from the walls or ceiling. Considering there were still gunshots and growls up ahead, some Grimm still lived. Yang didn't know or care if they were residents of the prison or just stationed there.

Various calls of clear rang out and the Huntsmen regrouped at the entrance to the prison. "Still nothing," Coco reported. "Another dead end."

Even if Arya wasn't wearing a helmet, Yang didn't think her face would give away anything. "We'll regroup with the rest of our force then continue on."

Ruby growled and shook her helmeted head. "I knew that some older castles were built like mazes to confuse attackers but this is ridiculous."

"It's magic," Arya said. "Those walls weren't built like the ones we're used to. If we could destroy them, we would have done so from the beginning."

"Don't need to tell me. I ran through an entire belt and I didn't scratch it." Coco checked her ammo belt. "Damnit. I'm running dry. I need to head back topside."

"I need more ammo too." Yang raised both her gauntlets. "I'll keep you covered."

Coco nodded. "I'd ask how the hell the Grimm are able to back cap us but this is their Queen's castle." She ran out of the prison and toward what they thought was the main corridor.

"Yang, Coco," Arya called as the brawler stepped into the doorway, "I have the Relic of Creation. We don't need to make ammo runs." Yang straightened up. With all the battle of chaos, she completely forgot about that. "However, if the soldiers need another spot for the triage center, this room would serve them well."

"Could use a little sanitation but it'll do in a pinch. I'll pass it along." Yang sprinted off after Coco. Yang would have called it in then and there but Party Crasher discovered not ten feet into the castle that they couldn't communicate with the rest of their forces. Arya said it was magic that not even the True Name of the Ancient Language could repeal. As far as they knew, that meant the wards were placed using that very Word. Not exactly a good sign for the rest of the mission.

There were a few gunshots up ahead but it sounded nothing like Coco's minigun. Yang burst into the main corridor and faced the direction they came from. A new mass of Grimm charged out of another passageway. The problem was those with ammo had only precision weapons and none they could just spray and pray. Yatsu and Sun knelt in front of the group and only to shoot kill Grimm that got too close.

Coco rejoined her team and unloaded on the oncoming Grimm with her remaining ammo. Yang jumped to Yatsu's side and stuck her flamethrower arm out again and pulled the trigger. Ignited Burn Dust launched from the gauntlet toward the Grimm. Not even ten seconds later, the flames sputtered out. She drew Dawnbreaker and shifted her sword to shotgun form. She blasted any Grimm that got close. An Ursa made it into Yang's melee range and the Rider stuck her weapon into the Grimm's mouth and pulled the trigger. She added a punch and a shotgun blast from Ember Celica as well to be on the safe side.

After giving two more Myrkgarms holes in their chests, the flow finally stopped. Yang reloaded her shotgun and faced the defensive line. Somewhere in the mayhem, Ruby and Arya had rejoined the fight. "How long was that force coming?"

"About a minute before you showed up," Jaune said. "Took us by surprise."

"Ren's hurt pretty bad," Nora called. Yang looked over the crowd to the far wall. She thought she heard a lack of grenade explosions. Ren sat on the floor and leaned against a wall with his right arm dripping blood at an astounding rate. Red oozed through Nora's hands as she kept pressure on it. "I think they got an artery."

"I've got you." Ruby jogged to Ren's side and began the healing process.

"Who needs ammunition?" Arya asked. She drew the Relic of Creation and pointed it at the ground. Dust swirled around the area and several of Coco's ammo belts and Yang's shotgun shells appeared on the floor. Yang grabbed her ammunition and loaded it into her weapons. When a flamethrower fuel cell appeared, Yang loaded that in her flamethrower and clipped another to her belt.

"Sun, Neptune," Yang faced the two Huntsmen in question, "With me. We need to run back and let the soldiers in on a new combat hospital."

"Got it." Sun nodded. "Maybe see where all these Grimm came from."

"That too." Yang faced the tunnel where the Grimm horde came from and jogged into that. "Naina." A golden light appeared in front of Yang as she and her escorts marched through the dark hallways. As much as she was focused on the path ahead of her, she spared enough time to look at the walls and split off hallways for any sign of where the Grimm came from. They had people clear out every room they passed so they wouldn't be attacked from behind. Yang was sure they cleared out every single one. How did the Grimm get by the soldiers outside?

Yang's helmet reconnected to the local comms system and she ran out into the large room just off the landing pad Party Crasher used to enter the castle. The infiltrators stuck around in there long enough for the first ground forces to set up. Now, bodies of Atlesian soldiers littered the floor. Some kills looked fairly clean with necks or chest pieces leaking. Others… Yang tried not to stare at the disemboweled corpses or decapitated heads.

"Well," Neptune gulped, "we know how all those Grimm got in."

"Unfortunately." Yang marched toward the entrance but paused when she heard approaching engines. A Valan troop transport flew over the landing pad and opened its back ramp. Soldiers filed out, some of them staring at the corpses of those there before them. The soldier last off the ramp began shouting orders as he disembarked. He had the bars of a lieutenant, likely the one in charge of this bit of defense and if Yang knew her order of battle right, meant more soldiers were on their way.

As the transport took off, Yang walked out onto the landing pad. Her jaw dropped as she saw all the new Grimm around. It wasn't just Grimm either. Guns stuck out of the ground, pointing up at the fleet above them. Several fired and nailed their targets. A Valan aerial corvette started its fall toward the ground. As Yang watched, a wing of old black and red fighters soared out from the cloud of Grimm. Watts was contributing to the battle from beyond the grave.

Yang searched the sky for the _Hammer of Atlas._ She nearly had to look straight up at the ship. It looked like the fleet was starting to take defensive positions. "Party Crasher to Overlord, what the hell is going on out here? We were almost overwhelmed from behind."

" _Party Crasher, Overlord,"_ Winter said after a few seconds of silence, _"this new wave of Grimm appeared ten minutes ago. We lost contact with the force protecting your entrance shortly after that. Is your mission compromised?"_

"No. I just came back to offer a potential field hospital location for the troops. Doesn't look like that's needed."

" _We are having problems with the automated defenses. Normally I would not hesitate to enact this, but these are unusual circumstances. I need Angel Rose to assist with using the Black Queen to infect the defenses."_

Yang just stared at the carrier. Why would Winter need to mention that… unless… "You need to infect at the source."

" _Correct. We have been unsuccessful in our attempts to broadcast the virus from any of our ships. However, Queen Islanzadí reports that her forces have discovered a facility away from the castle with that they believe to be an antenna sticking out of the rocks."_

"And Angel's the only one available that has worked on the virus." Yang shook her head. So much of her wanted to tell Winter to do something unseemly but something in her stopped that. "If that's where she's needed, that's where she needs to be. We'll worry about Ruby when this is over. Party Crasher out." She switched comm frequencies. "Goldmane to Metal Flapper. I don't care what you're doing right now. Feathers' been reassigned and you're escorting her. Try to wrangle in Big Green and Teach as well."

" _Copy that,"_ Halcyon's voice came through the speakers. _"Nothing will touch her."_

"Thank you." Yang returned her attention back to the two that came with her, then to the soldiers that were setting up a defensive perimeter just inside the castle. "They need you two here. I think you two have more experience than all these guys put together."

Sun looked over his shoulder then back at Yang. "I was thinking the same thing."

"Kill the witch for us, will you?" Neptune asked.

"I'll do my part, you do yours." Yang ran back into the castle. If she saw any Grimm or the rest of Party Crasher were attacked from behind, she'd know that the Grimm had secret side passages. That would be a problem later.

* * *

Angel pulled back on the trigger but no Dust rounds left her fighter. That was her third dead man's click of the battle. "Sweet babies. Sweet babies. Sweet babies." She tasted blood with every word from biting her tongue so hard. She keyed her comms again. "Flash Six to _Hammer_ Actual. I'm coming back to rearm." If the _Hammer_ responded, Angel didn't hear it through the blood rushing through her ears. She turned her fighter toward the aerial carrier.

Someone on the comms screamed. Angel froze as yet another person died. A burning Atlesian fighter fell in front of hers. The girl grit her teeth as she ignored the blaring vital sign warning alarms. Why the heck did fighters have those? Why did the _simulators?_ Pilots needed to be able to fly through that. Everyone else was doing the same thing she was. She should… a tear ran down her cheek. _Why did I ever think this was a good idea?_

A new pain on her right side made her scream. She snapped her left hand toward it as she searched the sky for her dragon. His mission was to protect the _Vytal,_ so that's where he should have been. "I'm coming, Thorn!" She pulled on the stick hard as she maneuvered toward the ship she was actually on.

A flash of red caught her attention. Her dragon had a flock of Dauthblaka on his tail. Angel clenched her teeth together as she kicked on the afterburners. She corrected course so she could fly through what looked like three of the Grimm at the same time. Less than a second later she did just that.

She pulled back on the throttle to turn around for another pass… but she didn't lose speed. Angel kept yanking the throttle back to get some response. She looked at her screens… she blew out her engines. As her brain started to process what she just did she moaned. "Of course, I did. What did I think would happen?" Her mom's stuff wasn't indestructible after all.

Angel turned her fighter back around and nosed up toward the _Vytal_. She'd have to glide into the cruiser's hangar… wait, her flight engines were down, what about the Gravity Dust? She checked that too… and found that her VTOL capabilities were gone too. Probably collateral damage from her engines. "Flash Six to _Hammer,_ I'm going down." Angel dipped her fighter's nose and searched the ground for a safe space to land. There wasn't one… but there was the line of guns. "And I know just where to crash this thing." Angel pointed the fighter right at the nearest anti-ship gun. A few Grimm tried to fly in her path but her fighter cut right through them all. She sped into the gun and the cockpit around her turned black.

"Flash Six to Flash One, I'm out. Guess I'm on ship patrol now." Angel tore her headset off and held her head in her hands. She breathed fast and hard, maybe even hyperventilated. "You're okay, Angel. You're okay…" She would have gripped onto Thorn's mind but Auntie Yang told her what a bad idea that was with Salem around. "You're okay… you're…" She clenched her eyes… she saw dozens of fighters going down, dragons being torn apart by Grimm, soldiers being slaughtered by monsters and those other fighters. Angel snapped her eyes open but her sight turned watery. "I want to go home…"

Someone pounded on the side of her simulator. Angel yelped and pressed herself against the opposite wall… Then she remembered that there were only allies on the ship. Whoever it was wouldn't hurt her. She popped the hatch and looked up at an Atlesian soldier. The woman quirked her lips. "Flash Six, you have been reassigned. You're needed topside."

"Topside? Like…" Angel pointed toward the top of the ship. "Outside?"

"Yes, _outside."_ The woman sounded annoyed. "That's an order sent by Rider Xiao Long."

 _Auntie Yang?_ Angel gulped. "Okay." She crawled out of her simulator and started toward the room's exit. She paused by the pod Vats used at one point. Angel felt her jaw tremble. Kurrasan, Cye's dragon, didn't make it. Angel was too late to save him. Cye's scream when that happened…

"Move it, soldier!" the actual soldier yelled, breaking Angel out of her thoughts. "The clock's ticking!"

Angel shook her head and started walking faster. The floor shook as either something hit the _Vytal_ or it fired its main cannons. She could never tell which. The Rider grabbed her weapon from the weapon rack by the door before heading out. By reflex alone, Angel checked the ammo in her weapon. She was good and she had more in the saddlebags on Thorn's saddle. Who knew she'd actually need ammo for Eljun…

The soldier passed Angel and the girl followed right on her heels. What was going on that Auntie Yang wanted her outside the _Vytal?_ She kept going through scenarios until a particularly noisy hatch opened and gunfire and Grimm shrieks filled the air. Angel stepped onto the top of the _Vytal_ with anti-air guns firing all around her.

Thorn rose above the side of the ship and landed on the deck. Right right side looked a little bloody but it didn't look like he was favoring it. He growled and glared at his Rider. The only thing that would have been better would be having his wings wrapped around her. Angel latched herself onto her dragon's snout. "Thorn, what's going on?"

"We're going groundside." It sounded weird having Thorn's voice come through her suit's speakers. "Something about you needing to work with the Black Queen virus."

Angel blinked. "I can do that." She pulled away and looked off the edge of the ship. There were so many Grimm down there. "Please tell me we have escorts?"

"The best," Uncle Halcyon's voice came over the comms. Angel turned around. Uncle Halcyon and Nalia flew toward them. "We've got you covered and we won't let any hostiles touch you."

"If any of them so much as scratch you," Nalia started, "I will tear them apart so hard that none of their insides will be within a mile of each other." If Angel didn't know Nalia, she'd be a little more scared than she was from that statement. The man on Nalia's back said nothing.

Still, it was nice having those two watching her back. Angel climbed onto Thorn's back and was about to tell Thorn to take off when she saw someone else run out of the ship toward them. "You'll need this," the soldier handed over a large flash drive.

"That would be helpful," Angel said as she took the flash drive. She secured that in a saddlebag then leaned forward on Thorn's back. Her dragon took off and nosed down. Halcyon took the lead and pointed his snout toward the line of guns on the ground. It looked like it was heading toward the center of all the guns. A couple tanks and mechs stood there too. More protection. Maybe she was safer there than on the _Vytal._

Bullets flew out of somewhere and right in front of Uncle Halcyon. The android dragon flared his wings and faced the source. Angel did as well. Some modified Atlesian fighters were flying toward them. "Go on!" Uncle Halcyon ordered. "We'll take these bots." He and Nalia sped toward the fighters.

Angel clamped her teeth together and gripped her weapon. "Thorn…"

"Hang on!" Thorn pinned his wings to his sides. Angel leaned forward but tried to keep her head up. The wind stung her eyes and she tried to ignore it. It looked like Grimm were approaching but nowhere near fast enough. Those that got close were gunned down by those on the ground.

Thorn landed hard on the ground and Angel slid off her dragon's side. She reached up and pulled the flash drive from the saddlebag. One of the soldiers nearby screamed something and the bullets started flying again. Angel dropped to the ground and covered her head with her arms. She clenched her eyes and pressed herself against her dragon's side as she waited for it to stop.

Her dragon growled and pushed her off. "Go!" Thorn ordered. "Get inside!"

Angel stared at Thorn then looked at the soldiers. A blue furred elf in Atlesian armor gestured toward her then at a hole in the rock. The girl jumped off the ground and sprinted into the entrance. She didn't stop running until she entered a room with several other people already inside. Angel recognized Queen Islanzadí and a few of the other elves in the area but none of the dwarves or Atlesian soldiers. A line of computers took up the far wall.

The Queen nodded at Angel. "It's good to have you here, Rider."

"I guess I was their only choice." Angel paused. "Where am I needed?"

Islanzadí nodded at the computers. "They are the ones that need what you have."

One of the soldiers motioned Angel over. "Come here." Angel did as told and handed the flash drive over. The soldier plugged it into a computer.

Instantly, an image of a black queen chess piece appeared on the projection in front of Angel and that spread to every other screen there. Unlike the times that she saw it inserted into a computer back in Vale, commands appeared on every one of the projectors. "Uh, this is new."

"Looks like we're in." The soldier leaned forward. "Well, this was easier than we thought… Then again, it sounds like this is where the virus originated." He looked over at the dwarves in the room. "Looks like we're not going to blow the ground."

"That is for the best," one of the dwarves said. "We cannot destroy the weapons without destabilizing much of the surrounding land."

The soldier faced Angel. "I don't suppose you can work on changing IFFs for the fighters up there."

Angel nodded. "I'll do what I can." She walked to a second workstation a few feet away and set to work. She searched for where the command orders were kept for the hostile fighters… There were a lot of them out there. At least those were about to join the good guys. She opened up the original command code and looked it over. Angel couldn't help but smirk. The fighters were set to not attack Grimm and to attack anything else that moved… in just about the simplest code possible. All she did was change those two around and save the code. All the fighters went dark as they rebooted. "Simple, but effective." Their lights on the screen turned green for most of them and they all reported new targets. "Yet at the same time, so easy to have it turned against you."

The Rider heard footsteps behind her. "You were successful?"

Angel turned her head and faced Queen Islanzadí. "Yes, ma'am." She faced the screens again. I should stay here to make sure everything stays going our way."

She felt the Queen's gaze on the back of her head. "You are young, even among your race. I know there is another reason you wish to stay here."

Angel dipped her head. Doing something that dealt with something other than fighting pulled her out of that rut. "I shouldn't be here."

"You are, and now we must protect this building."

"I know." Angel nodded. "I'll let you know when-"

"Incoming!" someone shouted. Angel stared down the hall at the exit to the bunker. She didn't see any soldiers. What was-

A massive explosion crashed into Angel's ears. The floor shook and rocks rained from the ceiling. Everyone ducked and covered their heads. Then the entire ceiling caved in and knocked the Rider to the ground. Stone continued to pile on top of her. It knocked the breath from her lungs. The weight on her made it hard to breathe and her head hurt like heck.

The sound stopped coming and Angel tried to move. She could only wiggle her fingers and her toes. Her heart beat faster and faster as she tried to yank herself free. One of the rocks shifted and a flicker of hope ran through her. Her arm pulled free then something else crashed into it. Angel screamed as she felt her arm break. "Thorn! Nalia! Uncle Halcyon! Someone! Help! Help me!" Angel cried. "God, help me…" She felt tears run down her face as she struggled to fill her lungs. "I'm an idiot. I shouldn't have asked to come. I should have stayed home… I'm…"

 _ANGEL!_ Nalia yelled in the girl's head. _We're coming! Thorn and I are coming!_

 _We're almost there, Petal,_ Thorn growled. _There's just so many rocks._

Angel blinked the tears away. She knew that no one was supposed to break the mental communication rule. At the same time, she didn't care one bit. She gripped onto both of their minds as tight as she could. So many whimpers escaped her throat as new waves of pain from her arm washed over her. Nalia and Thorn never left her alone in her head.

The weight gradually lessened on Angel's back and the sounds of dragons exerting themselves filtered through the rock. The pressure disappeared completely and Thorn yelped. _Petal…_ Angel felt her dragon's snout brush against her side. Angel rolled and stared up at two dragons. Thorn's ears drooped against his head. _I…_

Nalia growled and pushed Thorn aside. _Listen,_ she growled at Angel. _You are going to the defensive line around the castle. You are going to stay in the field hospital there until the battle is won._ Her growl turned into a whimper. _You need to live. You need to live. If nothing else good happens in this battle, you need to live._

Thorn growled at Nalia. _Then get out of my way and let me take her!_ He did his best to shove his way past Nalia and laid down by his Rider's side. _Can you walk?_

"I…" Angel shook her head. "I can't…" Thorn growled and rose to his hind legs. He picked Angel up in both of his front paws and held her close to his chest. The dragon took off and banked toward the castle.

 _You're safe, Angel,_ Thorn soothed. _Nothing's gonna touch you._

"Thorn..," Angel's eyelids drifted down. "I… I think I'm gonna…" Her world went black.

* * *

 **Just a little bit longer 'til the final fight.  
**

 **And about the season premier of RWBY... (If you haven't seen it yet, get on your free RT account and go watch it. I'm about to say my reactions to this episode and there WILL be spoilers)... Didn't expect Mantle to be the city below Atlas. Pietro Polendina? I didn't see that coming *wink* PENNY 2.0! I mean, EVERYONE saw that coming. Ace ops = SEALs? That intro leaves me with so many questions... And that's it until next week.**


	104. The Wicked Witch

**Mandalorian. Disney+. Must get. I have spoken. Onto the battle against Salem.  
**

* * *

"You sure this is it, Oscar?" Ruby asked as she stared at what looked like one of the less ornate doors that Party Crasher had found.

"Positive." Oscar looked over every inch of the door. "I'm surprised Salem kept this through all the centuries."

Yang grunted. "Who'd have thought a genocidal maniac was sentimental?"

"Part of her humanity must live on." Oscar ran a hand over the door. "She always appreciated my gifts."

"Gifts?" Ruby glared at Oscar. "How do you still have more secrets."

"Save it until after we've won." Arya faced the large group that wouldn't be following the Maidens in. "Hold this position for as long as you can."

"I don't think we have a choice in the matter." Coco swung around, aiming her minigun back in the direction they came from. "I'm sure another wave will come."

Arya pointed the Relic of Creation at the floor a couple dozen feet away from the entrance. Steel entrenchments rose from the ground with energy shields popping out the top of them. Behind the defenses, ammunition of all types materialized, enough to supply a small army for weeks. Several heavy machineguns appeared as well before Ayra lowered the Relic. "All of this should help you hold out."

"Oh, yeah. This works." Yang moved a few of her flamethrower fuel cells toward one of the machineguns. "Ready to shred some Grimm." She turned her head toward Ruby. It felt like they locked eyes even through the dark visored helmets. They couldn't touch each other's minds but Ruby could still hear her sister telling her not to get herself killed.

Nora carried Ren over to one of the guns before facing Arya. "We've got this. Break her legs for me." Jaune and Pyrrha exchanged a few words as well. Though it wasn't fair at all, Ruby couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy at the married couples. She was glad they all made it to this point in life but having lost Aaron so recently… it hurt. That wouldn't change for a while.

Ruby faced the door again. "Well, considering that she hasn't destroyed this door to get to us, she's waiting for us to come it."

"You know this is a trap," Pyrrha said as she walked back to Ruby's side.

"We've all made it through her traps before." Oscar flourished his cane. "What is one more?"

"At least we spring this one on our own terms." Arya held the Relic of Creation out in front of her. The staff glowed and it morphed into the bow that Arya built years ago She grabbed the string and an arrow glowed to life, already nocked. "Are you ready?" Arya looked over those that would be charging in with her.

"Ready to become a Shadeslayer squared." Ruby spun Máni Bláto and the scythe form of the Relic of Choice in her hands before holding them in an X shape behind her. Aaron's V4 on her left arm expanded to submachinegun form. Pyrrha and Oscar just fell into defensive positions.

Arya nodded then kicked at the break between the doors. The wood swung inward and crashed against the walls on the other side. The Maidens and Oscar entered the room. Unlike what Ruby was expecting, there was no throne in the room. Four figures stood on the other side of the ballroom-feeling space, looking out one of the massive floor to ceiling windows. One of them had a scorpion tail, another was a brute, another was a traitor to the Riders, and the one in the center had white hair and skin and a black robe. That was the main target. Take her out, take away the most dangerous target. On the other side of the windows, the entirety of the battle could be seen, even the defensive lines not a hundred feet outside.

Ruby lined up her weapons with Salem's heart, but even though three reticles rested in the same place, she stopped herself from pulling the triggers. This same thing happened in Galbatorix' throne room. He and the Forsworn present just stood around waiting for their attackers to run headlong into their trap. Something was up.

"Ruby, Iali," Arya whispered. "Pyrrha, Tyrion. Oscar, Hazel." They had their target for when the battle shifted. Ruby glared at the back of the head of the rogue Rider. She could count the number of people she was happy to kill on one hand. It was time to add another.

The Elder clicked on her comms. Maybe in here, they would work. "Party Crasher to Overlord. Do you copy?" No answer. They were on their own… Ruby really hoped those locators Arya gave everyone worked through whatever wards were around the castle.

Salem turned around and the attack force stopped in place. "Ah. I was wondering when you would arrive." Her other minions turned around as well. Iali glared at Ruby and gripped the black sword on her hip. The Relic of Destruction. It had to be. The Relic of Choice proved to be useless on common Grimm in this battle. That would be a major oversight if Salem let one of her Lieutenants have less protection than a Grimm.

"Sorry we couldn't be here sooner," Ruby drawled. "We would have been here sooner, but your maze out there threw us through a loop. I'm sure you know how much I hate being late."

"Your days are over, Salem," Arya called. "Today, you die. No resurrections this time."

Salem laughed like someone would at a comedy show. "Many have claimed that before. As you can see, none have succeeded." She turned her gaze to Oscar. "Not even my dearest Ozma. How many times have you tried to kill me over the centuries?"

"I was never yours," Oscar spat. "You killed the one I wanted to marry."

"Don't be so harsh." Salem flicked her hands out. Her minions started to spread out. Ruby followed Iali step for step. One thing crossed her mind that she didn't believe she didn't realize before. Where was the now nameless dragon?

As soon as she thought that, a dull roar filtered through the glass. Considering even the sustained firing of several aerial warships didn't make it through, the roar had to be loud. A blue dragon the size of _Shruikan_ rose from behind another mountain. It flew toward the battle and collided with one of Vale's aerial corvettes. It looked like the _Glen._ The ship exploded into Ruby didn't know how many pieces.

Ruby glared at Iali. _"You allowed your dragon to be turned into that?"_

" _It is far stronger than it would have been without Salem's help,"_ Iali growled. _"Far more than you would ever allow to happen."_

"As you can see," Salem gestured at the battle raging outside, "your forces are outmatched. Thank you for bringing the best of all Kingdoms' defenders here. It saved me the trouble of tracking them all down." She pulled open her cloak, revealing a gold and blue lantern hanging inside, and drew a white single-edged sword. "Now, I believe you are here to fight for the fate of Remnant and Alagaësia. Let's get to that."

Iali yelled and ran toward Ruby, her Relic trailing behind her. Ruby fell into a defensive stance with her own Relic defending her. She braced herself as the traitor swung an overhead strike. Destruction met Choice with a lot of sparks but no damage to either weapon. The elf's eyes widened a fraction. Using the hesitation, Ruby spun around and hit Iali with the point of Máni Bláto's blade. The elf flew to the side and crashed into one of the pillars between the windows.

Ruby used her Semblance to close the distance. She swung her Relic around aiming for Iali's head but the traitor managed to bring her own up to block. _"How didn't it shatter?"_

" _Like I'll tell you, traitor."_ Ruby pushed off and let her Aura flow. The floor in front of her lit up as her eyes glowed. _"You're going to pay."_

Iali's eyes glowed green as she reached into her own Maiden abilities. _"You will die before then."_

" _We'll see."_ Using her unique Aura to enhance her speed and strength, Ruby rushed Iali. The Relics met, this time with the floor cracking beneath both Maidens' feet. The Elder shifted Máni Bláto to sword form and swung up at the elf, firing the V4 when the barrel lined up. It forced Iali away but nothing did any damage.

Ruby should have had the clear advantage in the fight. She had years of experience on Iali, whether it's as a Maiden, Rider, or Huntress. She also had three weapons to Iali's one. But elven speed and strength tended to be an equalizer. Since Iali's dragon was enhanced to the degree it was, Iali likely had something similar.

The elf charged, almost faster than Ruby could follow. She barely got her Relic up in time to block. As she expected, the force of the attack was stronger than most of Arya's. She pulled back and swung at Ruby's head faster than a blink. Again, Ruby blocked with a hair's breadth to spare. One more of those fast strikes at her stomach and Ruby dropped Máni Bláto. She couldn't keep up while holding both weapons.

On the next strike, Ruby pushed off with all her strength and with some added wind and icy projectiles for good measure. She shifted Choice to sword form. She needed the extra maneuverability and the shorter gun barrel. With how much energy was being tossed around, a laser may or may not make the difference. Ruby glared at Iali as all ice shards the Rider created exploded two feet before reaching their target. _Surrender, traitor._ The Relic drew minimal energy from Ruby as it tried to do its work. Máni Bláto clanged to the ground.

Iali charged Ruby, her stance high. The Elder was ready to block but the elf went low at the last second. The traitor slammed her right shoulder into Ruby's stomach. The Rider was forced off her feet and carried across the room. Her back hit something solid, the impact taking her breath away. The elf stepped back and readied Destruction for a killing blow. Ruby ducked under the blow but felt her helmet take a hit. She felt a breeze on the top of her head.

Ruby used her Maiden abilities to fill her lungs and used her Semblance to put some distance between her and the traitor. A bright light outside she couldn't place gave her an idea. It would be a first for her but she'd seen other Maidens to it. She brought her hands behind her and electricity crackled. She threw her arms forward and lightning shot out of her fingertips and the Relic. She added laser and Dust rounds from Choice and Aaron's V4 for good measure. All bolts and rounds converged and slammed into Iali, or at least the shield around her. For the moment at least, it kept the traitor pinned. The Elder poured on the energy. She focused on the elf's face. Iali was squinting and it looked like sweat was forming on her forehead.

A roar came from the side right before the wall exploded inward. Fractured stone and glass peppered Ruby, breaking her concentration and the lightning stream. Ruby brought her right arm up to protect her head from the incoming debris. She looked in that direction in time to see a massive blue toe flying at her.

It connected and Ruby flew toward the other side of the massive room and flew _through_ the solid stone pillar. That hit felt like it broke through almost all of her wards and drained her quite a bit. Ruby flailed around as she tried to straighten herself in the air. She managed that and used her Maiden magic to steady herself a few hundred feet above the ground. When she did, she realized she was just outside the ring of aerial warships, or at least where they should have been. Quite a few ships lay in crumpled, burning messes on the ground.

Iali's beast took off from the castle and roared at Ruby. Another roar came from another part of the battlefield and Shruikan flew over. The black dragon had enormous cuts in his wings and dripped quite a bit of blood from his sides but he still flew. Blue turned its gaze to Shruikan and opened its mouth. Ruby saw an opening. She stuck her hands behind her and she leaned forward. Roses rained behind her as she used her Semblance and her Maiden magic to fly at the hostile dragon. She thrust Choice out in front of her aiming for the beast's head.

Shruikan collided with the other dragon and shoved Blue farther away than expected. Ruby instead collided with the hostile dragon's snout about halfway between the eyes and nostrils. Choice dug into scale but it didn't feel like it met flesh. One of Blue's eyes focused on Ruby in a glare. The Rider returned it through her helmet. "This flea has a little more bite to it." Ruby pulled the trigger and launched a laser shot into Blue's body.

Ruby hung on while the dragon growled and swung its head around, likely trying to throw Ruby off. Shruikan slammed one of his massive paws down on Blue's neck and forced the head to the ground. The sudden movement drew Choice from its slot in the scale and gave Ruby a little airtime. She shifted her weapon into a scythe and drew Crescent Rose at the same time. The Rider swung both her weapons forward and both caught on a scale. Whatever wards were around the dragon didn't prevent people from climbing on it.

The Rider ran across the dragon's snout as Blue tried to right itself. She swung both weapons in front of her and pulled the triggers. Laser shots shot out of both weapons and the V4 spat Burn Dust. Both beams and a stream of bullets bounced off something before they reached their target, an eye. Choice could cut through, nothing else could. Another good thing to know.

One of Blue's paws came up and ran across its snout. Ruby jumped but the paw rotated and ended up backhanding her. The Rider flew off the dragon's head. She connected with something else in the air and it carried her away. After so many years, she knew the feeling of Cerise' saddle anywhere. She leaned forward and looked past her dragon's head. "It's too mobile for the _Vytal_ to get a shot, isn't it?" Cerise growled the affirmative. "Then get as many fighters to fire on it as possible. This thing's wards and Aura are tough."

Cerise tucked her wings in and flew at the hostile dragon. The guns on her sides spun up and she launched dozens of Dust rounds at the creature. As she pulled off, Ruby leaped out of the saddle. The Rider spun head over heels with Choice sticking straight out. Both became a red and black blur as they flew toward the beast. Metal connected with scale and metal won, slicing through the natural armor like butter and it didn't stop cutting until Ruby's feet slammed into a different scale. Ruby pulled the scythe out taking the scale and some flesh along with it.

The beast roared again and glared at Ruby. The Rider smirked beneath her helmet. "Irritated? So am I." She charged the beast's eye with her weapons trailing behind her. Blue tried to throw Ruby off but this time the Rider stayed on the snout. Ruby heard something approaching behind her and she used her Semblance to jump and backflip over the approaching paw. Blue ended up smacking itself in the face.

Ruby switched her Relic back into a sword and put on a burst of speed. She held Choice out in front of her and aimed at the nearest eye. This time her weapon stayed true. The sword plunged straight into the beast's iris. Ruby also fired a laser shot for good measure. She planted her feet on the surface of the eye and jumped off before the eyelids could close. The beast screamed as it jerked its head away from the Maiden. Blood leaked out of the eyelid, the first real blood of the battle. The beast had to be blind in one eye.

The Rider looked over her shoulder. It looked like Shruikan was about to prepare another strike. Cerise was also on her way back with a small swarm of fighters behind her, an android dragon… and a single small form with orange hair. Even Penny was getting involved with this fight. Ruby jumped off the injured dragon and used her Semblance to return to her own dragon. She dropped into the saddle just as a few fighters launched their missiles. Everyone then opened up with their cannons. Hundreds of Dust rounds of all kinds slammed into the turned dragon. Penny stopped in the air, arranged her swords in a circle, and fired a thick, green laser at the dragon's head. It still didn't look like anything hit home.

Shruikan then charged and tackled the equally large dragon to the ground. He wrapped his jaws around its neck and bit down. Blue screamed even more and flailed around. Ruby almost felt sad for it. The creature was acting like a wounded hatchling. Then again, it betrayed the Riders and killed who knew how many people. It needed to die.

Blue finally managed to throw Shruikan off and the black dragon swiped at Blue's closest ear. He managed to tear it off in his claws. It looked like its Aura and wards were down. Ruby stood up in her dragon's saddle. "Hold it steady, Cerise." Ruby threw her hands out in front of her, pointing at Blue's head.

The hostile dragon started screaming even more. It twitched all over, its limbs spasming uncontrollably. Giant, bloody, ice spikes shot out of all its limbs. Then spikes jutted out of its head and the dragon fell silent. It fell to the side with several of the ice pillars shattering on contact with the ground. Ruby ignored the cheers on the comms she barely noticed were working again. Killing a dragon was never good, even if it was a traitor.

Cerise turned her head back, her eyes wide and shocked. "Both of us can hate me later," Ruby said. "Get me back to the castle. They need me there." Cerise' eyes narrowed again and she growled. She dove toward the castle as fast as she could. Ruby stared at her destination. There were still plenty of fireworks going on in there. Her friends were still alive.

Ruby reloaded the V4 and pulled her feet up onto the saddle. "Throw me!" Cerise thrust her head down and rolled forward, launching her Rider back into the castle. Ruby compacted Crescent Rose and shifted Choice back to sword form. She fell into the hall and landed in superhero style. The Rider searched the area for hostiles. Tyrian and Hazel lay in several places in puddles of their own blood. Considering how comparatively weak they were that was no surprise. Oscar had joined Arya in fighting Salem while Pyrrha was facing off versus an enraged Iali. Kill the elf, everyone gangs up on Salem.

Ruby charged toward Iali with a flying kick. The elf had to roll out of the way to avoid the attack. Iali glared up at Ruby. Tears ran down her face. Her mouth muscles strained with the force of her clenched teeth. The rage in her eyes could send Grimm running. _"You!"_ She charged Ruby with Destruction on fire. The Elder raised Choice to block the sloppy strike. She saw it coming a mile away but it was stronger than anticipated. _"You killed my dragon!"_

" _You killed it when you joined Salem."_ Ruby pushed off then launched a flurry of strikes of her own. She didn't make any headway but she wasn't losing any ground either. Pyrrha stood behind the elf and created blue fire in her hands. The color wasn't just for show. The Fall Maiden thrust her hands forward and the flames shot out of them and bounced off the wards around Iali's head. The elf ducked out of the way forcing Ruby to do the same. Iali brought a knee up and it connected with Ruby's chin, forcing the Elder into the trailing stream of Pyrrha's fire.

Ruby corrected herself in the air and shot a laser from Choice into the traitor as well as the one grenade she had for the V4. Once again, the shot just glanced off Iali's wards and the explosion did nothing. Pyrrha closed the distance with the traitor as Ruby landed. The other two started exchanging blows with only Pyrrha making any kind of contact. The Fall Maiden kept dodging and Semblance deflecting any and all strikes that Spring sent her way. With the Relic of Destruction used against her, one hit would mean her death.

The Winter Maiden charged Iali from behind and swung at the elf's head. Iali managed to turn around and deflect the strike and received a shield to the back of her head for her trouble. Ruby and Pyrrha continued with that rotation, Ruby going in for the attack, Iali blocking it, and Pyrrha's attacks actually hitting. Fire, ice, water, rocks, bullets, and other assorted projectiles flew in every direction with Iali being the only one who actually took any hits.

After about a minute of that dance, Iali screamed and pushed herself away. She ran a few dozen feet away in the blink of an eye. The elf swung Destruction in a wide arc and a black wave as thick as the sword burst out of it. Ruby jumped over the wave while Pyrrha rolled under it. Ruby fired another laser shot and she ran to close the distance.

A scream filled the air. Ruby ran through her blocked strike then faced the sound. Oscar laid on the ground, both of his feet missing. Ruby grimaced. He wasn't the strongest but he knew how Salem fought. She returned her attention to Iali just in time to block a swing that would have taken her head off. The elf had to have enhanced her normally superior speed to even more ridiculous levels.

Still, speed meant nothing since she was predictable. Ruby saw every one of Iali's attacks coming. Neck slice, body jab, shoulder hack, head cut. Pyrrha launched her own attacks from behind the whole time. Iali's strikes grew less and less strong and more erratic as time went on. Despite the unbridled rage in her eyes, she was tiring out.

Ruby broke Iali's guard and she knocked Destruction to the side with Choice. Seeing her victory, Ruby took her bionic hand off her weapon and balled her fist. With Maiden Aura assistance, Ruby delivered a swift uppercut beneath Iali's chin. The elf flew toward the ceiling of the chamber. The elder jumped after her and planted her feet on the stone ceiling. She shifted Choice to full scythe form in preparation. When Iali reached her level, Ruby jumped off the ceiling and caught the traitor in the hook of her weapon. She spun in the air three times before launching Iali toward the ground at lightning speed. The elf slammed into the floor cracking the stone and flinging dust into the air.

The Elder landed nearby and walked over toward the crater. "Champ, help with Salem." She didn't move her head for the order. Ruby stood over the break in the floor and shifted Choice back to sword form.

Iali laid sprawled in the center of the hole. The center of her body was cut halfway through. She was bleeding from several other parts of her body as well with some broken bones thrown in there for good measure. But the elf was still alive. Iali glared and spat blood up at Ruby. _"May you die slowly."_

" _With what you've done, I wish I could say the same."_ Ruby jabbed Choice forward and into Iali's neck, decapitating the elf. The small drain that Choice took finally ended. A couple seconds later, a green Aura ball shot out of Iali and past Ruby. There went the Summer Maiden powers. That was a problem for another time. The Elder pulled back and searched the area for Destruction. That sword could prove useful against Salem.

Just as she spotted it, something slammed into her back. Ruby and whatever hit her flew across the room and smashed into a wall. She groaned and turned her head. It looked like _Arya_ was the thing that hit her as she was sprawled out on the ground next to Ruby. The Elder looked up and glared at the cause. Salem was in a sword fight with Pyrrha. The Maiden was throwing so much fire and other things at the Shade but none of them hit. Her sword and shield were ablaze as well but again nothing connected. Pyrrha was the best fighter Ruby knew but that didn't mean anything if Pyrrha couldn't get past Salem's passive defenses. Salem batted Pyrrha's sword to the side and bashed the fighter across the room and out of sight.

The Shade glared at Ruby. "I expected the deaths of Hazel and Tyrion," she growled. "The murder of my Maiden will not go unpunished."

"You're right. You ordered the murder of the previous Summer Maiden." Ruby gripped choice with both hands and held it in a defensive position. "Alagaësian justice. Your days are over. We're taking you down."

"No, you won't." Salem pointed her sword at Ruby. "I know exactly what you are going to do." Ruby hesitated. The way that was said…

Salem charged Ruby almost faster than the Rider could follow. Ruby raised her weapon and caught Salem's blade on the crossguard. The impact alone almost knocked Choice out of her hands. She disengaged and struck at Salem herself only for her strike to be blocked just after it was launched. The Shade launched a fist forward and punched the Rider in the face. Ruby stumbled back and she received a kick to the stomach before she could recover. She flew back and hit a wall. The Rider stumbled forward and glared at Salem.

The Shade's small smirk disappeared. She once again charged Ruby, this time much slower. Ruby opened her right hand. Stone shot out of the floor and in front of her opponent. Salem jumped over it and fell toward Ruby with an overhead swing ready. The Maiden rolled out of the way and pulled the stone wall down at the same time. A few hundred pounds of rock slammed into the Shade. That wouldn't kill her but it would disorient her.

Ruby looked around. Both Pyrrha and Arya were up on their feet. That might tip the odds in their favor. "Ruby," Pyrrha picked up Máni Bláto and tossed it at the Rider, "I didn't think you'd leave that on the ground for so long."

The Winter Maiden snatched the weapon out of the air. "I didn't want the Relic of Destruction to do anything to it." She spun both of her swords in her hands as she looked at Arya. The elf had picked up the Relic of Destruction. "It sounds like she thinks she knows what she's doing and she has Knowledge with her. That thing might be our best shot."

"I don't know if this weapon will destroy her with a hit anywhere." Arya shrugged the arm that held the Relic of Destruction. "I'll aim for the heart just the same."

"Glad we're all on the same page." Ruby looked at the pouch that still held the suppression collar. "Anyone else still have their collars?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "Iali destroyed mine after she recovered from her dragon being killed."

"I tried to get mine on Salem," Arya said. "She cut it in half before that could happen."

"Just mine. Got it." Ruby glared at her target again. The stone started to shake. "Let's do this, Maidens." The rock then exploded outward. Ruby raised her right arm and all the rock fragments split around her. Salem stood in the rock wall's former place, glaring at Ruby. This was a change from before.

The ground lit up red, white, and orange in front of the Maidens. Ruby yelled and charged the Shade. She held both her swords out to her sides and crouched low. She swung them forward like a pair of scissors at her opponent's legs. Salem blocked one of the blades then stepped out of range of the other. A foot landed on Ruby's back and kicked off. Pyrrha struck at Salem from above, though that was blocked too, and landed behind the Shade. Ruby rolled out of the way and Arya immediately took her place. The elf had a similar first encounter to Ruby, with Destruction being the weapon avoided.

Ruby pounced to her feet and ran to join the fray. She swung Máni Bláto and fired her V4 at the Shade's right arm but that was deflected by wards. A jab from Choice was blocked by Salem's sword hard enough that the Relic almost hit Arya. Salem managed to block a strike from Pyrrha and attacked Arya in the same motion. The attack was blocked but Arya couldn't manage to bring Destruction up to cut Salem's weapon.

The attacks continued like that for a while. All the Maidens launched their own attacks, some with elements that they added to their blades, but they all bounced off Salem's wards or were parried away. Salem avoided all strikes from the Relic of Destruction. Some of her attacks hit the Maidens but they jumped back into the fight a few seconds later.

Pyrrha jabbed forward and Salem sidestepped. The Shade grabbed Pyrrha's arm and flung the Fall Maiden over her shoulder and toward Ruby. The Elder had to roll out of the way. As she stood up, Salem had launched an attack on Arya. The elf was forced backward. Ruby used her Semblance to attack Salem from behind. Salem spun in a circle holding her sword out. She knocked Ruby away and cut Arya across the chest.

The elf screamed and Ruby closed the distance again. She slashed at Salem's chest and used her follow through to put herself in front of Pyrrha. The two exchanged more blows with Salem not able to block the double strikes nearly as well as she did when they first started out. It didn't feel like she was tiring.

Pyrrha charged from behind. Salem shoved Ruby away then exchanged several quick blows with the other Maiden. After three strikes, Pyrrha's sword was cut in half. Salem slashed the redhead twice more before Pyrrha's Aura failed. Ruby tried to put herself in between the two but the Shade managed to stab Pyrrha through the stomach.

"No!" Ruby tackled Salem away and tried to freeze her opponent while doing so. They fell to the ground and Ruby rolled off. She drew the suppression collar from its pouch and pounced toward Salem. She swung the arm holding the collar toward Salem's neck. It looked and felt like it hit its target but Ruby didn't have time to check. Her eyes darted to Arya. The elf used two Relic weapons. If Ruby could get one more herself…

Her thoughts were cut off by a mind attacking hers, one stronger than any other individual Ruby faced. She was cut off from Cerise. No help from her or her few Eldunarí she carried were there to help. Ruby froze in place and darted her eyes to Salem, the source of the attack. How was that possible? The collar was around her neck and the red light it put out said it was powered. The Rider strained as her mind was attacked from all sides. It felt like lances were thrusting into her brain from all angles. For the first time in the fight, sweat dripped from her forehead. While Ruby fought with everything she could to keep the Shade out of her mind, Salem stood and her overconfident smirk returned.

"You poor child," Salem drawled as she brought a hand up to the collar around her neck. "You still think you stand a chance." She wrapped her fingers around the metal and pulled it off, breaking any effect it might have had. Ruby wanted to retort but that would take concentration off her mental defense. "I suppose I should have known that this fight couldn't be predictable. Always in motion is the future. I believe you understand where I get that from.

"Your friends' Auras are drained, I have your mind trapped, and your forces are being overwhelmed beyond these walls. You are finished." Salem brought the tip of her sword up to Ruby's neck. The Rider felt she still had a little Aura but no wards... at all. That shouldn't have been... Then again, Salem had to know the True Name of the Ancient Language. That threw so many rules out the window. One more good wallop and all of Ruby's protection was gone. "I could kill you right now, but I need someone to lead my forces in Alagaësia." Ruby narrowed her eyes. She would die before she helped Salem.

The Shade just laughed. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out. It used to be such a major concern of yours. But I suppose I haven't threatened you with it since the _Saint Nick." Saint Nick?_ What… Ruby's eyes bulged. "Willing servants provide better results, but you forced my hand when you killed Iali. You gave me over two decades to figure your Name out. The changes over the years tripped me up a little, but not nearly as much as you want it to have."

She started speaking in the Ancient Language, something Ruby knew described her as well as anything that could be put into words. It took all of Ruby's concentration to throw a blizzard at the Shade while she still defended her mind. She moved her eyes all over the place, looking for help. Now would be a perfect time for either Pyrrha or Arya to push the button to call in the bombardment…

Arya was standing up slowly. Her front was still bloody but it didn't look like any more was coming out. More importantly, she held the Relic of Destruction. Her last chance...

Something in the back of Ruby's head screamed for her to stop and her body was forced to listen. The blizzard died in the blink of an eye. Salem had an almost lecherous smile on her face. "You must have figured it out by now. I am unstoppable."

Ruby stared up at Salem, not being able to do anything else. She wanted to move her bionic arm up and take a shot with the gun in there but she couldn't even get it to twitch. Just past Salem, Ruby saw Arya stand with the Relic of Destruction in hand. Ruby glared at her captor and stood up. "And I…" Ruby grunted as she felt a pain in her side she didn't notice before, "…am…" she let her eyes glow and Salem stiffened, "…impossible." She brought her arms back like she was going to launch an Aura filled attack with no intention to actually launch it. Salem fell into a defensive stance.

Arya jabbed the Relic of Destruction forward and through Salem's heart. The black point was clean of all blood. The Shade gasped and stared at the sword through her chest. Ruby smirked. "And a distraction."

Salem gasped as she brought her hands up to the metal coming out of her chest. "After all these years…" she raised her head toward Ruby, her skin becoming transparent, "…brought down.. by a trick."

"And one of the Relics you fought so long for," Arya twisted the blade making Salem twitch again. "Your reign of terror is over."

The Shade took a few shallow breaths before pointing her head straight up. She screamed straight at the ceiling, sounding like fingernails on a chalkboard combined with a Skreek and a Creep. Ruby dashed away and covered Pyrrha's bleeding form with her own. Salem's skin grew completely transparent, revealing several dark spirits flying around inside, only it looked like those were disappearing too as they impacted the Relic of Destruction.

Salem's skin broke and all the spirits inside her exploded out of her. Ruby winced as wave after wave of power washed over her. Spirits raced in every direction. Black beams shot out of Destruction and hit several spirits as they tried to flee the castle, which some did. After way too long, the energy stopped flowing. Only Salem's sword remained of the Shade.

That was it. Salem was dead. They won.

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 **I'll let this chapter speak for itself.  
**

 **Now episode two... Not sure if that other prisoner drank the cool aid or not. Also, I can't place where I've heard that voice before... Yay! Winter isn't a jerk! Called Winter and Penny being read in. Ace Ops aren't jerks either. Qrow and Ironwood... wat? Where did that come from? Screw you Watts and Tyrian! I don't know what you're doing, but it's not good.**


	105. Cost of War

**I promise you, I didn't forget. I wanted to get this out yesterday, but came down with the flu hard. Still throwing off the last stages but I can actually move and think again. There's only one more chapter after this and that hopefully won't be delayed. Fingers crossed.  
**

 **And I feel like I have to address this... I will freely acknowledge that my fight scenes still aren't the best. I tried getting it longer, but words for the sake of words is not the way to go. That's all it was. Short and sweet sometimes does the trick... hopefully that's the way things go in the last chapters.**

 **On a happier note, one of my readers, rsclaymore (also the guy I'm beta reading for) commissioned an art piece from nanu-chann of Deviantart of Yang and Halcyon! Oh my gosh, it's gorgeous! That's so going up on my wall! Go check it out. BIG thank you to both of you. I still don't know what I've done to deserve that and the others.**

* * *

"Arya I need-" Ruby fell silent as the elf fell. She grit her teeth and looked around for the Relic of Creation. She found it laying on the floor ten feet away. She stuck her left hand out toward the Relic. "Hitta." The bow flew through the air and into her open hand. She pointed the Relic at Pyrrha's broken body. She imagined the grave wound sealing itself back up and the Relic did its work with a little drain on her energy.

As soon as Pyrrha was healed, Ruby ran to Arya's side. She repeated the same process as before and receive the same result. When she was healed, Ruby rushed to Oscar's side. He had lost a lot of blood but he was still hanging on. Ruby pointed Creation at the man and a new pair of feet grew from the bloody stumps. He wasn't conscious but he would live.

Before Ruby could do anything else, she heard Pyrrha gasp behind her. She stood up and turned toward the Fall Maiden. Pyrrha had rolled onto her side and began coughing. "Pyrrha!" Ruby jumped to her friend's side. "You okay?"

Pyrrha coughed up a little blood before nodding. "I think I have blood where I'm not supposed to."

"Lie back down." Ruby pushed Pyrrha flat across the floor and held a hand over her chest. She began chanting in the Ancient Language to remove all the blood that she lost. Pyrrha's breaths grew more and more steady as she relaxed on the ground. If her mind didn't stay clear and alert, Ruby would have thought the other Maiden was losing consciousness.

When the Rider ended the spell, Pyrrha sighed. "Thank you."

"Eh, you were on the way." Ruby laughed to herself then shook her head. She took off her helmet and locked eyes with her friend. "You've got a family, Pyrrha. You've got kids and a husband that love you. You can't leave them."

Pyrrha stared up at Ruby and nodded. "I know." She stuck a hand up. Ruby grabbed it and hauled the other Maiden to her feet. "I can't leave the kids alone with Jaune. Nothing would ever get done. Nothing but the laundry anyway."

That brought a laugh out again. "Who'd have thought he'd be the one to worry about that?"

The Fall Maiden faced where Salem disappeared. "Why didn't she kill you? She had you."

"My guess is we were right." Ruby glared at the black spot on the ground. "She wanted other people to do her dirty work. Since she knew my True Name, I was the obvious candidate." She shivered. "I'm so glad it's over."

"We're not done yet," Arya called. Ruby turned around to face the elf. Arya pushed herself off the floor. "There is still a fight going on out there."

Ruby dipped her eyes toward the weapon that killed Salem. "Why?" She walked over to the Relic of Destruction and picked it up. "We have this. We can kill all Grimm in the area."

Arya straightened. "Do it."

"If you say so, boss." Ruby opened her mouth to order the Relic of Destruction but the words never left her throat. At first she was confused about it, then the felt the small but growing urge to _not_ kill Grimm. An urge that only meant one thing. She opened her eyes as wide as they could go and threw Destruction away from her. "Don't let me anywhere near the Relics!"

Pyrrha picked up Destruction and stared at Ruby. "What's going on?"

"We knew long ago Salem was looking for my True Name. At some point, she found it and she just used it. She wanted _me_ to attack Alagaësia."

Both Pyrrha and Arya stiffened. "How do we stop this?"

"Get Yang, Cerise, or Nalia. They know my True Name or can figure it out quick. They can-"

Arya shouted a Word. Ruby was speaking too fast to catch it but she felt the power behind it. That could only have come from the True Name of the Ancient Language. _"You are not beholden to anything Salem told you to do."_

As soon as Arya stopped speaking, the urge disappeared. Ruby sighed and slumped. "Thanks, Arya. That made things a whole lot easier."

Pyrrha handed the Relic back to Ruby. "I believe you were going to do something?"

"Yeah." Ruby took the Relic back and touched her mind to it. There was still quite a bit of energy in there. The Rider faced the Relic of Choice laying a few feet away and felt the energy in that too. The Relic that she used in most of the battle had considerably less stored but it was growing. Ruby still didn't know how that was possible.

The Winter Maiden returned her attention to the weapon in her hands. "Kill all Grimm within one thousand miles." She gasped at the sheer amount of energy that burst out of the Relic. Her vision turned black but she knew her eyes were open. She didn't know what the Relic was doing or how much energy was being spent, but she knew something was going on.

The black faded away and Ruby once again saw the shattered room around her. Both Pyrrha and Arya gripped their weapons. Pyrrha looked worried but Arya was ready to fight. "I'm guessing I didn't look like I was about to bake cookies."

Both of the others straightened up and Arya shook her head. "No. We didn't know what the Relic was doing to you."

"I didn't know either." Ruby shook her head then held still. Ever since the traitor dragon broke into the castle, she could hear the sounds of battle, from the growling of Grimm to autocannon fire from the air fleet parked outside. Now it was quiet. Too quiet. Ruby looked at what remained of the ceiling. "Destroy all wards protecting this place." A few seconds and a small energy drain later, Ruby felt several spells vanish. The speakers in her helmet crackled. It did take a pretty good hit earlier.

Ruby stretched her mind out to find her dragon. At first Cerise recoiled but let Ruby in. _Gem, why are you contacting me like this?_

 _My comms are dead… and so is Salem. We won._

Cerise mentally sighed. _I figured as much._ _I'll pass it along… and I'm coming to you._

 _Thank you._ Ruby relaxed. "We won… We won."

"The strongest threat to Remnant and Alagaësia is destroyed." Pyrrha nodded. "We can finally rest easy."

"We aren't done yet." Arya took a step forward. "You've already killed the Grimm around us. Do the same to the Grimm all over Remnant."

Ruby nodded and was about the order the Relic to do so… but she stopped before any words left her throat. She faced the lamp that could only be the Relic of Knowledge. She walked over to that and picked it up as well. "What will happen if I destroy all the Grimm right now?"

Energy surged into her. Images, sounds, smells, and a host of other sensations ran through her in a fraction of a second. Global celebrations, parades, expansion, joy… jealousy, hate, fear… explosions… death… destruction… more mushroom clouds but it didn't feel like those were from Riders or dragons destroying themselves.

Ruby gasped and dropped both Relics. She brought her hands to her head. Cerise mentally recoiled as well. "Oh my gosh…"

Gentle hands grabbed both her arms. "What happened?" Arya asked.

"I saw what _could_ happen… I think." Ruby shook her head. "Another great war… One so much worse than the last." She picked Knowledge back up again. "How can it be stopped?" The same energy surge went through her… she got two words: it can't. "How can it be _delayed?"_ Another energy flash. There were quite a few ways to delay the war. Politics, coups, hostile takeovers, the apocalypse… wait… they could do something else. The images stopped as soon as Ruby decided on a course of action.

"Well?" Pyrrha asked.

"Keep a common enemy," Ruby said. "Let the Kingdoms destroy it together." She picked the Relic of Destruction back up. "Destroy all the Grimm spawning pools on Remnant." Once again, everything turned black. Energy poured off Destruction faster than before and it didn't feel like it was going to stop anytime soon. She started pulling from Choice. It felt like she had more power than both Relics combined would produce but it still wasn't enough. She _was_ trying to clear a planet after all. She mentally flailed around for the other two Relics and started draining from them too.

As soon as her mind touched all four, all strain disappeared. The black turned white, only this time it felt like she was actually seeing what was in front of her. Energy poured out of her faster than ever before. Ruby would have gasped but she couldn't control her body. There was so much energy… so much it hurt…

 _Just a little longer,_ a very familiar voice said, one Ruby couldn't hope to hear again.

 _Aaron?_

 _You're doing it, Ru. Just a little longer I know you can do it._

It was probably a hallucination… but it worked. Ruby tried to grit her teeth as she was being used as a conduit for the Relics. It hurt like heck, like an entire thunderstorm was passing through her. She thought a scream escaped her throat but she couldn't be sure.

As soon as it all started, it stopped. Ruby gasped and she fell forward. She saw a little green in the white light. _You did it, Ru. You did it._ Those last words echoed a few times in Ruby's head as the white light faded.

Ruby found herself laying sideways on the floor. She blinked away a few tears. "But at what cost…"

A dragon's hum reached Ruby's ears. A claw hooked around Ruby's shoulder and pulled her flat against the ground. She stared up at her dragon's face. _No sleeping now, Ruby,_ Cerise said. _Rest, yes. Not sleep._

Ruby blinked up at her dragon. "I could really go for some pasta right now."

Cerise blinked, then sighed and nudged her Rider's head with a toe. _You're fine._

Ruby sat up and looked around. Pyrrha and Arya were helping Oscar off the ground. The Elder stood up, grabbed the Relic of Destruction, and walked over to the trio with Cerise right by her side. The other Maidens took their hands off the man and Oscar brought a hand to his head. "How you feeling, Oscar?"

"I…" Oscar shook his head. "I feel lightheaded… I think he's gone."

"He?" Ruby stared at him for a second before it connected. "Ozpin's gone?"

"Ozma, but… yeah." Oscar grimaced. "Salem's dead. His mission's complete. I guess he's gone for real…. Would have been nice to have a little warning." He took a hand away from his head. It shook like branches in the wind. "I'm used to having a lot more brainpower."

Ruby sighed. One more curse gone. "At least you're being back to fully you." She helped Oscar up and draped one of his arms over her shoulders. The Rider looked up at her dragon. "There's a bunch of magic-infused walls outside those doors. Think you can take care of that?"

Cerise grunted. _I will do what I can._ She turned around and walked toward the giant doors of the room. They swung open as she got close, revealing… none of those walls from before. The defenders were still there and it looked like a few soldiers had joined them, but Ruby could see all the way to the landing pad Party Crasher came in on. Cerise cocked her head. _Are you sure about these walls?_

"Positive… I guess the Relic of Destruction did more than we thought." Ruby turned toward Arya. From the look of it, the Head of the Riders was waiting for her own dragon by the giant hole to the grand room. Her attention was fixed on the rest of the forces. That left Ruby with the group inside.

Yang jogged in from the defensive line. Her armor was more marked up than it was before the Maidens fought Salem but it wasn't too bad. She took off her helmet revealing her face covered in sweat. "The walls fell then we heard Cerise call over comms. We won?"

"Yeah. It's over." Ruby sighed. "My head's all scrambled up right now. Kind of used all four Relics at once. That took a lot out of me."

Yang raised her eyebrows. "Ganos?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Ruby nodded. "That's… a _lot_ of energy when they're all together."

"I can imagine." Yang shook her head then locked eyes with Ruby. None of her prior confidence was there and water started leaking out. "We didn't lose anyone in our line, but Velvet…" She shook her head. "I think Vert's gone. Velvet collapsed and started screaming... I recognized the sound… From Nalia and myself."

Ruby slumped her whole body and looked up at Cerise. Her dragon's ears drooped Cerise raised her head and looked around. _I'm not feeling him… but I found Velvet…_ Cerise whimpered and her legs stiffened. _He can't be…_ She jumped over her Rider and out of the Castle.

"Vert too?" Ruby asked.

"Not just him." Yang shook her head. "When the walls fell, Sun fell back to our position… he had Neptune's gun along with his staff. He's gone too."

Ruby clenched her eyes and looked down. "We lost so many. Why do those two hurt more than the rest"

"I think you know why." Yang looked past Ruby. "I take it we don't want these Relics just lying around?"

Ruby turned around and searched the floor for the Relics. The Relic of Knowledge laid on the ground. Arya and Pyrrha had the other two. "Take it. You might learn something for once."

"Maybe." Yang looked at Oscar for the first time. "The field hospital is just outside the castle. You should stop by. You're looking a little pale…" She looked down at the new leg. "Oh. That'll do it."

"Thanks for the advice," Oscar moaned.

Pyrrha walked up and took Oscar's other arm. "We've got you." The two Maidens carried Oscar out of the battle site to the former line of defense. They got nods of acknowledgments from the rest of JNPR and the soldiers as they passed. Ruby looked around for any signs of the walls that made the maze. It looked like only an arrangement of dust was left.

The trio walked out of the castle and Ruby looked around. No soldiers fought anywhere. Some blue stuck through the purple in the clouds. At least three wrecked airships littered the ground, though one of them still had turrets spinning around. No trace of any Grimm existed. Only engines and cries of the wounded filled the air.

Her eyes finally centered on the field hospital, which laid in a trench and pressed up against the castle. Apparently they didn't want to station themselves in the castle itself. The former labyrinth probably had something to do with it. Ruby motioned with her head to Pyrrha and the two helped Oscar toward the guarded tent. Orchid wasn't by it though… she was probably with Cerise and Velvet… which meant the hospital was without its two best healers. That needed to change.

As she approached the tent, Qrow stepped out. The intelligence chief ran his hands through his hair before shaking his head. He looked up and locked eyes with his niece. "Hey. We won, huh?"

"Yeah." Ruby nodded. "Salem nearly killed us but we got the better of her." She looked past her uncle to the tent. "You take someone in?"

Qrow slumped more than he normally did and nodded. "Yeah, and I was too slow about it."

Ruby froze in place. She didn't like that tone. "Qrow, who was it?"

"It's my damn Semblance… of course I'd be the last one on the team." Qrow locked eyes with Ruby again. Ruby had never seen that kind of pain in her uncle's eyes. "I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything."

"What?" Ruby's arm that helped support Oscar fell. 'Last on the team?' "Dad?"

Uncle Qrow nodded. "Yeah."

Ruby walked away from Oscar and stepped into the tent. A few people were screaming but most were silent. Painkillers did wonders. If Qrow was right though, one of them would never make a sound again. Ruby stretched her mind out. She didn't feel her dad… but she _did_ feel Angel. She snapped her head toward where she felt her daughter. Angel laid in a bed among the wounded. The girl raised her head and looked at her mom. _I'll be with you in a moment, Sweetie._ The mother returned her attention to looking for her dad, hoping she wouldn't find him.

Reality went against her wishes. On the third row she inspected, a familiar set of blonde hair caught her eye. She walked over to it and her heart dropped even more. It was her dad alright… he had what looked like Ursa claw marks across his chest. He was so pale… no life force came out of him.

"Daddy…" Ruby leaned down and grabbed one of her dad's arms. He was so cold… Ruby checked her dad's pulse even though she knew she wouldn't find one. She let tears roll down her face. First Aaron, now dad… now Angel was injured in some way. Ruby looked at the foot of her dad's bed. It already had a black tag tied to it. She looked up and around the hospital. It looked like some medics were finally going around with sheets and body bags… During that search, she also spotted Neptune… with a sliced throat. Weiss wouldn't like that.

Ruby focused on her baby girl. Now that the battle was over, and nothing could be done for her dad, Angel took priority. She needed to get out of this place. The Elder left her father's side and walked the rows of injured to where her daughter lay. She ran an arm under her eyes as she reached Angel's row. Her daughter didn't need to see her completely broken again.

When she reached Angel's side she noticed why her daughter was in there. Angel's left arm was bent at an awkward angle. The several inflamed lines on her face looked tame by comparison. Considering Angel's face wasn't contorted in pain, she was on something as well. "Hold on, Sweetie." Ruby sat on the side of Angel's bed and held her left arm over her daughter's. "I'm going to make your arm feel better." She started chanting in the Ancient Language. Angel moaned as her arm slowly moved back into its normal shape. She stayed still and didn't protest. When the healing was done, Ruby looked at Angel's face. She finally noticed the salt lines on her daughter's cheeks and the redness of her eyes. "How are you feeling, Sweetie?"

Angel sniffed and scrunched up her face. She shook her head and whimpered. "I don't think I want to be a Huntress anymore." It sounded like she had to force every word out through the eye of a needle.

"Okay." Ruby nodded and cupped her daughter's cheeks. "I don't care about that. I don't care why you're off the _Vytal._ I care that you're safe." She paused. "Where's Thorn?"

"He was gone when I came to. I think he's escorting Orchid around. It sounds like she wanted one."

"Do you know where? I need to bring her back here."

Fear grew in Angel's eyes. "Can you stay?"

Ruby stretched her mind to Pyrrha's. _Angel's not doing well and I need to find Orchid. Could you come over and keep her company?_

 _I'm on my way,_ Pyrrha thought back.

 _Thank you._ Ruby returned her attention to her baby girl and shook her head. "I need to go find our top healers and bring them back. Those two can do so much more than I can." She leaned forward and kissed Angel's forehead. "Stay strong for me, Angel. We'll all be back in Du Weldenvarden in time for dinner. Auntie Pyrrha will be here before long." She stood up and walked toward the nearest exit.

Ruby left the tent and stretched her mind out to find her dragon. She found Cerise' depressed mind with several others nearby. Velvet… her mind felt much like Nalia's did. The Elder sighed and began her trek toward her dragon. Other medics and soldiers ran about all over the place with only a few of them looking like they were on patrol. At least it felt like the soldiers were starting to get into their mop-up routine.

The Rider heard Velvet's wails before she saw her. It wrenched her heart almost as much as Nalia's did. Ruby walked up to the edge of a cliff and looked over it. It looked like Vert took a Goliath tusk or something similar to the chest. Ruby still wasn't the best with dragon biology, but it looked like the tusk went straight into Vert's heart. Only the Relic of Creation would have been able to save him. Orchid stood close to the wound licking it but it wasn't healing. Cerise nudged her mate's head with her snout, whimpering herself. Thorn stood away from them all, on guard for enemies that wouldn't come.

Ruby jumped off the cliff and walked up to the Faunus' side. "Velvet, I'm so sorry."

"He can't be dead!" Velvet tried to work her hands beneath Vert's snout. "Just get up! Please! Get up!"

"Velvet, he's gone. There's no-"

Velvet whipped around and pushed Ruby away. "You don't know what I'm feeling!"

"Well, I'm pretty darn close!" Ruby clenched her fists. "A Grimm used my soulmate to kill my husband! My dad is lying dead up in the hospital! My second dragon lost her Rider! I've been in her head. I know how much pain she's in. Vale put a torture device on my neck. I _know_ how it feels to lose your dragon!" Velvet glared at Ruby for a few more seconds before blinking away her tears and turning away.

"Velvet, we need you in the hospital. So many more people are dying. So many more could lose people they love if you don't get up there. As much as we would all love to, we can't do anything for Vert. Get up there and do what you can to help those you can save."

Velvet dipped her head and looked at Vert. She walked over to her dragon's corpse and rested a hand on his forehead. She stayed like that for a minute before looking up at Orchid. "Can you give me a ride up there?" Orchid whimpered once and nodded. Velvet climbed onto the dragon's saddle and flew away.

Ruby sighed and slumped forward. She looked up at her dragon. "Cerise… I don't want to fight for a while."

 _Neither do I._ Cerise hummed sadly at her mate before facing her Rider. _My drive for battle is gone._

"Well…" Ruby looked around one more time. Two dragons that the Elder knew were healers flew toward Vert. They'd take care of him now. Soldiers roamed everywhere and it looked like a troop transport was flying toward the field hospital. "I suppose we can help evac the wounded." She took a few steps toward Cerise before she noticed Thorn staring off into the distance. Ruby followed the dragon's line of sight.

A rough circle of dragons hovered about a mile off the ground a mile away. None of them had Riders on their backs. Nalia was among them. Ruby cocked her head, then froze. She'd seen something like that before in a memory an Eldunarí once shared with her back when they just found the Vault of Souls. She could never forget the sight.

All those dragons lost their Riders. They formed a dragon suicide pact.

"NO!" Ruby used her Semblance enhanced with Maiden Magic to shoot forward. As she watched, all those hurting dragons pinned their wings to their sides. Ruby stretched her mind to those dragons. All their minds were shielded. Not even Nalia acknowledged her. What could Ruby do? She had the Relic of Destruction on her, not Choice or Creation. She had one idea and she hoped it worked. She thrust the Relic of Destruction out in front of her. _Destroy their momentum!_

As she watched, the dozen dragons stopped in the air though they hit nothing. Some of them looked around confused. Ruby stopped on the ground in the middle of them all. "Why are you doing this?" she yelled up at all of them. "None of you have to die." She let the Relic stop taking her energy. All dragons fell the remaining twenty or so feet to the ground. Some of them landed on their heads and necks but it wasn't enough to break anything.

 _Let us die, Shadeslayer,_ one of them begged as he righted himself. _We lost our Riders. We are nothing without them._

" _Everyone is worth something,"_ Ruby swore. _"It may be hard to see right now but it's true."_ She looked around the group to pick examples out. Some of these dragons she knew, most she didn't. She pointed at a teal dragon that stood by Nalia. _"You! I've seen you working with Yaela on things. I know you had a giant keyboard made for you in your home on New Vroengard. Not even Cerise has one of those."_ She turned around to face a dragon on the complete opposite side of the circle. _"You. I can't name another dragon that had blue scales and red wing membrane. You're unique and I don't know how long it would take for another dragon to have that big of a color difference."_

Ruby faced Nalia. The once-proud dragon averted her gaze. _"You. You are the fastest dragon that ever lived and you're the last living dragon of the old Order. If something happened to you, not only would the Riders lose so much, an era would truly be over."_

One of the dragons growled behind Ruby. _Why should we listen to you?_ Ruby faced the dragon, a young lime green one. _You let Mor'ranar Vera be destroyed. You led our Riders to their deaths!_

Nalia roared at the offending dragon. _How dare you? You think Ruby wanted this? You think she wanted Cerise to kill her mate? She would give her own life to make sure anyone else kept theirs!_ Nalia silenced herself. _That's… what she's trying to do here._

Ruby nodded. _"I know it hurts. I know a dragon losing their Rider is the worst thing that can happen to you. But I can guarantee you all this; your Riders were all so proud of you. They love you all so much and they wouldn't want any of you to die."_

 _ **Many of them would be in our place,**_ the two-toned dragon said.

" _And I would be telling them the same thing about you. Would I be wrong?"_ Every dragon still looking at Ruby turned away. She struck something with all of them… but she was worried it wouldn't be enough. She gripped the Relic of Destruction once more. _Destroy their suicidal thoughts._ A small drain on her Aura told her the Relic did its job.

Over the next several minutes, one by one, the dragons either walked or flew off. Only then did Ruby notice her own dragon watching from a nearby hill. Nalia was the only broken dragon not to fly away. She whimpered and turned away from Ruby. _I'm sorry._

"Hey…" Ruby walked toward Nalia and kissed her snout. "I miss him too. What I've felt is second hand or temporary."

 _I just… didn't want to…_ Nalia clenched her eyes and whimpered.

"You told me you would always have time for Crey." Nalia's eyes snapped open. "He wants to know you too."

Nalia focused her visible eye on Ruby. _Please… take me to him._

"I will. I need to check in with Arya, then I'll start taking you and everyone else back to Du Weldenvarden." Ruby stood up and rubbed Nalia's scales. "Stick with Cerise. That's an order."

Cerise jumped off her perch glided to Nalia's side. She nuzzled the other dragon's head. _I'm not letting you out of my sight._

Ruby climbed her dragon's side and stretched her mind out to find Arya. It felt like the Head Rider was surrounded by most of the command staff involved with the final planning of Overstorm. Coco was the only one there that wasn't involved with the planning. "Looks like they're in a final meeting. Let's get going."

Cerise jumped away but stayed back for Nalia to catch up. She angled toward where all the big wigs were and flew in that direction. _Ruby,_ she thought to her Rider, _does she know that you used the Relic on her?_

 _I don't think so._ Ruby hung her head. _I think it would be better for all of them to think they made the decision themselves… We're putting all the Relics back. This was the only time I'll be able to do anything like this._

 _Hopefully no one will need to._ Cerise dipped her head down then the rest of her followed. It looked like the meeting was on a landed Valan aerial corvette that was mostly intact. Cerise landed next to the warship and her Rider dismounted.

Ruby found the entrance ramp to the corvette and walked up it. The Atlesian soldier guarding the entrance saluted her but the Valan one just glared. The Rider traced the minds of the commanders through the ship and to a conference room. She opened the door and looked around. Winter was the only one in the room that didn't look scarred to some degree. Then again, being the ranking General in the battle, she had the benefit of staying in her flagship. Weiss… her eyes were red but she had no lines running down her cheeks from her eyes. She must have had time to compose herself. Islanzadí looked particularly bloodied but she still stood, even if she favored her right side. Glynda, Dora Thi, and Deynor were missing altogether. That couldn't have been good.

Winter raised her head to face Ruby. "I assume you have our best medics back at the field hospital?"

"They are." Ruby approached the table and crossed her arms. "Both of them are a little out of it but they'll do their jobs." Coco gave Ruby a sad look saying she didn't believe that would be the case.

Winter nodded. "As I was saying, we just reestablished contact with our Kingdoms. There indeed were Grimm attacks coinciding with our own, but they were repelled shortly after all the Grimm around here disintegrated. As far as we know, there is no current threat to our Kingdoms."

"We cut off their head," Toto said. "The Grimm didn't know what to do."

"Well, Salem wanted me to be a General for her Grimm." That got stares from just about everyone else in the room. Ruby shrugged. "Her ambitions were her undoing." She nodded at Arya. "I don't think I ever properly thanked you for the save, Shadeslayer."

"Now," Winter leaned forward and rested her hands on the table, "we have the matter of the Relics." She focused in on Ruby. "It's come to my attention that you swore that you would return the Relic of Creation to its place beneath Atlas Academy before this all started."

Ruby nodded. "I will do so, and I highly recommend the same for the other three Relics."

"Why would we do that?" A Valan captain asked. "Why not use them to destroy the Grimm and build up Remnant even further?" Ruby's eyes twitched. She had a feeling she knew what that world would look like.

"Because that would tip the balance of power," Islanzadí declared. "Even if all Remmartian Kingdoms possessed a Relic, each will have a substantial advantage over the others. If they are locked away, none can possess them."

The captain scoffed. "The Riders have three Maidens, so they have three Relics. Obviously, we need the Relics to protect ourselves in case a dragon decides to go rogue again."

"In case you have forgotten," Sun interrupted, "both dragons were infected by a Grimm parasite. This will never happen again." He grimaced. "If it didn't happen like that, there are better ways." He shot Ruby a weak glare. The Rider didn't blame him too much. So much destruction happened in his city with a dragon as the weapon. At least he didn't throw the Riders under the bus.

"We also have a problem with returning the Relics at the moment." Arya shook her head. "The vaults that hold the Relics can only be opened by certain Maidens. The Summer Maiden is now unknown. We have no way of tracking who she is. Until we discover who she is, the Vault underneath Vacuo is useless."

"I volunteer Concordia for a new Vault," Sun said. "Despite our advances, Armatige is still the hardest Kingdom to get to. That at least helps keep foot traffic down for this."

The Valan captain growled. "It sounds like we've made a decision here."

"We have," Winter said. She looked right at Ruby. "I'm assuming you can do something about those that don't need to know?"

Ruby, still holding Destruction, gripped the black sword. _Destroy the knowledge of the Relics and Maidens that only knew because of this mission._ The few non-command staff in the room shifted on their feet. Once again, the Relic did what Ruby wanted it to. "I volunteer to take the wounded back to Du Weldenvarden. We can treat them much better there than here." That got everyone focused again.

Winter nodded. "Get to that." She turned to Coco. "Now, about what to say to the media…"

As Ruby turned to leave the room, she noticed Weiss following her… after Arya slipped Weiss a ring. Ruby didn't question it and the two left the room together. She looked over her shoulder and touched her mind to Weiss'. _You know?_

 _Yes._ Weiss dipped her head and walked slower. She sniffed twice in a row. _But… I need to keep moving. I need to keep working._

 _Trust me, don't force yourself through it. I'm here._

Weiss nodded and lifted her head. _When we get to Du Weldenvarden, I can break down._

 _I'll be right there to offer a shoulder._ The two left the ship and walked toward the dragons nearby. Saphira had joined the other two while Ruby was in the ship. The Elder faced her partner. _Switch Relics?_

 _You're supposed to be the one getting the wounded out._ Weiss held out a hand palm up, the ring Arya slipped her in the center. _Take us back._

Ruby took the ring and handed the black sword to Arya. She stared at it for a moment before slipping the disguised Relic of Creation onto her right ring finger. There was no way she was putting it on the same finger as her wedding ring. She looked up and toward the field hospital. "Let's get to work."

* * *

 **Almost done here. Just trying to wrap up story lines now.**

 **Now, Vol 7 Ep 3... Wasn't sure about Ruby's new look, but I think it's growing on me. Even Qrow gets a new outfit. I'm surprised Ruby let anyone touch her weapon, even if it was Penny's dad. Also, new weapon functions, why couldn't you have come sooner? They make so much sense. Are they... trying to put Qrow in a love triangle... why... Nice Geist fight! Okay, what are you doing with Ruby's Semblance?**

 **Unrelated to any of this... Undefeated 2 seasons in a row. Number 1 seed again. The Road to Frisco goes through Fargo. Go Bison!**

 **Have a happy and safe Hallothanksmas part two on Thursday.**


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